Just before the pandemic hit back in 2020, an Indian catering business popped up on my radar through online food posts about a place that was doing up all sorts of wings, and they had crazy imported pops. For the Super Bowl I had seen them do up this huge assorted wing platter!
All Seasons Indian Catering sounded awesome, but the location was way down in the like, South-East part of the city, so I didn't have an opportunity to be in the neighbourhood. Then COVID and I stopped going out almost completely.
Then, it was a Wednesday in April of this year and the wife and I were looking for something different to try for an evening take-out. I don't know how All Seasons came up, but it did. I told my wife about the wings, and while she encouraged me to get them, I said I wanted to try their wing sampler platter but it wasn't available. So we decided to just get some Indian food. But when we tried to order, it turned out they closed at 6pm! So no deal.
One week later things were different. They were going to be celebrating their 7th Anniversary and they had a bunch of specials on. They even had the wing platter! We decided to go for it, and we ordered by their online order form.
BUTTER CHICKEN
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| image from Google Street View |
I've never been to All Seasons, but I have been to the industrial/commercial district complex that it is in before. You wouldn't expect an Indian restaurant, let alone a catering business down there, but there it is. It started out as a small business between two young sisters and has grown into quite the enterprise. Their food is Indian based, but they serve Tanzanian food, Western food, as well as a wide variety of soda pop not found in this province.
We decided to take advantage of the 7th Anniversary specials there were offering including biriyani, potato fritters, wings, some fancy pops, and jelebi's for desert. We started filling out the order form online (they have a great web-ordering site) but there was one thing we were confused at; what was Raha? One of the wing flavours could be Raha, so we called. A young woman answered the phone and was super friendly and answered our questions. We finished the online order. The downside was the wait: 70 mins. But it was crazy busy (they had encouraged pre-ordering on social media) and we do live 22kms away! But we did get free delivery due to the amount we purchased.
All Seasons has their own delivery, and on time the food showed up. It was exciting because there was so much. But after a moment, we realized that our desert, the jelebi, was missing. We called the restaurant and the same girl came on and apologized and said they would send it right away. We started to dish out the food and then we realized we also didn't have the drinks or the chutneys for dipping. Called back again and the girl said that a bag was missed (they had it all ready to go) and that the driver would be dropping it off shortly.
The driver got back to us our bag, and there was a nice little note on it! There was also some bonus deserts inside. Super service and that was awesome. I should also mention in terms of service, All Seasons is big on advertising vegan, gluten free, dairy free, and Halal options or any other dietary concerns you have. They really do seem to care about their customers.
We got two 'imported' Crush drinks that I can't usually get here in Ontario: Birch Beer and Pineapple. I always hear my East Coast peeps missing on the Pineapple, and it was like candy, well, pineapple. Sweet, soft (no bite like orange pop can have). I liked it.
I've had Birch Beer before at Rib Fests from Pappy's in the past and the best way to describe it as a smoother, more candied-sweet version of Root Beer. It's good and it goes down easily. Both were very tasty.
We had an order of Potato Fritters, which are sliced up potato 'coins' that are dipped in batter and deep fried. There isn't any special flavours here, but we did get two dips/chutneys that accompanied them. One was 'Spicy' but tasted like a minty-cilantro-esque raita and as a hater of cilantro, I did not enjoy. But we also chose Tamarind, which I love. Tamarind sauce is sweet and almost sour, and I'm used to it being thick but this was a very watered down version. Still good though. The fritters were crispy, and overflowing from the clamshell they came in.
As a main dish we got a large Beef Biriyani heat level Spicy and no cilantro. It came in a round tin container, and it didn't look like Biriyani I'm used to. My wife's background is Indian and they make a mean version. This was different? I don't know how to explain and while it was well made, it just wasn't the flavour we wanted. It also came with garlic naan which was good - thinner than most naan but a nice garlic buttery taste to it.
For desert, we got what I think is LJ and my favourite Indian desert jelebi. Never had it before you say? Well you are missing out. It's a tube that is spiral in shape, with a texture that is brittle, but kind of chewy. It sits and the tubes a filled with a sugar syrup, so as you bite into a collapsing tunnel, the syrup squirts out. You would think it taste like Orange Crush candy, but it's not a bold flavour at all. Just sweet with this awesome texture. These were so good yet so deadly!
As a way to say sorry for their mishap with the forgotten delivery, they included a bag of Cadbury Picnic Bites. This British? treat is essentially nuts and caramel and crispy cereal and raisins (but I didn't notice the raisins) covered in chocolate. Yum! We didn't eat these with the dinner as the jelebi was more than enough sweets but we did try them another night.
Of course for me I was mostly excited for the wings! The giant partitioned platter was just so exciting! I mean how often do you get a tray of 36 wings in 6 different flavours?!?!
The platter not only came with wings, but carrot and celery sticks, and ranch dip. The veggies were fresh and crisp. The big container of Ranch was possibly homemade? At least it didn't taste like the same kind of dressing you get at home. It was thick and creamy, but not a full ranch flavour either.
Now I didn't get a normal order of wings, so I don't know for sure how many are in a standard order (it doesn't say pound or by number) but based on their social media photos it looks like 10. I do believe they come with veggies and dip too. There is also a 6 wing and fries option too.
The wings are large in length, and very meaty! There were a few bordering on medium-large, but mostly a good size wings. All of the wings came deep fried, and while the dry-flavoured ones were crispy, by the time we got the sauced wings after such a long delivery travel, they were soggy and slightly cold.
Because of that, the wings were a bit dried out and some were tougher than others. Some the bones pulled away easy, others not so much. I'd bet my bottom dollar that if we ate these outside the business they would have had a much better texture.
The wings that were sauced were sauced really well; the dry wings well seasoned. Ever inch of the sauced wings had sauce and some had extra.
There are 6 flavours on All Seasons menu (well plain, but I don't think that counts) so for the assorted tray we got 6 of each: Spicy, Jerk, Tandoori, Butter Chicken, Salt & Pepper, and Raha. There were so many different smells and textures, I didn't know where to start!
One of my favourite Indian dishes is Butter Chicken, so this seemed like a no-brainer. A buttery curry covering bone-in chicken, but with crispy chicken, it sounded even better. It's rich and flavourful. The downside was again it wasn't that hot and it kind of congealed on us, but it was almost too much flavour. Served hot and fresh it would have been stellar, and if I was getting home delivery again, I'd get the sauce on the side.
SALT & PEPPER
This was straightforward and executed right: Crispy fried wings tossed in salt and pepper. It's salty, it's peppery. So simple but very good.
JERK
I didn't expect Jerk on an Indian menu, but there it is. Normally I don't get Jerk when I get wings at restaurants, but this was good. Clearly homemade, full of spices, ginger, garlic, chili - it's salty and peppery. It's almost has an Indian-Jerk fusion flavour to it.
TANDOORI
My favourite dish at Indian restaurants is Tandoori chicken and Tandoori wings is a no-brainer. However, part of what I love about tandoori chicken is the BBQ-like nature of chicken cooked in a tandoor or a grill. The flavour here is spot on Tandoori ( that dry chili spice flavour) but what is not right on is the texture. These are fried wings that are tossed in the tandoori paste: the flavour is right but that paste is too much. I think these wings would benefit from a little time on the grill (or into an oven) just to get the paste more baked into the wing.
SPICY
Spicy. They looked like classic bar wings - fried and tossed in a red hot sauce. They were so good. They had a nice heat (spiciest of all the wings). It tastes like a wings I've had, but kicked up with more spices and flavour. These were so good.
RAHA
What is Raha? I still don't know. Even after a little explanation I still don't know what it is. The sauce was a light brown? Almost like a cream. The dominant flavour was garlic for sure. There spice, salt, pepper. But it's a garlic flavoured wing for sure. I'm not sure I could do a whole order of these, but I loved having this unique flavour with my mix.
If I had to rank these wings, I would put them thusly:
- SPICY - classic hot wing flavour, but with more to it. And the spiciest of the bunch.
- SALT & PEPPER - simple seasoning but so good and crispy
- JERK/RAHA - Both had unique takes but also lots of flavours
- BUTTER CHICKEN/TANDOORI - Both had great flavour but didn't travel as well
FINAL SCORE:
All Seasons Indian Catering is awesome all around. The service was just so friendly and helpful. These people clearly care for their food and for their customers. Everything is well thought out and customizable. The wings were so unique, bold, and full of flavour. I really dug the Spicy, but the Raha and the Jerk were just so different. The Indian Butter Chicken & Tandoori were classic flavours. The wings were big, fried, and you can tell that there is a love for these wings that so many places don't give. The Indian specific dishes were not all to our flavour profile tastes, but they were generous. The fritters were crispy and the jelabi was decadent. Will definitely get the wings again but hopefully I can go in person in the near future. 10.5/14
All Seasons Indian Catering
2285 St Laurent Blvd - Building C Unit #11 - Ottawa, ON
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