MR GREEN JEANS ~ Toronto ON

RIP - MR GREEN JEANS is NOW CLOSED

At the end of summer I was involved in a two week intensive training for our new and returning employees. To celebrate the end of training, we went out for a staff supper. My boss was looking for someplace that would accommodate our very large group while not being too expensive (normally we cater in house, but this year the dining staff had their own training going on). The decision was made: Mr Green Jeans at the Eaton Centre.

Aside from the name of a TV show character, I don't know what the history or reasoning for the name of this place. I just know as long as I've been going to the Eaton Centre, it was there. In fact, when I turned 19 I purchased my first alcoholic beverage there (I may or may not have had the wings). In recent years they have renovated and the place has a splashier outside.

Inside . . . inside looked like the last time I was there 4 or 5 years ago. The inside is bright due to a two story window wall. The revamp that has gone on for the outside and the menu seems to indicate a direction to go from family restaurant in the urban mall to a big-box-like chain but not a chain, restaurant.

I didn't catch the name of our waitress, but considering our large group, she did great with our orders and bringing refills on drinks (she did have some helper staff as well). She also brought out spinach dips for all the tables, served with bread and tortilla chips. It was a good dip and devoured quickly by the ravenous crowd.

Co-workers nearby got a range of dishes. On one side Naeem got the Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken ($20). On my other side Nishant got the classic Fish and Chips ($15). Both enjoyed their meals. Me? Well, I went for wings of course.

When I was at Mr Green Jeans in the past, I had the wings, and were not very impressed. But its been a while, so I decided to give them another shot.

It was a big platter, but then for $12 and 7 wings, it better be.

The wings came with a side of veggies, 'Buffalo Chips', and dip. The dip was good, but I couldn't figure out what was in it. It was green and unique. I asked the waitress, and she said in an obvious manner that it was blue cheese. Oh. But its green? Green Blue Cheese at Mr Green Jeans I guess! As for 'Buffalo Chips' these are basically in house made potato chips. Plain, and several overcooked, but most tasted good with the dip.

I gotta say, these were big wings. Jumbo. Good length, super meaty . . . but still very tender. Sometimes jumbo wings can be tough, but these were nice and soft. On the other hand, despite being floured, these were not crispy wings. Skin and dusting were soggy by the time I got my wings.

HOT

I went with an order of wings Hot. This was a misnomer. There was no mild on the menu, just Medium and Hot. So really these were a Medium and I can only imagine that the Medium is Mild.

Hot, or 'hot' was still a good sauce. A little salty, a little sweet, a little cayenne peppery. The wings were coated well in the slightly thick sauce.

BBQ

I also got a side of BBQ. This container was not only good for the wings, but also the Buffalo Chips.

I took the least Hot covered wings and dipped them into the sauce (so as not to contaminate the BBQ flavour). The sauce was a generic sauce, not really smokey, mostly sweet. It was good, but Hot was the way to go.

Oh, there was also a mutant wing. So really 6 wings and this mutant wing, which was like a drummy that was crushed up. Still meaty, still had flavour, just a weird wing.


FINAL SCORE: Well after several years it was good to see Mr Green Jeans revamped their wings. These were huge wings, tender and saucy. Crispy, not so much, and that hurt. Flavour was good but they could still do some revamping. If I was going back would I get the wings again? Probably. But there was definitely room for improvement. 6/10

Mr Green Jeans
220 Yonge Street, Toronto ON (The Eaton's Centre, 2nd floor)
mrgreenjeans.ca