Restaurant Review: P.G Clucks
P.G CLUCKS
610 College Street ~ pgclucks.com Instagram: @pgclucks Co-Diner: Tim Golem
I'm not sure if you've been paying attention but in the past few years fried chicken sandwiches have exploded. They've become a major food trend. It might seem like they've been here all along - but not to the extent of the elevated sandwiches that we're seeing today. These ain't no frozen chicken finger stuck between two buns. In Toronto the main place that you need to know is P.G Clucks. Named #1 Best Fried Chicken by blogTO and listed at #2 on Toronto Life's Toronto’s 25 Best Sandwiches Right Now 2019... They've gotta be the place. I visited their Little Italy location early on a Saturday evening and was caught off guard by how tiny, and I mean tiny, the shop is. It's literally a counter right on the street with about three feet of space to stand inside of the store. (They self-describe themselves as a "shack.") There is certainly no seating whatsoever. Not that this is a problem at all, I simply want to advise that this should be expected. It's strictly a take-away business. If anything, the casual nature of the entire operation actually entices me more, as some of the best food come out of little joints like this one. They've got their logo on the wall and there's a bit of a red, white and black colour scheme going on, and that's the entirety of the decor. I mean, what more do you need? Just give me the chicken. The service is more business-like than warm, but again, just give me the chicken. Once my order was placed I waited for about ten minutes until I was handed a brown paper bag of food. When it comes to the menu there's actually a lot more going on than you might assume possible from such a small operation. You can choose from sandwiches, chicken pieces, snacks & sides, plus they're doing popcorn chicken, and they've also got desserts. All of their chicken is deboned leg meat which they brine for 24 hours in a lemon and herb brine, followed by 6 hours in buttermilk. Then they dredge it twice (in ten spices) for extra crispiness. The part that I love the most about this is that they're using leg meat, which in my opinion is the most delicious part of any bird. They also make all of their sides and sauces in-house. While I love ordering chicken pieces, I was at P.G Clucks for one thing and one thing only: Their sandwich. In fact, they actually offer three different signature sandwiches to choose from. One of them is basically a Big Mac except in fried chicken form. (That's another thing that's super hot right now - food being made like a Big Mac.) Their classic sandwich would probably have been my natural choice, however I'd heard so many good things about the Jalapeno & Honey Sandwich ($9.00).
The honey dripping off of this thing was all that I needed to see. The giant, golden-fried piece of chicken was just begging for me to bite into it and I couldn't wait to crunch down. I loved the deliciously juicy, satisfyingly crunchy chicken, covered in sticky-sweet honey goodness. I loved the way that the sweetness played with the spicy heat from the jalapeños. Spicy-sweet is such a winning combo - it's the new salty-sweet. The fact that the jalapeños are pickled is so perfect because it removes a bit of the harshness from the spice and allows the flavour to shine brightly. Plus the pickling brings some acidity to help cut through the heaviness. And I mean, ranch, always. I liked the bun because it was soft, warm, and squashy. It didn't overstay its welcome and instead let the other ingredients do the talking. The bun also soaked up a lot of the honey, creating a whole delicious situation all its own. This sandwich is very, very good. I also ordered a side because I definitely wanted to try something that wasn't a sandwich. There are four sides to choose from, none of which are fries, which I found very refreshing. Coleslaw is always a solid pick but I went Potato Salad ($2.50).
I don't know how or why... But this might have been the best potato salad that I've ever tasted. It was so creamy and also zippy. It was kind of like if an egg salad married a potato salad and they had a baby. I loved the grainy mustard. This potato salad was way better than it had any right to be. Lastly, while you place your order you'll find yourself face to face with a case of donuts. If you are able to resist them, then you are a stronger person than I. The Honey Cruller ($2.50) was calling my name.
As soon as I took a bite I exclaimed that it tasted like a combination of air and butter... Which is both magical and greasy. So, so soft and melt-in-your-mouth. Honey-sweet. The cruller might very well be the best donut that there is and this one was quite a good example. P.G Clucks made me very happy. They delivered on pretty much every level and gave me just about everything that I could have wanted. Was it the best fried chicken sandwich that I've ever had? It was up there. (Everyone should really try Beaks Chicken in Regina, they're giving fried chicken sandwiches a run for their money.) If anything, I just wish that there had been an easier way to eat the sandwich, like a bench or something. However, the food is great and the prices are very reasonable as well. More fried chicken should be like this.
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