ALL SEASONS INDIAN CATERING - Ottawa ON

 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.

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!

BUTTER CHICKEN

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:

1. SPICY - classic hot wing flavour, but with more to it. And the spiciest of the bunch.
2. SALT & PEPPER - simple seasoning but so good and crispy
3. JERK/RAHA - Both had unique takes but also lots of flavours
4. 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

indiancatering.ca

RENEGADE CHICKEN - Ottawa On (Hunt Club)

Over the last year, two particular food trends have become apparent in these parts: chicken joints and ghost kitchens. I don't know if their proliferation is due to COVID or was going to happen anyway, but on the take-out/delivery circuit it's become unavoidable.

Renegade Chicken is both of those trends merged together. I was excited when I first came across them on social media; I like chicken, I like the name "Renegade", and I like that they had wings. At first I thought it was a local place, but their branding game was strong. Curious about what was going on with them, I did some research and found they are all across Ontario, but no dine-in location. An address check revealed them to be a ghost kitchen out of Jack Astor's. Now I'm a fan of Jack Astor's as a chain restaurant. I especially love their Buffalo chicken fingers. So I was down to try them. Renegade claims they treat their chicken right which made them also appealing:

"Our chicken is always Canadian-raised and antibiotic free, sustainably farmed, never frozen and marinated for a minimum of 24 hours before it’s hand-dipped, fried and tossed in our signature secret blend of seasonings. We’re also a proud scratch kitchen. We bring in fresh, whole ingredients and anything we can make from scratch, we do–from our sauces & seasonings to our fresh buns that we bake in-house daily."

One weekend we were looking for delivery ideas, my wife came across a deal on UberEats: Buy one of Renegade Chicken's sandwiches, get a second for free. I think the delivery fee was free (or really low) so we were set. We also got a wing combo and an extra side. 

After about 40 minutes our meal was at our doorstep. It came in a big paper bag, stacked with food. On top were some napkins, some dips, and a large package of anti-bacterial wipes; a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

One thing I liked about Renegade Chicken was the packaging: the containers were all compostable cardboard clamshells and cardboard cup. The sticker to seal them maybe not so much.

When we ordered the sandwiches, we had the choice of Regular, Buffalo Dill, Nashville Hot, or Renegade (which wasn't really explained but seems to be more of a BBQ sauced sandwich). Each is topped just slightly differently. 

We thought we would get the Nashville 1) because we like Nashville Hot Chicken and 2) because we were already getting Buffalo wings so the Buffalo Dill would be redundant. Regular was too plain and Renegade too much of a chance. The Nashville Hot came in the sandwich sized clamshell, but was also wrapped and well labeled inside. That's a lot of packaging.

When I opened mine up, it was a mess. There was shredded iceberg lettuce coming out everywhere. There was so much lettuce and even a near-core part. It did hold up to the delivery trip and wasn't that warm/soggy which was a good thing.

The bread was really fresh and soft. There was lots of the Cool Ranch sauce, which could have just been mayo, but it was creamy and tasty. There were some crinkle cut dill pickles, and then the Nashville Hot chicken. The chicken was hot (temp), crispy, tender, and sauced up well. 

This was a really good sandwich; fresh, flavourful, and textures I love. It reminded me of an elevated Burger King Chicken Sandwich (which I actually really like). Flavours were balanced between the spice, the creamy, the crunchy, the sweet/sour pickles. The downside was that the Nashville Hot didn't taste like Nashville Hot. Like really at all. Just a slightly spicy chicken sandwich. But it was good.

LJ wanted the Mac & Cheese - a side was $2.99. It says it comes with "asiago, cheddar, cream" and topped with shredded cheddar (which was just melted by the time it got to us). This was a creamy mac. Super creamy, like a paste. I wasn't a fan (I didn't hate it, but I'm never crazy about Mac & Cheese) but LJ really liked it. It just seemed plain to me.

Inside the large clamshell were the wings, the 1lb of fries, 3 dips, and some pickles.

The fries are clearly Jack Astor's type of fries: fake fresh-cut fries with the skins on and are skinny. I say fake because I'm pretty sure they come frozen with the skins on and then fried in house. I like them though. Actually I like them for dipping not so much to eat on their own. I had asked for an extra Ranch for dipping, which they gave, and I love their ranch.

We also got 2 other dips to try out: Sambal Aioli and Smokey BBQ. The Sambal Aioli was a creamy sauce that actually tasted like their ranch and a blue cheese mixed together, with just a little chili. It was good, but I wouldn't get it again. The Smokey BBQ tasted like a mix of Bulls Eye and Jack Daniel BBQ sauce ... it was ok but again I would pass on it next time.

As mentioned above, the wings came in the container with the fries, dips and pickle. Oh the pickles were tart, but also sweet. A little too sweet to be a real dill. It worked on the sandwich but I didn't love them solo. 

The wings come in a breading/batter that is thin and kept the wings semi-crispy. The wings were lightly  pre-tossed in sauce but also came with a container of sauce to really make them saucy.  In the above photo you can see a wing that wasn't very saucy, that I then re-dipped in the sauce at the bottom of the container. 

The size of the wings were about a medium in length, but they were pretty meaty. The chicken itself was really tender and there was no issue of pulling the bones apart.

You can see how the wings first arrived before adding the extra sauce. The wings were just ever so wet, but mostly dry, with some sauce resting at the bottom. These wings tasted good as is, but retained some crispiness during transport. But I appreciate they sent reinforcements.

Jack Astor's makes a great Buffalo sauce, which means Renegade Chicken makes a great Buffalo sauce. In restaurant, Jack Astor's bring the freshly fried wings to your table and they sauce and toss like some fancy restaurant. I didn't recreate that exactly but I did sauce those wings up nicely. 

The sauce is creamy and orange in colour. It has a big buttery flavour that is almost too rich. I went with their Hot and let me tell you, this is a true hot sauce. It's not killer, but it has a kick and a bite the way a hot should.

FINAL SCORE:

I am down for Renegade Chicken. The sides are ok, but the chicken, the main show, is where it's at. The sandwich was good: fresh, crispy, soft, tangy, spicy. It hit all the right texture and taste notes. The wings were also good. Not as big as I would like, but a nice coating, great texture, and deliciously decadent Buffalo sauce. Would order from them again, especially with deals like BOGO. 10/14

Renegade Chicken

310 West Hunt Club Road, Ottawa ON (and other locations)

renegadechicken.ca

 

#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