DUNDEES BAR & GRILL Montreal QC 2013 - LOST REVIEW

=DUNDEES is NOW CLOSED=

It's time for another #lostreview & #tbt

This week we are looking back to June 2013. I was in Montreal at a conference and I took full advantage of the food while I was there. I did reviews for Schwartz's Deli, Diablo's BBQ, La Cage Aux Sports, and Poutineville - boy did I eat well those few days!!! Funny enough, these blog posts were all proto-Lost Reviews because I never posted them until 2014!). But there was one more location that just didn't get posted for whatever reason, and that was Dundees. It should be noted that sometime in 2019 Dundees Bar & Grill closed and/or re-branded as Dirty Dogs ...

I started writing the post and will leave it as is and indicate where I stopped writing and will try to fill in the rest where I can. 

JUNE 2013

So I'm in Montreal at a conference, I've done some exploring, done some networking, and then it was time to do some hanging out with some colleagues from back home. 

We wandered the streets looking for a place that wasn't crazy busy and that we could all agree on. Dundee's seemed to fit the bill. The sign made it seem like it was some Australian themed restaurant that would be big on fun, but it was just standard American fare. And the menu read more like a French bistro, as did the inside and out. It just seemed like it was confused about it's identity.

Dave took the photo of the group: Kate, Scott, Jennifer, Karen and Val. Some were having dinner, some were snacking, all of us were enjoying sitting on the patio watching the Montreal night life. Oh I got wings, as you can tell.   

[THIS IS WHERE I STOPPED WRITING FROM HERE ON OUT IT's MY MEMORY]

I remember this evening, but I don't remember the wings that well, other than they were disappointing. They don't look to bad, but fortunately I did write out a SCORE for them:

Wow, 3/10 - brutal. I was not impressed at all.

I got an order of 8 wings. The waitress did not give a full list of sauces when I asked, she just offered BBQ or Thai, so I went with BBQ. What was frustrating is that the menu lists these as Buffalo Wings with "Original, BBQ or Thai sweet & spicy." These aren't Buffalo Wings, they are Chicken Wings and unless 'original' was Buffalo sauce that I couldn't get, these are not in any way Buffalo Wings.
It came with a garnish of Lettuce and shredded carrot, but no dip.

In the SCORE I wrote they were a medium wing with a medium meatiness. They look kind of small from here. The wings were not crispy at all. In fact they were baked I'm pretty sure, then coated in a thick bottled BBQ sauce. The wings were sticky and gooey but the skin was limp and soggy.

The BBQ flavour was ok but nothing special. It just tasted like commercial BBQ sauce.

FINAL SCORE

I was not impressed with these wings at all. In fact I  was not full or satisfied with them and may have gotten a late night snack after this. There just was no love here. Soggy goey wings that were clearly an after thought on the menu. Great times with the folks at the conference though!!!

DUNDEES Bar & Grill (NOW CLOSED)
2010 Crescent Street, Montreal QC
dundees-barandgrill.com (no longer works)
Dundees on Facebook (still works)

Farm Report #3

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Farm Report #3 While they were looking a little wilty today, we have a bunch of peppers on all plants! Can't get over the difference since last week. We also lost one pepper ... Not sure if this was just not meant to be or due to one of the furry little critters in the neighbourhood (do squirrels/rabbits like hit peppers?!) #lordofthewingsblog #lordofthewings #lotwfarmreport #srirachapeppers #cayennepeppers #futurehotsauce #lordofthewingshotsauce

A post shared by LORD of the WINGS (@lotw_wingking) on Jul 15, 2020 at 2:47pm PDT

CITY FRIED CHICKEN Toronto 2013 - LOST REVIEW

It's time for another #tbt & #lostreview

This is yet another review where I don't have notes to remember this trip. I actually thought this review was from 2016 because the following restaurant is on the Danforth and I went there several times in 2016 when I had a car. In fact, I was sure I did a better review of this place but my records say otherwise.

The way I remember finding out about City Fried Chicken & Pizza was that there is a 7-11 (or was, as of 2018 it closed. Can you believe a 7-11 closed?!?!) and I think the fried chicken part stood out. Well one day in the summer of 2013 I had a car (a rental or a Zip Car, but why I don't remember) and went up to check it out.

Two things stood out for me when I went in: 1) I got a lot of stares. Every time I've gone in the customers all stare at me like, who is this guy. I'm also the only white person I've ever seen in there, so maybe that's why. 2) This place serves Halal chicken, and has lots of religious plaques and flyers up as well. I'm not a fan of any place toting it's religious affiliation but so many restaurants do this.

Inside the place is marked by a yellow and black colour scheme. It has one big long take-out counter with various hot foods in heating trays, or fried chicken under heat lamps. There are several tables along the wall and some window counter seating at the front. The staff were friendly and seem to know most of the customers coming in.

There's a lot on the menu. There's pizza, burgers, fried chicken, cheese steaks, fish, bagels, fries, onion rings, salads and on and on. The fried chicken looked like it was really crispy and a nice coating, so I was looking forward to the wings. The prices were really good. I remembering about asking for flavours and I think it was BBQ, Honey Garlic and Hot but they were not listed anywhere. I think they might have even offered ketchup too, but that would be a #wingcrime I'm pretty sure.

When my order was ready I popped back in the car and drove till I found a little park. I grabbed a picnic table. Packed tightly in a brown paper bag was the Styrofoam clam-shell, with the wings resting on a sheet of food paper. There were a few paper napkins also in the bag. No dip, no veggies, just wings.

What a beautiful summer evening to have a wing picnic!!! And the wings looked good!

I got a 9 piece wing (I'm assuming - the bill said $8.01 which included a $0.15 fee for using Interac), and that photo looks to be about 9 wings.

The wings seem like they were ok in size - not big but not tiny either. There was a nice, fine crispy breading on them, which make for a light crunch. This was crispy good fried chicken!

I'm pretty sure they only had the three flavours of sauce, BBQ, Honey Garlic, and Hot. To my surprise the Hot was 3rd Degree!

That 3rd Degree is unmistakable with its viscous-like texture.

They weren't big, but these were some tasty wings. I love that little piece hanging off on the above pic - that's good eats!

To see if City Fried Chicken & Pizza is still around, it is, but according to their website, it's just City Fried Chicken now. The menu doesn't seem to list pizza anymore. Probably for the best as they seem to do chicken really well. After this visit I did go back several times as I could get some good late-night take-out wings. Good times!

City Fried Chicken
990 Danforth Ave, Toronto ON
cityfriedchicken.ca

FARM REPORT #2: We Have Peppers!

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Farm Report #2 Plants have doubled in size, and, wait for it, we have peppers! Ok they are small & only on the sriracha plants (c'mon cayenne you can do it!) but I'm pretty happy so far. #lordofthewingsblog #lordofthewings #srirachapeppers #cayennepeppers #futurehotsauce #lordofthewingshotsauce #lotwfarmreport

A post shared by LORD of the WINGS (@lotw_wingking) on Jul 7, 2020 at 3:18pm PDT

LOTW Meme Monday = Do You Want Covid? BECAUSE THAT's HOW YOU GET COVID!!!

For serious. We all want life to get back to normal, but we can't do that if you aren't wearing a mask.
It drives me insane in an age where we are so educated and informed yet people are so selfish and misguided.

Wear a mask. For you, for your friends, for your family, for the staff that serve us. Wear a bloody mask people!

And if you already are, I salute you!

#nonwingsunday = Jalapeno Popper Burger

This burger was soo good and had so many flavours and textures. The smokey onions, the charred tangy jalapeno, the creamy cream cheese, and well, bacon and beef. So very good!

THE GLEN SCOTTISH RESTAURANT & PUB Stittsville ON 2013 - LOST REVIEW

It's time from another #tbt and #lostreview

I've gone through all my Lost Reviews from 2015 and I'm just going all over the place. Instead of going forward to 2016, I'm going back to 2013 where the start of most of my found reviews are waiting. 

It was 2013, I was living in Toronto, but I came to Ottawa to visit LJ. But my good friend Julianna (you may remember Julianna from such reviews as The Cheshire Cat Pub,  Lou Dawg's, and even way back in 2007 at Pogue Mahone's among others) had been living in the Ottawa area for a bit and I took the opportunity to have lunch together.  

NOTE: I don't have any notes about this visit so this is purely on my vague memory and the photos.

She recommended a place that had great wings. Just outside of Kanata is Stittsville, and in Stittsville is a pub called The Glen Scottish Restaurant & Pub. Originally this pub was in Kanata and moved to this new building, and according to Julianna, this was a huge improvement.

I'm not quite sure when this location opened, but in 2013 it was still new looking. But the inside still had a classic pub look. Modern yet classic. It was crazy busy inside, and seeing the food go by one plates, I could understand why.

The menu is full of traditional pub fare such as fish and chips, Sheppard's Pie, and Scotch Eggs. They even have haggis! Of course, I was there for the wings. The wings come by the pound, and back then 1 pound was $10. There were a bunch of flavours which was also impressive:

• Honey Garlic/Hot 'n' Honey
• Medium/Hot/Suicide
• Rickard's Dark BBQ/Sweet BBQ
• Sweet Thai
• Cajun/Salt & Pepper
• Buffalo Ranch

If you look up the menu today (Summer 2020), they are on a modified take-out menu for Covid where they just have Hot, BBQ, and Honey Garlic).

Julianna wen't with the fish and chips, and wow, is that a huge piece of fish.

Like that thing is massive! It also had a really crunchy batter like I have never seen before. It came with fries (fresh cut) and not really a salad but kind of a garnish?!  Unfortunately I don't remember if she like it or not, but I think she did. Julianna, if you are reading this, let me know!

Of course I got the wings and wow, what a presentation! First you've got a pyramid of wings that just looks awesome. Then you've got the redoubt fortification of carrot sticks near some foliage, protecting an inner container of blue cheese dip. The Glen does not mess around!

b

That dip looks mighty thick and creamy! The carrot sticks fresh and crunchy. The lettuce ... I don't know what to do with that.

In one pound The Glen serves up 8 wings. They were breaded and sauced really well. It seems like it was pretty equal drum-to-flat ratio.

The wings weren't long in terms of size, but they were a good size wing. They were also pretty meaty.
That breading that is on there was still crispy and held up to a good thick coating of sauce.

Each wing was coated in sauce and they came out wet, but there wasn't any extra on the plate. Now I only got one flavour, so I'm assuming it was Hot. But I'm curious what suicide, or the Rickard's Dark BBQ is like. I can't remember what these wings were like for sure, but they look so darn good in the photos!

I'd like to blame Covid, but I haven't seen a lot of good friends, like Julianna, in a long time. I miss our hang outs and hope we can get back to going out and having wings soon! I haven't been back to The Glen since this visit, but I'm pretty sure it's worth going back in the future.

The Glen - Scottish Restaurant & Pub
1681 Hazeldean Road, Stittsville ON
theglen.ca

HAPPY CANADA DAY 2020!!!

Cheers to you for making it this far into 2020. May your day be safe and full of delicious wings!!!

Sad little Costco Rotisserie Chicken Wing

#nonwingsunday = Spaghetti & Meatballs & Caesar Salad

#nonwingsunday = Spaghetti & Meatballs & Caesar Salad

Little time means very little made from scratch, but lots of little things done to elevate to something special.#lordofthewingsblog #spaghettiandmeatballs #caesarsalad #hacked #itsnotallaboutwings pic.twitter.com/QFD7k0ODd8

— LORD of the WINGS (@LordoftheWings) June 29, 2020

PC NASHVILLE HOT STYLE CHICKEN WINGS - Quarantine Frozen Wing Review

I can't tell you how excited I was to try this review.

President's Choice Nashville Style Chicken Wings.

PC launched a whole wack of Nashville Hot products: wings, chicken bites, even shrimp. When they came out I was excited to get them and they were all on sale! Well, that's not true. The wings didn't go on sale. All other chicken wings went on sale, the bites, the shrimp all went on sale, but the Nashville wings specifically did not. So I didn't buy them, because I'm cheap. My wife heard me complaining and because she cares, said just buy them. So I did.

If you are not familiar with Nashville Hot Chicken, essentially its fried breaded chicken that's covered in an oily-paste of cayenne pepper, served on a slice of white bread and pickle slices on top. It's a very peppery, spicy but oh so good combination.

The box doesn't do this style justice and if you don't know what it's all about to begin with, you're going to be lost. But PC is banking on people knowing about trends, and Nashville hot has been big the last couple of years.

Some things that jumped out from the box is that the weight of the box is 907g, with a minimum (aka maximum) of 13 pieces.

Inside that box are the bag of wings, the Nashville Hot glaze, and Buttermilk Ranch.

These wings were clumped together and there was a fair amount of ice crystals in that bag.

I turned the oven on to 450 (much hotter than most frozen wings say to do, but that's what they say to do!) and while it heated up, I put the sauce packets into warm water to defrost. I knew the Nashville Hot sauce was going to be something different because it was different than other PC hot sauce packets. It was much more oily than thick, which is good because Nashville Hot is supposed to be more oily than creamy/thick. I did not have much hope for the Buttermilk Ranch.

When the oven was hot enough and the wings went in. I had them on a baking pan with parchment paper. While the box says there are minimum 13 wings, I actually got 16 wings!

After baking for about 20 minutes, flipping once, the wings were ready. They are breaded but it's not thick. It's also not evenly covered on the wings. Some of the wings were pretty greasy but not all.

Actually as a plain fried wing these didn't look too bad. So far so good.

That sauce packet was thawed and you can see the difference right away. I took that as a good sign as there are really two key components to Nashville Hot chicken: crispy chicken and spicy sauce. So far we had crispy chicken ...

I poured the whole packet all over the wings and there was lots of sauce for each wing to be coated and for there to be leftover. Awesome.

I tossed the wings and it seemed like the breading was holding up to the sauce. This was promising too for this product. They also had that Nashville signature smell of peppery-goodness.

I plated the wings and they looked good, but something was missing.

Bread and Butter pickles!!! I didn't have white bread so that was out, but pickles helped pick up the appearance and the authenticity on this tasting. Now that looks like Nashville Hot chicken.

Our meal overall was a bit random. We were having some mozza sticks from the back of the freezer, as well as a bit of dip with tortilla chips. Oh there's some carrot sticks too. You know, to make it healthy, and for the ranch dip I guess.

The size of; they aren't the biggest but they aren't the smallest either. Let's say just right but not perfect. They were also not an even mix of flats and drum which was surprising: 6 drums and 10 flats. Weird.

That high heat and the light breading on them led to really crispy skins. I really liked the texture on these wings and the crispiness that came from their recommended technique. The meat was relatively tender and what you would expect from a frozen wing.

The sauce on these wings worked so well. As I've already said, the sauce is oily, but still thick, and it clung on and enveloped every crevasse of the wing, and with that breading that meant there was a lot of surface area for the sauce to grab onto. It also held up to the sauce and didn't get soggy which was great.

It's peppery and hot, but not too spicy. It has a kick, which I enjoyed and was almost too much for LJ, but she really liked it. You can taste the cayenne, but it's also a salty heat. It is kind of a one note heat, and so adding that pickle made these wings perfect because the sweat tang of the bread and butter pickle helps cut that acid and the oily heat bitterness that's there. But it was really good.

As for the Buttermilk Ranch, PC why do you even bother? Just stop putting in crappy cream dips with the wings. It tastes artificial and it's just not good.

WOULD I BUY IT AGAIN?


Yes. No doubt. Already have. Got a box in my freezer. These are crispy/crunchy wings that have a pretty spot on Nashville Hot sauce on them. It's spicy and peppery, and while the heat isn't killer, it's respectable. The flavour of the heat is peppery cayenne, and is almost bitter on it's own, so I strongly suggest you add Bread and Butter Pickles, or any chip-cut sweet pickle to make it both more authentic and to cut through the Nashville sauce. Well done on this product PC, well done. 10/14

President's Choice
Nashville Style Chicken Wings