FARMTEAM COOKHOUSE & BAR ~ Ottawa ON

-- FarmTeam Cookhouse is NOW CLOSED --

JULY 2012

It was July and still in Ottawa for a visit. It's a Monday, it's lunch time, and I was thinking of going to MVP for lunch since they had good wings and Monday wing special. I checked them out online, but the website didn't load. I kept searching and to my surprise, MVP was out, and a new place, FarmTeam Cookhouse had taken over. Turns out, they had a Monday wing special too. So I figured I'd check them out.

My first thought with the new place looked like a BBQ joint with the wood finishings, but the theme is more Farm (like in the title). Local and fresh is what they are about - wanting a family restaurant feel during the day and pub/drinking hole at night.

The lunch crowd was pretty quiet. I had some senior citizens next to me, some working joes out front on the patio - so it was a happy mix this day. My waitress was ok - she was friendly, but I was not a priority and rarely checked in on.

There were some nice touches to the place - water in a mason jar, Coke in a glass bottle. Rustic but charming.

It took a while, but eventually I did get my wings. 2 orders, thank you wing day.

They call them Rooster wings, but I think they are just being folksy. There were about 8 wings in an order with lots of sauces to choose from. Actually, the wings looked a lot like MVP's wings, so that started off as a  good sign.

I was surprised to get the baby carrots with my wings - when I think local, I don't think baby carrots. The lettuce leaf was pretty, but I didn't eat it. And sour cream. Oh Ottawa, what is it with you and sour cream with wings?

This is one of the few places that says 'jumbo' wings and actually means it. Really meaty wings. Long wings. Then the wings are breaded - you get this crispy breaded wing that is just massive. And the meat was tender. The wings were also wet with sauce (especially the BBQ, which was gloopey and the right level of wetness for this kind of BBQ sauced wing.

HOT

Hot was a standard cayenne hot sauce. Not really hot, but tasty. The buttery sauce eventually turned the breading to a bit of a mush though by the end.

SMOKED BBQ

Oh, I liked these. The sauce is smokey, mostly savoury but a nice level of sweetness. It's thick and gooey. But somehow these wings stayed crispy.

SUICIDE

On the side, this sauce had some kick. It was peppery. It was ok, but not a sauce I utilized much on my plate.

FINAL SCORE: I liked the concept and the decor of the place. The service was . . . not great. But the wings were good. Jumbo, crispy with some tasty sauces. I liked the glass bottle Coke (but I'm cheap and would prefer refillible fountain pop for $3.50). It took a while for me to get my bill and to pay and leave, but when I left, I was very very full and wing satisfied. 8/10

FarmTeam Cookhouse & Bar
683 Bank Street, Ottawa ON
farmteamcookhouse.ca