SCORES ROTISSERIE & RIBS ~ Kanata ON

Rotisserie chicken seems to be big in Quebec and growing so in Ontario. Swiss Chalet has been around for a long time, and Ontarians can remember St. Hubert. Well another Quebec institution is invading, and this one is called Scores.

While it may sound like a sports bar, this is a gentrified, suburban, box-store restaurant. A step up in decor and presentation from a Swiss Chalet, Scores is, boiled down to it, a chicken and rib joint.

So what makes them stand out? Well, they put a lot of emphasis on their salad bar for one. Personally, I wasn't too impressed with it, having eaten for 4 years in a Uni cafeteria with an excellent salad bar. Just not many choices out there: 2 soups, fruit salad, and then your pretty typical salad toppings. But, the salad bar craze of the 70's has been over for a while, and this is a unique concept for most people nowadays.

I did get wings, but I got them more as a tasting than a meal. You might call it an appetizer, I guess. My main dish was a club sandwich. I was really craving a club sandwich, and I figured a rotisserie place should make a good chicken.

The sandwich was a constructed mostly like a classic Club: 3 slices of bread, lettuce, chicken, bacon, tomato. My complaint: the mayo was on the side. A lot of places put the mayo on the side and I hate it, because you cannot deconstruct a triple-decker sandwich quarter that is being held together by a toothpick. Grrr.

But the sandwich was good. Juicy white chicken breast, crispy bacon - it was all good. The fries on the side were blah frozen fries, and I got their 'sauce-gravy', which I didn't really care for.

LJ went with the ribs special, a full back of ribs and side with AYCE salad bar. The ribs were very tender - fall off the bone. The BBQ sauce was a mild, sweet yet slightly smokey sauce, but was pretty underwhelming. But enough of the entrees, let find out how the wings stacked up.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Scores Rotisserie & Ribs ~ Kanata

STYLE:	breaded, deep fried
PRICE:	$5.45 for 5 $9.75 for 12 $11.75 for 16
SAUCES:	§ Spicy § BBQ § Honey & Garlic	0/1
HEAT:	hot was not, but it was a tasty sauce
SIZE:	medium to large, relatively meaty	1.5/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	sauce on the side	n/a
CRISPINESS:	very crunchy – almost too crunchy. I take away a half point for that.	2.5/3
FLAVOUR:	the sauce was a sweet spicy, almost a sweet & sour. Unique for sure. I liked it but I wouldn’t want a ton of wings in this sauce.	1.5/3
SIDES:	veggies, sour cream and some cabbage as garnish (I hope its garnish)	2/3
CLEAN UP:	napkins, wetnaps	2/3
WING NIGHT:	none	0/1
OTHER:	this place is all about Rotisserie, so I would stick to that. Oh the ribs are tender, but not that special. And I don’t think the salad bar is that great either.
TOTAL:	Wings have an interesting fresh sauce, but overall they aren’t amazing.	9.5/17

These wings were a breaded or possible battered wing. They were crispy. Very crispy. Crunchy. Too crunchy. They were just very hard - possibly cooked too long. Not that they were burnt, but just really crunchy. They were medium to large in size, and relatively meaty.

The wings came plain with hot sauce on the side. The sauce was really unique. It was a very sweet sauce with a very small heat kick. It was almost like a sweet and sour sauce with a kick. But more hot sauce. If any of that makes sense. I wouldn't want this for all my wings, but it was good to see something different in the playing field.

FINAL SCORE:

Well, haven't had the rotisserie chicken, but the club is good, the ribs aren't bad and the wings, well, they are different, I give them that. 9.5/17

Scores Rotisserie & Ribs
155 Roland-Michener Drive, Kanata (and other locations)
scores.ca

GEORGIE's PIZZERIA ~ Ottawa ON

Several people had suggested the pizza from Georgie's. Apparently they were to be pretty good, but digging up information after the face was difficult. Why? Because of the name. See, there are two Georgie's pizzas in Ottawa. One is called Georgie's Pizza and Subs, and the other is called Georgie's Pizza and Subs. Oh, and they aren't affiliated.

I knew the location we had been told about was on Carling Ave, so I could narrow my research down. Since then I have come across 3 different names for this location: Georgie's Pizza and Subs, The Original Georgie's Pizza and Subs, and Georgie's Pizzeria.

Anyways, we went ahead and got some take-out pizza and wings. We got a large with sausage and onion. Opening the box, the pizza look exciting with its mozzarella cheese and big chunks of sausage sticking out.

My second favourite pizza topping is spicy Italian sausage (pepperoni being my first) and I was nervous that the sausage was going to come cut flat like pepperoni (I prefer it being in round balls), but it was rounded hunks of sausage. But they were pretty mild in terms of both heat and flavour.

The pizza crust was quite thick - not solid, but thick. The sauce was relatively thick there and a bit too tomatoey for my liking. It was a decent pizza, but not one I would go out of my way to order again. Not because it was a bad pizza, just not my style of pizza. But how would the wings turn out?

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Original Georgie’s Pizza & Subs ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	deep fried from frozen
PRICE:	$8 for 1lb (approx 10 wings)
SAUCES:	§ mild/medium/hot § suicide § honey garlic § bbq	1/1
HEAT:	suicide had a nip, but no real bite
SIZE:	small to medium	1/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	sauce was on the side	n/a
CRISPINESS:	crispy, but nearly chewy	2/3
FLAVOUR:	decent, but standard pizza-place jug sauce	1.5/3
SIDES:	none	n/a
CLEAN UP:	n/a	n/a
WING NIGHT:	n/a	n/a
OTHER:	-pizza was decent . . . but probably order from somewhere else next time. -not associated with the OTHER Georgie’s Pizza & Subs in Ottawa
TOTAL:	ok wings – acceptable in a pinch, I guess	5.5/10

Well, I watched the guys behind the counter pull a bag of wings out of the freezer and count out the wings for the deep fryer. Frozen, that can't be good. Well, maybe it can. When I got them home they were pretty small. They looked good as a wing though.

The suicide sauce was not very hot. I don't know, maybe its true when people say my heat receptors in my mouth must be burnt out, but I know super hot suicide sauce, and this wasn't it. It was a decent sauce, but nothing original.

The skin was nice a crispy, like they should be from the deep fryer. The meat was a little tough, but that's to be expected from frozen wings.

FINAL SCORE:

Well, I don't want to be mean, but this just wasn't the place for me to get wings or pizza. They make a fine pizza, but its just not my style. As for the wings, tiny, un-original wings. Maybe the other Georgie's is better? 5.5/10

The Original Georgie's Pizza & Subs
1661 Carling Ave, Ottawa (Not affiliated with the other "Georgie's Pizza in Ottawa")
Menu Here

NANDO's ~ Ottawa ON

On my explorations of Eastern Ontario, I have found chains and restaurants I did not in Toronto or Southwestern Ontario, and its always good to see regional differences. One of the places I've come across is Nando's, a Portuguese inspired flame grilled chicken restaurant.



It sounded interesting, so I decided to look into it further. It turns out they are in the Greater Toronto Area itself, but not Toronto proper. And that's not all - its a global chain of restaurants from South Africa. Wikipedia says they exist in "Australia, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait, Botswana, Canada, Cyprus, Fiji, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Israel, Lebanon, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Swaziland, the UAE, Uganda, the UK, Ireland, the USA (Washington, DC) and Zimbabwe." Its nice to see some reverse globalization for once! (ok maybe not 'reverse', but it seems North America is the only cultural imperialist out there).

Nando's heavily emphasizes its family friendly, healthy, and spicy. The chicken is grilled, not fried or even baked, and the tout the health benefits of the peri-peri sauce they use. Peri-Peri sound familiar? That's because President's Choice went Piri-Piri (same thing, different spelling) crazy this past summer with their version of the sauce.

I was running errands when my curiosity finally got the better of me. I went in and saw the take out area to the left, and the dinning room to the right. I knew I was trying the wings, so it didn't take long to order my wings (extra hot peri peri of course). I went with a 'platter' with a side included, and I decided to go with the spicy peri-fries (although the coleslaw sound pretty good).

I was confused about the procedure at the establishment for ordering and dining until another guy came in, and had problems himself, confused whether he sat down first and ordered or ordered at the counter. While the place looks like a stylish sit down place, everything is counter service in terms of ordering and paying (done first), and they will bring the meal to your table, but that's about it. I liked the dining room, but I was on my home.

When I got home, I was surprised by the plump bag. Inside were tons of napkins, cutlery, Nando's brand ketchup and hot sauce. And of course, the food.

My Peri-fries were a little cold by the time I got home, but they were still pretty crispy.

There was a light dusting of spice on them, but nothing that really knocked the senses out. Frozen fries, but good fries. They would have been way better hot at the dining room.

I reached deeper into the paper bag and found yet another bag, with the wings in them. I thought this was strange, the wings being in a sack instead of a Styrofoam or cardboard container, but I don't think they hurt the wings at all.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Nando’s ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	grilled
PRICE:	$2.89 for 4 wings $7.99 for 12 wings $9.99 for 12 wings w/reg side $12.99 for 12 wings w/2 reg sides
SAUCES:	(flavours grilled on) § lemon & herb § medium peri-peri § hot peri-peri § extra hot peri-peri plus hot sauce on the side	0/1
HEAT:	extra hot on its own was not hot, but the side sauce has a kick – burn tingles on the lips and tongue
SIZE:	medium to large size wing	2/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	without the extra sauce, these are a dry style wing	n/a
CRISPINESS:	crispy/chewy texture, but would have been better if it hadn’t been for take-out	1.5/3
FLAVOUR:	ok, but with extra hot sauce, bumps it up to good	2/3
SIDES:	choices with platter: Peri fries, classic fries, spiced rice, baked potato, hearty coleslaw	2/3
CLEAN UP:	napkins	1/2
WING NIGHT:	n/a	0/1
OTHER:	there is seating at the restaurant
TOTAL:	not bad – I would prefer to eat in when its right off the grill	8.5/16

I pulled out a wing, only to find out a bunch more came out. Wings on a skewer - awesome. Actually putting them on a skewer doesn't help the eating process, but they do probably help the grilling process. Oh and they just look cool. I love food on a stick!

The wings were medium to large in size. They looked great with their deep grill marks and spiced coating. The skin was crispy enough, and the chicken was meaty and juicy. My first taste though was a slightly disappointing. The "extra hot" heat was not there at all. And the flame grilled taste was not woodsy from wood fire, but a gas flame instead.

I had several packages of their hot sauce, so I decided to try it over the wings. Bam-o. Big difference. First of, the packet hot sauce has a good kick to it. The sauce is very runny, like a Carribean hot sauce. There were even little chili's inside. With the sauce on, I mowed down these wings pretty quickly.

FINAL SCORE:

I think its pretty clear that dine in is always better than take-out. Sure, the eating in the comfort of one's home is great, but lets be honest, straight from the kitchen is always better. These grilled skewed wings looked really cool, and there was definitely a unique flavour to them. I'm very tempted to go back and enjoy a sit in meal. 8.5/16.

Nando's
1461 Merivale Road, Ottawa (and other locations around the globe)
nandoscanada.com

The Chicken Wing Party

I love chicken wings. Normally I would describe myself as a chicken wing fanatic - but a fanatic is "a person with an extreme and uncritical enthusiasm or zeal". I have extreme enthusiasm, but I am still critical. But as with anything, people can take things too far.





Take the "Chicken Wing Party", a political party in Manitoba Canada whose goal is to:

"Procure and consume as many chicken wings as we can afford.
After experiencing difficulties securing private funding for our predecessor organization, the Chicken Wing Club of Manitoba, we see a golden opportunity with the NDP’s Bill 37 to receive a guaranteed annual taxpayer-funded allowance of $600.

Bill 37 guarantees $600 per year to all political parties, regardless of how big they are or what they stand for. Alternatively, parties receive $1.25 per vote they receive in an election. So, if we run a full slate of 57 candidates in the next election, and they receive 100 votes each (pretty easy to do!), our annual taxpayer funded allowance will be over $7,000!"

Wow, that's a lot of work for chicken wings. I love the spirit of the movement, but a little disapproving of the whole campaign. You know, misappropriation of tax payer dollars for some people to eat chicken wings. And considering that money is meant for small political parties to be represented in an 'unfair' 'democratic' system, that money is being misspent. However, it may be the only time a party is offering something to the people that they can actually give them.

Although I like the idea of a 'chicken wing eating party', I prefer the separation of Wing & State.

The Chicken Wing Party of Manitoba
chickenwingparty.com

PS: Can I still have a chicken wing? Even if I'm in Ontario? Where is the Chicken Wing Party of Ontario?

PPS: I like in the video the two girls barely take the time to stop scarfing (and they are scarfing those wings down) to say the message. They must really love chicken wings. Look, that one chick is drooling over the wings. Maybe this is a political party I can get behind after all.

Ribfest no more???

An article was sent to me by someone (it didn't say from who) in the London Free Press, saying that the London Ribfest may be no more. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boys' and Girls' Club kisses annual rib-fest goodbye
Tues, December 16, 2008

By DEBORA VAN BRENK


The pink pig is dead.


The Boys' and Girls' Club of London has ended its involvement in the London Rib-Fest because it became too much effort for too little benefit.


"When we added it all up, it was really hard for us to throw the staff and volunteers into it," Don Donner, executive director of the club, which has operated the event for 20 years, said yesterday.


Staging the event this year required 7,000 hours by 600 volunteers and staff -- for a gain to the club of $150,000.


Among the three largest rib festivals in North America, it generated a total of $900,000 this year and was named by WestJet as the best-run festival of Southwestern Ontario.


But this fall, club directors hired a consultant to help determine if the event had reached its zenith.


The conclusion?


Sponsorship is slipping; health-and-safety standards for food, alcohol and the environment are becoming tougher; prices are rising while attendance is shrinking; rib-cookers are demanding more profit; and volunteers are getting tougher to find.


The club's profit was expected to drop by $70,000 if the event were held in 2009. "It was a fun ride and we should go out on a high note," says the report by consultant Glenn Howlett.


When the club took over the event in 1988, the rib-fest was three years old and one of only a few festivals in the city.


Now, there are dozens of summer events and destinations competing for the same money, and about 30 rib festivals in Ontario alone.


"The novelty is sort of waning," Donner said.


With the economy also waning -- several sponsors either dropped out or reduced their funding levels in 2008 -- the board agreed to wrap its involvement, effective immediately.


Donner said he hopes the early notification will allow the city, which owns rights to the event, enough time to put to tender the rib-fest's operations.


The Boys' and Girls' Club is willing to work with a new operator to ease any transition. London Mayor Anne-Marie DeCicco-Best, who'd just learned of the club's decision, said she doesn't know if the city will tender out the event.


Still, she said "it's unlikely" the city would set a precedent by taking over any festival's operations.


Donner estimates the economic impact of the festival at $4 million a year. Every year, the club featured pig-themed items -- including a pink-pig van motoring around the city -- to promote the event.


Now, the van and the pink ribbons are retired.


The club's volunteers and staff will be mobilized for activities more central to its business of helping children, youth, seniors and families, Donner said.


The demand for their services continues to grow.


Rib-fest proceeds of about $2 million have helped the club pay for its new aquaplex, set up a legacy fund and added a Horizons program to help teens attend college and university.


"In this economy, anyone in the special- events business is going to find it hard to do business," Donner said.


In recent years, London's air show and balloon festival have also closed down.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Boys and Girls Club Website doesn't have any info on this, but the video in the article gives some good insight. I don't blame the BGC for their concerns, but its sad that this has happened. Hopefully, someone can step up and save this event. Someone please. Please!

10 Cent Wings

It's funny how things work out.


About a month ago I was at a party when a bunch of the guests broke out guitars and just started jamming. They were really good and we sat around rocking out and watching various people in various states of intoxication sing along. It was a good time. I find out a little later that these guys are in a band. That makes sense. Oh, by they way, what's the name of your band?

10 Cent Wings.

Awesome.

Check them out HERE

BlogTO's The Best Chicken Wings in Toronto

If your not familiar with blogTO, its a blog all about Toronto that is written by various bloggers who are artistic, political, explorers etc. Plain and simple. I didn't start reading this blog until after I left Toronto to keep up to date about what is going on until I get back (if I ever do).




One of their articles is "Best Of" Toronto guides that list things like Best Poutine, or Best Fish and Chips. These guides are interesting collections of what might be the best in the city. While these Best Of guides are assembled by an individual, the rankings are not done by blogTO, but rather by the readers. This is often forgot by people who comment after because these lists can often cause head scratching when inferior places are on a list, while expert places are left off, and this leads many people to get upset and rant.




Until recently, I looked at these lists with a grain of salt, seeing places I had never heard of before while again, ones that deserve recognition go unmentioned. But it was never personal. Then, they did "Best of Chicken Wings." You are entering my territory now, and I gotta say, not impressed. I've basically copied the whole article here and added are my comments on A) the rankings & B) the comments from other people on the net.

1. ALLEN's: reviewed them HERE. The Manhattan Capone Wings were a tasty alternative wing, but they do not deserve to be #1. They are a decent size, but they need to do a lot more be a great wing.
   
2. PETER's: Never heard of the place. They look interesting, spiced with a bowl of hot sauce, but I doubt they are #2 (but then again, I haven't had them).
   
3. REBEL HOUSE: Never been, but a baked wing better than deep fried, I have never experienced.
   
4. DUFF's: I have yet to find a better wings in Toronto. Huge wings, excellent heat levels, great Buffalo wing flavour. My wing choice.
   
5. ALL STARS: This was one of the first places I had been to that served a bajillion sauces. Good sized wings, great tasting flavours - they deserve to be on this list, even if they are waaaaaay up North.
   
6. BISTRO: Another place I have not been. But they are described as the original St Louis wings. Well, wait till I talk about St Louis.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. ST LOUIS: Bah! I figured they would be on here because there is a crazy collection of people who like this chain. The quote from the review: "Big, plump, tasty wings in a basket with excellent fries" is a joke. Small, over priced wings with a strange baked in sauce. They are not in my top 10.
   
8. SQUIRL'S: Another place I have never been to nor ever heard of. I'd check it out if I could tomorrow.
   
9. MITZI'S SISTER: Another never been, never heard of. Oven roasted doesn't excite me, but they sound like they have some interesting wings. I'm curious to try, but again doubt the legitimacy of this place being on a top 10 wing list.
   
10. WHEAT SHEAF: Tried and true pub wings. Big, spicy, and 3 wing nights. This place is here for a reason.
    
    

Definitely several places that are out of left field for me. I spent several years in dedicated research to find good wings in Toronto and many of those places never, ever came up. That doesn't mean they aren't good, but it boggles my mind a bit. But I wasn't alone. Here are other people's comments that reflect some of my own:

• beveridge & mike and I agree that Ein-Stein's should be on this list. Granted, they aren't the best over Duff's, and Wheat Sheaf (due to their rubbery meaty-ness) but the sauces and size make them worth while.
• kelly is also surprised about St Louis. And cities all over Ontario need London's Ring-A-Wing.
• sippy: I agree, where is Sneaky Dee's?
  
  
  
• many comments are echo'd again, but lets not forget:
• Patrik is right about Wild Wing and Moose Winooskis, even if the latter isn't in TO.
• CL on - yes yes yes, the Crown and Dragon.
  
  

• joey and Elle is bang on about St Louis. Why?
• David on, you are right and wrong. MCW are snobby, Duff's is vinegary based just right. All Stars does have good sauce and St Louis is so wrong about "hotter than hell".
• BillyWarhol, Wing Machine wings are tasty. Small and expensive, but tasty.

I still don't know how one votes in these lists. I've searched their website to no avail. So who gets to vote and how? I suspect from the votes that the types of people voting are those that think of wings as an after thought. They don't take wings seriously, and are more likely to have wings when its a shared plate amongst a group of friends of coworkers than someone who truly appreciates good chicken wings. I know I'm sounding like a snob, but many of these places list baked, sweet/bbq sauced wings. Its sad. I feel the need to end on a quote:

"I've said it before and I'll say it again...democracy doesn't work." Kent Brockman

PLEASE STAND BY

Sorry for the disruption. The laptop that I have been using (not my computer) got the blue screen of death and essentially died. Fortunately all of my information for lordofthewings.blogspot.com is kept on a portable hard drive. A new computer has been purchased, but all the software I need has not been uploaded. Also, the new laptop has a tiny keyboard (which I hate) and it has windows Vista (which I hate even more - what happened to the camera wizard????) Therefore, no new reviews.

And I have reviews. About 6-7. I'm going to try and get some articles up soon, but its been a busy busy period.

Sorry for any inconveniences and keep checking for a return to regular posting!!!!