WWWWWW# 72: HOMU

 HOMU: THe Homeless Museum of Art

The what?


"Mission Statement

The Homeless Museum of Art (HoMu) is an art project created by New York-based artist Filip Noterdaeme. Since its inception in 2002, it has at turns been a live-in museum in a rental apartment in Brooklyn, an activist's initiative, an exhibit in a vacant artist studio, a collection of original artworks, and a mock museum booth embedded in a commercial art fair. Juggling irreverence and sincerity, HoMu seeks to subvert the increasingly impersonal, market-driven art world and expose the sellout of cultural institutions to commerce, cronyism, real estate, and star architects. HoMu exists in a state of perpetual flux and continues to defy the rules of the established art world."


Oh oh. So what does that have to do with chicken wings?

THE CHICKEN WING

"HoMu BKLYN's First Architectural Extension

In the summer of 2006, Director Noterdaeme approached Intelligent Design Team Pollo & Poulet and challenged it to come up with a design solution for HoMu BKLYN's scarcity of space. The team presented Noterdaeme with a revolutionary architectural concept: the Chicken Wing.

The proposal was unanimously accepted by HoMu's Board of Directors. The Chicken Wing was inaugurated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 8, 2006.

Pollo and Poulet's Chicken Wing dramatically enhances the presentation of the Museum's dynamic and evolving collection and provides a truly organic space for temporary exhibits."

Oh. Cool.

Can I eat it?

HEY! So, would you?

For no reason other than I was thinking of the original on SNL . . .

Happy St Patty's Day!

Irish I was eating green wings right now!

Chowhounds looking for wings in Niagara & 'sauga

I troll over on Chowhound now and then, and recently folks in Mississauga and Niagara Falls have been looking for good wings on the Ontario board. Do you know somewhere these wing lovers can go?

No Bull Burgers ~ Toronto ON

RIP - This location is now CLOSED

It's early January, and I was out for a walk on the streets. I had not had dinner, when I came across a little burger joint. While I had been on the look out for wings, I could do burgers on this night.

No Bull Burgers opened up in 2011, where they have been serving 'fresh' 'local' and 'organic' burgers. Hearing that makes me think I would be going into some shi shi restaurant, but this place felt more like a dive (and hopefully good burgers).

The restaurant is quite small - basically a take-out place with a few counter seats. It's owned by the same owner as Soulvaki Express next door, so you can actually go over there and sit too. The menu is pretty straight forward: burgers, cheese burgers, bacon cheeseburgers and how you can double the patties. There also a grilled cheese burger, a bunless burger, and an organic quinoa burger. There are homemade potato chips, fries, poutines and onion rings. They also have special burgers, such as their "Redneck" burger, a "beer battered deep fried peameal rolled in potato chips, paired with a patty, lettuce, tomato, drizzled with a whisk bbq sauce!"

I went with a simple bacon burger combo with fries and a coke which came to like $12. 

First, my combo came with an icy glass bottle of Coke. The cost of glass bottled Coke drives me a little nuts because it's the same amount as a can (355ml) but there's something magical about drinking pop from a bottle.

The combo came with a mountain of fries. Seriously, they take up half of the tray. They were good too - fresh cut, crispy but soft inside. It's self seasoning and I went with ketchup, salt and some vinegar. Very good fries. I had to take 2/3rds home with me.

My Bacon Cheeseburger. Glory on a platter.  I had a choice of strip or peameal, and I went with strip. I also had a choice of Swiss or cheddar, and I went with cheddar.

There were a ton of toppings to choose from and I was actually a little overwhelmed and just went with my go to's. Highlights to point out:

• the bacon was crispy and very flavourfull - this is exactly what I look for in bacon.
• burger was meaty, fresh and seasoned well. Not too thick, not too thin. Excellent patty.
• toppings all tasted fresh, crispy and nothing dominated the burger in terms of taste - it was a happy mosaic.
• Eagle eye readers will see the bottom bun above is actually a top bun. It made for a pretty awesome experience, especially as the bun was soft and white without it being a filler. 

No Bull Burgers was definetely no bull. I was really impressed with the burger, the fries and the service. I like this place and definetly would go back for more - Redneck burger, you are on my radar!

No Bull Burgers
179 Parliament Street, Toronto ON
nobullburgers.ca 

WWWWWW #71 ~ Gordon Oliver

gordonoliver.ca 

I have no idea what is going on here. I saw a food link on a website for a chicken wing milkshake. Its a parody of Gordon Ramsey and Jamie Oliver. G.O. makes some crazy food combinations. What I don`t understand is why. Does anyone know what this is a marketing campaign for?

Above is the Buffalo Wing Milkshake. Mmmmmmmmmm*

*Mmmmmmmm sound might be sarcastic. Might.

What about a noodle sundae? Doesn't that look tasty?

I think the Aquafresh Hot Dog might be the best. Minty and beefy!

Don't forget his book, Cats in a Pot!

So, do you know what Gordon Oliver's deal is?

DRUMS N FLATS ~ Toronto ON

Hey all - still catching up, but at this point, its 2013 wing catch up!

Back in January, I got back to Toronto. I had a rental car and decided I was trying some wings (first wings of 2013!) outside the downtown core. I had heard in blogTO about Drums N Flats, and decided to check it out for myself.

Occupying a corner on Avenue road, I drove right on by without seeing the place. I don't know how. I was pretty excited - its not everyday that a new wing joint opens up, but could you imagine if one did, like everyday?  I digress . . .

This was a Sunday afternoon and it was pretty quiet inside: basically a bunch of young guys watching 'the game' and later a family came in. Drums N Flats (DNF as I'm going to call them) is kinda sports bar, kinda club bar (see the disco ball?) and kinda pub. It worked in my opinion in terms of atmosphere.

Heck, they even have lava lamps. Honestly, lava lamps. I love lava lamps.

My server was Jeff (hey I'm Jeff too). He was friendly and was willing to talk about wings. More on that to come.

I was torn on what I was going to go with wing wise. I mean I would have been happy just trying their regular hot wings, but they have Double Dipped wings, where they deep fry the wings, when they are almost finished they sauce them, then grill, then add another sauce - all of which is pre-selected in 3 choices. So I went with the double dipped. Then I got a regular order later.

On my second order, Jeff brought them out and said he gave me fries on the house. That's pretty awesome. The fries were fresh cut and fried and were pretty close to chip wagon chips. They were slightly limp, but still a bit of snap to them too.

All of the wings come with celery and carrot sticks, and their Ranch Dill Sauce. It's a tasty ranch sauce with a nice hint of dill. You can upgrade for $1 to their Stilton Blue Cheese, but I was happy with dill.

A single order of wings which is a pound, equals about 8 or 9 wings at DNF.

 One order came in a taller metal basket while the one with fries came in a metal tray. Both come with veggies and dip.

There was one downside to my wings. They were small. They were meaty, and they were perfectly cooked, but they were small. The skin was crispy, the meat was tender and easily pulled from the bone. The chicken was fresh. This was all great. But they were small.

I was mentioning this to someone the other day and they suggested that perhaps to have perfectly cooked wings, they must be smaller, and that the jumbo wings lend themselves to being over/under cooked. This is a very interesting theory that I want to work on. I'd still like at least a medium sized wing though.

Double Dipple: RAJUN CAJUN BBQ & BUFFALO HOT

I decided to go with their house tecnique for my wings. I wasn't sure I could eat 2 orders of wings, so lets go with what they specialize in, right?

So my wings were deep fried, then tossed in their Rajun Cajun BBQ sauce. Then they grilled that, and then finished off with Buffalo Hot.

What came out was a wing that had so many flavour levels, my mouth was feeling like there was a party going on and everyone was invited. One moment, it had what I felt was an almost Mexican flavour, to the rich buttery cayenne sauce. Then you'd get a little smoke of the grill. So good!

 HOT HEAT (BUFFALO)

After eating the double dipped wings, I found that I was still a bit hungry, and my mouth was definitely ready for new wings.  There were lots of sauces to try, but I wanted to focus on the basics.

DNF had a well done Buffalo sauce. A little bit hot, a little tart, and very buttery. I could gobble up a ton of these.

INSANE HEAT & ISLAND HOT HOT HOT

I was also curious about their hottest sauces. I got talking to Jeff, and asked for the side of Insane. He recommended the Island sauce, which he brought out for my second round of wings. Both are very hot and are really above the suicide. Its a vinegary sauce, with a strong red chili based flavour (similar to PAIN sauce) and slightly garlicky I think. The difference between the two sauces is a secret heat ingredient added to the Insane. There is still flavour and it is not just plain.

 FINAL SCORE:  Drums N Flats is a great wing place. You can tell they care about their chicken. The wings were just perfectly cooked - crispy, tender and just fresh wings. The sauces taste great and their double dipping add a plethora of flavour sensations. If only they had bigger wings and a wing night and this place would be a big number score. Thumbs up for DNF. Now, if only they could get closer to downtown.
6.5/10

Drums N Flats
1980 Avenue Road, Toronto ON
drumsnflats.com

BELATED BLOGIVERSARY #7 - Best & Worst of 2012

The end of the world never came (it never was going to anyway) - but I ate wings like it was going to. 2012 was bitter sweet for me. Lots of great memories, lots of great wings. The downside was the neglect of the Blog. Life got busy, my job got bigger, and it became a lot harder to write the blog.

So many delays and it really bothered me that a big part of me was put off. Even this list is a month over due. But things are coming back to normal. My passion for wings and writing is just as strong as ever, and I may never get to cover everything I want to, but I will write on.  2012 brought lots of new wings, and so will 2012.

Let's get to the best and worst of 2012. A reminder, these rankings are for 2012 and 2012 alone. Best Wings Toronto 2012 are just the ones I reviewed in 2012, and not comparing them to previous years. Got it? Good.

BEST TORONTO WINGS
BEST OTTAWA WINGS

BEST ONTARIO WINGS

BEST WINGS USA

WORST WINGS

BEST NON WING PLACE
HIGHLIGHTS

 GOALS

BEST WINGS TORONTO REVIEWED in 2012

#1 "Lou Dawg's @ Ryerson " Crispy, and smoked with good Q!

#2 "Jersey Giants"

#3 "King West Wings"

#4 "Kimchi Korea House"

#5 "Sneaky Dees"

BEST WINGS OTTAWA REVIEWED in 2012

#1 "FarmTeam Cookhouse"   Big & saucy wings :)

#2 "Sushi 168"

#3 "Millstreet Brewpub"

BEST WINGS ONTARIO REVIEWED in 2012

#1 "Moose Winooski's ~ Brantford" Giants, tender, crispy, saucesome!

#2 "10 Buck Pizza ~ Tillsonburg"

#3 "Wingporium ~ Etobicoke"

BEST WINGS USA REVIEWED in 2012

#1 "Fatburger ~ Las Vegas NV" OK wings, but  best of the lot.

#2 "Dinosaur BBQ ~ Syracuse NY"

#3 "Applebees ~ Watertown NY"

WORST WINGS REVIEWED in 2012

"Domino's Pizza" Almost gelatinous wings. No thank you. No thank you.

BEST NON-WINGS REVIEWED in 2012

#1"I Went to Philly ~ Cheese Steak" Steaky, cheesy glory!

#2 "Fuzz Box ~ Nova Scotian Donair"

#3 "Patty Shack ~ Burger"

BEST EVENT in 2012

#1 "Boston Pizza Secret Wing Tasting"

#2 "London Ribfest"

#3 "Battle of the Wings"

GOALS for 2013

• Catch up on reviews
• Get Reviews out faster
• More recipes, more tweeting, more interacting with the Wing Nation

I'm looking forward to 2013 and making this a wingtacular new year!

Wing Long and Prosper

Wing King

Lord of the Wings

=====================

Best & Worst of 2006

Best & Worst of 2007

Best & Worst of 2008

Best & Worst of 2009

Best & Worst of 2010

Best & Worst of 2011

=====================

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