KINGSTON BREWING CO. ~ Kingston, On

On business in Kingston Ontario, I tagged along with LJ to this historically significant city. I didn't have much time to tour, but enough to drive past Fort Henry, visit Sir John A MacDonald's grave, and drive through Queen's university. I also had time to check out a pub to see what Kingston could offer in the way of wings.



I hadn't been to Kingston since I was a kid, so I wasn't super familiar with the place or its eateries. I asked chowhounders about where they suggested, and while not a lot of people responded, the onese that did suggested the Kingston Brewing Company. Fortunately, LJ's business was about a block away, so I convinced her to go and check the place out.

This pub has a great colonial feel to it. Outside was a really cool delivery truck painted up. There was also a patio out front, and I later found out, another courtyard patio inside. The street its on isn't very spectacular, plus there was construction, so sitting inside was a must.

Inside, the atmosphere was very much British pub. Lots of wood, dart boards and old style wooden barrels adorn the walls. The place filled up quickly with a mix of people from old men, families and the university crowd. Our waitress 'Tia' was friendly and a great server.

LJ decided to try the "Torpedo Steak Sandwich", a hoagie with chopped steak, cheese, grilled onions and served with "Ghetto" sauce; a bbq style sauce that is really hard to describe. LJ wasn't a fan of the sauce, but I'll talk more about it because that's what the wings are served in. The meat was tender and came with a giant side of freshcut fries.

I went with the wings, which only came in one size and one flavour.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Kingston Brewing Co. ~ Kingston, On

STYLE:	grilled
PRICE:	$10.25 for 10
SAUCES:	“Dragon wings” with “ghetto” bbq sauce	0/1
HEAT:	No heat
SIZE:	Small to medium	1.5/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	Saucy for sure – sticky too	2/3
CRISPINESS:	Grilling gave a different texture – not so crispy	1/3
FLAVOUR:	Very interesting bbq-style sauce – good, but not my favourite	2/3
SIDES:	fries	1/3
CLEAN UP:	Wetnaps and napkins	2/3
WING NIGHT:	none	0/1
OTHER:	Patio, courtyard, trivial pursuit at table, in house beer, home brewed pop, cool delivery truck
TOTAL:	Different style of wings –good, but I wouldn’t order them again	9.5/20

The wings came out and immediately I knew they were going to be different. The 'Dragon Wings' are charbroiled, then tossed in the Ghetto sauce. The wings weren't all that big - some small, some medium. They were slightly charred, which gives the wings a rustic, camp-like feel to them. They weren't particularily crunchy, but they were grilled well.

The Ghetto sauce was quie unique. Although the closest definition I can give to it is BBQ sauce, it is a sweet yet dark sauce. It reminded me of the Manhatten Capone wings at Allen's. They were good, but I couldn't eat a lot of these wings.

FINAL SCORE: The wing itself was good, and if your going to grill, they did a good job. There was no heat to them, but the ghetto sauce just didn't inspire me. I do think these wings would be popular for those who normally don't like wings because there is no heat, appealing more to the honey-garlic crowd than the hot wing crowd. Great pub overall though. 9.5/20

The Kingston Brewing Company
34 Clarence Street, Kingston, On
613-542-4978

Click HERE at the WING BUCKET
for more reviews on the sides, desserts
and drinks at KBC