LOST REVIEW: ANCHOR BAR 2015 - Hamilton ON

It's #throwbackthursday & another LOST REVIEW!!!

Guess what? 2020 marks the 15th year of Lord of the Wings blog! But back in 2015, it was the 10 year anniversary (hence the special icon in the corner of the photos). This was another review ready to go but I never posted it. The visit was in May, and a Monday (why was I going out on a Monday) and I wanted to have great wings to do a little pre-celebrating. Where best to go but the birth place of Buffalo Wings?

OK, not exactly. The original Anchor Bar is in Buffalo NY, not a far far drive from Toronto (where I lived at the time) but this was a Monday night and it probably wasn't worth the time, gas, border hassel etc. So I decided to go to the first franchised location of the Anchor Bar in Canada: Hamilton. Opening back in 2013 I had never made it from Toronto. Well this Monday I guess I got in the car and drove the 68km's to have some traditional Buffalo Wings.

I have eaten at the original Anchor Bar with my buddy Rick back when we did the Great Wing Tour of 2006, so I figured I would have a good understanding of how well they translated into Ontario. I felt that Hamilton was a good location to open up in as it is a very similar city to Buffalo NY: the are both industrial centers, both suffered economically, both are big sports towns, both have a gritty feel.

My first impressions of this Anchor Bar was that I wasn't 100% sure of the entrance. Was I going in the front door? I figured it out, but as soon as I walk in, I get the strong smell of deep fried wings. Like super strong, like there's no vent in the kitchen. It smells good (to me) but also it's too strong.

The decor has both some of the same tropes as the original bar does - pictures of Teressa Bellissimo (the creator of the dish), wacky statues, and other kitch adorn the walls. But the place also has the furnishings of a modern franchise restaurant. It's nice, and clean, but something seems off. That's it, it's nice and clean. It feels like it should be grittier.

My server (never got her name) was ok - she seemed really bored and not a lot of love left for the day. She was decent, but didn't elevate the experience. It was a Monday, so it was dead inside with customers, at least by 7-8ish pm when I got there to dine.

Wings are really the only thing that matters here. The menu and prices are different in Hamilton now, but this menu was different from the original in Buffalo. There the only flavours were mild/medium/hot/suicidal/spicy bbq, so the addition of Maple Honey Garlic and Abandon Ship! help add a bit more choice. These days the standard flavours aren't always enough, which is why there are wing joints with hundreds of sauces. But here, here you are coming for the classic Buffalo sauce.

It took a long time for my wings to come out (suggesting they were cooked from fresh which is good) and they looked good. Things are very simple, but sometimes simple is better. The aroma was intoxicating when they were placed in front of me. The fried chicken, the buttery hot sauce; it smelled so good! It flooded me with memories of my family trips to Niagara Falls NY and getting a bucket of Buffalo wings from a place called Jacos. Ah memories within memories.

The wings came with traditional celery sticks and blue cheese dip. The celery was fresh and crisp. The blue cheese was very tasty. It is either homemade or made from Anchor Bar's own proprietary blend because it's unique. Yes it's creamy and has tangy little bites of blue cheese, but there's something else in there. Garlic? Herbs? Spices? I don't know, but it was good.

The wings come by the pound and there were about 9 wings in that pound, basically evenly split drums and flats.

The wings were large, which just doesn't seem to be the case very often. They were slightly meaty and really really tender. Almost fall-off-the-bone tender. Being the classic wing it's not breaded, just simply deep fried. There is the option on the menu to ask for it extra crispy, but I chose not to envoke that to get a more authentic experience. But I should have because the wings were not as crispy as I like them to be.

I also only went with Hot as my flavour. Medium is the traditional, and I wanted something with a little zing, but didn't want to wander off to Suicide or Abandon Ship territory. If I was to go back, I would (even with the up-charge).

The wings were wet, but not overly saucy like Anchor Bar competitor Duff's. The sauce is very good. It's buttery, almost a little sweet, it's hot. It's crack-like it's so tasty. I could drink the stuff.

So my wings were good. Definitely get them extra crispy. The flavour was on point, and the meat was tender. Sides were good. Overall everything was good. Like the time I went to the original, I was expecting a holy experience, but was underwhelmed. You want them to be the best, most perfect wings, and they aren't (never meet your heroes they say). But they were good.

Anchor Bar
120 King Street West, Hamilton ON (and other locations) 
anchorbarcanada.com