#tbt & #lostreview - DERRINGERS EATERY & SALOON 2014 Ottawa ON

 = DERRINGER's SALOON is NOW CLOSED - RIP =

It's time for another #tbt & #lostreview!

This week we are looking back to November 5th, 2014 and another review that didn't get posted. Why? Who knows.

Photo from Google Street View from 2014

Derringers was one of the first places I reviewed wings at in Ottawa, way back in 2006. My review was a bit harsh, but I didn't end up going back for almost 10 years. But I decided I would, and I noticed some changes when I did.

The actual physical restaurant seemed the same; cowboy/saloon themed bar and grill. Cow skulls, wood everywhere. Nothing inside looked any different really. I was there by myself and it was a very quiet Wednesday, just some old timers who were clearly regulars at the bar day drinking.

 I don't remember why I was dining by myself on this occasion, but I know I went because it was wing night, or I thought it was. Turns out wing night didn't start until 5pm, and I was there too early to get the deal. I was not happy about that. It would have been $0.75 a wing.

One change that I noticed was the menu. The ownership must have changed in the years since I went there, because the menu was very different. A lot of the Tex-Mex items were gone, and in it's place was Middle Eastern cuisine: shawarma, baba ghanoush, shish kebabs.

 But now they also had a lot more sauces on the menu too! I asked my very friendly waitress Kim about the sauces, like what was the difference between Hot and Suicide? She told me they were different sauces and recommended I get one on the side, so that's what I went with.

I was ready for a feast! My wings came, with a side of Onion Rings, and a bowl of Suicide sauce. I also had a Diet Coke, but it came without syrup, just carbonated water. I told Kim who told me they may have cans in the back, but I just went with a regular Coke, which was better, but still not great.

The rings were my favourite; battered (not breaded), crispy but light. Really good.  This was a great side. 

Wings come by the pound (or just 1lb orders) which came out to be about 9 wings. There were no sides of veggies or dip.

The wings weren't long (a medium in length, but they were big and meaty! The wings came with a nice flour dusting on it, and they were deep fried just right, which meant a nice crispy skin that went well with the sauce.  Had a nice little crunch when you bit into it. The meat was tender and the bones pulled away easily.

The wings were all sauced really well. Each wing was coated and wet, and there was ample sauce on the plate to mop up with. 

I got Hot as the base sauce. Hot was kind of a spicy bbq; a little bit sweet, a sticky sweet. It wasn't a strong flavour of either. It was nice but I was expecting something a little more zingy.

My side of Suicide was a nice bowlful, enough for more than another order of wings! It cost $0.75 extra so I was glad there was a lot, but I've certainly gotten less before for that price!

Suicide was really good. Really peppery suicide sauce. Slow burn that builds a bit, but not that hot. Clearly not just a commercial sauce and if I was doing the order over again, I would have gone all in on suicide.

I was really impressed how much better the wings were. Bigger, meatier, sauced really well with a great suicide and a great crispy skin. My onion rings were good, I just wish I had some blue cheese dip and a better pop. Kim was a great server, and I was all set to return on another Wednesday night for wing night. But by 2016 Derringer's went out of business after 30 years. It became Pizza & Kebab, which closed shortly after that, and has been Habesha, an Ethiopian restaurant ever since. 

Derringers Eatery & Saloon (now closed)
99 Montreal Road, Ottawa ON