Return to THE COPPER MUG - Tillsonburg ON

There's just something about going back to your old haunts. I was back in my hometown of Tillsonburg, visiting my good friend Jason. His birthday was just a few days before and I wanted to take him out for dinner to celebrate and catch up a bit. When I asked where he wanted to go, he pointed out I probably haven't been to 'The Mug' in a while, and I was totally up for that. 

The Copper Mug, or as everyone calls it, "The Mug", was a staple of my early wing years. In high school this was our go-to hang-out place. The food was always good, but the wings were something special. So many good memories here, and quite frankly, not much has changed. I checked the blog to see my previous reviews, but the only review on here is from 2007! But I've only been back maybe a handful of times since then. I wasn't planning on doing a review, but then I decided mid menu I would.

Jason and I were chatting and catching up, but I couldn't help but look around and marvel at how the place was still the same. The free popcorn machine in the corner, the same pub trivia game on the screens we used to play all the time, even the Kramer and George Costanza paintings were still hanging on the wall. Heck, our waitress that night was the same from our time in the late 1990's! She didn't recognize me, but to be fair, a lot of people have been through this pub.

There was no question that I was getting the wings. The prices have definitely changed in recent years. Wings used to be sold by the pound, and they've added a Thai sauce. Otherwise seemed the same.

The Mug was also great because they had two wing nights, Tuesdays and Thursdays. What I didn't realize when I ordered was that this was a Thursday. My waitress never said anything and it wasn't until after I ordered that I heard another waitress at another table about wing night. I could have had more wings! Oh well.

Jason, rocking a massive beard (but is not as big as the photo looks due to the shadow) got the All Canadian Burger: a charbroiled quarter pound burger with grilled strip bacon and Canadian cheddar. He got it with a side of rice. It was a good looking burger and he said he enjoyed it.

We got a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese. It was three slices of French loaf, with butter and lots of cheese. It was tasty, soft, buttery, and cheesy.

Of course, I was most excited to see another old friend, Mug wings.

The wings come in multiples of 8: 8, 16, 24. I got an order of 8, and they were half flats and half drums. Normally the wings come with veggies and blue cheese, but on wing night there was no such side. For clean-up, they gave napkins and wetnaps.

The size of the wings were medium in length, and about a medium in meatiness. They've never been large, and are certainly not the "Jumbo, meaty, plump" wings the menu advertised.

The wings were, and usually are very crispy. They are deep fried with no coating, but the skin is always crispy and the meat was tender. The skin always holds up nicely to the sauce so you don't get soggy wings.

On this visit, my wings were not very wet. There was sauce, I got Hot, but the wings were not well covered and usually there is a plethora sauce at the bottom. But no deal this time. They also served my side of Suicide in a small styrofoam cup instead of the usual ramekin.

HOT

Hot is simple, tasty, hot flavoured pub wings. There's something about these wings that taste better than just Frank's hot on them, but that's probably what it is.

SUICIDE

The suicide at The Mug has always been a favourite. It's bright red, it's full of chili flakes, and it's a sauce I always found flavourful, but had a bite. I mean it's not killer heat, but it's a good starter suicide sauce for folks.

I was headed to the bathroom and walked past the kitchen. I saw one of the cooks stepping out for a second, so I took the opportunity to ask him what was in the suicide sauce. He thought about it, and said it was chili flakes in Frank's. That's it? That's it. It can't be. There's more flavour in there?! It can't be, can it?!

FINAL SCORE:

Well, the wings were still good, but they weren't as good as they used to be. Mainly I was disappointed in the lack of sauce. The wings aren't big, but they are crispy and the chicken is tasty. I like the hot, but love the suicide. And surprise 1/2 price wings was also great. The garlic cheese toast was good, and the burger seemed good. The best part was the chance to hang out with Jason. It's a great place to just hang out. Aww I love The Mug.  10/15

The Copper Mug
79 Broadway Street, Tillsonburg ON
facebook.com/The-Copper-Mug-284662141657577

#TBT Suicide Wings from $10 Buck Pizza

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#tbt to Feb 2013 & these Suicide wings from the now closed 10 Buck Pizza in my hometown of Tillsonburg. I only had them once, but dang they were good. They were huge, crispy, saucy, tender, spicy. So good but sad they didn't last. #lordofthewingsblog #lordofthewings #wings #suicidewings #crispywings #takeoutwings #chickenwings #hotwings #wingmemories #throwbackwings #tillsonburgwings #tillsonburg #10buckpizza #nowclosed #rip #throwbackthursday

A post shared by LORD of the WINGS (@lotw_wingking) on Feb 21, 2019 at 12:58pm PST

To see the original post click HERE.

10 BUCK PIZZA ~ Tillsonburg ON

RIP - 10 BUCK PIZZA is NOW CLOSED

DEC 2012

I was home for the holidays and while cruising around my hometown I saw a new pizza place. The location, across from Annandale school, has been a number of places - the last I remember was a Godfather Pizza joint, but it might have been something since then.

What caught my eye was the big chicken in the window and the picture of wings with their pizza on the main sign.

There seemed to be a ton of specials on wings and pizza and a bunch of other eats. I don't know if this is a new chain or if its just local, but I thought I should try it out. It was late at night, but the staff were busy running around inside getting things ready.

There is some seating inside, but it's really a take-out place. There was a sizable menu, but I was just focusing on the wings. 2 things jumped off the menu at me: 1) Buffalo Wings (would they really be Buffalo?) 2) "Biggest Wings in Town!" (would they really be the big, let alone the biggest?  I placed my order, and 15 minutes I had my take-out.

The wings were in a styrofoam container, which meant I had to eat them quick before they steamed themselves out of crispiness. The smell wasn't that appetizing from the box . . . I had a lot of things to be worried about these wings.

I opened them up  . . . and was very surprised by jumbo, beautiful looking wings.

Wings come in sizes of 1/2 pound, 1 pound, 2, 3, 4, 5.

I went with a pound of wings. I figured that it wouldn't be very much. I was wrong.

The wings were truly jumbo wings. Hands down the largest in town. Long, plump and meaty wings. The best part was that they were crispy and the meat was tender. The wings seemed to be dusted, and they are deep fried. This gives the skin an extra crispiness, and it held up well to the little lake of sauce in the container.

I went with suicide. When I watched the girl behind the counter making my wings, I saw her pour a jug of sauce over them. It looked like a Third Degree bottle, but the sauce didn't seem like pure 3rd Degree - it had more dimension to it - maybe mixed with something. It was very tasty.

FINAL SCORE:
I was blown away - I was really only expecting sub-par wings, but these were superb. These were jumbo in length and meatiness. They were perfectly crispy with a little dusting and a little snap to the wing skin. The sauce might have been something bottled, but it was tasty and had some spicy heat to it. For a pizza joint's take-out wings, these were simply awesome. 8.5/9

10 Buck Pizza

67 Tillson Ave, Tillsonburg ON

MILL TALES INN ~ Tillsonburg

Wow, what a weekend. It was all about Dude, who is headed back to China next week AND it was his birthday weekend (Dude came down in September and we had wings HERE, HERE and HERE). I had to go home to Tillsonburg and see him before he left. For dinner, we went to a new place that he had been to 3 times already (the last with Brad and Mike M).

The Mill Tales Inn is a new hotel/restaurant in a former mill that has been under renovations for what seems like forever. Years for sure. But the place looks great. Their website did have a history of info on the Mill, and when they restore that info, I'll give you a low-down on what this place was all about.


When we arrived, it was busy. Old people busy. The crowd was predominately seniors. Man was it busy. When something new opens in T'Burg, it's a big deal.

As a group of six (in photo below, Rick, Mike, AJ, Brad, Randy (Dude), Wing King) we were told we would have to wait. It was about 15-20 minutes, and there was a group of 6 ahead of us. Some of us took to couches, some to a bed in the lobby.

Above Rick and Randy can be seen in front an antique piano, with lots of old photos of the founding Tillson family. The whole lobby has lots of bits and pieces of history of the town, of the mill (or mills in general). It was rustic but new in the overall look.

Our waitress was Heather, a fun and friendly waitress that Mike, Dude and Brad had the week before. They told us stories about her interacting with them, and she definitely made us all feel like regulars. Unfortunately she was busy with other groups and tables, so we saw her sporadically.

The food was generally good. Most items were homemade (including the French salad dressing, and Belgium Potatoes, which I inquired were mashed potatoes with shredded carrot and cabbage if my memory is correct - Heather refered to them as "old people food"). Rick & Brad both had fish and chip dinners (the owner Gordon Craig is famous for his fish and chips at a former restaurant). AJ went with the pizza which was almost deep dish. Crunchy, sweet potato fries were also a popular appetizer.

Mike had the ribs (which were not grilled or bbq - at best they were baked). Dude and I both got the wings. The trio who had been last week raved about the wings, and Dude was concerned whether they would live up to my scrutiny.


The chicken wings, known as 'The Milled Wings', come in an order of about 8 wings, with celery, carrots and blue cheese dip. Classic.

The blue cheese had lots of chunks and it seems like forever since I've seen it as a dip with my wings.

When the wings were put in front of me, I was impressed with their size. They were large to jumbo. But that large to jumbo sized wing made me fear a tough, rubbery chicken meat. Nope. Cooked just right. I'm pretty sure its a fresh wing, not frozen.

The skin was crispy. They dredge the wings in flour before deep frying, which leads to a very nice skin.


In terms of their sauce, I went with Hot. Well, it wasn't hot at all. Actually Dude and I did a wing exchange and his medium had more spice. They were two different sauces. Mine was more of a classic Buffalo sauce with Butter/Cayenne hot sauce, but there was also a piercing, bitter garlic flavour from actual garlic. It was ok as a sauce. And there wasn't enough - I would like my wings more wet.

Above is one of Dude's Medium heat wings. The sauce was more of a sweet sauce, and as stated above, more spicy than the hot. It had a really nice flavour. If I have wings here again, I would go with the Medium - better taste, more heat. Maybe the homemade Hot was just off this night.

FINAL SCORE: There were lots of little technical problems with the restaurant, but the place is still fairly new. When it came to the food, I think everyone was happy. The menu is very varied, clearly as the place appealed to those in their 70's and those in their 20's. The wings were surprisingly good and definitely make themselves a contender for the title of best wings in the 'Burg.

We headed out to a local bar (where one of our members was cut off before 11pm) and then to another bar to celebrate Dude. It was a great weekend, and Dude, you will be missed. Safe trip back to China!

Mill Tales Inn
20 John Pound Road, Tillsonburg, On
milltalesinn.web.com

Memories of Mad Trappers ~ R.I.P. Post

TODAY WE REMEMBER: MAD TRAPPERS Food Lodge & Koolies

What is an R.I.P. post? Well, there have been many places that I've had wings at over the years that served good wings. Some are no longer with us, others, lost and gone forever. Here, we remember them.

Mad Trappers back home in Tillsonburg didn't really have a theme. I guess you could say lodge in the veins of a Moose Winooskis or a Montana's; with cabin like log walls with dead animals, hanging canoe and other memorabilia. But the feeling inside was more thrown together atmosphere. At Christmas, the college & university crowd filled Trappers as it was the only real dance club in town. The rest of the time, families, strays and the miscellaneous. And me.

This was the best place in town for chicken wings. They even had 2 wing nights, Tuesday & Thursday! The wings were big, crispy and the suicide had a strong bite. Sure, it was 3rd Degree, but they kicked it up a notch. I remember being there with my family and another family on one of our many trips there for wing night, and a small spectacle took place.

My father had suicide wings, as him and I always ordered. When the waitress asked if they were hot enough, he told them it really wasn't that hot. The waitress, surprised, said she would bring out hotter sauce. She did, and my dad did not react. Stumped again, the waitress got the manager. No one was complaining, but the manager wanted to see if he could 'hurt' this guy who was eating his hottest wings. He brought with him a small bottle, with an eye dropper and gloves. The manager explained that they applied about 2-3 drops per giant pot of sauce (more than 3 litres of sauce) and offered to put this on a couple of wings for my dad. He accepted, and about 3 drops were place on each wing. We all watched and waited for my dad to burst into tears . . . for him to scream in pain . . . but nothing happened. He just ate them. We were shocked. I tried a bit of the sauce, and the tip of my tongue instantly felt like millions of little pins pricking my mouth. My father may not eat as spicy now all of the time, but he is still my inspiration for my quest for the ultimate suicide sauce.

What happened to Mad Trappers? Well, word on the street was that the owner never paid the rent for months, and the land lord shut them down. With no one to run the place, it closed back in 2006. Today, the Trap is still there, advertising cheap corona night on Wednesdays.

So to Mad Trappers, we raise a wing and say thank you for the years of great wings. We salute you!

Tillson Pizza - Tillsonburg

Today, there is a hefty list of pizza chains to choose from to get your easy and late night eating needs. Even in a small town, Pizza Hut, Pizza Pizza, Little Caesars and New Orleans try to dominate the delivery needs. But to move past cardboard cut outs, you have to look to the local joints.




About a month ago I had my first real introduction to Tillson Pizza (named after the street its on, which is named after the town, which in turn is named on the family that founded 'The Burg") and one word came to mind, deliciously greasy. They way pizza should be. But like many pizza places, wings are now a mainstay on the menu.

Most chains offer tiny, tiny wings. And while these places can also be reasonable, most have terrible wings. So I decided to order the #1 combo with pizza, wings, garlic bread and pop, and for the hell of it, a small order of spring rolls.

The SCORE

STYLE: pizza joint, battered then deep fried
SAUCES: mild/medium/hot/honey garlic
SIZE: 1.5 /2
HEAT: 5/10
CRISPINESS: 1 /3
WETNAP FACTOR: 4 /5
PRICE: $5.99 for 1lb, $7.99 for 16 wings, $10.99 for 2lb, $13.99 for 30
SIDES: 0/7
WETNAP/NAPKINS: 0 /8
WING NIGHT: none - its a pizza joint
OTHER/SPECIAL: great spring rolls with the pizza & wings!

When I read that 15 wings came in an order, I thought for sure I was getting pigeon wings. Boy, was I wrong. These large, bordering on jumbo wings were a wonderful surprise. Not only are they big and juicy, but they are breaded, which gave for a bulkier wing.

One downside to this, was adding the sauce to these breaded wings made them a bit soggy after a while. The flavour was a nice spicy with a hint of sweet. Certainly not hot, and it won't offend any one's taste buds.

I refused to write a score for these wings - my scoring method gave Tillson Pizza an 11 out of 35, and these were NOT by any means the worst wings I've eaten since implementing the scoring. Because they are a pizza place, there are some sections where there just no points to be had. These were an excellent pizza place wing and better than some 'wing joints'. So the next time your thinking about getting pizza, look past your chain options and look to the local - it just might surprise you. Oh, and the spring rolls were an excellent addition to the pizza and wing combo - who would have thunk it?

Tillson Pizza
102 Tillson Ave, Tillsonburg

The Copper Mug - Tillsonburg

What a night! It was Amanda's B-day and we started celebrating at her house. We had Bill's Pizza ( a great Tillsonburg establishment for greasy pizza) KFC, and homemade cake that Amanda made herself. After opening gifts, we trotted off to cosmic bowling where it was us vs the adults. After having an actually good time (who knew bowling could still be fun???) we decided to go out for a drink. Where to go in T'Burg? Mad Trappers closed earlier this year to the chargan of many young people - leaving creepy geezer bars. We had 2 choices, corporate Kelseys, and our old fav, The Copper Mug.

The 'Mug,' as we affectionately call it, is a local hole in the wall kinda place. Decorated with pictures of Seinfeld paintings, alcohol memorabilia and tvs displaying sports or trivia, its not hip or happening. The clientele is a strange mixture of the old and young. What has really improved the place is last years Ontario legislation eliminating smoking for bars/restaurants (this didn't go over well in a town that is the heart of tobacco country, but its wonderful to enter the place with fresh air). What makes this place is friendly staff we have known for years, good food, and a comforting atmosphere like you are home.

For some bizarre reason, I could still eat after Amanda's party, and I had to get their wings.

THE SCORE

SIZE of WINGS: small to medium
HEAT: 5 /10
WET NAP FACTOR: 4 /5
PRICE: $7.95 for 1lb, $12.95 for 2lb, $16.95 for 3lb, (approx 10 in a lb)

EXTRAS Info

SAUCE CHOICE: mild/medium/hot/suicide/bbq/honey garlic
SIDES: veggies and blue cheese
WETNAP: 2
DEEP FRIED, GRILLED,
BAKED, BATTERED: deep fried
WING NIGHT: Thursday Nights 1/2 price
OTHER: free popcorn!

These were the wings I basically grew up on. They weren't the wings of my childhood, but of my late teenage years when the high school gang dropped in for food. The wings have gotten smaller since then, but the sauces are relatively the same.

The wings are tiny but juicy, full of white meaty goodness. They came out crispy - a simple skin that is deep fried - and which stayed crispy all night. If they were a bit bigger, they would make a great chicken wing.

I ordered their suicide sauce. The regular wings have a bbq like sauce that has little spice to it. Suicide is the sauce loaded with pepper flakes that gives a kick, but is not as hot as it used to be years ago. We used to have contests over who could eat it, or even drink it (as we almost always get a side of sauce on the side). I wasn't weeping, but I was enjoying the wing I was having.

The Mug does deep fried right, whether your getting perogies, mozza stick, pickles or wings. They may not be as good as they used to, but they are home grown and still a tasty after dinner to what I ate before. I think Amanda had a good b-day in there too!

Check out LOTW Photoalbum to see some more pics of the party, bowling, and Dude and I getting stuck in the mud down a dark dead end road.

*** out of ***** flappers

The Copper Mug
79 Broadway Street
Tillsonburg, On