THE ARROW & THE LOON PUB ~ Ottawa

oThe long weekend was on!!! I spent most of the day hanging out around Stephen Harper's and Michaëlle Jean's place, exploring what I was and wasn't supposed to see. None of us got to hang out, but it was a busy weekend for them both I'm sure. After hiking all around the Sussex Ave area all afternoon, I wanted to grab a good wing dinner. I hoped on a few buses, and found myself down in the Glebe at a little pub known as The Arrow & The Loon.

Down on 5th Avenue ( yes, 5th Avenue, OTTAWA), the A&L is situated in a weird building/mall that has a sealed in courtyard on the inside. All around are trendy eateries and shopping, but a good pub is always appreciated. I sat on the outside patio (there was one on the inside, but a) didn't see it until I left, and b) I think it was 'closed'. It was warm out, but a nice breeze made sitting outside worth it.

My waitress was very friendly and we joked about not being at a cottage for the last weekend for the summer. The lunch crowd had been pretty busy she said, sweeping up the patio, and she hoped for a quiet evening. I ordered my wings with suicide on the side, and it wasn't long before my food was before me.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: The Arrow and The Loon ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	breaded, deep fried
PRICE:	$9.95 for 1lb (approx 10 wings)
SAUCES:	Mild Medium Hot Suicide Honey garlic Cajun dusted	1/1
HEAT:	Hot: not really Suicide: 3rd Degree, but it had a strong kick
SIZE:	Medium to large, relatively meaty but dry	1.5/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	Dry/moist with the suicide on the side	1.5/3
CRISPINESS:	Crispy	2/3
FLAVOUR:	OK – hot was not bad, suicide was 3rd Degree, but had a good kick	/3
SIDES:	none	0/3
CLEAN UP:	Wetnaps and napkins	2/3
WING NIGHT:	$0.35 Tuesday nights after 5pm	1/1
OTHER:	patio
TOTAL:	OK wings – dry inside, good suicide	9/20

The wings came out and I tore into them. They had a crispy crunch, with the sauce soaked into the breaded skins. They were somewhat meaty, but the chicken was dry inside. The size were pretty much a medium from end to end, and in the middle the breading made up for the rest.

The hot sauce was pretty standard Frank's or some pepper style sauce. There wasn't any real sauce on the plate to get a clear sampling, as it had soaked into the skin. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't bad tasting.




I got suicide sauce on the side, and my good old friend 3rd Degree showed up. But it seemed to be kicked up a notch because my mouth was feeling the burn. This prompted me to pour the sauce all over the rest of the wings, because, well to be honest, their 'hot' was pretty meak.



THE SCORE: These were ok wings. Nothing too original, nothing really kicking up the taste buds. The chicken was a little dry and the sauces were basically bottled. The service was good and the location was primo, but the wings left nothing impressionable to me. 9/20

The Arrow & The Loon
99 5th Avenue, Ottawa
(website is no longer active)