BEST PIZZA VANIER - Ottawa ON

I'm fortunate to have access to a car and time to be able to go all over the city and sample wings. 

On this particular trip I was in the Vanier area running an errand and decided to get lunch. I did a quick google search and came across the name Best Pizza Vanier. That's a pretty bold claim, but it caught my eye. I also liked the clean nature of their website. It wasn't hard to win me over if a place has wings, clearly.

When I pulled up the place looked a little divey, but inside they clearly have renovated in recent times. There is enough seating for well over 20 people inside, and while it was covered in snow right now, they clearly have a big patio with more seating as well. There were a few patrons when I arrived inside, all seniors. The decor was mixed of specials and sports stuff.

I was happy online when I saw they have 2 wing days, Mondays and Thursdays you get 10 wings and a beer for $11, which is a great deal for beer drinkers. But when I got to the place, the posted signs say Wednesdays are 12 wings with a beer for $11.95. So Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Thursday deals!? I wondered if you could sub a pop, but the Pizza Dude wasn't super talkative so and I felt awkward so I did not ask a lot of questions.

I did ask about the sauces. I don't like it when I'm at an eatery and the server says what kind of wings I want, but the sauces aren't posted. Like, how am I supposed to know? This guy did this, so I asked what my options were - he listed a bunch off the top of his head, but it felt like there could have been more because he didn't seem so sure. I went with hot. I also got a Coke Zero to drink. I waited about 10 minutes for my order, grabbed that paper bag and headed to the car. I drove by the river and found a spot to park and enjoy my lunch.

I can tell you this; the smell coming from the bag was good. My low hopes were heightened slightly.

Correction: Wednesday wing special is actually 12 wings & beer for $11.95

Wings come in multiples of 12, so there were 12 wings in my order. These take-out wings came in a styrofoam container and a little food wrapping paper and no sides.

The wings were about a medium in length and height, but they were a pretty meaty wing. These wings are deep fried straight up, no breading, so when you see they are meaty, that's all meat.

The wings were both crispy/dried out skin, but other wings were pretty soggy. The meat itself was tender, but the wings did not pull apart easily at all.

The wings came well sauced; they were wet with a lots of sauce on the bottom. The sauce was super stainy - my fingers were very red-orange and one or two slipped right out and stained my shirt. Classy I know.

Shockingly, these wings were hot. Big bite to them. I couldn't get over it - I was not expecting that and I think I let me defences down because the heat just kept coming back at me. I think these wings were Frank's Xtra Hot, not regular Frank's Hot, because there was a serious sting that stayed with me well after I was done. It wasn't killer, but enough that I had a good buzz of pain and endorphins.

FINAL SCORE:

These were decent wings that had a big bite to them. Texture was all over the place, the size was decent for take-out wings, but the sauce, so very simple in flavour, had a heat that had me grabbing for my drink again and again. Wow. If I was in Vanier again, I would get these wings again, but I doubt I'd make a special trip for them. Never did find out if the pizza was any good though ... let alone Vanier's best. 8/14

Best Pizza Vanier
295 McArthur Ave, Ottawa ON
bestpizzavanier.com