Return to WING WAGON

Many many weeks ago, let's say one month ago it was my birthday, and on my birthday I traveled to Ottawa to be with LJ and to do some feasting. And feasting I did. The one place I was really looking forward to going was a trip down to the US for some excellent wings.

We popped down to Watertown New York - do a little shopping and of course to do a little eating. Most of the shopping I do is getting cherry flavoured beverages that I can't get back in Canada - you know, Cherry Coke, Cherry Coke Zero, Wild Cherry Pepsi, even Black Cherry Schweppes Ginger Ale!

Well it was time for supper and I wanted to go to one of my favourite wing joints, The Wing Wagon.

LJ and I tested out the Wing Wagon back in May. We were going to get take-out, but it was late, the weather was rainy and there wasn't really anywhere to eat outside. The last time we went the tables were sticky and not so clean, this time around it was much better, so we ate in. The service was friendly and before long we had a tasty supper.

LJ went for their Chicken Parmesan Hoagie ($4.29 USD). It was on a toasted roll, with the breaded chicken patty, mozzarella cheese, and marinara sauce. LJ isn't crazy about marinara sauce in general, but this was mild and not overpowering. The chicken was crispy and I had a bite and thought the sandwich was good. We both agreed that we personally don't like that much marinara sauce on the sandwich, but that others might.

We went for another order of Fried Dough ($2.49). This time it seemed like a pre-formed dough instead of one made for scratch. It was good, but not as good as last time.

I went back for wings of course. I ordered 20 wings, split in flavour. Last time they came in two giant containers, this time in two smaller containers. Either way they looked exciting.

Just to keep in reference to last time, the wings came piping hot, crispy and large, with a ton of celery and some thick blue cheese dressing.

XXX-HOT

I ordered two flavours of wings - the first - I wanted to up the heat ante. From X-Hot to XXX-Hot. Visually they looked meaner - darker red, chili flakes. The smell itself had a bite.

The heat was good. My nose was definetely running, but the burn wasn't scorching my tongue. This is what a good suicide should be - a sharp sting, but still a lot of flavour.

HONEY MUSTARD

Honey mustard is definitely a flavour that is growing in the wing world. It's unique, sweet but has a different heat style than a traditional wing. And Wing Wagon has a quality version.

It's thick, sticky/gooey and really good. LJ had never had honey mustard wings before, and I think she got hooked on them. I don't think I've had bad honey mustard wings, but these are certainly one of the best.

I ate wings until I was in a chicken coma. Every bite was so good, and I never wanted it to end. Awesome birthday feasting! 

Thanks LJ!

5 Guys Burgers ~ Kanata ON

Day 2 of my Birthday Gluttony Weekend. 

Friday, 1pm.

Kanata Ontario

Since I am back in the Ottawa region relatively frequently, I try and keep an eye on the food scene. I had heard about the coming of the American chain Five Guys during the summer, and, well its open. Not in Ottawa, but just outside in Kanata (there are more coming to Ottawa soon though).

I walked in and was amazed at the machine that is 5 Guys. First, long line-up, but it moved quickly (I overheard a cashier say it was out the door at noon). Realistically, there are only a few things on the menu, and there is a rapid assembly line with lots of staff all hustling.

I ordered a Bacon Cheeseburger, with a regular Cajun style fry and a drink. I was a little shocked when there were no combos (I've just gotten so used to this at fast food) and my total came to $14.99.

You are given a number while you wait. And while you wait, help yourself to some peanuts. That's right, peanuts for free. And don't forget that the fries are cooked in peanut oil too. And free refills on Coke (self service fountain machine).

Here is my order of fries. This is the smallest size fry they have. Lets come back to that though. You can get them regular or Cajun style. I went with Cajun which meant a ton of seasoning. This was good for the first few fries, but became overwhelming salty after a couple. They did have ketchup, as well as malt vinegar for dipping.

So going back to the fries, the above being the smallest size, but realistically that is a big cup of fries. And that wasn't it.

Here is the bag with all the other fries that were on top of the burger and fry cup. Very generous portion.

Onto the burger. This is a tall one. Apparently a regular hamburger is a double patty. I should have just gone with the Little burger.

Here's the burger breakdown. One correction is the pickles are above the tomato and there is onion in there too. What isn't there is bacon. I got more than halfway through and realized there was no bacon. I thought I must not have ordered it. But when I was done I looked at my bill and I had indeed ordered bacon. Oh well.

The good: simple tasty burger. Meat has nice meaty flavour. Cheese is processed but its good that way. Lots of toppings to choose from and you can have it your way.

The bad: low structural integrity. This burger fell apart easily. It was sloppy. Pilled high but flip flops on itself.

So would I go back? Yes. Here's what I would do differently: Little Bacon Cheeseburger, regular fries, more peanuts. Maybe even trying their hot dog. It was nice to have a change in the chain burger world. But they are not going to topple the competition after the novelty wears off.

Five Guys Burgers

5517 Hazeldean Road, Kanata ON

fiveguys.com

TARA INN ~ Toronto (Scarborough) ON

First stop on my Birthday Feast for 2011 was the Tara Inn. I have heard about this place and its good wings for a long time, however it being out in Scarborough, I have never been able to get out there to try. But since I was headed to Ottawa and had a car, I decided now was the time.

There are actually two Tara Inn's: I don't know which came first or how different they are. The one I went to is on Kingston road, dead centre of a strip mall. It has its own patio, but it was too rainy on this Thursday for anyone to enjoy. I went inside and was surprised at how empty it was. The restaurant was split with the main bar on a lower level to the right, and the 'dining' area to the left.

I tried to make eye contact with the waitress/bartender Melanie, but she was tending bar where all the other patrons were sitting. I went to the left for some solitude and to be able to review. I sat in the big front window. I waited for a few minutes, concerned that I wasn't seen, but eventually she did make her way over.

Before long I had a beverage, and then shortly I had my post-wing clean up. Wing bowl, napkins, moist towelettes, and something I have never seen a wing place do, but all should, a tooth pick! How many times have I had a little piece of chicken stuck in the teeth and wished I had a toothpick. Now I just needed my wings.

The wings come in an interesting ordering pattern. You can order wings either by the number (5, 10, 20) or by pound. I don't know why, but there it is.

Above is a glorious order of 10 wings that they split into two sauce orders ( a lot of places won`t split). The wings were nice and wet, with more of the sauce prevalent on the BBQ than the Hot.

On the side were celery sticks and some ranch to dip. Crunchy celery. Bottled ranch.

The size of these wings were impressive. These were jumbo wings. I mean long, big wings. Sometimes when a place has jumbo wings the chicken is mutant and rubbery and not good. Not here my good friends, this was a well cooked wing. And crispy skin. Deep fried to perfection.

HOT

I went with hot as a good base sauce. The hot was traditional cayenne based hot sauce. The sauce absorbed into the skin but the wings did not get soggy.

The taste was bang on for a good hot wing. Nothing crazy - just good. Hot was not, sadly.

HICKORY BBQ

Contrary to what I wrote in the above picture, this was a Hickory BBQ. And boy did it have a hickory smoked flavour.

Dark, smokey with a hint of sweet. This was a good BBQ sauce.

SUICIDE

Killer stuff? Not so much. But it did have a nice kick. It was a different sauce from the regular 'hot' - more vinegary, but much more peppery. The taste was ok - but I wasn't too keen to do extra dipping.

THE SCORE: I had heard the hype about the wings, and I was not disappointed. Jumbo crispy wings in tasty sauces. Hot was good. BBQ was good. Suicide, spicy but not great.  And there were quite a few flavours to boot. If you want near perfect wings, Tara Inn is the place to go. A great way to start off my gluttonous weekend.  8.5/10

The Tara Inn: Irish Pub & Restaurant
2365 Kingston Road, Toronto (Scarborough) ON

Birthday Feasting

Last weekend was my birthday and let me tell you it was a glutton food fest.

Meal after meal after meal.

It was soo good.

And I'm going to tell you all about it soon. But not yet. Because work has been keeping me busy. But I'm super stoked about re-living through the blog.

Sorry for being behind yet again.

Wing Long and Prosper

Lord of the Wings.