DRUMS N FLATS ~ Toronto ON

Hey all - still catching up, but at this point, its 2013 wing catch up!

Back in January, I got back to Toronto. I had a rental car and decided I was trying some wings (first wings of 2013!) outside the downtown core. I had heard in blogTO about Drums N Flats, and decided to check it out for myself.

Occupying a corner on Avenue road, I drove right on by without seeing the place. I don't know how. I was pretty excited - its not everyday that a new wing joint opens up, but could you imagine if one did, like everyday?  I digress . . .

This was a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty quiet inside: basically a bunch of young guys watching 'the game' and later a family came in. Drums N Flats (DNF as I'm going to call them) is kinda sports bar, kinda club bar (see the disco ball?) and kinda pub. It worked in my opinion in terms of atmosphere.

Heck, they even have lava lamps. Honestly, lava lamps. I love lava lamps.

My server was Jeff (hey I'm Jeff too). He was friendly and was willing to talk about wings. More on that to come.

I was torn on what I was going to go with wing wise. I mean I would have been happy just trying their regular hot wings, but they have Double Dipped wings, where they deep fry the wings, when they are almost finished they sauce them, then grill, then add another sauce - all of which is pre-selected in 3 choices. So I went with the double dipped. Then I got a regular order later.

On my second order, Jeff brought them out and said he gave me fries on the house. That's pretty awesome. The fries were fresh cut and fried and were pretty close to chip wagon chips. They were slightly limp, but still a bit of snap to them too.

All of the wings come with celery and carrot sticks, and their Ranch Dill Sauce. It's a tasty ranch sauce with a nice hint of dill. You can upgrade for $1 to their Stilton Blue Cheese, but I was happy with dill.

A single order of wings which is a pound, equals about 8 or 9 wings at DNF.

 One order came in a taller metal basket while the one with fries came in a metal tray. Both come with veggies and dip.

There was one downside to my wings. They were small. They were meaty, and they were perfectly cooked, but they were small. The skin was crispy, the meat was tender and easily pulled from the bone. The chicken was fresh. This was all great. But they were small.

I was mentioning this to someone the other day and they suggested that perhaps to have perfectly cooked wings, they must be smaller, and that the jumbo wings lend themselves to being over/under cooked. This is a very interesting theory that I want to work on. I'd still like at least a medium sized wing though.

Double Dipple: RAJUN CAJUN BBQ & BUFFALO HOT

I decided to go with their house tecnique for my wings. I wasn't sure I could eat 2 orders of wings, so lets go with what they specialize in, right?

So my wings were deep fried, then tossed in their Rajun Cajun BBQ sauce. Then they grilled that, and then finished off with Buffalo Hot.

What came out was a wing that had so many flavour levels, my mouth was feeling like there was a party going on and everyone was invited. One moment, it had what I felt was an almost Mexican flavour, to the rich buttery cayenne sauce. Then you'd get a little smoke of the grill. So good!

 HOT HEAT (BUFFALO)

After eating the double dipped wings, I found that I was still a bit hungry, and my mouth was definitely ready for new wings.  There were lots of sauces to try, but I wanted to focus on the basics.

DNF had a well done Buffalo sauce. A little bit hot, a little tart, and very buttery. I could gobble up a ton of these.

INSANE HEAT & ISLAND HOT HOT HOT

I was also curious about their hottest sauces. I got talking to Jeff, and asked for the side of Insane. He recommended the Island sauce, which he brought out for my second round of wings. Both are very hot and are really above the suicide. Its a vinegary sauce, with a strong red chili based flavour (similar to PAIN sauce) and slightly garlicky I think. The difference between the two sauces is a secret heat ingredient added to the Insane. There is still flavour and it is not just plain.

 FINAL SCORE:  Drums N Flats is a great wing place. You can tell they care about their chicken. The wings were just perfectly cooked - crispy, tender and just fresh wings. The sauces taste great and their double dipping add a plethora of flavour sensations. If only they had bigger wings and a wing night and this place would be a big number score. Thumbs up for DNF. Now, if only they could get closer to downtown.
6.5/10

Drums N Flats
1980 Avenue Road, Toronto ON
drumsnflats.com