PONG's POUTINE - Stittsville ON

 Sometimes the stars align and everything just works out the way you want. A few years ago I heard about a little chip truck in Stittsville called Pong's Poutine that has always gotten rave reviews. Not only do they seem to have killer fries and poutine, but every week they have a different special and sometimes that's General Tso chicken. And I love General Tso chicken. I don't get out there often, and when I've been in the area and down for some fries, they've been closed ...

Then one day I was out in the west end of Kanata when I saw a post about Pong's special for the day: Bacon Cheeseburger with Poutine & a drink for $10, but the weekly poutine was General Tso ... I mean, I had to go!

Pong's is located just off the 417 on Carp Road in the parking lot of Ritchie's Feed & Seed, next to a flea market. It's a standard chip wagon but they've carved out area for seating (when COVID is not going on) with trash cans and their set up. I love their giant mascot on the wagon of a fry guy weilding a spatula like a sword!

The menu itself is pretty standard chip truck fare: fries, poutine, burgers, pogos etc. What sets them apart is the daily and weekly specials, often with an Asian flare, like Pad Thai or sping rolls, or in the case of this trip, General Tso chicken. 

There was already a crowd outside, which I had tried to bypass by calling ahead, but they were busy and didn't answer the phone. Despite being busy, they were friendly at the window. It's clear they have regulars who know them well, asking about their kids, business etc. 

I ordered the bacon cheeseburger combo, but asked if I could upgrade the poutine to the General Tso. They said yes. With taxes and tip it came to $16. They gave me a number and I waited for about 15 minutes. It felt like forever on this sunny and hot day!

The combo was packaged up in a cardboard box and I was given the option of a bag to take it in, in which they put in a fork and several napkins. I went back to the a/c of the car and opened up lunch.

 

Wow what a box! It was jammed pack with poutine goodness and a big burger! Even if this wasn't the upgraded poutine this was a great deal.

I went for the burger first. The burger was not what I expected at all, in a good way. I expected the standard chip truck frozen burger patty and cheap utilitarian bun. Instead, I got a handmade patty and a fresh kaiser bun! The bun to meat ratio was a bit off - while the burger is thick, it's not a wide burger while the bun is quite wide.

I was asked what I wanted on the burger and for some reason I said just mayo. I wasn't looking for a ton of toppings, but why I just said mayo I don't know. So my burger was super basic, but it was good. The bun was fresh and very soft. The burger patty was from ground beef and tasted so much better than the frozen pucks most places serve. The bacon was crisp with a little chew and the cheese I believe was processed as a good burger should have. Meaty, bacon-y, cheesy goodness!

Then there was the poutine. It was a big serving - much bigger than I expected. Half the box was loaded down thick with ingredients and I ended up eating this portion size for a few times after!

This General Tso Poutine has your classic fresh cut fries, layered with squeeky cheese curds and gravy, which is topped with fried chicken chunks with Pong's version of General Tso sauce and sesame seeds for garnish. A-mazing. 

Evaluating just the poutine - I loved it. The fries are skinnier than a lot of places, skin on, crispy. The cheese curds are generous, large, and squeaky. The gravy is good but it got a bit lost with the General Tso sauce. This poutine was aces in my book.

The rest of this dish was topped with deep fried battered chicken chunks. There were about 7 or so pieces which were crispy, but also tender on the inside. Then Pong's topped it with the sauce. It didn't taste like any General Tso sauce I've had before, and I wouldn't say my favourite. The dominant flavour was sesame oil with something very very sweet. It was good, but General Tso sauce to me is a balance of sweet and spicy. This was mostly sesame oil. 

Overall I was very happy with my meal. The combo deal was great, the food was fresh, reasonably priced and just made me very happy. That burger was homemade with crispy bacon and cheese and that kaiser bun changes the burger game up. The poutine is spot on, and while I wasn't crazy about the General Tso sauce, the chicken chunks were pretty good. I'm sad I've only gotten it after so long, and I look forward to going back!

Pong's Poutine

2079 Carp Road, Stittsville ON

facebook.com/pongspoutine

#nonwingsunday = BK Nashville Hot Chicken Sandwich

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I really did enjoy this sandwich. It just hit all the right notes. I was surprised that I had heard almost nothing about it, but after I posted this, Burger King Canada posted this:

it’s bold… it’s kickin’… it’s the all-new Nashville Hot Chicken 🔥
make a $1 order on the BK app to get yours… free.

Cannot be combined with any other deal, combo or offer. Valid for one redemption per registered guest.

— Burger King Canada (@BurgerKingCAN) May 31, 2021

Now you can try it for $1 now too!

#nonwingsunday = Sizzl'n Chicken

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That was really good chicken ...

#nonwingsunday = Buffalo Chicken Sandwich

 

All the flavours of a Buffalo wing dinner in sandwich form.

This is super easy if you've got the items on hand. We had leftover rotisserie chicken, so I shredded the meat, tossed it with Buffalo sauce (butter + Frank's), and heated that up. Toasted some ciabatta buns, sliced up some celery on an angle. Top with some blue cheese dressing and dang you got a good sandwich.

It's got that salty/tangy/creamy blue cheese. Tender chicken meat. The spice and richness from the Buffalo sauce. And that celery adds a crunch for texture, but also adds a peppery and watery flavour to cut that salty blue cheese and the rich Buffalo sauce.

So. Very. Good.

#nonwingsunday = Chili Lime Nuts

 

Here is the recipe we roughly followed (we used Red Chili Pepper instead of regular Chili Powder):

Chile-Lime Peanuts

These spicy nuts were inspired by ones sold by street vendors across Mexico. If you can only find salted peanuts, omit the added salt. Add the maximum amount of cayenne pepper if you want an extra hit of spice.

Total:

50 mins

Servings:

48

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

• 6 tablespoons lime juice
• 6 tablespoons chili powder
• 4 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 6 cups unsalted cocktail peanuts

Directions

Instructions Checklist

• Step 1

  Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 250 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Whisk lime juice, chili powder, salt and cayenne in a large bowl. Add peanuts; toss to coat. Divide between 2 large rimmed baking sheets; spread in an even layer.

• Step 3

  Bake, stirring every 15 minutes, until dry, about 45 minutes. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Tips

Make Ahead Tip: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 weeks.

Tips

Cut Down on Dishes: A rimmed baking sheet is great for everything from roasting to catching accidental drips and spills. For effortless cleanup and to keep your baking sheets in tip-top shape, line them with a layer of foil before each use.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 2 Tablespoons

 

Per Serving:

 

111 calories; protein 4.6g; carbohydrates 4.6g; dietary fiber 1.9g; sugars 1g; fat 9.2g; saturated fat 1.4g; vitamin a iu 309IU; vitamin c 0.6mg; folate 18.2mcg; calcium 14.2mg; iron 0.5mg; magnesium 34.2mg; potassium 138mg; sodium 123.5mg. 

Exchanges: 

2 Fat

© Copyright 2021 eatingwell.com. All rights reserved.Printed from https://www.eatingwell.com 05/10/2021

Frankie's Nashville Hot Chicken - Ottawa ON (Baseline)

One of the biggest food trends round these parts the last few years has been Nashville Hot Chicken. Crispy fried chicken dunked in a peppery-hot oil served with a pickle. I love it. So when we saw a new joint in town called Frankie's Nashville Hot Chicken that was doing Nashville Hot Chicken Strips (and sandwiches), we decided to go for it.

We went with their Double Chicken Sandwich Combo, because we were both feeling the sandwich option and it was cheaper to get the double combo. We also got a side of Ben & Jerry's ice cream that tipped our delivery fee down to zero. Score. 

After ordering, I was curious about where Frankie's was. That's when a small mystery started to unravel. First, it turned out Frankie's is a chain across Ontario. There are a bunch of locations, even in Ottawa. What?! The next thing that was weird was that they didn't have an address exactly. Well no in house dining. What?! See, Frankie's is a ghost kitchen. Not a sit down restaurant, but a kitchen operating for delivery only. But when I did see an address, I was able to confirm that Frankie's isn't an independent chain, they are part of Lone Star Texas Grill chain! There's nothing on either's social media ... sneaky! 

It didn't take long and we had our order. It came in a big heavy paper bag stapled on the top.

Inside were the two sandwich boxes on the bottom, then dips and the ice cream on top. Not a great way to treat the ice cream (you know, heat rises) but it stayed pretty cold, and we tossed it into freezer anyway. Now I didn't end up taking photos of the ice cream, but the Ben & Jerry's Neflix & Chill'd was really good. It's "Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Sweet & Salty Pretzel Swirls & Fudge Brownie" and there is nothing not awesome in that sentence. It was very very good and pairs well with spicy chicken!

Each of our Sandwiches came in a non-descript cardboard box. At this point I could smell the cayenne pepper sauce/oil and I was hungry.

This was the box inside: one foil wrapped sandwich, and a good order of curly fries.

I unwrapped my sandwich and it was not pretty, but it did look good. The top bun was smooshed, and much smaller than the top bun? But the bun was struggling to hold everything together, in a good way.

The breakdown of the sandwich is a Garlic Toasted Ace Bun. Then there were 3 Nashville chicken tenders that had been brushed with Nashville Hot Sauce. Then there was a layer of pickles, then Frankie's Signature Sauce. 

The bun is a brioche bun that was fresh and soft, but didn't taste like it was garlic. I don't know if  its the way it's cut or what, but the top is smaller than the bottom. The chicken tenders themselves were crispy but also soft, and the white meat was tender. They were coated in sauce; my wife had the standard Hot and she found that spicy. I had Hot AF "As Frankie" which they describe as 'kicked up with scotch bonnet and habanero pepper' (non-traditional Nashville Hot peppers). I found it spicy, but not melt your face spicy. It's peppery with cayenne heat as the dominant flavour. 

There's a few sweet pickles on there that help cut the salty/peppery heat of the chicken. They aren't special on thier own (I mean I wouldn't enjoy these much as a pickle) but they are needed on the sandwich. Also helping to balance things out on the sandwich is the Frankie's Signature Sauce. I think it's mayo based, giving some creaminess, but there's also some garlic, something sweet, and something spicy to it too.

The curly fries were good; crispy and seasoned well. They held up being crunchy even after a long delivery ride. They are very similar to the king of curly fries, Arby's, but not quite the same.

I also got a dip on the side for $0.50 - Honey Dill. It tastes just as it sounds, dilly, with some sweet honey. It was a lot thinner/watery than I expected, but the flavour was good. It paired very well with the curly fries.

WOULD I GET IT AGAIN?

The meal was good. Nice, crispy seasoned curly fries. The sandwich was also good as a whole - no one thing stood out as amazing, but it was good. The chicken was crispy, moist, and dressed well, the bun was fresh, the pickles and sauce tangy. I only wish Hot AF was more spicy, and more bold. 

Frankie's Nashville Hot Chicken

780 Baseline Road, Ottawa (Nepean) ON (and other locations, inside Lone Star restaurants)

frankieshotchicken.ca

#nonwingsunday = Grilled Spicy Salmon

 

I was really hoping this was going to go a different way. We bought this beautiful cut of salmon. I researched ways to cook it, knowing I was not going to be a big fan. See I like fish, but not all fish. I love fish & chips. Breaded, fried, fish with fries. I like a fish sandwich. Breaded, fried sandwich. But the only salmon I have ever really liked was from a tin and slathered in mayo (well as a kid we had Miracle Whip, but that's a story for another day).

So as the description above stated, I rubbed it well in some spices, let it marinate, then grilled it. It looked really good, but if I smelt it on the grill, I would almost gag. I was going to try it damn it, but I didn't have much faith I could eat it all.

It was cooked perfectly, and we had it with some boiled potatoes. My family said it was really good, so I took a bite ... the first moment ... not too bad. Then seconds later the fishy flavour kicked in and god it was awful. I only took a small piece, and I finished it, but yuckers. Boiled potatoes with butter and salt and pepper never tasted so good!

We had leftovers and I tried to have it again, but no deal. A few bites in and I just wanted to vomit. I tried. I really tried. 

#nonwingsunday = Poutine from TV's Fries

 

#nonwingsunday = Easter Feast 2021

 

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#nonwingsunday = Halifax Style Donair

 

I love Halifax donairs. What about you?

#nonwingsunday = Trash Can Nachos

'

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So damn good!

#nonwingsunday = Baked 'Deep-Fried" Oreos

 

#nonwingsunday = Baked 'deep-fried' Oreos

These were tasty but the chocolate became surprisingly silent. pic.twitter.com/nxSpbYmx5y

— LORD of the WINGS (@LordoftheWings) February 22, 2021

I mean all you do is wrap an Oreo in Pillsbury crescent rolls & air fry. Good, but nothing like the real thing. 

#nonwingsunday = Super Bowl Spread from Hometown Sports Grill

Sometimes my food wants/needs/desires does not always line up with my friends and family; not everyone wants wings all the time ... I guess. So trying to find a Super Bowl special that met my wants for supper and the folks in my household made it a bit tricky. One thing we all were ok with was not actually watching football. I checked a bunch of places out, but one seemed to work for everyone here: Hometown Sports Grill.

Their deal was "Pick Six Touchdown Special" which was pick any 6 for $85 + tax. You could get  the Pick Three Field Ball Special for $45 + tax, but there were 3 of us and we wanted a bit of a spread, not to last but for gluttony reasons.

I called on Friday just to check on the rules and it was simple: call on Sunday, order, call when you arrive and they will call you to come in to pick up. I asked if I could order Saturday, which they said for sure, but then we forgot to call Saturday to late. 

So we called Sunday right at 4pm when they opened. It took lots of tries to get through but we did, and were told they couldn't provide food until after 6 or 6:30 based on orders. We said great because we wanted a 7:30 pick up. No problem. We went with 2 orders of Ribs, 3 Beef Tacos, 1 large poutine, 3 Desserts (Oreo Hushpuppies is what we chose) and an order of wings (I got suicide with sauce on the side) with fries.

 I arrived for pick up a bit early. They were having a few delays so they offered me a free pop (but I declined). When it was ready, they gave me a free order of Vegan Nachos for having to wait! The gesture was super nice, but I had made Trash Can Nachos Saturday and we already had leftovers. Oh well.

Here the food breakdown:

• 1/2 Rack RIBS & FRIES x2: Saucey Meaty ribs - the family thought they were ok, but they are not huge fan of American style bbq sauced ribs, so I didn't put much stock in that opinion. The fries are thin and limp, but I like that style once and a while
• 3 Beef Tacos: Big hit! Softshelled with a mix of meats and some fresh veggies on top with like a ranch-like dressing. Very beefy & flavourfull.  
• Poutine: giant delicious mess of fries, gravy and cheese curds. The curds were all melted by the time I got home, but this was exactly what I was looking for in a poutine today!
• Suicide Wings: The container said "Plain" so I was worried they forgot my side of suicide sauce, but it was in there :) But no fries :(  Wings were very crispy - a little dried out but it was a long drive home. The homemade suicide was really good - cayenne based with a nice zing to it!
• Oreo Hushpuppies: There were three containers of 5 each. These were AH-MAZING! By a stunning amount of will power I only at 2, but these were just awesome. 

Overall, the food was good, service was friendly, and it was good to support a local business!

To see my wing review of Hometown from 2018 go HERE.

#nonwingsunday = Air Fried Pickles

 

#nonwingsunday = Air Fried Pickles

Not bad, not bad indeed!#lordofthewingsblog #lordofthewings #friedpickles #deepfriedpickles #airfriedpickles #dillpickles #lotwtestkitchen pic.twitter.com/sq2ZVwminv

— LORD of the WINGS (@LordoftheWings) February 1, 2021

#nonwingsunday = South Indian Beef Samosas

 

#nonwingsunday = Smoked Meat Sunday (Schwartz's Deli & Moishes Dills from Costco)

 

This was a last minute meal idea by my wife while doing a Costco run. We grabbed the meat, grabbed the pickles. At the grocery store we bought some frozen fries, some coleslaw, and some rye bread. 

A quick review:

Schwartz's Smoked Meat (from Costco)

There were 6 packets in the box and we got about 10 individual meals out of this, but I wasn't making stacked sandwiches like Schwartz's does in restaurant. And it's no question this was not anywhere as near good as getting it from the actual restaurant. But it did the trick. One batch I did up was a lot more tougher and did not release well. Price was about $17.

Moishe's Kosher Dills (from Costco)

This was a 2 litre jar of Kosher Dills - these were exactly what you want - SUPER SOUR, salty, and dilly. Crunchy, and pretty big. It was a bit pricey at like $7, but they were good.

We bought the No Name fries because they were like $2 and my wife was hesitant and I should have listened. These were not great at all. We also got Ziggy's Coleslaw, and it was pretty cheap tasting too. Rye bread was good!

It wasn't the real thing, but it was a decent meal for sure. 

#nonwingsunday = Chili Craft Pizza (Ottawa ON)

 

There's a story to this awesome pizza ... but I'm saving that for a wing review coming soon!  

#nonwingsunday = Cheeto Cheeseburger

 

#nonwingsunday = Cheeto Cheeseburger

Yes I did do that. No I'm not proud of myself, but I've had so many burgers at home during the COVID times I needed a change. Mayo, hot sauce, processed cheese slice & Cheetos on a grilled burger.

Don't judge me. #chestercheetah wouldn't. pic.twitter.com/WtZy8XYwOx

— LORD of the WINGS (@LordoftheWings) September 28, 2020

#nonwingsunday = Beef Ho-Fun, Manchurian Fried Rice, General Tao Chicken From Fine Taste

 

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#nonwingsunday =Ho Fun with Beef, Manchurian Fried Rice, & General Tao Chicken from Fine Taste Hakka Chinese Wish I could get Chinese take-out like this in Ottawa. Only made better with some Wing's Hot Sauce. #lordofthewingsblog #lordofthewings #hakkafood #chinesefood #manchurianfriedrice #hofun #beefhofun #generaltao #finetaste #finetastewhitby #whitbyeats #whitbyontario

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