MOOSE WINOOSKI's ~ Brantford ON

RIP - This location NOW CLOSED

Dude had some time off from work in Ottawa, so he was heading back to the Burg. Asked if I wanted to tag along and visit home, and I said, why not? And while we are at it, how about we stop at one of my favourite wing joints: Moose Winooskis.

I don't remember how my immediate family started going to the Moose but it did start at their Kitchener location at sports world. But with family near Brantford, hitting this Northern themed restaurant became popular on shopping and visiting trips.

On this particular occasion the atmosphere was LOUD. Not because of music, or drunken patrons. No this night it was loud because of children. Lots of them. At least 2 birthday parties going on. So this evening, not bip boppin but definitely children hoppin.

The inside of Mooses is designed to feel like your up North at the cabin, on vacation. Log wood is the definite decor, as well as walls with Moose heads that are kid friendly because they are fake and making funny faces. The other big draw for the children is the birthday wheel. After your typical crowd of servers singing happy birthday to the child and wear a helmet with antlers, they get to go up to a wheel of fortune board and spin for t-shits, free meals, or the most common and most popular, pie in the face.

The menu like the restaurant are family friendly, which is sorely missed living in downtown Toronto. Big portions for reasonable prices, and overall a friendly place. The one item on the menu that keeps me and my family coming back again and again though are the wings.

THE SCORE

SIZE of WINGS: large (even without the coating)
HEAT: 4/10
WET NAP FACTOR: 3.5/5
PRICE: $5.97 'Snack Size' (approx 5) , $8.97 'Regular' (approx 8), $15.57 'Large' (approx 18)
$22.97 'Party Platter' ???

EXTRAS Info
SAUCE CHOICE: mild/medium/forrest fire hot/suicide/
honey garlic/authentic spicy buffalo
SIDES: veggies and blue cheese dip
WETNAP: 2 or 3
DEEP FRIED, GRILLED, BATTERED: dusted, dusted again, then deep fried
WING NIGHT: none
OTHER: free refills on pop! patio and even a kids area



What makes these wings better than a lot of other wings is the double dusted coating. Not only does it plump up the size, but it makes it very crunchy. They say on their menu that this is "often copied but never duplicated" the only place I have ever had wings like this was Tortilla Flats (to be reviewed) and they were right, they weren't duplicated.



Now to be clear, these wings are not Buffalo wings. The dusting, the sauce - not at all. The closest they come is their butter and hot sauce mix. The flavour on these wings is closer to a bbq, in that they have a sweeter taste, but still have a bit of a bite. I didn't order suicide because the suicide here is the hot that is swimming in jalepeno peppers (and yes, the sauce swims in the peppers) and its not a bad flavour, but I prefer the regular hot.

The veggies were crunchy, the pop never ending, and the wings were temperature hot. I would definitely preferred more bite for my buck (despite a server surprised at me getting the hot) and the 'authentic buffalo sauce' doesn't really work with the double dusted nature. Wetter wings would have also been more desirable. Dude ordered a steak that got the best of him in the end, but it was a good piece of meat. The onion strings were the best part.

So on this trip the wings weren't the best they have been, or the biggest, but overall I was satisfied with my wing experience. Good, non-traditional wings in this mammal infested place. Definitely worth checking out this neck of the woods.

Click HERE for more phots

Moose Winooski's
45 King George Road, Brantford (various locations)moosewinooskis.com