O'GRADY'S OUTPOST ~ Ottawa ON

2015/2016/2017 Visits

Back in 2015 I read online about a pub in Ottawa South that had great wings. I went and took photos prepared to write a wing review. I did not actually write it. I didn't write wing reviews for 2 more years. But I still took photos, so this is an amalgam of those reviews.

O'Grady's Outpost, which has a great name by the way, is in a little strip mall on the corner. From the outside, other than the flags it flies (as a British/Irish pub), there's nothing that really catches the eye as an eatery.

Inside, it's like a lodge, or a trappers OUTPOST (I see what they did there). They've got a canoe, snow shoes and other lodgey kitsch. There's one big open dining room, and a smaller bar seating area. I've only been for lunches, but the place during the day is filled with seniors that are clearly locals that hang out at the bar, and mechanics from a nearby car dealership.

The waitresses I've had have always been friendly. They seem to know just about everyone by name and order. O'Grady's is also the only pub in the area so no doubt the same folks are going to keep coming back.

The menu is full of traditional pub food like fish and chips and Sheppard's pie. I've only been for the wings. The menu and the website underwent a re-modeling in 2017, but I was happy to see that the wings stayed the same.

An O'Grady's Pound of wings is about 7 wings. Whenever I've gone I've gotten 2 lbs, two different flavours each time. The following is a collection of those flavours.

The size of the wings are a medium all around. They aren't huge, but they are cooked well and always come out steaming hot. The skin is cracklingly crisp - and even better when you order the dry rub wings. Deep fried gold, but that doesn't hold up too well with the sauces.

HOT

Hot is simple cayenne based hot sauce. Probably Frank's, so it's good and you what you expect.

SWEET & HOT

I ordered this once by accident - I wasn't paying attention to what I was saying and ordered this because I wanted a saucy wing to pair with a dry rubbed wing. It is Honey Garlic & Hot Sauce mixed together, and let's just leave it at that I don't do Honey Garlic. You might, but I don't.

AFTERBURN

I was sold on this sauce by the waitress. It is their suicide sauce and it is a homemade sauce, but as the waitress pointed out, is different everytime depending on what cook is making it. Deep in the photos on their Facebook I found some of the ingredients that sometimes go into it:

• various peppers & chilis
• sriracha
• jerk sauce
• dry mustard
• hot mustard
• curry powder
• scotch bonnet sauce
• Worcestershire sauce
• chili garlic paste
• and more and more!

The sauce is a true suicide sauce with a good burn on the lips, but will get you in the back of the throat. It usually tastes of scotch bonnet peppers, which often make it a fruity flavour, and I'm not always crazy about that. But boy does it have a kick.

LEMON PEPPER

Some places are chintzy with seasoning and dry rubs. O'Grady's does not. The Lemon Pepper hits you with that citrus lemon salt and comes back with the black pepper. Zingy and refreshing!

SRIRACHA SPICE

One of my favourites - this is a dry Sriracha flavoured spice that is both salty and spicy - but not that spicy. It clings to the crispy skin but also has a nice flavour that isn't just a cayenne or paprika spice.

DUSTY CAJUN

These are probably one of the best Cajun wings around. Generous amounts of seasoning coat the crispy wing, and that salty, garlicky, pepper spice all melds to made for a great dry wing.

FINAL SCORE:

O'Grady's Outpost is off the beaten track in Ottawa, but it's worth the trek. With two 1/2 price wing nights that run all day, you can do a lot of sampling. While the sauces are good, I'm in love with the dry wings that not only preserve the super crispy skin, but bring their own flavours in a world full of sauces. 8/13

O'Grady's Outpost
25 Tapiola Cres, Ottawa ON
ogradysoutpost.ca