WWWWWW #23 ~ High Cascade: Govy Gold Hot Wings

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:

High Cascade Snowboarding Camp

"LIFE IMPROVEMENT THROUGH SNOWBOARDING AND SKATEBOARDING." That's the motto of this snowboarding camp for kids in Mt Hood Oregon. It looks like a blast (even if I'm not a snowboarder) and have totally bought into the hype of the website. For about $1000-$2000 [USD] for a week you too can have lots of memories. And there is one memory I wish I could have:

Govy Gold - Hot Wings! When for supper the hungry snowboarders got hot wings. This is an awesome collage of people eating wings and their faces. Beautiful, just beautiful. And funny. I need to highlight the guy in the top middle who looks like he's going to cry . . . probably a medium wing. I don't know what Govy Gold refers to.


No other pages seem to have anything about wings, but here is their cool mascot that kinda looks like a marshmallow.

Return to The Georgetown

RIP - THE GEORGETOWN is NOW CLOSED

Yet another way over due post!


Last year I stopped into a sports pub down in the Glebe Old Ottawa South and had some great wings. The Georgetown Sports Pub's wings were so good I ended up naming them the Best Wings Ottawa of all the places I reviewed in 2009. But I had not been back since. A little worried that they might not be as good as they used to, or that I got good wings as a fluke, I wanted to go back and make sure that they still had game. Coming back from being out of town, and with LJ in tow, we were off to Georgetown.

The place was busy this time. A very interesting crowd mix which I would break down into 3 groups: students from nearby Carleton University, older/middle aged men from some sort of team (running? soccer? either way they were sweaty) and a couple of elderly gentleman at the bar (not together). In fact, the older man sitting at the bar with his laptop could just as easily have been the guy sitting at the bar in this photo from last time.

One of my favourite version of french fries, is lattice fries. If you are not familiar with lattice fries, they are a specially cut potato with criss/cross cuts, leaving little holes. They are usually crispy, with fluffy potato inside. LJ and I love these. We also love nachos. And The Georgetown combines them both.






'Southwest Spudachos' are "Corn battered lattice cut potato, topped with pico de gallo, chipotle ranch sauce, melted Monterey jack and mozzarella cheese served with a side of sour cream" and LJ added beef to the dish. They were crispy and cheesy, and didn't get too soggy despite the cheese and sauce.


I was re-sampling the wings this night. They were big and crispy, just like last time I had them. They are a large wing that is meaty, but they aren't tough or rubbery like some place with their 'mutant' wings.

I decided to try a couple flavours of wings (since it was wing night) and they had added more flavours since I was here last. Some of the new ones include:

• Spicy Thai
• Hickory Smoke
• BBQ Mild/BBQ Medium
• Frank's Sweet Heat BBQ
• Hot n Honey

Orange Sesame seems to be gone now. Then there are some "Imported Australian Spices" that are $0.50 extra:

• Lemon Myrtle
• Pepperberry
• Chipotle & Forestberry

There was also another new dry spice, Bone Dust BBQ. I went with a Hickory Smoke, Suicide and Bone Dust BBQ.

BONE DUST BBQ

I don't know if this is `King of the Q` Ted Reader's Bone Dust rub or their own recipe, but it was a tasty seasoning. It's hard to see it because the colour blends in with the crispy wing skin, but it is there.

The flavour was pretty mild. You really had to savour each bite to pick up the hint of this BBQ rub. I'd like something a bit more bold personally.

HICKORY SMOKE BBQ
Keeping with a slight 'que' theme I went with their regular BBQ sauce (as opposed to their mild/medium BBQ). I just had it on the side to accent the Bone Dust if it was too dry a dry rub.

I won't lie to you, as I write this a loooonnnnnngggg time after I had actually eaten them, I ah, well I don't remember the details of the flavour of this sauce. I know, my bad. Usually I have a 'taste of mouth' memory that can recall flavours and this time, no deal. I remember it was sweet, but clearly nothing overly memorable.

SUICIDE

For those of you smarty pants that remember when I went last time or just re-read the review now, you will note that I had suicide wings then. Yes I did. But I remembered that they didn't have a set recipe for suicide, so I decided to try it again.

It was a very different sauce this time. And I liked this one even more. It was very close to Moose Winooski's Forest Fire Hot, only hotter. They were sweet like BBQ, with a very nice kick of heat. Pepper seeds and chucks of jalapeno add to the flavour mix. I don't think I would classify the heat as 'suicide' but it was definetely a good kick.





The only thing I will never understand about Ottawa place with wings is the frigg'n sour cream. Not a worthy wing dip. But praise worthy wings. I really enjoyed the suicide sauce. A lot.  I'll be back again, and maybe I will sample one of their Australian flavours . . .

The Georgetown Sports Pub1159 Bank Street, Ottawa
georgetownpub.ca

Mr Mozzarella ~ Ottawa, ON

Overdue Post Alert!

It was weeks ago that I was passing by Mr Mozzarella and decided to check them out. I had seen a flyer some time ago and remembered a section called the "Wing Shoppe" and a number of flavours. So while I was on my own and feeling like take-out rather than eating in, I decided to try this mini-franchise.

Stopping in was a challenge. As the above screen capture from Google maps street view show, the parking lot was incredible small. 4 spots for 3 businesses. Only two stores were open (the Chinese take-out and Mr M) and at night I didn't see that there was parking around back. But there were only two spaces available, and one would require me to scrape up against the propped open door. Suffice it to say that this is delivery joint, not dine in.


Not to say you couldn't dine in. Not only were there tables and chairs, but also a couch, with an old TV, and get this, a SEGA GENESIS to play while you wait. Very cool. I think there was a pinball machine too. The walls are covered in Mr M murals and bright fluorescent lights made for a very unusual atmosphere.


The staff were all young looking (probably all students from nearby Algonquin College) but friendly and seemingly invested in their jobs (something you don't always see with young people in service jobs). They were able to answer my wing questions and in no time I had my take-out order and was on my way home.

It was later at night and I was really hungry, so I went with a big order.



You have the choice of getting the wings "Breaded, Boneless or Original" and fried or baked. I went with original and deep fried, although in my head I had planned to order one of them breaded, but that tid bit seemed to not come out of my mouth.***

I was very impressed with the size of the wings. They were mostly large (with a few stragglers) and pretty meaty. You don't find that with a lot of pizza parlor wings. The skin was nice and crisp, and the wings were wet and swimming in a kiddie pool of extra sauce.

There were 30 different flavour to choose from (some just mixes of each other) so I found it a little hard to narrow it down to two, but I managed:

SUICIDE

I forwent my usual hot and went straight to the suicide wings. I really wanted my lips to burn and suicide from pizza joints are rarely homemade, which means less chance of it being a kitchen sink mess.

In fact, it was 3rd Degree sauce, once again. Individually the heat was a little bit biting, but if you ate 2 or 3 in a row, the sting got stronger.

CACTUS KICK

When ordering from the young pizza dude at the counter, I asked him about Cactus Kick, described on the menu as "Our Secret Recipe." He had a hard time but put it as kind of like a, well a, well - it was hard to describe. I describe it as a honey-mustard mixed with . . . something. It could have been any number of combinations. What I do know, is that it was good. Not a spicy flavour, but very savoury.

FINAL SCORE: The wings were crispy and there are lots of combinations to choose from. The Wing Shoppe delivered surprisingly big wings for a take-out pizza joint and enough sauces to give many pubs a run for their money. Cactus Kick was a unique flavour that I might try again (I hesitate only because I would want to sample other flavours). Suicide was standard sauce and no surprises. They weren't the cheapest wings going, but having a Sega Genesis at this location was just awesome. 6/9


PS: I didn't try the pizza, and I didn't actually see any. I will have to try sometime.

Mr Mozzarella
1433 Woodroffe Ave, Ottawa ON (and other locations)
mrmozzarella.com




*** (this is a frequent problem of mine. When I was out the other night at a non-wing eatery, I couldn't wait to drink a root beer. When the waitress came, I ordered a cola. WTF)

WWWWWW #22 - Games2Girls Cooking Show: Buffalo Wings

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:

Games2Girls - Cooking Show: Buffalo Wings

Looking to kill some time, have a little fun, AND learn how to cook? This might be the game for you.

This game is quite simple, you make some chicken wings AND blue cheese dressing. It's almost more educational than entertaining.

EXCEPT that these aren't &$%# Buffalo Wings! They got pretty close to the sauce (hot sauce, melted butter with salt & pepper and cayenne, and I guess you can add paprika. But once you've mixed the sauce, they tell you to toss the wings in the sauce, and then, grill them. GRILL!!! I`m not saying that would be a tasty wing, but it is NOT a Buffalo wing. Deep fry only!

Sorry, I`ve calmed down now. Anyway, this is the only chicken wing video game I know of, so enjoy.

Boston Pizza VIP Tasting Event

Some people ask me why I am on Twitter. I have to admit, sometimes I feel guilty for being a part of something associated with inane celebrity banter and supporting an ADD culture. But beyond the tabloid updates and pointless chatter, there is something of value. My recent trip to Boston Pizza Orleans proved two of the three things I like about this social media tool.



So what are the 3 things I find Twitter useful for?

1. News & information updates.
2. Specials, deals and coupons not available anywhere else.
3. The foodie community.

Sometimes all three can be combined. But #3 is by far my favourite feature. I like hearing what a local chef has to say, a new special a restaurant has to offer, or what a fellow blogger had to eat that was good/bad. My Twitter community is a rich and diverse web of food and while I don't Twitter frequently, I know when I go on there will be lots to take in.

So it was great when I was able to go to Boston Pizza Orleans' VIP Tasting Event, where they showcased their new menu items for the first time. AND it was filled with various foodies that I know from Twitter and the Blogosphere. Actually, that's how I found out about the event in it in the first place.

Leslie Scott is the Community Relations Coodinator at Boston Pizza, and let me tell you, she knows how to use social media to the fullest. Through Twitter, Facebook, and Blogger, she's getting the word out on what is going on at BP as well as putting a human face to this giant Canadian chain of restaurants. Leslie gets "it" when it comes to businesses using social media and I have been really impressed with how she uses it to reach out to the Internet community. She was super friendly and this tasting/meet up was her creation. There were about 30 of us there, which is a good turn out on a Monday at noon!


For the first part of the event it was kind of meet-and-greet. After talking with Leslie, I got to meet 1/2 of the duo from foodiePrints, Don, who was such a great guy. Not only friendly, but he was great at helping to introduce me to people at the event. I was also impressed with his plate- in-one-hand-while-taking-photos-on-a-DSLR-with-the-other-hand, all while maneuvering through the crowd and food. The other big blog I follow regularly is Chris over at Nachos At Midnight, and it was great to talk to him in person about moving to Ottawa from Toronto and wings and nachos. He's also got a blog post up right now about the event too. I also spent some time with Ottawa Mom & Tom Hofstatter who were fun to sit, chat and eat with.

It wasn't long before the food was brought out and the photo foodies (including myself) were out snapping shots. A line formed quick and people were sampling some new menu items. Everything was on the house (including my cola beverage, but alcoholic drinks were a cash bar). Unfortunately there were no wings on the new menu :(

Here are a few of the items added to the new menu:

SPINACH SALAD: "Every chef’s favourite! Fresh spinach leaves tossed with poppy seed dressing and topped with sliced mushrooms, smoky bacon, diced tomato, chopped egg and crumbled feta cheese."

BAKED CHIPOTLE BACON PENNE: "A spicy mix of chipotle seasoning, smoky bacon and creamy alfredo sauce all tossed with fresh mushrooms, green onion, diced tomato, cheddar and pizza mozzarella, mixed with penne noodles then topped with more cheddar and pizza mozzarella then baked to perfection. "

FETTUCCINI CARBONARA: "A true pasta lover’s delight. White wine alfredo sauce sautéed with smoky bacon, roasted garlic and parmesan cheese then tossed with fettuccini noodles. "

CHOPPED CHICKEN SALAD: "Garden greens with tomato, julienne carrots, celery, red and green peppers all tossed in our poppy seed dressing then topped with a grilled chicken breast and green onions."

BAJA THIN CRUST PIZZA: "It’s muy bueno! A thin crust pizza topped with pomodoro sauce and chipotle seasoning, pizza mozzarella and a blend of roasted corn, red and green peppers and red onion. Finished with parmesan and fresh cilantro."

NEW YORK STRIPLOIN STEAK: "A 10 oz New York striploin steak, aged a minimum 28 days to the peak of tenderness and flavour, charbroiled the way you like it and served with your choice of side dish and garlic toast. Garden greens with our signature sun-dried tomato balsamic vinaigrette to start."

PEPPERONI & FETA THIN CRUST PIZZA: "A thin crust pizza made with our signature pizza sauce and layers of pepperoni, plus sun-dried tomatoes, feta, cheddar, pizza mozzarella and finished with green onion."

PEPPERONI CLASSIC: "Signature pizza sauce, pizza mozzarella and pepperoni." (WK: which I believe was made with Gluten-free dough).

SICILIAN THIN CRUST PIZZA: "A thin crust pizza brushed with extra virgin olive oil and topped with Genoa salami, pizza mozzarella, chopped red and green peppers, olives and seasoned with pizza spice. Finished with parmesan."

STICKY TOFFEE PUDDING: "A warm and sweet treat featuring traditional toffee pudding served with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream and smothered with rich caramel sauce. "

I was busy taking photos (most of which didn't turn out) so by the time I went through the buffet, there wasn't a whole lot left. I missed out on Sliders, Crispy Chicken Wrap and some pizza. My highlights that I did get to taste were the classic pepperoni pizza on Gluten-free dough, the poppy seed dressing on the salads, and the NY striploin.

Oh, and the Sticky Toffee Pudding. The pudding was spongy, the toffee was caramelly good, and the vanilla ice cream completed the dish. Later I saw that someone was eating a full sized order - good move!

We also got a grab bag full of goodies from BP: coupons, VIP cards, mints, balloons, golf tees, tattoos etc. It was like being at a birthday party, and I didn't need to bring a present!

I want to thank Leslie for the food and the great hospitality (as well as the friendly and excellent service staff). Mostly I want to thank her for letting me finally meet many of these bloggers and tweeters. I didn't catch everyone's name (real name or their Net identities) but here are some of their Twitter handles and blogs - it was great meeting everyone!

@foodiePrints - foodieprints.com

@nachosatmidnight - nachosatmidnight.com

@PRMarissa

@ottawamom - ottawamom.com

@TomHafstatter - tomhafstater.com

@Spoonsie - isaonabike.wordpress.com

@Sobbee

I know there are more out there - if I missed you or you know someone I missed, let me know.

I really was among friends at Boston Pizza Orleans!

Going to a Boston Pizza VIP Tasting Event

Well, I'm feeling pretty special.

I recently was able to get on the invite list to Boston Pizza Orlean's VIP Tasting Event next week. They are testing out some new menu items and thanks to BP Orlean's Community Relations Coordinator Leslie Scott, I get to be one of them.


I'm excited for the tasting, as well as meeting up with some Ottawa food bloggers I see but have never met face to face. This should be fun!

I'll post more after the event. In the meantime, you can go back and check out my trip to Boston Pizza in Waterloo where I had some good wings with Juliana and Andrew.

Hot Sauce Caution

My good friend Mr Ricky Patel over at Fuzzification is on the move and passed on to me a recent experience of his regarding hot sauce:





"Here is a little story I thought I'd share with you. It's a bit of a cautionary tale, you might want to share with your readers...

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

Since I'm on the verge of vacating my apartment for a life of semi-homelessness and Nomad-ery, I've been cleaning and getting rid of things. Today I was scrubbing the kitchen, and it was time to start going through my fridge for discardables.



I bumped into our old friend "3rd Degree Sauce". A long time ago I had bought two of these giant jugs of sauce (One of which I gave to Wing King). To be honest, I really didn't use a whole lot of it. I quickly grew to dislike the sauce. It was too garish for my palette as I tended to more flavorful spice concoctions (as those found in my native Indian cuisine). So there in the bottom of my fridge the jug sat. Once in a while I'd bring it out to see if it had started to grow mold or spoil (as it was well past its best before date) but the sauce remained as the day it was opened. On a few occasions I had offered it to friends and the Wing King*, but no one wanted this offensive beast in their fridge.

Which brings me to today. It was the day that the sauce would make a permanent exit from my life. Little did I know that the sauce would not go quietly. The jug was far too full to just toss into the recycling bin and my environmental sensibilities prevented me from tossing into the trash. So it was decided that it would be poured down the drain (along with the contents of a few ancient jars of Tandoori paste). The jug took some effort to open as it had crusted tight, but it yielded under my might. I upended it in the sink with hot water on full, which proved to be my undoing.


Like a punch in the face, the capsaicin laced steam hit me in the face and I immediately began to cough. My eyes began to water and my mouth even began to burn. As I coughed I inhaled this cloud of acrid steam into my lungs. I ran for the balcony and some fresh air. As I gasped for life, I had this feeling that somewhere the devil was laughing at my contempt for his fiery sauce.


Ricky. "



* WK note: I was still working on the original bottle he generously gave me.

WWWWWW #21 ~ KFC Art

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:


Actually, I don't know where it came from or who put it out there first. It had been floating around in my Internet favourites for a long time, but the original blog I found it on is gone. So some quick Google action, and I came across a full collection of the photos on Jokes: Its All Humor. There are no more chicken wing references on that site, but I hope you can all enjoy the creativity of the anonymous ar-tist.

Kind of looks like my logo . . .





Don Quixote?


Don Quixote's horse?



Slam Dunk!

Corn torch!

I knew there was more I could be doing with my wings. Maybe I will start doing some chicken bone art of my own. Maybe not.