Return to PJ Quigley's

It's been too long, but finally got back to PJ's for some late night food. If you remember, I went here a few months ago, and had some excellent wings. I didn't have the wings this time (although I was very tempted) but sampled 4 different appetizers instead:

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3) 4)

1. Grilled BBQ Steak Flatbread: soft, doughy flatbread with tender steak, cheese, onion and bbq sauce, the whole thing melts in the mouth.
   
   
2. Quigley's Famous Baby Backs: tender, tender fall-off-the-bone ribs, with an extra side of their 20+ ingredient homemade bbq sauce. Sweet and rich!
   
   
3. Loaded Potato Skins: Very crispy (right out of the deep fryer?!), with bacon, onion and cheese and a very creamy, smooth sour cream for topping. I haven't had skins in a while and they hit the spot.
   
   
4. Tower of Rings: Giant tower of massive onion rings! Beer battered (not breaded thankfully) rings that are thick cut and crunchy. The garlic aioli dip is excellent and their smokey bbq sauce also makes a great dip.

The food really hit the spot. My favourites were the onion rings - and these were done just right. I ate them on their own, but I loved the dipping sauces, they complimented each other well. Service was great. But next time, I have to go back to the wings again!

Thanks to Linda Price for the hospitality, it's much appretiated!

PJ Quigley's

Deep Fried Turkey Wing - Recipe

Yes, that's the question today - Turkey Wings vs Chicken Wings - who ya got? I keep seeing turkey wings at the grocery store and thinking, couldn't you turn that into a Buffalo style wing? I consulted chowhound.com and started a thread for some tips, some insight, and some courage, I was off to see if this giant poultry piece could be the ultimate wing.

I went out and got turkey wings and chicken wings and decided to do a battle of the wings to see which was best. Actually, I was scared to try the turkey wing, thinking it just might not taste right. So I made sure I had a bunch of chicken fryers just in case. AND I was going to Buffalo style them, but I changed my mind and went for a flour dusted wing with an attempted killer suicide sauce.

So, who ya got????

I went to 3 grocery stores looking for turkey wings specifically. Funny, I see them when I'm not looking for them, but when I want one, no where in sight. I had to ask the meat department lady and she said they only had 4 packages left. Well I only needed one, and it had drumsticks that I didn't really need (I'll bake those another day).

Here is the turkey wing being rinsed: massive. The giant blue veins were a little off putting I have to admit.

Dusted in flour. It took 3, 10 lb bags of flour to coat just one. Ok I'm lying. Or am I?

My attempt at a 'killer-suicide' sauce. Frank's, margarine, red chili pepper, sirachi sauce, cayenne pepper, vinegar and love. Or hate? It's hard to tell when your talking about a KILLER-SUICIDE sauce.

Deep frying the turkey wings. Turkey wings that fit in the deep fryer at a time: 2.
Chicken wings: 6.


"Todao" on the thread mentioned: "You might also want to tie them prior to frying - turkey wings tend to have a mind of their own when dropped in a fryer" I had no idea what he was talking about, until I checked back in on the wings, they were swimming around the basket all on their own. Crazy!

The finished deep fried product. Crispy for sure. I was nervous and excited.

Size comparison. 'Wimpy wimpy wimpy . . . hefty, hefty, hefty"

Look at that - 1 pile of chicken wings = 1 turkey wing. Ok I know what your thinking: "we get it, the turkey wings are big". Well, ok then, as long as you get it.

So, the turkey wings smelled like chicken wings, they looked like chicken wings, but man, they were not chicken wings. The skin was nice and crispy, salty, tasty and the sauce on them was good. But, what I feared the most - the meat itself just didn't taste right.

Not that there was anything wrong with them, but have you ever taken a drink of something, like Coke, and it turns out it's Diet Coke, and it just isn't right? You expect one thing and get another. That's what happened. I don't want to say it was 'gamey' but, the flavour was, well, not chicken. I know that sounds stupid, but I just didn't enjoy it.

My chicken wings were far superior all around. The 'killer-suicide' was not killer. It was good, a thicker Buffalo-inspired sauce, but my mouth was not in pain after eating it - despite all the attempts to kick it up a notch or several notches.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENTLY? Not using turkey wings again. The skin was good, the sauce was good, the look was good. The meat was not. They just aren't for me I guess. But I'm glad I settled that question.

As for the 'killer-suicide' not living up to it's heat potential, I'm floored. It's been suggested I've burned away all my pain receptors in my mouth . . . well, it is possible I guess. I'd hate to think so though.

Click HERE to go to the Wing Bucket for more photos!

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).

Kernals Wild Buffalo Wing Popcorn

Walking through malls in Ontario there are three stores that I can always smell walking down the halls: Cinnabon (with its devilish cinnamon rolls), Lush (with its heavily scented soaps and such), and Kernals and its popcornery goodness. Two of these places make my mouth water, the other makes me want to break out in hives (and I'm not allergic to anything). Kernals is a Canadian chain of popcorn stands with many different flavours to choose from.

"Essentially, the magic of the Kernels system is that each and every store (or cart) is a micro-manufacturing facility, producing fresh popcorn, and popcorn related products (Brittles, Paws, Awesome Blossoms, etc. etc. etc ...).Aside from the growing number of in-line and kiosk outlets operating in major retail malls, Kernels has developed the Kernels Extraordinary Popcorn Cart." Kernal's Website

Last week LJ brought me through the mall to show and get me something special: Wild Buffalo Wing flavour at Kernals. Awesome. Is there anything that can't be made into a wing flavour?

There are lots of different sizes of bag, from a small individual to these huge long bags that are like 4 feet tall. We were just going to sample some of the Buffalo, so we went for a medium. But, its 50% off a second bag, so we also got some Cheesy Dill to sample as well.

2008 CHIP SCORE 1.0: Kernals Wild Buffalo Wings Popcorn

STYLE:	Seasoned popcorn
PRICE:	Approx $3 for a small bag (but 50% off of a 2nd bag)
HEAT:	Dry, chili heat. No bite, but can tingle the throat.
SIZE:	Popcorn size
CRISPINESS:	Good crunch
FLAVOUR:	Mexican/Cajun/mesquite like flavour. In a blind taste test I wouldn’t guess buffalo.
VERDICT:	Not bad, but I would stick to the Cheesy Dill.

The dry seasoning on the popcorn was to be a 'Wild' Buffalo Wing. The flavour was sort of a mix of a Mexican/Cajun/Mesquite. It was smokey, with a dry heat that attacked more of the throat that the tongue and the lips.

I enjoyed the taste of the seasoning. But it didn't really taste like Buffalo chicken wings. If I was taking a blind taste test, I would never guess Buffalo wings.

We also got Cheesy Dill. Also part of Kernal's 'Maxiumum' flavours, this was a tasty concept. The two flavours are definitely 'balanced' - I wouldn't describe them as maximum.

FINAL VERDICT: Wild Buffalo Wing flavoured popcorn was a salty, spicy popcorn but didn't really taste like what it was supposed to be. The Cheesy Dill was cheesy, and dilly. But all of it is relatively weak on flavour, but keeps fresh for a long time. Crazy.

Kernals Popcorn (various locations)
kernalspopcorn.com

GREEK TO GO ~ Ottawa

When you're relatively new to a city, how do you pick new restaurants to try? You can open up a phone book and look for 'Chinese Restaurant' and you get a dozen places that all have the same name, serve pretty much the same dishes and charge relatively the same prices. Or you can rely on friends and co-workers, but you may not have the same tastes.

Now in the 21st century we have the internet and many peoples reviews (hey hey, look, that's what this blog is doing!!!), but on sites like Restaurantica.com, yelp.ca, or restaurantthing.com everyone gives their opinion, and I find half the people like and the other half dislike the place that it almost voids the whole process. So unpredictable. So what do you do? Well, since I'm on the search for the Holy Grail of Wings, I've got to experiment and try any place. I've got to take chances and just pick and place and go.



So, the search for good wings brought us into a search for good Greek food hopefully form Greek To Go (GTG). Actually, wings were an afterthought when I saw it on their menu. The plan was just to get their Souvlaki Platters for 2 (which is $18.99 if you do pick up).

GTG was not as close as I originally thought, in an area I'm not familiar with, and it isn't well marked. In fact, its part of another restaurant called Christopher's. At night, the sign is not really lit up (for Christopher's, as the bulbs are almost burnt out) but the GTG sign is just a banner really. GTG is mainly just a counter at the front of the restaurant. The rest is Christopher's, which is clearly a tavern. It was after 9pm, all the lights were off, aside from the GTG counter, and a bar at the back with 6-8 guys, all sitting at the bar. I saw 2 young guys who had just finished their wings, and their bones looked like the wings could be decent, even if the tavern from the 1970's didn't.

Drove home and opened up the platter first: chicken souvlaki, roasted Greek potato, rice pilaf, Greek salad, 1 pita break and tzatziki sauce. Well, that's what your supposed to get. The 'potatoes' were two slices of potato. There was only 1 skewer of chicken (but it was plump chicken). The pita bread was really 1/4 of a pita bread, and the tzatziki was the smallest possible container (about a spoonful) - good thing we ordered an extra.

The chicken was meaty and plump. But, there was no flavour to it. No spice, no zest, no flavour what so ever. So was the tzatziki. So was the rice.

The salad was definitely a step up. It was bountiful with its bell peppers, tomato, olives, feta dressing and one of my favourites, peperoncini peppers (they were huge).

The pita quarter was toasted (ie hard). It was not helpful in making a wrap, or mopping up the dressing or tzatziki. I tried to eat half but it was just too much like cardboard. Well, the main dinner wasn't pleasing the palate, but maybe the after-thought chicken wings would fare better.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Greek To Go ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	Breaded, deep fried
PRICE:	$7.10 for 1lb (appox 9 wings) $0.40 @ Christopher’s
SAUCES:	Mild/Medium/Hot Suicide Honey Garlic	0/1
HEAT:	Meh, there was a tingle
SIZE:	Small to medium	1/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	Not saucy, more of a moist wing	1/3
CRISPINESS:	Chewy – not quite mushy but not quite crisp	1.5/3
FLAVOUR:	Ok – nothing special	1.5/3
SIDES:		n/a
CLEAN UP:		n/a
WING NIGHT:		n/a
OTHER:	Greek food was mediocre – attached to the restaurant Christophers, which is an interesting tavern
TOTAL:	Not the best, but it is a Greek take-out place. But the Greek wasn’t that great either.	5/13*

The chicken was breaded, than deep fried. The sauce was suicide, but the wings were not wet. If there was a sauce, it was absorbed into the breading of the wing. Having travelled for at least 10 minutes (and it sat at least 10 minutes at GTG as well), the wings were not crisp. The skin was a bit chewy, but I can't slight them for that - fresh wings out of the frier is always better than ones delivered or picked up. It was a meaty wing, but they were not very big at all. One-bite chicken.




I ordered a suicide sauce. There was a very mild tingle. I would really put it into a medium-hot sauce, but more medium. The flavour was pretty straightforward hot sauce. With a slight vinegary smell.

FINAL SCORE: The Greek food was just not worth ordering again. I don't think I would dine at the tavern. The wings were ok, but there are better take-out wings out there. The best bet is dine in at Christopher's, but like I said, I don't think that is happening any time soon. You win some, you lose some. 5/13*

(please note, this is not my photo, it comes from here. I couldn't get a photo in the dark of the place. Can you see the GTG sign? Me either.)

Greek To Go/ Christopher's
680 Brookfield Road (and other location) Ottawa,

greektogo.net

GTG Menu HERE