RIP - Wedge's Plus is NOW CLOSE
First Wings of 2010!!!
(Sorry to spoil the ending, but we all knew where this was headed.)
At the North end of the Byward Market, past most of the hustle and bustle, is a little take-out food joint. I had been here last year to do a review, but as luck would have it, it was the night my camera died, and I don't do reviews without a camera because:
a) you can judge the wings for yourself, not just my word alone
b) reading a blog isn't as fun as looking at a blog
c) if you don't have a photo, it didn't happen
So it was cool January evening, LJ was out with friends, and I was on the prowl for wings. Remembering I had never done a proper write up, I decided to head back to Wedge's Plus. The place was deserted except for a guy waiting for take-out. It was empty the time I had been there before. Mind you, it was early in the evening (5 or 6pm) and I'm willing that they get wicked busy once the bars let their patrons out.
The atmosphere is, well, interesting. Yellows and red and white is the main colour scheme. The place hasn't been remodeled for years. It's more of a take-out joint than a dine in eatery, but there are some tables and chairs. There is a giant gumball machine, and a TV stacked on top of another TV, which seems to be always tuned into CBC.
On the walls are some caricature sketches with slogans or info about the restaurant and the family owners. The one above from their website proclaiming that "All Chicken Caught Fresh". I hope that's still true today.
The specialty of the place is, can you guess it? Potato wedges. But they serve fried chicken, fish, pizza, Italian, Mediterranean, burgers etc etc. The boards are a little faded, but there are take-out menus to read from when you order.
I had missed both breakfast and lunch and was quite famished. I ordered up a big wing combo that came with fries, onion rings or wedges. Well, I had to have their wedges, it's their specialty right?
The wedges are cut thick, are crispy, deep fried and tossed in their 'special' seasoning. And they give you a lot (at least when dining in). The seasoning is pretty mild - no real flavour other than the potato shining through. Ketchup became my friend while eating these.
The outside was nice and crispy, while the inside was soft. Not pillow-y soft, but soft.
And of course, I got wings. And a lot of them at that.
There were 24 wings on plate, with the tips still attached to the wingettes. Not a lot of places do that, but I appreciate a little extra skin and meat and sauce with the wing. Sure its more work to eat, but hey, I'm not here to NOT get my fill.
While you can get the wings honey garlic (but why would you?) for the most part, we are dealing with a Buffalo-style chicken wing. Chicken is deep fried, then tossed in cayenne based hot sauce.
The wings are not big, even with tips on the wingette. Not particularly meaty either. I mean they aren't a pigeon wing, but I can't in good conscience call them medium.
As stated before, the wings are Buffalo style. The wings are tossed in Buffalo sauce, and it's a pretty tasty sauce. It's not just Frank's or some other bottle sauce - you can tell because the sauce is thicker than most sauces. When I was there last year, the woman that was at the counter told me that there were many ingredients in it - while there isn't much flavour difference from other hot sauces, I did like it. I wish the wings were very wet.
FINAL SCORE: The wings are small, but they are crispy, and the hot sauce is pretty good. I think I liked them for their Buffalo style, but I don't think they would be every body's cup of tea. Bigger, meatier wings, but the sauce and the crispness was just right. The potato wedges were decent, but I think I would go for rings instead. 5.5/10
Wedges Plus
The wedges are cut thick, are crispy, deep fried and tossed in their 'special' seasoning. And they give you a lot (at least when dining in). The seasoning is pretty mild - no real flavour other than the potato shining through. Ketchup became my friend while eating these.
The outside was nice and crispy, while the inside was soft. Not pillow-y soft, but soft.
And of course, I got wings. And a lot of them at that.
There were 24 wings on plate, with the tips still attached to the wingettes. Not a lot of places do that, but I appreciate a little extra skin and meat and sauce with the wing. Sure its more work to eat, but hey, I'm not here to NOT get my fill.
While you can get the wings honey garlic (but why would you?) for the most part, we are dealing with a Buffalo-style chicken wing. Chicken is deep fried, then tossed in cayenne based hot sauce.
The wings are not big, even with tips on the wingette. Not particularly meaty either. I mean they aren't a pigeon wing, but I can't in good conscience call them medium.
As stated before, the wings are Buffalo style. The wings are tossed in Buffalo sauce, and it's a pretty tasty sauce. It's not just Frank's or some other bottle sauce - you can tell because the sauce is thicker than most sauces. When I was there last year, the woman that was at the counter told me that there were many ingredients in it - while there isn't much flavour difference from other hot sauces, I did like it. I wish the wings were very wet.
FINAL SCORE: The wings are small, but they are crispy, and the hot sauce is pretty good. I think I liked them for their Buffalo style, but I don't think they would be every body's cup of tea. Bigger, meatier wings, but the sauce and the crispness was just right. The potato wedges were decent, but I think I would go for rings instead. 5.5/10
Wedges Plus
205 Dalhousie Street, Ottawa, ON
2 comments:
"c) if you don't have a photo, it didn't happen"
That's what I told those detectives that showed up unexpectedly the other day.
Chris - oh you joke maker!
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