Return to PUB 101 - Ottawa ON

So it's April and mother nature wasn't done with winter. She decided to throw one last winter party before the start of spring and we had a major ice storm on a Sunday. Monday morning we lost power in our apartment, so when it came time for lunch, I HAD to go out to get something. 

I checked my handy dandy spreadsheet of wing nights in Ottawa I've created, and I saw Pub 101 has AYCE wings on Monday. Boom, decision made. I reviewed the wings at Pub 101 in April of 2009  and I really enjoyed them. I actually went to re-review them when I came back to Ottawa, but didn't get it done so I did a mini-review in my 2016 recap.

The place hasn't changed much inside - its a clean pub that's very bright with lots of windows. It was pretty dead inside - there was a kid and his dad on vacation in Ottawa, two senior couples (who seemed to be enjoying a noonday drink), and me.

Pub 101 is part of a trend of restaurants doing a set price menu's for all their food. The price just went up from $5.01 to $6.21, which is fine considering you get a good size portion. It's a phenomenal deal on meals. And in this economy, a great price for an order or wings.

I was here for AYCE wings, but there was no sign of this deal - like no chalk board or signs (just what I had seen on their website). I ordered wings with my waitress, but she didn't say anything about the AYCE deal and she seemed like the type that wouldn't forget. So one of two things was happening: A) They've cancelled the AYCE special (but they still had it in January) or B) It's only a night time deal. I should have asked the waitress to confirm but I felt awkward.

Wings only come in single orders, with about 6-7 wings in an order for $6.21. That's if you buy a drink, if you don't, it's $7.21. But you can get any drink, like pop. Each order of wings come with celery and carrot sticks, which were firm and fresh. No dip though, although I'm sure you could get some on the side for $1.

The wings themselves are not huge - they are about a medium in length and relatively medium in meatiness, but there was some variations in size for sure. The chicken had very tender meat, and the skin was crispy from frying. Overall a well cooked piece of chicken. It also tasted smoked; maybe it was the BBQ in both of my orders, but it added a nice depth of flavour. As for sauce, the wings were nice and sauce, but there wasn't much leftover in the basket for extra slopping.

I went with 2 orders of wings, BBQ and Mango Chipotle, but I did get a side of Suicide for $1 for dipping.

BBQ

This was a good BBQ sauce - not too sweet, not too savoury, but a bit smokey. Just a well rounded BBQ sauce that was pretty good. It was gooey and sticky and I like that. They were overshadowed by the Mango Chipotle though ...

MANGO CHIPOTLE

This was a really unique wing. The waitress made it sound like a dry rub wing, but it was like a chipotle bbq sauced wing with a dusted mango? Or maybe it was the other way around. I got a mild fruit flavour but I wouldn't be able to identify the fruit as mango though. It was a bit smokey, sweet, and actually pretty salty (my guess from the dusting). It was really good. I would get these wings again for sure.

SUICIDE

This was a unique, homemade sauce I think. It had a nice bite, very vinegary. Maybe scotch bonnets? I don't know. I asked the waitress what was in it but she said the kitchen wouldn't tell her. I liked it, but I wouldn't want a whole order of the wings in this sauce - its a good accent sauce.

FINAL SCORE:  Good wings. I liked them. Crispy skin, tender meat, not that big, but they have some solid sauces that aren't your typical commercial sauces from the Pub. I'm not sure what the deal with the AYCE is these days*, but overall solid wings. 9/15



*EDIT - Pub 101 has informed me that AYCE wings on Monday IS after 5pm.

Pub 101
101 York Street, Byward Market, Ottawa ON
pub101.com