And the wing dreams keep on coming . . .

So last night . . .

Its on the verge of dusk, and it;s grey and cloudy. I feel like I'm on my way home with LJ and we've stopped to grab some food from this vendor on the side of the road. It's a white tent and inside are people lined up for food. A small Indian man is cooking in a heavy winter coat.

The crowd in line is a mish-mash of people, and everyone is ordering different things. The menu has BBQ ribs, burgers and other food, but I'm there for the chicken wings. I'm very worried because it's the end of the day and I don't want him to run out. I hear a gangsta type guy ahead of me asking about the wings, as in what is in an order. Something is said about whole wings, and I notice a little paper menu detailing that you can get 2 whole wings for $2 or 4 split wings for $5. Clearly the whole wings are the better deal, and I want to order a bunch so LJ and I can split flavours.

I keep rehearsing in my head what I will say: "I sure hope you have wings left!" "Don't tell me you have run out of wings" "Please tell me you still have wings" etc etc. The good news was that the 2-3 people in line ahead of me did not order wings. The bad news; I didn't even make it to the wings before I woke up.

Dang, it seems I need to get some wings!

WWWWWW #5 - Bluejake

It's another exciting edition of:

Yes, World Wide Web Wacky Wing Wednesday. WWWWWW. This is where I will surf the Web, and find other people talking about chicken wings. The world is full of chicken wing stories, wacky and otherwise. Recipes, restaurant reviews, eating contests or whatever. Today's Blog relating to wings in some shape or form:

Bluejake

Bluejake is a photo blog by Manhattanite Jake Dobkin. His blog is about, well I will let him explain (please note his information has been shortened from this page):

"ExplanationBluejake is a photoblog run by me, Jake Dobkin, a photographer living in Brooklyn. It focuses mainly on urban landscape . . . if it is your first time here, take a look around the blog; I post a new picture on the front page a few times each week.

Also check out the photoessays, which are photo projects with more than one picture. If you're still thirsty for more, check out the blog archives, which go back to February 2002. You could also check out the full list of entry tags. Finally, for the first few years I did the site, I also kept separate photo galleries for big events and trips-- you can find those in the old gallery section.

My Equipment Canon SD950 and Canon D20 SLR. A Bogen Tracker 6' Tripod. 420EX flash. Canon EF USM lenses: 24mm and 35mm. I also toy with a film camera-- the Contax T2. My ProcessingIn general, I follow this process in Photoshop: RAW processor, curves (sometimes with gradients), and unsharp mask. "

I have to be honest, I don't follow his blog regularly. Not because he doesn't have fabulous photos (he does), I really only came across his website a long time ago while google searching chicken wings, and I saved it to use someday (long before WWWWWW was even a thought in my head).

When I did do the search, photos entitled "Pretty Girls Eat Spicy Wings" came up from back in 2004. Here's what went down:

"I'm interrupting my East Village series to bring you some hot, spicy pictures from Tien Mao's weekly chicken wings night at Croxleys in the East Village. I went to confirm the legend of ten cent wings- they turned out to exist, with an additional bonus: $4 beers. All the BBQ sauce and beer made it difficult to shoot these portraits- and since I only brought my Tilt/Shift lens (I shot 9th to 11th street afterwards), I tried to use it to maximum advantage. It doesn't have auto focus, though- so that might explain some of the blur. One additional note: to the best of my knowledge, all the ladies pictured above are already taken. Sorry!"

Mmmmmm, tilt shift lenses and 10 cent wings. And I won't lie, those look like the biggest 10 cent wings I have ever seen. Not that you can find a deal like that much anymore.

I really want wings right now.

And a tilt shift lens.

And a camera that I could put a tilt shift lens.

Uncle Ray's HOT chips

Many, many months ago, my parents gave me another food gift. And for months it sat on our shelves. Not because I didn't want to consume it, but because I was saving it. A special occasion? Well, last week the better part of the munchies came on and it was time to crack open the bag.



My parents were introduced to Uncle Rays, somewhat ironically through my uncle Rick (get it? Uncle Ray/Uncle Rick? Eh? Get it?). Visiting family-in-law in Detroit, he got a potato chip that, according to my parental units, was so hot he couldn't eat them. My parents were given some to try, and they said they were quite spicy. Well, they found the brand at a surplus store in Southwestern Ontario and they picked up two kinds for me. One was the Hot, the other Jalapeno (still haven't opened that bag yet). On a quick side note, Uncle Ray's has been invading Ontario in a number of stores these days.



Uncle Ray's is a brand out of Detroit Michigan. I like Detroit because it also gave us the brand of cola Faygo, a favourite of my high school crew back in the day.



From Uncle Ray's Website:

"Uncle Ray started in business in 1965 out of the back seat of his 1961 Dodge Dart. A self made man who never went to college, Ray made and sold chip dips, popcorn and shrimp cocktail sauce to local bars and store in the Detroit area. In the early hours of the morning, Ray would be busy making his concoctions in his small apartment kitchen - and during the day, he would be out on the road selling his product."

But Ray wasn't just out founding potato chip companies. He had some skeleton's in his closet he had to confess to:

Interesting that a potato chip maker would encourage self-control. Lay's potato chips slogan is "Bet you can't eat just one!" - what a difference.

I looked at the ingredients to see what kind of heat I might be dealing with. It's not until the middle that we come across 'paprika', which is not spicy. Then we get to 'spices' and 'spice extractives' - what the heck are they? What spices are we talking about? At least the natural smoke flavour is real . . .

I opened the bag, and half way down laid the red speckled chips. The smell was . . . red peppery. So how hot were these going to be?

They look pretty spicy sitting in that bowl, in front of that bag with flames on them, don't they? All 150g of them all.

The size of chip overall was average to your big brand names. The above chip is one of the big ones. The spicy seasoning is pretty evenly distributed across both sides of the chip. Some brands will have just a faint sprinkling, but Ray's seems to believe in going bold.

The chips themselves are not of what I would consider a high quality. Like that of a no name brand. Yes they are crisp when you bite into them, but too light, like they skimped on the potato.

The heat of the wings does hit you pretty quick. Bold spicy is a fairly accurate description. The sting is there for a moment, and there is a bit of a heat after taste. It is a peppery heat, so if you are a chili head, you might get a cough in the back of the throat, but that's about it. But the more chips you eat at once will increase the heat level in one's mouth.

Now when describing the flavour, think of your average BBQ chip. That's what these chips are, intense BBQ chips.

FINAL VERDICT: Well, they are not the hottest chips out there, but for the average person, they will pack a punch. The chip itself isn't the best, and I think I would only eat them for the burn. More novelty than delicious, I dare those of you who order mild wings to try these out.



Uncle Ray's HOT potato chips

unclerays.com

Yet another dream about wings . . .

For the past 4 days I have had a lot of crazy, intense, entertaining and whacked out dreams. I have no idea why. But I woke up early in the morning after having another chicken wing dream.



So I'm on the way to a new restaurant opening in my hometown. My friend Dude had been there many times, and said I had to come and try it out (sounds oddly like real life . . .). It's night and I'm going with Doug Heffernan (from King of Queens) and some of his buddies, going up the stairs to this place. He's making jokes (can't remember now) and we go in. It's packed inside. I make my way over to Dude's table.

Doug is not happy because our waitress is one he has had before, and she is not very flirty. As we sit, the people change to anonymous faces and dude. Just as I sit down, another waitress puts down a bowl of crispy, but very wet wings. I am surprised and excited because Dude has already ordered them for me. The 3 others at our table are all looking over menus. I can't wait to dig in, but every time I do, the waitresses keep knocking into me, because it's so busy.

A big group of kids in hockey gear come in and the waitresses say they were expecting this group and that they will be back after dealing with them. Although I am annoyed at the hockey team, I am glad to finally get to eat my wings.

Then I woke up.

I think I got a bite in, but, *sigh* they weren't real.

Thankfully my pillow was fully intact.

foodiePrints Soy Sauce Wings

Don over at foodiePrints, sent me a Tweet about supper he had recently. His better half made up some soy sauce wings:

"Better half made soy sauce wings tonight. She spiced the braising liquid w/star anise, chili pepper, & black peppercorns"

And how were they?

"The wings turned out well."

I bet!

WWWWWW #4 - Smoke In Da Eye/A BBQ Nation

It's another exciting edition of:




Yes, World Wide Web Wacky Wing Wednesday. WWWWWW. This is where I will surf the Web, and find other people talking about chicken wings. The world is full of chicken wing stories, wacky and otherwise. Recipes, restaurant reviews, eating contests or whatever. Today's Blog relating to wings in some shape or form:

A BBQ NATION - Official Blog of SMOKE IN DA EYE

Chris over at Nibble Me This sent me the link to this site. Smoke in da Eye are true BBQ champs. Competitive smoker - the blog has info on recipes, tips and info on the BBQ circuit. In their own words:

"Welcome to SmokeInDaEye.com, home of Bigger, Badder, Bolder BBQ(c) from Smoke In Da Eye award winning competition BBQ team. Founded in 2006, this group of barbecue fanatics love nothing more than to share recipes, tips and techniques with anyone willing to listen. We are here 365 days a year so heat up the smoker or grill, crack open a cold one, and prepare to be educated and entertained!"

Specifically, Chris sent me a link to a recent post called "A Turkey Grows In Buffalo." Basically Clint @ SIDE participated in "TGI Fryday" - get it FRY-Day?!!?!? I love the idea. Anyways, they decided to skip the smoker and deep fry some turkey wings:



"All we can say is that the results were amazing. Like traditional wings but Fred Flintstone style. Moist and meaty on the inside, crisp and crunchy on the outside and just the right amount of heat from the sauce."

Sounds and looks mighty tasty. It reminds me of the time I made deep fried turkey wings . . .

People line up for overnight for Hooters Opening

Hooters is in the news again. This time, the Daily Sentinal is reporting how a new Hooters opened up this past Monday, with crowds starting to line up at 2am in anticipation.



Ok that's a little crazy, considering there are other Hooters in the area and, well, it's Hooters. Except when you read this line:

"Scores of people braved freezing temperatures Monday morning to be among the first inside the new restaurant, as the first 100 patrons received not only free wings on opening day, but also free wings on the first Tuesday of each month for the next year."

Um, that's an amazing deal. 2am in the cold with a tent for a few hours for free wings for a year? Ya, I'd stand in line.

Oven Baked Spicy and Sweet Ribs

So we're wandering the isles of Costco on Saturday, searching for free samples. I'm not huge fan of Costco, because when I actually compare the prices to the regular grocery store, it's not cheaper. Plus ridiculous line ups, people driving their carts all willy-nilly, and a real lack of selection. That being said, what I hear people talking about that is great at Costco is the meats. Good quality meat.


Unfortunately, we can't buy it because we don't have room for the giant sizes. Can't freeze it as our small unit only has a tiny fridge freezer, which is already full. And it's too much for two people. But browsing the isles of meat seeing a free sample booth, I just happened to take a look over at the ribs . . .




It was a huge pack of 4 racks of ribs, or 3.948 kg of pork (that's 8.7 pounds). That's a lot of ribs. Too bad it's probably too expensive and really more ribs than we would eat. But then I took a closer look at the label:



$7.86!?!?!?!? I couldn't believe it. I thought maybe I was reading it wrong (many items at our Costco say a price, without indicating that's per-pound or kg or something instead of the actual price of the product). I showed LJ, she thought it was right too. I asked an employee just to make sure. Yup, the 4 racks were just $7.86 AND it was cut and packaged within the past hour. Damn, I had to get it at that price. Now Sunday night had a meal plan.

I did up two sets of ribs, one for me and one for LJ. She was looking for a plain-tasting rib. I wanted sweet and spicy. So this report is on my ribs. Above is my rack rubbed. I grabbed what was left of my spice rub from our Backyard Ribfest 2009, adding in some sweet smoked paprika, some crushed red chili pepper, and red pepper flakes. Oh and brown sugar.

Because I no longer have access to the building grill, these were going to have to be oven baked. I wrapped the rubbed ribs in tinfoil (labeled them) and then baked them for 1 hour on low heat, about 200 degrees. I pulled them out after the hour and flipped them over, baking for another hour at a higher temp of about 300.

While those were baking I whipped up a BBQ sauce. Honey, vinegar, srirachi, garlic powder, liquid smoke, chili sauce, Worcestershire, salt and pepper and some brown sugar. And chili flakes (not shown in picture). Spicy. Sweet.

I simmered it and then let it rest on very low heat. It was a little more runny than I wanted, but I really dug the flavour so I didn't feel like adding anything to thicken it up.

After the ribs finished their 2nd hour, I pulled them out of the tinfoil and their juices and put them on a metal rack on a tin foil covered baking dish. Baked for another 1/2 hour, then I mopped the BBQ sauce on flipping and baking 3 more times at 400 degrees to give them a nice crisp (I wish I could winter grill). Playing with the baking times, if I had the opportunity I would have baked for another hour at the low 200 mark, then upping the heat. Experiment experiment experiment!

I was very excited about these ribs. The sauce looked great, the slightly blackened 'bark', the meat pulling away from the bones. I hacked the meat into individual ribs (which was pretty simple considering how tender the meat was).

Dinner was set. Ribs, baked potato with fixings, broccoli with cheese, garlic bread, mango juice and some candle light.

The rub and the sauce were a great combo together. The first sensation was bolts of pain from the spice of both rub and sauce. Sweet came from the honey, brown sugar and the predominantly sweet tomato chili sauce. Just a bit too tomato than I really want, but it was negligible.

As already mentioned, the meat was tender and tasty, There was just a bit of crisp on the outside due to the last minute high heat applied. Next time I would crank it up more and for just a tad longer.



I tried to pace myself, but I ate several ribs quick. Then several more. I didn't even have seconds of any of my sides because I was sucking back the ribs so quick. I was happy with my dinner.

Nothing original or exciting with these ribs that you probably haven't seen before - I just wanted to share with you my non-wing dinner. What did you have for dinner? Sorry, I didn't want to rub it in. Actually, yes, yes I did.

WWWWWW #3 - Would I Buy It Again?

It's another exciting edition of:





Yes, World Wide Web Wacky Wing Wednesday. WWWWWW. This is where I will surf the Web, and find other people talking about chicken wings. The world is full of chicken wing stories, wacky and otherwise. Recipes, restaurant reviews, eating contests or whatever. Today's Blog relating to wings in some shape or form:

WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN?

A blog devoted to reviewing food. As the anonymous author states: "I like to eat and I like to talk, that is where the blog comes in."



The above and below photos are from his review of Scotty Brewhouse's in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. They have All You Can Eat Wings.

What I like about his wing reviews is, well let me let you read:

"My wife ordered the Mo’fo’ hot wings. They were good, but when you order the hottest wings on the menu, I pretty much want to see tears!"

and

"For round 2, I tried the Spicy BBQ. Again, not tear yo’ face off hot, but they had a nice bite to them. Crank up the heat Scotty!"

That's right, crank it up! Lets see tears!

He also has a review of Hooters, who has some new wing flavours. Check it out. Also and AYCE night.

Keep up the good workd WIBIA!

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