THE OLD NICK ~ Toronto ON

I'm getting a little lazy, and I've been busy, so I apologize for a review that is several days late.

After reading Toronto.com's editor's picks of wings in T-Dot, I decided I would check out a new place. I had a lot of errands to run, so armed with a day pass, and the suggestion from Alison (who ever she is) that the Old Nick had perfected the chicken wing, I was off to Greektown to try out this Imperial Freehouse.

I got there just before noon, and like many places I try out for lunch, it was dead inside. Actually, this is the way I prefer it when doing reviews. I get to pick a seat, and sitting alone and taking photos of wings is often not noticed. The service was friendly, but my waiter seemed surprised that I was actually wanted to eat there.

The Old Nick was like any of a hundred pubs in Toronto inside. The tables and chairs were a little more chic than the average pub, but visually, nothing stood out about the place. That meant the food was going to have to do most of the selling.

THE SCORE

SIZE of WINGS: medium to large
HEAT: hot 6/10, suicide 8/10
WET NAP FACTOR: 4/5
PRICE: $8.95 for 1 pound (approx 10 wings), $15.95 for 2 pounds

EXTRAS Info

SAUCE CHOICE: mild/medium/hot/suicide/honey garlic
SIDES: fries, veggies and blue cheese dip
WETNAP: 1! and a napkin
DEEP FRIED, GRILLED, BATTERED: lightly deep fried
WING NIGHT: Monday night, 7-10pm, 35 Cent Wings
OTHER: nightly specials, live music evenings

Alison credited these wings as the evolutionary end of wing development. Now while these were a tasty wing, they certainly were not the homo sapien in Darwin's wing plan. They were big, and juicy and saucy. I like that. They had an herby flavour, suggesting they were rolled in some spices and not just frieds and tossed in sauce. Hot was a good flavour with the herby taste and I was happy with my order.

I also ordered a side of suicide (taking more caution after bad bad suicide sauces). And wouldn't you know it, 3rd Degree sauce! The suicide basically killed any herb flavouring in the wing, but I love 3rd Degree, so that was fine with me.

I was happy that my lunch came with not only veggies and dip, but fries as well. I'm disappointed that this Alison didn't mention the fries. These were heaven. At first, I thought they were over-cooked, but I was pleasantly wrong. They were salty, still had the skins, and were crunchy. These were the type of fries you don't need to put anything on. There was also a combo I debated getting, 6 Wings, 3 Chicken Fingers and Onion rings for $10.95 . I like variety in a dish.

So, the Old Nick is a nice pub, great fries and decent enough wings. Is it worth the trip to Greektown for me to get again? Honestly, not really. The wings are good, but they have a lot more evolving to do before the Lord of the Wings is truly impressed.

The Old Nick: An Imperial Freehouse
123 Danforth Avenue
Danforthpubs