SAMMY's REC ROOM ~ Brantford ON

MARCH 2013

Back in March I rented a car and went to go visit my grandmothers in South Western Ontario. On this snowy winter day I stopped into Brantford Ontario for lunch and stopped at a place I had been told had great food and huge portions.

Brantford has a strong industrial history and Sammy's is located in a working class neighborhood from the mid-20th century.

I walked in and there were definitely a lot of locals who were repeat customers. It was a jovial atmosphere and quite busy at 11am. The place itself was a mishmash of decorations. I thought it was a bit odd with the movie posters and sports memorabilia. Then it hit me, this was Sammy's Rec Room. Like my own basement growing up as a teenager, this was all about putting up my favourite things and being a place where I could have fun and be comfortable.

I didn't catch her name, but my waitress was very attentive and helpful. She was not chipper nor was she fake, but she worked hard and made me feel looked after. I saw her and the other servers bringing out huge plates of food, and looking at the menu, the prices were more than reasonable. No, the food was cheap, and not in a way that compromised quality.

I ordered wings, and got a side of onion rings (which came at a discount price).

The onion rings are battered and deep fried. They were crispy and tasted just as they should.

On the side of the wings came veggies and blue cheese dip. This was a thick blue cheese dressing and went well with the crispy fresh veggies.

The wings come in orders of a pound, which for Sammy's is about 8 wings.

The wings are dusted, then deep fried and tossed in sauce. The wings were wet, but not floating in sauce.

The chicken was a mediun in length but very meaty. The skin started out crispy, but the wing sauce quickly reduced that structure.

There were a lot of sauces to choose from, but after quizzing my server, found out that many of the heats were just Frank's Hot Sauces. I wanted something that was a little more unique so I went with their Buffalo Cajun.

The sauce was very good. It was rich and buttery, but the one note of the Frank's was raised by the Cajun seasoning. This was a sauce I wanted to keep eating, and would dip my onion rings into. 

FINAL SCORE:  Sammy's serves some great wings. They were meaty, tender and the sauce was full of flavour on many levels. The wings lost their crispiness fairly quick, but the flavour never left. The onion rings were also good, and I would come back for sure.  7/10

SAMMY's REC ROOM
10 Mt Pleasant Street,  Brantford ON
sammys.ca

PS: had a great time with my Grandmothers, I wish I could see them more.