MVP LOUNGE ~ Ottawa ON

= NOW CLOSED - RIP =

About two weeks ago now I was back in Ottawa having a bit of time off from work. I was up to spend some time with LJ, hoping to get some personal projects done, and to sample more Capital wings. I had a number of places I wanted to try, but time did not go the way I expected and most of what I wanted to get done for the whole week, did not happen (busy times, but it was good). 

Online I looked up a number of places I could go. The one place I did try was kind of by fluke. I was driving on Bank street after lunch time and there it was: a newish place with a relatively empty patio on a beautiful day, with one more thing that caught my eye:

1lb of wings for $5.50 - sounded good to me. But I was skeptical. The sports element of the MVP and the Lounge in the title conjured up images of tiny, crappy little wings. But I remember reading online some favourable reviews of their wings, and since it was right there, I stopped in.

There was a small group on the patio, but otherwise it was empty. I went inside just to let the staff know I was going to be on the patio. I didn't get a great look, but in the day it was dark and bar like. As I sat down I was served by Greg. At first he was very to the point, I think confused by my dining alone on a Wednesday afternoon, not drinking alcohol etc. But after a while he got a little more sociable.

 He was sitting with the group on the patio and I believe he might have been owner/manager because he was talking to them about instituting a new drink menu. Soon he was up and out with my jumbo plate with wings.

I ordered a pound of Hot, a pound of Cajun, with Suicide sauce on the side. Each pound didn't contain many wings (about 6-8) but they were large wings.

The order also came with some celery and carrots. No dip mind you - so what is the point? I ate them, but really there should have been some blue cheese or ranch.

The wings themselves were large. Yes, there was a generous dose of breading, but these were long, and meaty. The breading was very crispy and held up against the sauce it was tossed in. I asked Greg what the breading was. He said he had no idea, but asked the kitchen: just salt and pepper and flour. Not everyone likes breaded, but I'm down with it, and they did it well.

HOT

This was a pretty classic hot sauce - cayenne based. Probably Frank's.

Classic and tasty. There wasn't really any sauce on the plate as it had been absorbed into the wings, but it worked.

CAJUN RUB

The Cajun Rub is a seasoning put on after the wings are cooked, not actually rubbed in. I won't lie, it was a little disappointing.

The main reason was that it was so faint in flavour, I could barely taste it. What I could taste was good, and the chicken flavour really came out. But I would like more 'Cajun' experience.

SUICIDE

I got this on the side - just in case I didn't like it. But I didn't have to worry about that. It was good - very black peppery - and while it didn't burn my lips off, it certainly attacked with heart burn. I ended up pouring it on my Cajun wings, which made for a good combo.

FINAL SCORE:  I was expecting crappy little flappers and I got large breaded wings. The wings were not simply an after-thought on the menu. Good flavour, good crispiness, good patio. Well done MVP, well done. 8/10

MVP Lounge

683 Bank Street, Ottawa ON

themvplounge.com