LORD of the WINGS (or how I learned to stop worrying and love the suicide)

PONG's POUTINE - Stittsville ON

2021-06-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the stars align and everything just works out the way you want. A few years ago I heard about a little chip truck in Stittsville called Pong's Poutine that has always gotten rave reviews. Not only do they seem to have killer fries and poutine, but every week they have a different special and sometimes that's General Tso chicken. And I love General Tso chicken. I don't get out there often, and when I've been in the area and down for some fries, they've been closed ...

Then one day I was out in the west end of Kanata when I saw a post about Pong's special for the day: Bacon Cheeseburger with Poutine & a drink for $10, but the weekly poutine was General Tso ... I mean, I had to go!

Pong's is located just off the 417 on Carp Road in the parking lot of Ritchie's Feed & Seed, next to a flea market. It's a standard chip wagon but they've carved out area for seating (when COVID is not going on) with trash cans and their set up. I love their giant mascot on the wagon of a fry guy weilding a spatula like a sword!

The menu itself is pretty standard chip truck fare: fries, poutine, burgers, pogos etc. What sets them apart is the daily and weekly specials, often with an Asian flare, like Pad Thai or sping rolls, or in the case of this trip, General Tso chicken.

There was already a crowd outside, which I had tried to bypass by calling ahead, but they were busy and didn't answer the phone. Despite being busy, they were friendly at the window. It's clear they have regulars who know them well, asking about their kids, business etc.

I ordered the bacon cheeseburger combo, but asked if I could upgrade the poutine to the General Tso. They said yes. With taxes and tip it came to $16. They gave me a number and I waited for about 15 minutes. It felt like forever on this sunny and hot day!

The combo was packaged up in a cardboard box and I was given the option of a bag to take it in, in which they put in a fork and several napkins. I went back to the a/c of the car and opened up lunch.

Wow what a box! It was jammed pack with poutine goodness and a big burger! Even if this wasn't the upgraded poutine this was a great deal.

I went for the burger first. The burger was not what I expected at all, in a good way. I expected the standard chip truck frozen burger patty and cheap utilitarian bun. Instead, I got a handmade patty and a fresh kaiser bun! The bun to meat ratio was a bit off - while the burger is thick, it's not a wide burger while the bun is quite wide.

I was asked what I wanted on the burger and for some reason I said just mayo. I wasn't looking for a ton of toppings, but why I just said mayo I don't know. So my burger was super basic, but it was good. The bun was fresh and very soft. The burger patty was from ground beef and tasted so much better than the frozen pucks most places serve. The bacon was crisp with a little chew and the cheese I believe was processed as a good burger should have. Meaty, bacon-y, cheesy goodness!

Then there was the poutine. It was a big serving - much bigger than I expected. Half the box was loaded down thick with ingredients and I ended up eating this portion size for a few times after!

This General Tso Poutine has your classic fresh cut fries, layered with squeeky cheese curds and gravy, which is topped with fried chicken chunks with Pong's version of General Tso sauce and sesame seeds for garnish. A-mazing.

Evaluating just the poutine - I loved it. The fries are skinnier than a lot of places, skin on, crispy. The cheese curds are generous, large, and squeaky. The gravy is good but it got a bit lost with the General Tso sauce. This poutine was aces in my book.

The rest of this dish was topped with deep fried battered chicken chunks. There were about 7 or so pieces which were crispy, but also tender on the inside. Then Pong's topped it with the sauce. It didn't taste like any General Tso sauce I've had before, and I wouldn't say my favourite. The dominant flavour was sesame oil with something very very sweet. It was good, but General Tso sauce to me is a balance of sweet and spicy. This was mostly sesame oil.

Overall I was very happy with my meal. The combo deal was great, the food was fresh, reasonably priced and just made me very happy. That burger was homemade with crispy bacon and cheese and that kaiser bun changes the burger game up. The poutine is spot on, and while I wasn't crazy about the General Tso sauce, the chicken chunks were pretty good. I'm sad I've only gotten it after so long, and I look forward to going back!

Pong's Poutine

2079 Carp Road, Stittsville ON

facebook.com/pongspoutine

Bi-Annual Grill Clean & Jerk Chicken

2021-06-13T22:58:00.013-04:00

Spent most of my day off yesterday on my bi-annual grill deep clean & 35 minutes tonight gunking it back up ... but the jerk chicken was worth it! pic.twitter.com/RmkUtcQv2b
— LORD of the WINGS (@LordoftheWings) June 12, 2021

PC SMOKIN' STAMPEDE JUST DRUMS - Quarantine Frozen Wing Review

2021-06-02T23:05:00.003-04:00

So I haven't done a frozen wing review in a while, which worked out because I had a box of wings in the freezer that had been there forever.

I posted on Instagram back in May of 2020 after shopping at Real Canadian Superstore that they had wings on sale. In particular, it was their Smokin' Stampede BBQ sauced wings but they had two boxes at 2 different prices: Flats only for $11.98 and Drums only for $4.94! Now normally I'm slightly more on Team Flats, but for $5, how could I pass up a box of drums?!?!

I find it interesting of all of PC's wing flavours, they only did the Smokin' Stampede as Drums or Flats. If you aren't familiar with Smokin' Stampede, it's one of President's Choice's lines of BBQ Sauces.

I actually really like this BBQ sauce. Of all the grocery store BBQ sauces, it's my fave. Particularly Beer & Chipotle. It's sweet, smoky, layered in flavour and just a hint of heat. If I make a quick and easy spicy BBQ wing, I just mix this and some hot sauce and I'm good to go. So how would the frozen version turn out?

The box is 907g and they guarantee at least 13 wings. While PC does make a Tequila Habanero version, but this is Beer & Chipotle. Cooking instructions are either doing the oven at 425 F, but I was planning on grilling them. The ingredients weren't egregious, I mean for a frozen wing. But the 'seasoned wing' and the 'glaze' did mean there were a lot of things going on here.

Inside the box was just the bag of wings. I was shocked, as PC seems to just always add sauce packets on the side. Thank goodness.

After a year, the wings had a bit of freezer burn, but not so much that I thought there was a problem. The wings were all pretty frozen together, but after a few minutes they pulled apart not too bad.

The box said there would be a minimum of 13 wings in the box, and, well there were 13 wings in total. This begs the question, do you prefer 13 wings that weigh 900g, or a bunch of smaller wings that weig 900g?

The bag was pretty saucy after dumping them out, but then with the seasoning and the glaze, that's a lot of liquid.

I got my grill heat up to 400 (the box says medium, but what does a box know?), and dumped the bag right on, then turned the temperature down a bit.

These could have been decent in the oven, but really they were made for the grill.

The box said to turn them frequently. That sounded reasonable so that's what I did. With each turn the wings were getting more charred and crispy. They looked promising.

All in all I cooked them for about 20 minutes until they looked good and ready. You have to be patient, and I didn't want to be patient.

A few got more crispier than others, but that just meant more crispy-sauced goodness.

Grilled up, they looked better in person than the beauty shot on the box!

You can cook them how you want, but I wanted them a bit charred and crispy, but still sticky with the sauce on them. I think they turned out pretty good.

The size of the wings were decent - not that big but not too small. They were more on the short side of length, but they were pretty meaty wings.

The texture on the wings was a mix of sticky and charred. With a wing so saturated in sauce there was no way the wings would develop a crispy skin. The meat was relatively tender, which I was shocked as both a frozen wing, and a wing that sat at the bottom of my freezer for over a year!

I ate one right off the grill, I couldn't wait. It was a little sweet, a little bit of spice, a little smoke, with a little tang. It didn't taste exactly like the actual bottle of sauce. That's ok in terms of flavour because the flavour is good, just don't expect it to be the same.

WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN?

Ya, especially for $5! It was a great deal and the wings turned out better than expected. These aren't amazing wings, but for $5 they hit the spot. The texture, the flavour was all on point. I ended up having leftovers, and I added chili flakes and a bit of hot sauce to kick it up a notch. I wouldn't get these at full price, and you could make much more amazing wings from fresh using the PC Smokin' Stampede Sauce, but for a quick wing, these will do. 9/14

President's Choice

Smokin' Stampede Just Drums

https://www.presidentschoice.ca/product/pc-smokin-stampede-just-drums-gigantico-chicken-drumettes/20511422_EA

LOTW Meme Monday = That's On Me I Set The Bar Too Low on Hot Wings

2021-05-31T23:20:00.003-04:00

Actually my conversation goes more with people who "loooove" chicken wings, but then it turns out they only like drums that are just salt & pepper. Me, I love all kinds. Just not honey garlic.

#nonwingsunday = BK Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

2021-05-31T23:17:00.003-04:00

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LORD of the WINGS (@lotw_wingking)

I really did enjoy this sandwich. It just hit all the right notes. I was surprised that I had heard almost nothing about it, but after I posted this, Burger King Canada posted this:

it’s bold… it’s kickin’… it’s the all-new Nashville Hot Chicken 🔥
make a $1 order on the BK app to get yours… free.

Cannot be combined with any other deal, combo or offer. Valid for one redemption per registered guest.
— Burger King Canada (@BurgerKingCAN) May 31, 2021

Now you can try it for $1 now too!

What my dinner looks like without glasses ...

2021-05-30T17:41:00.005-04:00

#tbt & #lostreview - GALLERIA SUPERMARKET York Mills 2014 TORONTO ON

2021-05-27T17:25:00.004-04:00

It's time for another #tbt & #lostreview !

It's 2014. It was April and a Friday. I lived in downtown Toronto, and Korean fried chicken was just starting to be a fad in the food world. I had tried a couple of places downtown but I had the best was up in York Mills.

With access to a car (rental? Zipcar? don't remember) I headed up to Galleria Market Place. I had never really been to York Mills, but Galleria was pretty easy to find. That was the last east part of the trip.

Galleria is a small chain of Korean/Asian supermarket. It's big, clean, and very bright. I wandered around just checking the place out. I eventually found the hot food stand where a small army of workers were making all sorts of fresh Korean food. I was a bit lost as almost everything was in Korean, so I wasn't sure how or where to order KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).

Galleria had branded their poultry as Mom's Chicken. I did find an ad for the reason I was there: $8.99 for Mom's Chicken Wings (normally $9.98) on Fridays. That's what I wanted! And it was Friday!

I eventually watched others order and I followed suit. I put my order in and just like I had been warned, it took a long time for my order to get made. 30 minutes at least was the standard wait time, It was crazy busy, even though it was mid afternoon and it seemed like everyone was getting chicken.

When my order was I grabbed a seat at the counter and took in my wings. There are a few flavoured options to choose from: Seasoned (dry spice), Mild, Spicy, or Half & Half (Half sauced have Seasoned). It comes in a rotisserie chicken style container. I went with Spicy.

It came with a side of pickled radish. If you haven't had it before, it's cubed up radish that is mostly sweet with a vinegary-tang. It's great cooling agent when eating spicy food.

If you aren't familiar with KFC (Korean not Kentucky), it's chicken that is breaded and double fried. When done right it's juicy inside with a major crunch on the outside. It's usually served either dry like regular fried chicken, or mixed in sauce. I went with Spicy clearly.

The wings were medium in length but were pretty meaty. As they are very breaded, the size of the wings was larger. They were also VERY crispy/crunchy.

The chicken itself was very tender. The bones just pulled off the meat with no effort.

The wings were saucy AF. I mean you need a ton of napkins to eat these there's so much sauce. Every inch was covered in the sticky, thick sauce.

Spicy is made with Gochujang Korean pepper paste, which is spicy, but this sauce has a lot of sweetness too. It's not that spicy in my opinion, and the sweetness was stronger than the heat.

The sauce is so sticky, you are going to make a mess, guaranteed!

This was a food experience. An adventure to get there, get my food, and eat. The chicken was super crunchy, the wings coated in sticky-sweet-spicy sauce, and the meat was tender as can be. I would have liked it spicier, but this was such a good meal. Unfortunately I never got back there to have it again. Mom knows what she is doing!

Mom's Chicken @ Galleria Supermarket

865 York Mills Road, Toronto ON (and other locations)

galleriasm.com (find the menu HERE)

ALL SEASONS INDIAN CATERING - Ottawa ON

2021-05-26T21:26:00.004-04:00

Just before the pandemic hit back in 2020, an Indian catering business popped up on my radar through online food posts about a place that was doing up all sorts of wings, and they had crazy imported pops. For the Super Bowl I had seen them do up this huge assorted wing platter!

All Seasons Indian Catering sounded awesome, but the location was way down in the like, South-East part of the city, so I didn't have an opportunity to be in the neighbourhood. Then COVID and I stopped going out almost completely.

Then, it was a Wednesday in April of this year and the wife and I were looking for something different to try for an evening take-out. I don't know how All Seasons came up, but it did. I told my wife about the wings, and while she encouraged me to get them, I said I wanted to try their wing sampler platter but it wasn't available. So we decided to just get some Indian food. But when we tried to order, it turned out they closed at 6pm! So no deal.

One week later things were different. They were going to be celebrating their 7th Anniversary and they had a bunch of specials on. They even had the wing platter! We decided to go for it, and we ordered by their online order form.

image from Google Street View

I've never been to All Seasons, but I have been to the industrial/commercial district complex that it is in before. You wouldn't expect an Indian restaurant, let alone a catering business down there, but there it is. It started out as a small business between two young sisters and has grown into quite the enterprise. Their food is Indian based, but they serve Tanzanian food, Western food, as well as a wide variety of soda pop not found in this province.

We decided to take advantage of the 7th Anniversary specials there were offering including biriyani, potato fritters, wings, some fancy pops, and jelebi's for desert. We started filling out the order form online (they have a great web-ordering site) but there was one thing we were confused at; what was Raha? One of the wing flavours could be Raha, so we called. A young woman answered the phone and was super friendly and answered our questions. We finished the online order. The downside was the wait: 70 mins. But it was crazy busy (they had encouraged pre-ordering on social media) and we do live 22kms away! But we did get free delivery due to the amount we purchased.

All Seasons has their own delivery, and on time the food showed up. It was exciting because there was so much. But after a moment, we realized that our desert, the jelebi, was missing. We called the restaurant and the same girl came on and apologized and said they would send it right away. We started to dish out the food and then we realized we also didn't have the drinks or the chutneys for dipping. Called back again and the girl said that a bag was missed (they had it all ready to go) and that the driver would be dropping it off shortly.

The driver got back to us our bag, and there was a nice little note on it! There was also some bonus deserts inside. Super service and that was awesome. I should also mention in terms of service, All Seasons is big on advertising vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and Halal options or any other dietary concerns you have. They really do seem to care about their customers.

We got two 'imported' Crush drinks that I can't usually get here in Ontario: Birch Beer and Pineapple. I always hear my East Coast peeps missing on the Pineapple, and it was like candy, well, pineapple. Sweet, soft (no bite like orange pop can have). I liked it.

I've had Birch Beer before at Rib Fests from Pappy's in the past and the best way to describe it as a smoother, more candied-sweet version of Root Beer. It's good and it goes down easily. Both were very tasty.

We had an order of Potato Fritters, which are sliced up potato 'coins' that are dipped in batter and deep fried. There isn't any special flavours here, but we did get two dips/chutneys that accompanied them. One was 'Spicy' but tasted like a minty-cilantro-esque raita and as a hater of cilantro, I did not enjoy. But we also chose Tamarind, which I love. Tamarind sauce is sweet and almost sour, and I'm used to it being thick but this was a very watered down version. Still good though. The fritters were crispy, and overflowing from the clamshell they came in.

As a main dish we got a large Beef Biriyani heat level Spicy and no cilantro. It came in a round tin container, and it didn't look like Biriyani I'm used to. My wife's background is Indian and they make a mean version. This was different? I don't know how to explain and while it was well made, it just wasn't the flavour we wanted. It also came with garlic naan which was good - thinner than most naan but a nice garlic buttery taste to it.

For desert, we got what I think is LJ and my favourite Indian desert jelebi. Never had it before you say? Well you are missing out. It's a tube that is spiral in shape, with a texture that is brittle, but kind of chewy. It sits and the tubes a filled with a sugar syrup, so as you bite into a collapsing tunnel, the syrup squirts out. You would think it taste like Orange Crush candy, but it's not a bold flavour at all. Just sweet with this awesome texture. These were so good yet so deadly!

As a way to say sorry for their mishap with the forgotten delivery, they included a bag of Cadbury Picnic Bites. This British? treat is essentially nuts and caramel and crispy cereal and raisins (but I didn't notice the raisins) covered in chocolate. Yum! We didn't eat these with the dinner as the jelebi was more than enough sweets but we did try them another night.

Of course for me I was mostly excited for the wings! The giant partitioned platter was just so exciting! I mean how often do you get a tray of 36 wings in 6 different flavours?!?!

The platter not only came with wings, but carrot and celery sticks, and ranch dip. The veggies were fresh and crisp. The big container of Ranch was possibly homemade? At least it didn't taste like the same kind of dressing you get at home. It was thick and creamy, but not a full ranch flavour either.

Now I didn't get a normal order of wings, so I don't know for sure how many are in a standard order (it doesn't say pound or by number) but based on their social media photos it looks like 10. I do believe they come with veggies and dip too. There is also a 6 wing and fries option too.

The wings are large in length, and very meaty! There were a few bordering on medium-large, but mostly a good size wings. All of the wings came deep fried, and while the dry-flavoured ones were crispy, by the time we got the sauced wings after such a long delivery travel, they were soggy and slightly cold.

Because of that, the wings were a bit dried out and some were tougher than others. Some the bones pulled away easy, others not so much. I'd bet my bottom dollar that if we ate these outside the business they would have had a much better texture.

The wings that were sauced were sauced really well; the dry wings well seasoned. Ever inch of the sauced wings had sauce and some had extra.

There are 6 flavours on All Seasons menu (well plain, but I don't think that counts) so for the assorted tray we got 6 of each: Spicy, Jerk, Tandoori, Butter Chicken, Salt & Pepper, and Raha. There were so many different smells and textures, I didn't know where to start!

BUTTER CHICKEN

One of my favourite Indian dishes is Butter Chicken, so this seemed like a no-brainer. A buttery curry covering bone-in chicken, but with crispy chicken, it sounded even better. It's rich and flavourful. The downside was again it wasn't that hot and it kind of congealed on us, but it was almost too much flavour. Served hot and fresh it would have been stellar, and if I was getting home delivery again, I'd get the sauce on the side.

SALT & PEPPER

This was straightforward and executed right: Crispy fried wings tossed in salt and pepper. It's salty, it's peppery. So simple but very good.

JERK

I didn't expect Jerk on an Indian menu, but there it is. Normally I don't get Jerk when I get wings at restaurants, but this was good. Clearly homemade, full of spices, ginger, garlic, chili - it's salty and peppery. It's almost has an Indian-Jerk fusion flavour to it.

TANDOORI

My favourite dish at Indian restaurants is Tandoori chicken and Tandoori wings is a no-brainer. However, part of what I love about tandoori chicken is the BBQ-like nature of chicken cooked in a tandoor or a grill. The flavour here is spot on Tandoori ( that dry chili spice flavour) but what is not right on is the texture. These are fried wings that are tossed in the tandoori paste: the flavour is right but that paste is too much. I think these wings would benefit from a little time on the grill (or into an oven) just to get the paste more baked into the wing.

SPICY

Spicy. They looked like classic bar wings - fried and tossed in a red hot sauce. They were so good. They had a nice heat (spiciest of all the wings). It tastes like a wings I've had, but kicked up with more spices and flavour. These were so good.

RAHA

What is Raha? I still don't know. Even after a little explanation I still don't know what it is. The sauce was a light brown? Almost like a cream. The dominant flavour was garlic for sure. There spice, salt, pepper. But it's a garlic flavoured wing for sure. I'm not sure I could do a whole order of these, but I loved having this unique flavour with my mix.

If I had to rank these wings, I would put them thusly:

SPICY - classic hot wing flavour, but with more to it. And the spiciest of the bunch.
SALT & PEPPER - simple seasoning but so good and crispy
JERK/RAHA - Both had unique takes but also lots of flavours
BUTTER CHICKEN/TANDOORI - Both had great flavour but didn't travel as well

FINAL SCORE:

All Seasons Indian Catering is awesome all around. The service was just so friendly and helpful. These people clearly care for their food and for their customers. Everything is well thought out and customizable. The wings were so unique, bold, and full of flavour. I really dug the Spicy, but the Raha and the Jerk were just so different. The Indian Butter Chicken & Tandoori were classic flavours. The wings were big, fried, and you can tell that there is a love for these wings that so many places don't give. The Indian specific dishes were not all to our flavour profile tastes, but they were generous. The fritters were crispy and the jelabi was decadent. Will definitely get the wings again but hopefully I can go in person in the near future. 10.5/14

All Seasons Indian Catering

2285 St Laurent Blvd - Building C Unit #11 - Ottawa, ON

indiancatering.ca

25% off Wings at Local Heroes on Tuesdays!!! Even during lockdown!

2021-05-25T19:38:00.003-04:00

Friendly curbside service, crispy hot wings. I was a happy camper!!!

#nonwingsunday = Sizzl'n Chicken

2021-05-25T19:36:00.000-04:00

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LORD of the WINGS (@lotw_wingking)

That was really good chicken ...

Love, Laughter & Chicken Wings ... 5 Year Wedding Anniversary!

2021-05-21T15:05:00.004-04:00

It's been a lot of chicken wings since then!

#tbt & #lostreview = MORTY's PUB 2014 Waterloo ON

2021-05-20T15:08:00.000-04:00

It's time for another #throwbackthursday & #lostreview

The year was 2014 and it was a time that I just didn't get any posting done for the blog. Found in my stash of lost files was a folder I had labeled "Waterloo". In that folder were two folders, Wilf's, and Morty's. When I looked into the folders, the Wilf's folder had a photo of a steak sandwich and wings in a hotel room. This was not from Wilf's. When I looked in the Morty's folder, it was a mix of photos; some from Wilf's and some from Morty's. Turns out, no wing photos from Wilf's (just the menu and some restaurant shots), but there were pics from Morty's.

I was in Waterloo in May of 2014 for what I think was a conference for work. I don't remember going to Morty's on this occasion, but I had been years before when my bud Jason used to go to uni at Laurier and we went. Morty's was famous for being a student hang out and for their jumbo meaty wings.

I was there on Wednesday May 14th, and unfortunately Morty's wing nights were Tuesdays and Thursdays. I still got wings, which were $10.99 for 1lb, which came out to about 7 wings. My server was Sam F and he was excellent. No I don't have an amazing memory, I just have the receipt still and actually took some notes! I had a Mountain Dew to drink, which was $2.99.

The wings didn't come with veggies and dip, but for $1.59 I got some. Fresh carrots and celery, and the dip was a creamy dill dip: It was thick and clearly mayo based as it had the strong taste and texture of mayo with dill. The dip wasn't cold so I wasn't gaga over it.

I ordered their "Buttery Hot" with a side of suicide. It was served on the smallest plate, which seems a bit odd, but it was a glorious sight.

The wings at Morty's were HUGE. Jumbo chicken wings that were so big and meaty, that each one was heavy to lift! Just massive. They were also breaded which made them crunchy. They were cooked just right as the meat was tender; jumbo wings I find are often over or under cooked, but Mort knew what he was doing!

The wings were extremely well sauced! Every inch of the wings were sopping wet and coated in their Butter Hot sauce. It was a very thick, creamy sauce. Basically a Buffalo-type sauce made with butter and hot sauce. It was rich and delicious.

I got a side of their "Killer Suicide", which seemed a bit unnecessary considering how wet the wings came to start. This suicide was more vinegary, like Frank's Red Hot with some spices and cayenne powdered on top. Visually it was a great presentation, and it was a good sauce, but it wasn't killer or suicide to me.

I don't think I've been back since then (don't get to Waterloo very often at all), but the whole experience on this visit was awesome. Great service, jumbo crispy wet wings, and Mountain Dew. At the time I highly recommended Morty's Pub!

Morty's Pub
272 King Street North, Waterloo ON
mortys.com

RENEGADE CHICKEN - Ottawa On (Hunt Club)

2021-05-19T15:25:00.000-04:00

Over the last year, two particular food trends have become apparent in these parts: chicken joints and ghost kitchens. I don't know if their proliferation is due to COVID or was going to happen anyway, but on the take-out/delivery circuit it's become unavoidable.

Renegade Chicken is both of those trends merged together. I was excited when I first came across them on social media; I like chicken, I like the name "Renegade", and I like that they had wings. At first I thought it was a local place, but their branding game was strong. Curious about what was going on with them, I did some research and found they are all across Ontario, but no dine-in location. An address check revealed them to be a ghost kitchen out of Jack Astor's. Now I'm a fan of Jack Astor's as a chain restaurant. I especially love their Buffalo chicken fingers. So I was down to try them. Renegade claims they treat their chicken right which made them also appealing:

"Our chicken is always Canadian-raised and antibiotic free, sustainably farmed, never frozen and marinated for a minimum of 24 hours before it’s hand-dipped, fried and tossed in our signature secret blend of seasonings. We’re also a proud scratch kitchen. We bring in fresh, whole ingredients and anything we can make from scratch, we do–from our sauces & seasonings to our fresh buns that we bake in-house daily."

One weekend we were looking for delivery ideas, my wife came across a deal on UberEats: Buy one of Renegade Chicken's sandwiches, get a second for free. I think the delivery fee was free (or really low) so we were set. We also got a wing combo and an extra side.

After about 40 minutes our meal was at our doorstep. It came in a big paper bag, stacked with food. On top were some napkins, some dips, and a large package of anti-bacterial wipes; a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

One thing I liked about Renegade Chicken was the packaging: the containers were all compostable cardboard clamshells and cardboard cup. The sticker to seal them maybe not so much.

When we ordered the sandwiches, we had the choice of Regular, Buffalo Dill, Nashville Hot, or Renegade (which wasn't really explained but seems to be more of a BBQ sauced sandwich). Each is topped just slightly differently.

We thought we would get the Nashville 1) because we like Nashville Hot Chicken and 2) because we were already getting Buffalo wings so the Buffalo Dill would be redundant. Regular was too plain and Renegade too much of a chance. The Nashville Hot came in the sandwich sized clamshell, but was also wrapped and well labeled inside. That's a lot of packaging.

When I opened mine up, it was a mess. There was shredded iceberg lettuce coming out everywhere. There was so much lettuce and even a near-core part. It did hold up to the delivery trip and wasn't that warm/soggy which was a good thing.

The bread was really fresh and soft. There was lots of the Cool Ranch sauce, which could have just been mayo, but it was creamy and tasty. There were some crinkle cut dill pickles, and then the Nashville Hot chicken. The chicken was hot (temp), crispy, tender, and sauced up well.

This was a really good sandwich; fresh, flavourful, and textures I love. It reminded me of an elevated Burger King Chicken Sandwich (which I actually really like). Flavours were balanced between the spice, the creamy, the crunchy, the sweet/sour pickles. The downside was that the Nashville Hot didn't taste like Nashville Hot. Like really at all. Just a slightly spicy chicken sandwich. But it was good.

LJ wanted the Mac & Cheese - a side was $2.99. It says it comes with "asiago, cheddar, cream" and topped with shredded cheddar (which was just melted by the time it got to us). This was a creamy mac. Super creamy, like a paste. I wasn't a fan (I didn't hate it, but I'm never crazy about Mac & Cheese) but LJ really liked it. It just seemed plain to me.

Inside the large clamshell were the wings, the 1lb of fries, 3 dips, and some pickles.

The fries are clearly Jack Astor's type of fries: fake fresh-cut fries with the skins on and are skinny. I say fake because I'm pretty sure they come frozen with the skins on and then fried in house. I like them though. Actually I like them for dipping not so much to eat on their own. I had asked for an extra Ranch for dipping, which they gave, and I love their ranch.

We also got 2 other dips to try out: Sambal Aioli and Smokey BBQ. The Sambal Aioli was a creamy sauce that actually tasted like their ranch and a blue cheese mixed together, with just a little chili. It was good, but I wouldn't get it again. The Smokey BBQ tasted like a mix of Bulls Eye and Jack Daniel BBQ sauce ... it was ok but again I would pass on it next time.

As mentioned above, the wings came in the container with the fries, dips and pickle. Oh the pickles were tart, but also sweet. A little too sweet to be a real dill. It worked on the sandwich but I didn't love them solo.

The wings come in a breading/batter that is thin and kept the wings semi-crispy. The wings were lightly pre-tossed in sauce but also came with a container of sauce to really make them saucy. In the above photo you can see a wing that wasn't very saucy, that I then re-dipped in the sauce at the bottom of the container.

The size of the wings were about a medium in length, but they were pretty meaty. The chicken itself was really tender and there was no issue of pulling the bones apart.

You can see how the wings first arrived before adding the extra sauce. The wings were just ever so wet, but mostly dry, with some sauce resting at the bottom. These wings tasted good as is, but retained some crispiness during transport. But I appreciate they sent reinforcements.

Jack Astor's makes a great Buffalo sauce, which means Renegade Chicken makes a great Buffalo sauce. In restaurant, Jack Astor's bring the freshly fried wings to your table and they sauce and toss like some fancy restaurant. I didn't recreate that exactly but I did sauce those wings up nicely.

The sauce is creamy and orange in colour. It has a big buttery flavour that is almost too rich. I went with their Hot and let me tell you, this is a true hot sauce. It's not killer, but it has a kick and a bite the way a hot should.

FINAL SCORE:

I am down for Renegade Chicken. The sides are ok, but the chicken, the main show, is where it's at. The sandwich was good: fresh, crispy, soft, tangy, spicy. It hit all the right texture and taste notes. The wings were also good. Not as big as I would like, but a nice coating, great texture, and deliciously decadent Buffalo sauce. Would order from them again, especially with deals like BOGO. 10/14

Renegade Chicken

310 West Hunt Club Road, Ottawa ON (and other locations)

renegadechicken.ca

Cannibal Murder Scene

2021-05-18T16:45:00.000-04:00

LOTW Meme Monday = Chicken Wing Shortage Hoarding

2021-05-17T16:50:00.004-04:00

Hasn't hit here yet, but then again, prices have not been great for a long time ...

#nonwingsunday = Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

2021-05-16T22:22:00.001-04:00

All the flavours of a Buffalo wing dinner in sandwich form.

This is super easy if you've got the items on hand. We had leftover rotisserie chicken, so I shredded the meat, tossed it with Buffalo sauce (butter + Frank's), and heated that up. Toasted some ciabatta buns, sliced up some celery on an angle. Top with some blue cheese dressing and dang you got a good sandwich.

It's got that salty/tangy/creamy blue cheese. Tender chicken meat. The spice and richness from the Buffalo sauce. And that celery adds a crunch for texture, but also adds a peppery and watery flavour to cut that salty blue cheese and the rich Buffalo sauce.

So. Very. Good.

#tbt & #lostreview - DERRINGERS EATERY & SALOON 2014 Ottawa ON

2021-05-13T17:02:00.002-04:00

= DERRINGER's SALOON is NOW CLOSED - RIP =

It's time for another #tbt & #lostreview!

This week we are looking back to November 5th, 2014 and another review that didn't get posted. Why? Who knows.

Photo from Google Street View from 2014

Derringers was one of the first places I reviewed wings at in Ottawa, way back in 2006. My review was a bit harsh, but I didn't end up going back for almost 10 years. But I decided I would, and I noticed some changes when I did.

The actual physical restaurant seemed the same; cowboy/saloon themed bar and grill. Cow skulls, wood everywhere. Nothing inside looked any different really. I was there by myself and it was a very quiet Wednesday, just some old timers who were clearly regulars at the bar day drinking.

I don't remember why I was dining by myself on this occasion, but I know I went because it was wing night, or I thought it was. Turns out wing night didn't start until 5pm, and I was there too early to get the deal. I was not happy about that. It would have been $0.75 a wing.

One change that I noticed was the menu. The ownership must have changed in the years since I went there, because the menu was very different. A lot of the Tex-Mex items were gone, and in it's place was Middle Eastern cuisine: shawarma, baba ghanoush, shish kebabs.

But now they also had a lot more sauces on the menu too! I asked my very friendly waitress Kim about the sauces, like what was the difference between Hot and Suicide? She told me they were different sauces and recommended I get one on the side, so that's what I went with.

I was ready for a feast! My wings came, with a side of Onion Rings, and a bowl of Suicide sauce. I also had a Diet Coke, but it came without syrup, just carbonated water. I told Kim who told me they may have cans in the back, but I just went with a regular Coke, which was better, but still not great.

The rings were my favourite; battered (not breaded), crispy but light. Really good. This was a great side.

Wings come by the pound (or just 1lb orders) which came out to be about 9 wings. There were no sides of veggies or dip.

The wings weren't long (a medium in length, but they were big and meaty! The wings came with a nice flour dusting on it, and they were deep fried just right, which meant a nice crispy skin that went well with the sauce. Had a nice little crunch when you bit into it. The meat was tender and the bones pulled away easily.

The wings were all sauced really well. Each wing was coated and wet, and there was ample sauce on the plate to mop up with.

I got Hot as the base sauce. Hot was kind of a spicy bbq; a little bit sweet, a sticky sweet. It wasn't a strong flavour of either. It was nice but I was expecting something a little more zingy.

My side of Suicide was a nice bowlful, enough for more than another order of wings! It cost $0.75 extra so I was glad there was a lot, but I've certainly gotten less before for that price!

Suicide was really good. Really peppery suicide sauce. Slow burn that builds a bit, but not that hot. Clearly not just a commercial sauce and if I was doing the order over again, I would have gone all in on suicide.

I was really impressed how much better the wings were. Bigger, meatier, sauced really well with a great suicide and a great crispy skin. My onion rings were good, I just wish I had some blue cheese dip and a better pop. Kim was a great server, and I was all set to return on another Wednesday night for wing night. But by 2016 Derringer's went out of business after 30 years. It became Pizza & Kebab, which closed shortly after that, and has been Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant ever since.

Derringers Eatery & Saloon (now closed)
99 Montreal Road, Ottawa ON

TOMMY's DINING LOUNGE - Kanata ON

2021-05-12T16:13:00.000-04:00

On the run in Kanata and looking to grab a quick bite, I was feeling wings. I was looking to support local and try someplace knew. I checked out my delivery app to see what was in the area, and Tommy's came up.

I had come across Tommy's back in pre-Covid 2020 online, but never followed up. Then earlier in 2021, I was looking at a food sub and saw people posting some photos and talking about Tommy's has great pizza and wings. Then, that fateful April day I saw Tommy's pop up in Skip the Dishes, and I decided to order some pick-up.

The app said that wings were $14.10 (10 cents?) for 10 wings, which seemed overprice for a pizza joint's wings. Maybe the app was upselling them (they do that) so I checked the website and their take-out menu listed wings at $12.25, but who knows how old that is. Plus Covid and who knows anymore.

I picked wings, picked my sauce, and was told it would be ready in 15 minutes. That was good because I was 15 minutes away.

Tommy's is kind of out of the way, in a business park area that is nestled between the 417 highway and homes. You wouldn't really come across it on a regular basis without working nearby, but in the plaza it's in, it's very well advertised. You shouldn't be able to miss it. I parked in Tommy's parking, and went to walk in, but the outside entrance said to enter through the other door. I went into the office tower, and kind of expected a bigger entrance, but it was just a door with Tommy's on it.

Before I could even reach for the door, a tall young dude in a mask was handing me my order. Wow! They must have been waiting and not have a lot of pick up orders these days. The order was a styrofoam container in a paper bag, and I was a little suspicious as it felt quite light.

I opened up the container, and was excited by the smell and the wet wet wings before me!

Wings come in an order of 10, and I got 10 wings. There were no sides (no veggies and no dip) and there was no napkins or anything for clean up. Thankfully I had a stack of napkins in the car.

The wings were a little small; not small, but on the smaller end of medium. They were relatively meaty to their size. The skin was dusted and deep fried, and they would have been crispy, if they weren't in so much thick sauce. The wing meat was tender enough, and it wasn't that difficult to pull apart the bones.

As mentioned above, the wings were well sauced. Really well sauced. This is how I like my wings. Your fingers are going to get sauce on them, and there is going to be extra sauce at the bottom.

I went with Suicide, and was expecting something like 3rd Degree or Frank's Xtra Hot, but I got something else. It was a homemade sauce (or modified anyway) and that's awesome. The smell and the flavour totally reminded me of the suicide sauce from The Copper Mug in my hometown.

The sauce is chili-peppery, with a sweetness that is very subtle. I find it so very tasty. I don't find it that hot though - not a true suicide but it has enough of a kick for those wanting to try hotter but aren't there yet. The sauce is thick and rich, and it just brought me to a place of nostalgia, warmth, with a little kick.

FINAL SCORE

Tommy's was one of those little surprises I'm happy to come across. While the wings weren't the biggest, I liked the texture on them, and I loved the suicide sauce. The price was a bit high for the amount of chicken, but the flavour really came though on that sauce. Will have again. 9.5/15

Tommy's Restaurant

260 Hearst Way, Kanata ON

tommyskanata.ca

Lost Sauce ...

2021-05-12T09:57:00.004-04:00

That time he gave me the sauce was blogged about HERE.

LOTW Meme Monday = Khabane Lame Judges you Eating Wings with a Fork

2021-05-10T18:09:00.000-04:00

The perfect utensil for eating wings ... your hands!!! I've seen people use fork, a fork and knife, I've even seen chopsticks. But if you use anything other than your hands, I guarantee you're leaving meat on the bone ... but then you might be one of those boneless wing folks ...

This is Khabane Lame, and he is doing some hilarious work on social media taking down all the stupid life hacks that are just ridiculous.

#nonwingsunday = Chili Lime Nuts

2021-05-10T17:51:00.002-04:00

Here is the recipe we roughly followed (we used Red Chili Pepper instead of regular Chili Powder):

Ingredients

6 tablespoons lime juice
6 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups unsalted cocktail peanuts

Directions

Step 1
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 250 degrees F.
Step 2
Whisk lime juice, chili powder, salt and cayenne in a large bowl. Add peanuts; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets; spread in an even layer.
Step 3
Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dry, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Tips

Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Tips

Cut Down on Dishes: A rimmed baking sheet is great for everything from roasting to catching accidental drips and spills. For effortless cleanup and to keep your baking sheets in tip-top shape, line them with a layer of foil before each use.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 2 Tablespoons

Per Serving:

111 calories; protein 4.6g; carbohydrates 4.6g; dietary fiber 1.9g; sugars 1g; fat 9.2g; saturated fat 1.4g; vitamin a iu 309IU; vitamin c 0.6mg; folate 18.2mcg; calcium 14.2mg; iron 0.5mg; magnesium 34.2mg; potassium 138mg; sodium 123.5mg.

Exchanges:

2 Fat

Roadtrip Wing & Pizza Picnic (Little Caesars)

2021-05-10T10:42:00.000-04:00

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LORD of the WINGS (@lotw_wingking)

#tbt & #lostreview - THE TITLED KILT 2013 - Toronto ON

2021-05-06T14:42:00.001-04:00

It's time for another #tbt & #lostreview - The Tilted Kilt is NOW CLOSED

Here's what I remember:

It was September 8th 2013, a Sunday, and I had just arrived back in Toronto on the GoTrain around 9pm.

I was hungry, and decided to check out somewhere for wings while I was down near Union Station. The Tilted Kilt pub chain had arrived in Toronto the year before from America, and while I didn't know much about it, I knew they had wings.

It was a beautiful night so I sat on the patio. There's not much to look at on The Esplanade but they have tv's all over the patio to watch whatever sports you wanted to watch. It was pretty empty (it was late Sunday night) and I never even went inside to see what the interior was like.

not sure when this menu was from so prices might not be accurate.

I don't remember my waitress, but I do remember the staff uniform. The shortest possible kilt and the tiniest crop top. I thought I was just going to a regular pub, but this is really more like a Hooters. Apparently this is what they are known for, but I had no idea.

The menu has standard pub fare, but I was there for the wings. Traditional for me, but they also had grilled, and boneless.

I got a pretty good spread of food. The wings not only came with veggies and blue cheese dip, but also tortilla chips! I must have been really hungry because I also ordered a side of potato chips.

It's not real potato chips, but thinly sliced potato that was deep fried. It's crispy, but also soft at the same time.

They give a choice of blue cheese or ranch but of course I got blue cheese. The dip was definitely needed for the potato chips.

The wings don't come in a specified amount, but there were about 7 or 8 in the order.

The wings were small in length, but really meaty.

They are also breaded. No memory of how crispy they were.

I'm guessing I got their "Kilt Burner Sauce" - their hottest hot sauce. Not to sure. I really don't remember how these wings tasted. I also got a sauce on the side. My guess was that it was Guinness BBQ, but I have no idea.

So I have no SCORE, nor any direct memory of the wings, but I don't think it was anything special because I never went back. The Tilted Kilt closed down sometime by 2020

The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery
38 The Esplanade, Toronto ON (and other locations)
tiltedkilt.com

HOG's BACK RESTAURANT - Ottawa ON

2021-05-05T10:57:00.001-04:00

So I can't get into it, but I needed wings fast. There wasn't time for research, there wasn't time to wait for an order or even to scarf it down. Hog's Back Restaurant came up and it was time to try take-out wings from somewhere I knew nothing about.

I called ahead to save time and had an older woman on the phone with an accent. She didn't seem particularly friendly; when I ordered the wings, she asked what flavour. I asked what did they have, and she responded "all of them" in a kind of sarcastic tone. They, uh, they do not have all of them, I can assure you of that.

I drove past the little plaza it was in (competely missed the turn), which it shares with a Chinese restaurant and a video game store. The parking lot was deserted, so there was ample parking. I walked inside, and while there is normally sit-in dining, with the current lock-down it was all blocked off.

This old take-out menu had wings slightly cheaper than the current price

The lady from the phone was at the cash behind plexiglass, and she was super friendly. I knew it was the same person, but I clearly interpreted her phone presence very differently. The wings were almost done so I walked outside for another 5 minutes. I circled back inside and I heard the wings come out of the fryer, then I saw her sauce the wings with a familiar looking jug. I asked her what she used for Suicide and she got the bottle and showed me an old friend: 3rd Degree.

She packed up wings were in a styrofoam container, put into a paper bag on its side, and she put in napkins and a plastic fork. Off to the car and on the go I went.

When I opened the clamshell, I found the wings were further reinforced with tinfoil.

Inside were my wings and an insane amount of sauce!

Wings come in only one order type - 12 wings to an order. That's exactly what I got. There are no sides with the wings.

The wings were about a medium, maybe some on the smaller-medium size in all aspects. They're meatiness was in relation to their size.

Now the wings were crispy I'm sure, but there was so much sauce they lost their crunch real quick. The meat was ok in tenderness, but they were a little tricky to pull the bones apart. The meat appeared to come from frozen.

Were these wings saucy? Yes, a thousand times, yes. I don't know how they could be any saucier. She must have dumped 1/3 of the jug into the container. The wings were treading sauce to stay above!

This made the wings really difficult to eat, especially in a moving car! Yes I spilled some on the seat (because seats are not flat, they dip down). Yes I spilt on my shirt. Yes my hands were coated in sauce just pulling a wing out. I appreciate the generosity of sauce, but this was not the occasion for a flood of sauce.

Even if I had not been told, there would have been no doubt in my mind the sauce was 3rd Degree. It's slightly sweet, with a sharp bite, and an artificiality about it that I enjoy. It's good. Without the sauce the wings were ... well there was no way to know how the wings were on their own. These were decent wings, but nothing special.

I just want you to see once the wings were removed just how much sauce was leftover. Look at it!!!

FINAL SCORE:

The wings were classic pizza take-out wings. Deep fried and tossed in a commercial sauce. My wings were definitely saucy and the suicide had bite like it should. In person the proprietor was friendly and clearly took care of my wing sauce needs. In a pinch, Hog's Back Restaurant was there for my wing needs. 6/14

Hog's Back Restaurant

888 Dynes Road, Ottawa ON

hogsbackrestaurant.com

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU - Happy Star Wars Day 2021 with Star Wars Wing Memes!!!

2021-05-04T12:01:00.002-04:00

"Did you ever hear the Tragedy of Darth Hungry for Wings? I thought not. It's not a story the Jedi Buffet would tell you."

Happy Star Wars Day!!! Seems like we will never run out of Star Wars, or meme-able quotes. Am I right? Well enjoy some from across the movies/tv:

My hunger for wings will come at you like a pissed of Sith lord!

This has happened so many times. Often because websites were never updated. Sometimes the waitress just forgot what day it was. One time a waitress had to check the sign out front!

Chicken wings are not for sharing.

As I get older it's getting harder and harder to eat several pounds of wings ... I actually have leftovers in the fridge right now and I'm a bit ashamed.

It's one thing to impress friends and family, but a stranger ... oh boy!

It almost sneaks up on you!

It's just, like, why?!?!?

Quick story: when I was a kid one of my best friends from school was over for dinner and we had wings. Well he hadn't really had wings before and he left them like the picture above. My dad saw the discarded wings in a communal bone bowl and started criticizing me for leaving such a disrespectful amount of meat/skin on the bone not knowing it was my friend. I didn't know what to say.

Get it, suicide wings, self-destruct? It's a little wing-droid humour.

Bring me more wings!!!