AROMA PIZZA - Orleans ON

Back in January of 2017 I was running errands in Orleans and went out of my way to try a local pizza joint. I had been lured in by enticing online advertising photos for a place called Aroma Pizzeria. 

I didn't do a review - the only record I have of that visit was an Instagram post I made. I remembered that the stripmall it was in was weird because the parking lot was in the back, but the entrance in the front by the road, the owner(?) was very friendly and told me his wing sauce secrets (Nuclear was Frank's Xtra Hot), and the wings were tasty. It was a good experience, but I had not been back in over a year. Well I was running errands in Orleans again and decided to drop back in.

Located in the Jeanne D'Arc Plaza, Aroma Pizza has changed since I was in last. You can no longer enter by the front entrance, only the back. There used to be a bigger seating area but now it's more of a waiting area. It makes more sense now even if it's less dine-in friendly.

The same guy was running the joint - I assume the owner/manager. He's a very friendly guy and goes out of his way to make customer service a priority. Not only has my interactions been positive, I watched as he ran an order out in the rain to a customer in the car. He came back in and said the customer had hurt their back and had difficulty getting in and out of the car.

The menu has a variety of sauces to choose from, as well as a few wing deals posted. The photos on the above take-out flyer is the photo that drew me in in the first place. I knew it was a stock photo, but I kinda hoped it would be true. It wasn't, but that's ok, Aroma's wings are good on their own.

I went with their "Buy 1 pound, get 2nd 1/2 price" deal. I waited about 10 minutes and had my wings. I would like to point out they now have the paper compostable take out containers. Not the styrofoam but the cardboard like one. The wings are inside, wrapped in tin foil for extra reinforcement.

Were the wings as good as January 2017.

Wings come in an order of 1lb, which works out to about 7-8 wings. Under the tinfoil, I found there was celery, and a container of sour cream. Didn't know about these until I was almost done my wings. Next time I'd have to see if they have something other than sour cream. Who dips wings or celery into sour cream?

The wings are actually a good size here. They are large and have a good length to them. They are relatively meaty to the size of the wing but not jumbo or anything. The wings are also deep fried and they were crispy when they came out.

Aroma's wings are also generously tossed in sauce. Both of the wings were wet, well coated and had lots of reserve sauce in the foil. This was great, but the wings start to lose their crispness and get soggy. This also happens with the 'steaming' effect of the foil wrap I think. This is the universal problem with take-out wings though.

NUCLEAR

I remembered from my first visit that pizza dude said that their 'Nuclear' sauce was actually Frank's Xtra Hot. This isn't a commonly used sauce in my experience, but it's easy and effective.

It definitely has a good sting to it. You still have that Frank's flavour, but it is diluted for more of the heat. It's just sauced straight up from the bottle - no butter added here. It's a vinegary sting that I like, but I'm glad I mixed it up with another flavour.

HONEY BBQ

I'm sure this is another commercial sauce, but I don't know what it is. It's good though.

It's thick and goey and clings to the wings really well. It's a nice balance of sweet and savoury. I can taste the honey, but also what is probably HF Cornsyrup. It was also a good counterpoint to the Nuclear as it stung and this was sweet. Actually, by the end I was swapping wings in the opposite flavours.

FINAL SCORE

These are some pretty good take-out pizza wings. Large, crispy, and good use of two sauces most Ottawa-region pizza places use. The service was friendly. Oh and they have their own loyalty rewards membership too. It's too far for me to take advantage of unfortunately. I've never had the pizza here to comment on it, but with the customer service and the spicy & sweet wings, I'll be back for wings another day I'm sure. 8.5/14

Aroma Pizza
6004 Voyageur Drive, Orleans ON (Jeanne D'Arc Plaza)
aromapizzeria.com