LUCKY's SPORTS BAR & TENNESSEE's BANK ST GRUB HUT - Ottawa ON

#lotwsummercatchup - this review is from back in September. I'm catching up, slowly, but I'm getting there.

Here's the scene. It's lunch, I want wings, and I had passed on Bank Street a newish sports pub called Lucky's. This place used to be a Fat Albert's (an Ottawa based Sub and Pub chain) but clearly had done a change. What had originally struck me was the message board on the sign that had advertised a wing night on Mondays, but this was Wednesday, but as I pulled in, I saw the sign just said 1lb for $8.99. So who knew?

Like many of the eateries I visit, it`s in a strip-mall . I was kind of confused because there seemed to be two restaurants - Lucky`s Sports Bar and Tennessee`s Bank St Grub Hut. But they seem to split but I think they share the same kitchen.

Inside the place was a bit dark and my first thought was dive bar, but it`s not a dank, dingy place after all. There`s a variety of seating (bars, booths, tables) and even 2 patio areas outside. The walls are covered in flat screens and sports memorabilia.  I went right at opening, so there was only one other person patronizing the place, and he was just drinking at the bar I believe.

The bartender/waitress was Jenny and she was pretty awesome. Friendly, attentive and just cool. She took my drink order (they serve Pepsi products). She didn't bring a menu, but then she warned me: 'Just to let you know, the cook is late today ... so I can do wings or fries, onion rings I can do, but sandwiches, burgers etc I can't do.' Well that worked out, I was there for the wings! She asked if I wanted a pound, I said yes. She asked how I wanted them done, and since I didn't have a menu I had to ask. She listed off mild, medium, hot, sweet chili, BBQ, honey garlic, and hot and honey. So I went with hot.

Now the above photo is from Tennessee's take-out menu, and the price of the wings is the same, but the flavour choices are not. I'm not sure if that's because it's changed, because she remembered the sauces wrong or what, but I've listed both just in case. This is what happens when I don't have an actual menu, and Lucky's doesn't have a website or a menu on their Facebook.

She brought my drink and the clean up supplies (bone plate, wetnap, good quality napkins), and I commented on her being abandoned by her cook. She mentioned they were new and there was some mix up. She was clearly frustrated by the situation but was diplomatic. She said she could at least do the fried stuff, but she wasn't a cook. I wasn't going to hold it against her no matter what. After a little bit I could hear her take the wings out of the fryer, she brought them out, and they looked really good.

The wings come in either 1lb or 2lb orders, with about 8-9 wings in a Lucky's pound. The wings were pretty evenly split between flats and drums.

The order came with carrot sticks and sour cream dip. The carrot sticks tasted super off, and I should have said something but I didn't. The sour cream tasted a little extra sour, but I don't really care for sour cream as a dip anyway. If I had known I would have asked for something else.

The size of the wings were about a medium (maybe a few on the smaller side of medium), and the meatiness factor was about the same.

The wings are fried naked, so no dusting or breading, and they were fried just right. The skin was nice and crispy and were tender (even though I think they come from frozen). Just great texture. Jenny was nervous about them (as she isn't a cook) but I told her they were great.

They were also sauced really well. The wings were wet, and there was extra sauce at the bottom. They smelled like Buffalo wings, but I confirmed that it was just Frank's, but they just tasted really good.

I was very satisfied with this meal. When it was time to pay the bill, Jenny brought it out to me. The wings are $14 (which is crazy to me considering they are pretty simple. Good, but simple). I asked if there was a wing night, and she told me on Mondays it was $8.99. Then she peeked out the window staring off. Then she said sorry and she went outside. She came back in, went to the cash register and brought me a new bill. She said the board outside on one side says that wing night is Monday, but not on the other, it just lists the $8.99 price, so she only charged me the $8.99 price. She said she`s told 'them' they need to change it, and I joked that she seems to be doing everything around there. I gave her a good tip because I appreciate that gesture. Topped with the upfront notice and the all around good service.

FINAL SCORE:

I really enjoyed my wings and my experience at Lucky's thanks to Jenny. The wings are reasonably sized, but fried right and sauced well. Just really good hot wings. The sides were off. I'd definitely go back, but it seems like Monday's are the only reasonably priced time to go. 10/15

Lucky's Sports Bar
1571 Bank Street, Ottawa ON
facebook.com/Barluckys