Tuesday 27 May 2008

JOE'S PIZZA & SUBS ~ Ottawa

On a trip out to the West end to watch an early matinee of "Indiana Jones and the Fate of the Crystal Skull" I decided to grab some food that wasn't overpriced Burger King or KFC at the theatre for lunch. The cinema I went to is pretty devoid of places to eat. I saw a sketchy Chinese joint, a pizzeria with the cook out front smoking (big food turn off for me), and an Indian restaurant that smelled good, but looked a little fancier than I was dressed. At the end of the little plaza across from the theatre I saw another little pizzeria and decided to check it out. I wasn't in the mood for pizza, but a sub sounded good.




I grabbed a menu and decided to go for a sub and pizza combo (there was no actual combo, I just put the two together. I ordered the sandwich and the wings, and the pizza dude (Joe? I didn't see a name tag) asked what kind of sauce I wanted - "as hot as you can make them" I asked. In 10 minutes I had my lunch but no place to sit - there were only chairs and not tables. I wandered outside and realized there was no benches or other tables. But I did see the waterfront not far and decided to sit by they water and eat.


There wasn't any seating out by the water, so I found a little concrete shelf to sit. It was a bit too windy and it certainly wasn't comfortable, but it made for a nice lunch atmosphere I guess.



First I dug into the sub. It was an assorted sub, and the small size - however it was much bigger than the average chain small sub. The cold meat inside was pretty generic and didn't have much flavour. It was also filled with a ton of cheese, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and full sized pickles. There was no sauce, and when I looked at the take-out menu again, it says it comes with mayo or homemade garlic sauce - but there was none to be found. Without any lubrication, this sub was pretty dry to eat, and I didn't even eat half of it (I saved the rest for supper where I added my own mayo and Italian dressing).

So my sub was nothing special, but would the wings disappoint?




2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Joe’s Pizza & Subs ~ Ottawa

STYLE:

Deep fried traditional pizza wings

PRICE:

$4.00 for 6 wings

$7.95 for 12 wings

$13.00 for 24 wings

$18.50 for 36 wings

$9.25 for 12 wings, fries/onion rings & coleslaw (Wings Platter)

$0.95 for sauce side order

SAUCES:

  • Hot (3rd Degree)
  • Mild
  • Honey garlic

0/1

HEAT:

Tingle – I could feel it with a bit of numbing afterwards

SIZE:

Medium

1/3

WETNAP FACTOR:

Dripping to drowning – only had 6 wings but enough sauce for at least 12

2/3

CRISPINESS:

Chewy – right out of the deep fryer but not particularly crispy

1/3

FLAVOUR:

Ok – 3rd Degree sauce again which is nice but something you can get on your own

1/3

SIDES:

n/a

CLEAN UP:

n/a

WING NIGHT:

n/a

OTHER:

No place to sit – sub was blah

TOTAL:

Not worth getting the wings . . . or subs

5/13*





I just got a small order of the wings, 6 pieces in total just to wet my wing appetite. The wings were medium sized for a pizza place, and were simply deep fried. They were extremely fresh, as one of the drummette's still had a feather unplucked.


I watched as 'Joe' poured on the sauce, and I could see it was the same bottle of 3rd Degree as I had. He drenched the wings, giving enough sauce for at least another 6 wings. The sauce was, well the same as always, producing some heat that stayed for a little while. These were a little hard to eat with a) no table b) strong winds c) trying to balance food, wind and taking pictures.


FINAL SCORE: While "Joe" was friendly, I wasn't a fan of his subs or his wings. The sub was blah and the wings had no love in them. Maybe the pizza was different, but I doubt I will ever know. Also, eating on the bike trail near the river was nice, but trying to eat very wet wings without a table is just not right. 5/13*


Joe's Pizza & Subs
68 Wylie Ave, Ottawa
joespizzasubs.ca



PS: I did see the movie afterwards and I have to say that it was fun. Yes their were some problems: the script was not great, Karen Allen seemed to just be happy to be back because she would just stare goofily instead of acting and there are plot points where you ask 'are you seriously going there . . . oh you are'. However, the movie was full of nostalgia and the whole excitement of Indy was there. I had a lot of fun, but it wasn't the best in the series.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

ur an idoit

Lord of the Wing said...

I am . . . but I'm just curious why you think so?

Anonymous said...

listen i think your waisting your time with trying to bring down restaurants, maybe you should go into taking pictures intsead of eating so much, as well what grown man goes to the movies by himself, who would take advise from a dork like yourself, eating alone, then proclaim so much about the food. Lets be honest you probably devoured it in like 5 min because you obviously love food, see your problem was not that the food was bad that after eating such a large meal you were still hungry, don't take you insecurities out on innocent business owner and while your at it find a lady to take out to the movies maybe you will not be so angry with your food. Wow bud you have no life really im a chef and stubbled over your sight your making your self look like an ass if i were you i would find something more productive to do with your time hahahhahahahh

Lord of the Wing said...

Dear Anonymous,

1st - way to be brave and be a critic without identifying yourself. Its easy to take pot shots from the shadows. Oh, and I won't publish your homophobic comments either - I can take insults, but bigotry is not allowed on LOTW. Man up and contact me via e-mail.

2nd- not interested in bringing down restaurants. I'm out there trying to find good food. Unfortunately, I come across bad food and I comment on it. It happens, and I would hope that it was more constructive criticism than just attacking a place. I want places to do better, not just produce mediocre food. I don't hate Joe's, but I just wasn't impressed. I didn't even criticize it that much.

3rd- What grown man goes to the movies by himself? Are you serious? I see people at the movies by themselves all the time of all ages. I don't need my girlfriend or other friends to go with me to the movies, and they aren't always available or interested in the same movies.

4th-I highly doubt you are a chef, or that you just stumbled upon this entry. I don't understand your hostility either . . . I wasn't even THAT critical of this place. The 'harshest' critique I had was they were "Not worth getting the wings . . . or subs".

5th-If you have any real concerns, than contact me. Have a serious conversation.I've had restaurants contacted me for positive and negative reviews and asked for ideas on how to approve. But asinine rants and baseless comments suggest to me you are someone who is too immature to deal with the real world, and a little critique here and there.

And really, homophobic comments? What are you, 12? Or just a redneck?

RoJo's Gourmet Blog said...

Hey Anonymous,
What kind of a restaurant serves wings with feather bits still attached. I don't know a chef worth their salt that would do that. Do you like fish and chips with the scales and potato peels too?