Monday 22 December 2008

SWISS CHALET ~ Ottawa ON

If there is a Canadian-born restaurant tradition here in the great white North, it has to be Swiss Chalet. It is an institution of rotisserie chicken. I still have the jingle from the 80's in my head
"Always so good for so little". But here's the kicker - my family never ate at Swiss Chalet.

Never. Ever. It was one of those places where I would hear other kids talk about their experiences, and the 'chalet sauce' was soo good. Then I went to one and I finally understood my parents: what was the big deal? The chicken is pretty plain, and the 'sauce' is just a gravy that I wasn't all that keen on. After that, the mystery of Swiss Chalet was over and I really didn't go back.



But about two years ago at a family gathering my cousin-in-law Nikki became interested in my chicken wing work and was like, "you have to have their wings." I took it with a great deal of scepticism. Swiss Chalet makes great wings? Hmmmmmmm, its possible.



Niki is a lot of fun. But don't mess with Nikki


Then a year ago, at another family gathering, she asked if I had gone again. I had not. I had to try it she said. Well, another year went by. Two weeks before our next family gathering, I was like, I better get down there before I get in trouble for a third year in a row.

Of course, I picked the holiday season to go, and the place was packed. I got there just before they opened. There was a line-up to go inside. And more people waiting in their cars for the doors to open. Once I was in, in about 15 minutes, there wasn't a seat available. And everyone was ordering the 'Festive Special' - a quarter chicken dinner with cranberry, stuffing, side (potato product) & five Lindor chocolates.



First off, I ordered a Mountain Dew. Not many establishments here in Ontario have MD on tap, and it makes me think of being a kid when MD barely existed in Ontario, and trips to the USA where I could get the green drink pretty easily. And free refills to boot!



I wanted something fresh and green, and the Greek salad spoke to me off the menu. The salad came dressing on the side with lots of lettuce, but a little skimpy on the feta cheese.



I enjoyed the salad, but it didn't take long for my main course to arrive. So . . . would they live up to Nikki's hype?




2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Swiss Chalet ~ Ottawa

STYLE:

dusted (Garlic Mesquite coated), deep fried

PRICE:

$9.49 for 8 wings

SAUCES:

§ mild

§ medium

§ hot

0/1

HEAT:

a little bite in there

SIZE:

large to jumbo – very meaty but not mutant meaty like some places jumbo wings.

3/3

WETNAP FACTOR:

just enough sauce on them to be called wet

1.5/3

CRISPINESS:

nice crunch biting into the wings

2.5/3

FLAVOUR:

cayenne pepper sauce is tasty but not unique

2/3

SIDES:

veggies and a lot of blue cheese

2/3

CLEAN UP:

napkins, bone plate and finger bowl (oooh fancy)

3/3

WING NIGHT:

none

0/1

OTHER:

free refills on pop (ya Mountain Dew)

TOTAL:

surprisingly good wings

14/20





My first thought: whoa, these are big wings. I couldn't believe that they were a jumbo wing.


The wings are dusted in their 'garlic mesquite' coating, which gives them an extra crunch. I couldn't get a great sense of the garlic or mesquite, but that's mainly because the wings are sauced well. But the chicken was not only jumbo, but meaty.



I got hot for my sauce (as hot is the highest they go). It was pretty mild, but it was a tasty cayenne based hot sauce. It's clearly for a generic audience because no one would be in pain. But I did like the sauce.



It also came with a giant side of blue cheese dressing. It was VERY creamy, and I think it was more mayo than blue cheese. The celery and carrot sticks were thick cut and made for easy dippin. Also a classy touch, a finger bowl and the end of the meal to rinse of my chicken wings off my hands.



FINAL SCORE: Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Jumbo wings. Nikki, you were right, they were more than worth checking out. 14/20



Swiss Chalet
2930 Carling Avenue, Ottawa (and other locations)
swisschalet.com

1 comment:

Cynthia said...

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