Le PUB CHELSEA ~ Chelsea QC

 My buddy Jason was visiting Ottawa and we made a day of exploration and history in Gatineau Park in Quebec. We were at the grave of Prime Minister Lester B Pearson, did some very light hiking in the woods, visited Prime Minister Mackenzie King's estate, took in some pioneer cemeteries . . . you know, a pretty usual sight seeing trip.

After lots of trekking around, we made our way to Chelsea, a small town just north of Ottawa that is probably most famous for its Nordik Spa. We passed by Le Pub Chelsea, which was pretty busy for a weekday afternoon. We needed a bite to eat and it was a beautiful day out, so we stopped in and grabbed a seat on the patio.

Jason got a traditional poutine; fries, cheese curds, gravy. And it tasted exactly how you want a poutine experience to be: salty, crispy, squeeky.

For my snack, I went with the chicken wings, obviously.

I had read reviews that had said the Chelsea had good wings. I read over the menu and was impressed with the sauces. One thing did catch my eye and gave me a moment to pause. The menu said that 6 wings were $12.45. My first thought was that was a crazy price for 6 wings and I don't feel right paying that much for 6 wings. But I have been to several wing places and when they say 6 at say that price, they mean whole wings (drummette, wingette and tip). Well I was wrong.

 It was just the individual pieces. I couldn't believe it. I mean the wings looked really good, but I can't fathom what justified that price point. The wings were large, and medium in meatiness. They were not fried, and I believe they were baked. This meant that the meat was tender, but the skin was soft and not crispy.

HOT

 I went with Hot as the base flavour to try. The sauce was a peppery, savory hot sauce. I really liked the flavour because it wasn't just the usual bottled hot sauce. There was a bit of a bite, but a depth of flavour. I enjoyed every bite.

SUICIDE

On the side I got their suicide. It was a bit hotter than the hot, but not by much. But it was also sweeter, like honey, than the hot. I liked it but wouldn't describe it as suicide. It also marred the wing flavour by being served cold (as in fridge cold not room temperature), and that took away from the wing experience.


FINAL SCORE

I really enjoyed the flavour of the hot wings. They were almost decadent, and made me envious of each bite after they were gone. Texture wise I think deep frying would give that crispy texture that the skin needs. Suicide was ok but was cold. I'd love to try their Chelsea Guinness. But without a wing night, these wings are egregiously expensive. They were good, but not $2 a wing good. Otherwise, the service was friendly, the place has a cool vibe, and I'd go back to Le Pub Chelsea in the future.

I want to give a higher score because the flavour was good, but wing science is wing science.

8/13

Le Pub Chelsea
238 Old Chelsea Road, Chelsea Quebec
chelseapub.ca



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