WING CENTRAL - Kingston ON

Back in November, LJ and I had some business in Kingston and when that was done, it was time for some lunch. We both thought wings sounded good, it was a Tuesday and one place in Kingston had an all day wing 'night': Wing Central  

I've done my research in the past one places to get wings and Wing Central comes up over and over again as a place that people feel has good wings. I've also knew in my research that Wing Central used to be a Wild Wing restaurant and part of the chain. There must be a lot of funny business with the corporate wing of that chain because I've seen several branches break away and and become independent restaurants. And the contracts can't be that good because they seem to clone everything about the chain with just slight tweaks.

Wing Central seems to fall into this category perfectly. You walk in and it looks like any Wild Wing restaurant in the province: wood paneling, wood benches, wood condiment tray with paper towels and bone buckets. Sports memorabilia on the walls. Heck, even the menu while in different fonts and different names is pretty much the same as Wild Wing's.

What was a bit different was the vibe. The restaurant side was kind of empty, but the bar was completely full with what I would call the locals. They were there to drink and socialize, not eat wings so much would be my guess. But there doesn't seem to be any other bars nearby to this strip-mall like area.

There are over 80 flavours here to choose from (Wild Wing's says over 100 on their menu, but are there really?) but what does seem slightly different are the specials and combo packs available. We actually went with the Tuesday special which was $14 for a pound and a half of wings (normally they are $13 for one pound). What I really appreciate is that they explain all of their flavours, so you know what you are getting besides a cute name.

Out waitress was Nicole and she took good care of us. Took our orders, answered our questions, and brought us refills on drinks. It didn't take long for us to get our wing feast.

An extra half pound doesn't sound like a lot, but when the wings came, they were a lot!

Our pound and a half orders contained approx 11 wings each - making a regular pound probably around 7 wings.

There were no sides with the wings - maybe because of it being wing night? Because on the menu it says they are served with carrot & celery with a choice of dip. You can also get the wings as a 'Dinner' or they even have a super combo called "Meal Deal for Two aka Date Night Special) with 2lbs of wings, 2 side orders and 2 desserts for $39.99.

The wings were a good medium + wings (not quite large, but a good size none the less). They were both medium + in length and height. They also have a light batter breading on them that doesn't affect their width, but these were meaty wings that were also quite tender. The skin was crispy even holding up to the very thick sauces.

Wing Central was also generous with the sauces. There was not a dry wing in the house and you were going to HAVE to get messy to eat. Good thing there is a roll of paper towel at the table!

We both went very creamy with our orders. LJ went with the Caesar & Parmesan, and I went for the Kicked in the Dills (which is a hot and creamy dill mix).

CAESAR PARMESAN

These were very very very creamy wings. Caesar dressing mixed with Parmesan and sprinkled with Parmesan - great concept. The only downside was that the Caesar wasn't very strong, so you didn't get as bold a flavour as you would expect.

KICKED IN THE DILLS

I get the joke, but the name doesn't really make sense. Good thing the flavour does. Extreme Hot and Buttermilk Dill is a great combination - it's creamy, it's spicy, it's dilly. The heat isn't that hot because it is tempered by the cooling buttermilk.

FINAL SCORE:

Wing Central may just be a decentralized former chain, but they have kept up the quality for years. The wings are crispy, meaty and tasty. Everything you want in a good wing. By the end of the meal, I was STUFFED and very satisfied. 11/15

Wing Central
97 Bath Road, Kingston ON
No functioning website but they are active on FACEBOOK