Monday 4 February 2008

CA: FLYING J

On my California Adventure, I had hoped to try some local cuisines of the various states I was in, and I really wanted to try the wings and compare them to the North. This, did not really happen. I did have wings twice on the trip. But not at a restaurant, or a bar. I had them from a truckstop where they also serve the largest sausages EVER wrapped in pastry and fried chicken gizzards.


Spread all across North America, Flying J is common truck stop with cheap gas, showers, buffets restaurants and tons of trinkets for sale for the lonely trucker. They are fairly large facilities accommodating both truckers and civilian drivers alike. If you want to do some interesting people watching, this is a place to go.



With only time to fuel up and hit the head, my Pa and I got some wings-in-a-bag and a slice of pizza. Yes, thats a dozen or so wings in a bag. Just a plastic bag.



2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Flying J Truckstop

STYLE:

deep fried, breaded

PRICE:

approx. $6.95 a pound (approx 15-20 wings)

SAUCES:

1 - Buffalo

1/1

HEAT:

there’s a Buffalo flavour spice, but not heat

SIZE:

pigeon-small but meaty

1/3

WETNAP FACTOR:

wet

2/3

CRISPINESS:

chewy and crispy

1.5/3

FLAVOUR:

ok classic flavour for hot, none for crispy style

1.5/3

SIDES:

none

n/a

CLEAN UP:

all the napkins you can handle

1/2

WING NIGHT:

n/a

OTHER:

it comes in a bag

TOTAL:

alright . . . I guess

8/15*



I did not have high hopes for these wings. I had no idea how long they were sitting in their bin, and they didn't look that appetizing. But I'm never one to NOT try some wings. And it really wasn't as bad as I though. Despite the bag.




The smell from the bag had a classic wing smell, which peaked my interest. The sauce did not have a strong flavour, but it had a nice taste to it. The chicken itself was meaty, with the right amount of crispiness to the skin. They were wet, but not dripping and were a nice little lunch.

Where I was not impressed was the tiny size of the wings; pigeon to small. Also, the flavour really needed to be kicked up a notch.


Along with the wings, we coupled on a slice of pepperoni pizza. I have had their pizza before and I really enjoy it.


It has just the right amount of grease, not too much tomato sauce, and a crust that is just fantastic. The crust is light, fluffy, and is almost like a fresh crazy bread stick.

On a one other occasion, we picked up the crispy, no sauce wings (because the sauce wings were out). Also served in a bag, these breaded wings offered a bigger crunch than their sauce brethren.


There was no particular taste, just deep fried chicken wings. A sauce would go really well, and fortunately I had some spicy bbq sauce from Mickey D's that I used to fill in the flavour void.

FINAL SCORE: So in the end, they were ok wings. Not worth going to on their own, but if your on a trip and wing devoid, go for it. The pizza is worth the stop though. But the wings, well, they come in a plastic bag. Stay classy Flying J, stay classy. 8/15


Flying J
Locations all across North America
flyingj.com

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