PATTY's PUB ~ Ottawa

Ottawa is not suffering from any lack of Irish pubs. Maybe its all the Irish immigrants that the goverenment brought in after the war of 1812 to bolster the population while also double the work crew who helped build the Rideau canal, I don't know. With all these pubs, you have to do something to set yourself apart: good atmosphere, good food, and good service. And in my case good wings. Patty's Pub in the Glebe area of Ottawa sounded like it might just be a really good pub.





When I first spotted the building, I thought it was going to be a tiny little establishment with a unique character. Inside, I was right and wrong. The building is split into two haves: a large dinging area, and a small dining area with the bar, fireplace and even a library.

I loved the stone walls, the old wooden support beams, the bluesy music being played. I was just happy to not have giant plasma screens and some sort of sports events going on. I snuggled into one of the front window banks, surprisingly unoccupied. But then again, it was a late lunch.

Above me was an interesting wooden carving of the olden days, the view was Bank street, and I had enough light for taking photos without flash (if I had ventured farther inside, this wouldn't have been the case). And even though I had my privacy, my server Corri was always there when I needed her.

I ordered the wings (of course) but I was feeling the need form something else. The menu had fries or onion rings and mentioned something of a bag. I asked Corri what the deal was, and she explained it was a pretty good serving. No, I meant, it comes in a bag? Yup, paper bag. Interesting. I was torn between fries (which, like a chip truck would be good in a bag) and the rings (gotta love onion rings). But Corri said the rings rocked, and I really do love onion rings.

The entire order was at my table in less than 10 minutes. The rings came in a bag, in a great big mug. I could see the bag starting to go see-through from the ring grease, which is awesome. They were hot, crispy, and right out of the deep fryer.

The rings were traditional battered style. I prefer battered to breaded so it was all good. They were tasty on their own, but they tasted even better with the suicide sauce and sour cream as a dip. Oh, and of course, I got the wings.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Patty’s Pub ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	Breaded, deep fried
PRICE:	$9.99 for 1lb (approx 10 wings)
SAUCES:	Mild/Medium/Hot Suicide Honey Garlic Cajun Rub Hot Honey	1/1
HEAT:	Hot: not very, bit of a tingle Suicide: nice bite, lip stinger
SIZE:	Medium-large	1.5/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	Moist but not much hot sauce on them – the extra suicide was good for dipping	1.5/3
CRISPINESS:	Moist but still crispy	1.5/3
FLAVOUR:	Good – nothing original but it was prepared well.	2/3
SIDES:	Carrots and sour cream	2/3
CLEAN UP:	Napkins (even fancy ones, I just didn’t use), wetnaps and a wing plate	3/3
WING NIGHT:	3! Mon after 9pm, Tues/Wed after 5pm, $4 something (forgot!)	1/1
OTHER:	$3 Pepsi – I didn’t need a refill, but for that much I hope you get one!
TOTAL:	Good wings but nothing new here.	13.5/20

The chicken was on a traditional wooden basket with black/brown parchment paper, and a side of carrot sticks, with the Ottawa staple of sour cream (although it was a nice, creamy sc). What is it with Ottawa and sour cream???

There were about 10 medium sized wings, that were breaded/dusted before deep frying. It's hard to classify, but I lean towards breading as there were 'flakes'/crumbs after everything was eaten (and those wing-leav'ins are good in their own right). The meat was hot and almost fall-off-the-bone.

They weren't very saucy wings, but the breading had absorbed what sauce was put on. This lead to a more moist wing than crispy, but there was still a crunch when biting. It had a nice cayenne-based sauce flavour that was a reasonable heat but I could have desired much hotter.



The suicide sauce looked like a boiling pot of angry heat. The spices used to kick up the hot sauce, were caked onto the edges, while the chili pepper flakes were floating in this thick concoction. What shocked me was that the sauce was physically cold - which puts me off while eating a warm temperature wing. But it had a nice bite and flavour to boot.

FINAL SCORE: I really like the atmosphere of Patty's. Laid back, dark and good service. Very 'hearth-like', if that means anything to you. The food was also good, with hot crunchy rings and tasty, if not done-before wings. 13.5/20

Patty's Pub
1194 Bank Street, Ottawa (the Glebe).