#tbt & #lostreview - GALLERIA SUPERMARKET York Mills 2014 TORONTO ON

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

It's 2014. It was April and a Friday. I lived in downtown Toronto, and Korean fried chicken was just starting to be a fad in the food world. I had tried a couple of places downtown but I had the best was up in York Mills. 

With access to a car (rental? Zipcar? don't remember) I headed up to Galleria Market Place. I had never really been to York Mills, but Galleria was pretty easy to find. That was the last east part of the trip.

Galleria is a small chain of Korean/Asian supermarket. It's big, clean, and very bright. I wandered around just checking the place out. I eventually found the hot food stand where a small army of workers were making all sorts of fresh Korean food. I was a bit lost as almost everything was in Korean, so I wasn't sure how or where to order KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).

Galleria had branded their poultry as Mom's Chicken. I did find an ad for the reason I was there: $8.99 for Mom's Chicken Wings (normally $9.98) on Fridays. That's what I wanted! And it was Friday! 

I eventually watched others order and I followed suit. I put my order in and just like I had been warned, it took a long time for my order to get made. 30 minutes at least was the standard wait time, It was crazy busy, even though it was mid afternoon and it seemed like everyone was getting chicken.

When my order was I grabbed a seat at the counter and took in my wings. There are a few flavoured options to choose from: Seasoned (dry spice), Mild, Spicy, or Half & Half (Half sauced have Seasoned). It comes in a rotisserie chicken style container. I went with Spicy.

It came with a side of pickled radish. If you haven't had it before, it's cubed up radish that is mostly sweet with a vinegary-tang. It's great cooling agent when eating spicy food.

If you aren't familiar with KFC (Korean not Kentucky), it's chicken that is breaded and double fried. When done right it's juicy inside with a major crunch on the outside. It's usually served either dry like regular fried chicken, or mixed in sauce. I went with Spicy clearly.

The wings were medium in length but were pretty meaty. As they are very breaded, the size of the wings was larger. They were also VERY crispy/crunchy.

The chicken itself was very tender. The bones just pulled off the meat with no effort.

The wings were saucy AF. I mean you need a ton of napkins to eat these there's so much sauce. Every inch was covered in the sticky, thick sauce.

Spicy is made with Gochujang Korean pepper paste, which is spicy, but this sauce has a lot of sweetness too. It's not that spicy in my opinion, and the sweetness was stronger than the heat. 

The sauce is so sticky, you are going to make a mess, guaranteed!

This was a food experience. An adventure to get there, get my food, and eat. The chicken was super crunchy, the wings coated in sticky-sweet-spicy sauce, and the meat was tender as can be. I would have liked it spicier, but this was such a good meal. Unfortunately I never got back there to have it again. Mom knows what she is doing!

Mom's Chicken @ Galleria Supermarket

865 York Mills Road, Toronto ON (and other locations)

galleriasm.com (find the menu HERE)

#tbt & #lostreview = MORTY's PUB 2014 Waterloo ON

 It's time for another #throwbackthursday & #lostreview

The year was 2014 and it was a time that I just didn't get any posting done for the blog. Found in my stash of lost files was a folder I had labeled "Waterloo". In that folder were two folders, Wilf's, and Morty's. When I looked into the folders, the Wilf's folder had a photo of a steak sandwich and wings in a hotel room. This was not from Wilf's. When I looked in the Morty's folder, it was a mix of photos; some from Wilf's and some from Morty's. Turns out, no wing photos from Wilf's (just the menu and some restaurant shots), but there were pics from Morty's.

I was in Waterloo in May of 2014 for what I think was a conference for work. I don't remember going to Morty's on this occasion, but I had been years before when my bud Jason used to go to uni at Laurier and we went. Morty's was famous for being a student hang out and for their jumbo meaty wings. 

I was there on Wednesday May 14th, and unfortunately Morty's wing nights were Tuesdays and Thursdays. I still got wings, which were $10.99 for 1lb, which came out to about 7 wings. My server was Sam F and he was excellent. No I don't have an amazing memory, I just have the receipt still and actually took some notes! I had a Mountain Dew to drink, which was $2.99. 

The wings didn't come with veggies and dip, but for $1.59 I got some. Fresh carrots and celery, and the dip was a creamy dill dip: It was thick and clearly mayo based as it had the strong taste and texture of mayo with dill. The dip wasn't cold so I wasn't gaga over it.

I ordered their "Buttery Hot" with a side of suicide. It was served on the smallest plate, which seems a bit odd, but it was a glorious sight.

The wings at Morty's were HUGE. Jumbo chicken wings that were so big and meaty, that each one was heavy to lift! Just massive. They were also breaded which made them crunchy. They were cooked just right as the meat was tender; jumbo wings I find are often over or under cooked, but Mort knew what he was doing!

The wings were extremely well sauced! Every inch of the wings were sopping wet and coated in their Butter Hot sauce. It was a very thick, creamy sauce. Basically a Buffalo-type sauce made with butter and hot sauce. It was rich and delicious.

I got a side of their "Killer Suicide", which seemed a bit unnecessary considering how wet the wings came to start. This suicide was more vinegary, like Frank's Red Hot with some spices and cayenne powdered on top. Visually it was a great presentation, and it was a good sauce, but it wasn't killer or suicide to me. 

I don't think I've been back since then (don't get to Waterloo very often at all), but the whole experience on this visit was awesome. Great service, jumbo crispy wet wings, and Mountain Dew. At the time I highly recommended Morty's Pub!

Morty's Pub
272 King Street North, Waterloo ON
mortys.com

GRAB n' EAT by H&B - Ottawa ON

This is a #2020catchup & #tbt post!

It was last October, and at work I have 30 minutes for lunch. I usually bring a lunch, but on this day I was going to try and support a local joint during the pandemic. I had recently seen a new place pop up in a spot I've seen a dozen restaurant/pizza places in before, and when I checked the menu, they had wings! Grab 'n Eat it was going to be.

I tried to order online but it didn't seem to work, so I gave a call before my lunch break was on. The dude on the phone was super friendly and answered all my questions about wings, and the fries I also got. The place is like not even 5 minutes a drive, so I was there in no time.

Grab n' Eat is in a building that has a Middle Eastern grocery store, another South Asian/Middle Eastern grocery store, and some apartments over top. It sits on top of a hill on Carling ave and is not easy to get to if you are coming west bound. The parking is limited, but I was able to get a spot and waited a few minutes due to social distancing.

I went in and the second thing I noticed was the place (like most right now) was all cleared of seating and social distancing measures were in full place. Staff wore masks, people were respectful. It was good. The first thing I noticed was that this wasn't the burger/wing/pizza place I thought it was; it was also a little Filipino food oasis.

I didn't know it was Filipino at first (I don't know Filipino cuisine at all), but I did see a hot buffet full of fresh made food. Meats, veggies, pastries, desserts, it all smelled so good! Everyone that came in were ordering from the tray where an "Lola" grandmother was dishing up. When the dude from the phone was processing my pick-up order, I asked what the food was and he told me. There was nothing on their menu about this food!*

*note - their website now reflects this, but it didn't back in October 

The dude from the phone was super friendly and I could see him and others working hard and rushing around to fill orders. My total wait time from my call to picking it up was about 15 minutes. My food was bagged up and off to my car I went to eat.

I pulled out a bunch of good quality napkins, then the next thing was the Flavoured Fries I ordered. I was impressed because they punched holes in the top to let steam escape and stop the fries from getting soggy.

Here was my lunch in all it's glory. Buffalo wings and Flavoured Fries. 

What are flavoured fries? Well they take french fries and toss them in different seasonings. They have Cheese, BBQ, Sweet Corn and Sour Cream and Onion. When on the phone, I had asked the Grab n' Eat dude what he recommended. He said they were all good, but for my first time try the Sour Cream and Onion.

I got the Medium ($5) but there is no small, but this was more than enough for one person. It was a ton of fries. They were crispy but a bit soft, and while they were probably from frozen, were cooked nicely. They were super coated in the Sour Cream and Onion seasoning. I could smell them in the bag well before I opened my whole order. The seasoning was just like chip or popcorn seasoning - creamy, slightly oniony. They were really good! That boded well for the wings.

The wings come in numbered bunches: 6, 12, 24, or 48. The wings don't come with any sides or dips, but the sauce came on the side. I went with 10 wings and I got 10 wings. 

The wings hovered between a medium and a large. They weren't long, but the apex of the wing was quite tall. The wings were fairly meaty for their size. They were deep fried and were super crispy. That perfect level of frying when the skin is brittle and cracks when you bite into it. Awesome. 

The chicken was tender enough and pulled apart without struggle. The wings were most likely from frozen but it didn't taste that way.

They have two sauces at Grab n' Eat, BBQ and Buffalo. I went with Buffalo, and when I ordered it on the phone, the dude asked if I wanted it sauced and baked in the oven, or just naked, but he recommended sauce on the side to preserve the crispiness of the wings; that's someone who cares about their wings! When I picked up the wings, he told me he gave me a second sauce in case one wasn't enough! 

The two sauces tasted slightly differently, despite being the same I'm sure. One tasted like classic cayenne hot sauce like Frank's, but the other one was slightly sweet. It wasn't Buffalo sauce though, just hot sauce, but it was good. I'm curious what the BBQ is like.

FINAL SCORE:

I really like Grab 'n Eat. The staff were all friendly and it's clear they care about their food and their business. The Sour Cream & Onion Flavoured Fries were crispy, fully flavoured, and plentiful. The wings were a good size and were super crispy. Also, I don't know anything about Filipino food, but theirs looks and smells good. Check them out!  9/14

Grab n' Eat by H&B

2916 Carling Ave, Ottawa ON

grabneatbyhb.ca

WINGS & WINGS Scarborough 2014 - LOST REVIEW

-WINGS & WINGS closed/re-branded as WOW WING HOUSE -

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

It was April of 2014. Somehow I had access to a car and I was looking to explore Scarborough a bit more. I had looked up wing places on the Internet, and came across a take-out wing joint called Wings & Wings. Well that sounded good. They didn't have a website but I did find a menu and noticed they had a ton of wing flavours. I was excited to go.

It's sad to say, but Wings & Wings is no more - sometime between 2016 and 2018 it closed down, and then became part of the chain WOW Wing House. I should also mention I have no notes from this trip. I remember going, but I can't remember the details.

Wings & Wings is situated in a strip mall that's about 5 minutes South of the Scarborough Town Centre mall. There's a Dominio's, a hair salon, travel centre, and a whole bunch of other businesses, and then I think apartments above.

The place was empty when I went, which was great for me doing a review. I don't know if I was there early, at lunch, after lunch, but I had the place to myself. It's mostly take-out, but there are a few tables as well as window counter seating. 

The place itself was facinating. It had dark wood accents on everything from the menu boards to the counters. You can see in the above photo the decorative elements under the counters. There was shelves all over (I don't know why), with nic-naks and chicken decorations. It was kinda weird, but it was all good.

Taken from https://www.yellowpages.ca/bus/Ontario/Scarborough/Wings-Wings/5225141.html

I didn't take any photos of the menu, but I did find the menu above from the Yellowpages. There are a over 40 flavours and some of them I had no idea what they were. You can only ask so much to explain the heat differences, or what are Terydactyl flavoured wings?!?!?!

I got two orders of wings, which equaled about 20 wings. I had to get two because like many specialty wing places, they don't let you split the flavours. I don't know why, but I don't like that. Oh Well.

I got the wings for dining in, and they came in wicker baskets with classic food paper. They didn't come with any sides, but I did get wetnaps and napkins. There was also a bone bucket on the table so that was pretty cool.

The wings were in the smaller end of the spectrum. Maybe in the medium range? They were also not big meaty wings. 

They were crispy (they came out fresh from the fryers), and boy were they saucy. There was not a wing that wasn't wet and with extra sauce for dipping. That's the way I like it!

One order of wings I am not quite sure what flavour I got. Probably Hot, just to see what there's was. But maybe I went with New Yorker (I'm guessing a more Buffalo-like flavour) or Devil? Maybe Double Face? I'm not too sure.

Either way it was crispy and very saucy, so I imagine they were pretty good. They look good don't they?

The other flavour I got MUST have been Spicy Dill. First, I love that flavour combo of hot sauce and dill sauce. Second, it's the only one the menu I can see that has a red sauce base with a cream sauce cover. So Spicy Dill. Just call me Sherlock.

Again, I can't remember the flavour, but look at how well sauced they are? I'm drooling here just thinking about them!

I'm pretty sure I enjoyed these wings, but alas, never had them again. I didn't go to Scarborough often, so if I did again, I wanted to try somewhere new. I'm curious how much things have changed since they became WOW ...

Wings & Wings (Now Closed)
1187 Brimley Road, Toronto ON (Scarborough)

no website