THE PIZZA SHOP ~ Ottawa

= The Pizza Shop is now CLOSED - RIP =

Its getting later and later. The car had been left at the auto shop at 8am. Now well after 5pm and still waiting for their shuttle to pick me up, hunger was setting in. Now its 6pm, and they don't know what has happened to their shuttle. I've made dinner for LJ who's sick, but I'm not having what she's having.

I call again about the shuttle; they tell me to take a cab, on them. The cab arrives and we get stuck in rush hour traffic (good thing I'm not paying for this cab). Finally arrive and pick up the car. Not having a car to get groceries with today, there's nothing else in the house to eat so I'm going to have to grab something. But what? First thought, wings. But where am I going to get take-out wings on short notice on the way home?


The Pizza Shop, I guess. It's a little pizza place in a plaza that consists of 3 other restaurants: Mr Sub, a Shawarma place, and Ho-Lee-Chow Chinese. Talk about competition. I've gone to the other 3 places but never the Pizza Shop. I've been disappointed in not having a 'go-to' wing place in the area. Some place to get just a good order of take-out wings. Is that too much to ask? Maybe this could be the place, but I doubt it I think to myself.


On this night, something said, 'go here' in the back of my head. I don't know why, it was a field of dreams moment almost. So I pulled in out of the rain, and ordered a bunch of wings.

Running a quick errand, I came back and the pizza guy was waiting for me outside. It was a big package, but I still wasn't excited. In fact, I had really low expectations. The smell of the wings weren't really getting me psyched either. But once I got back and opened my 2 giant boxes, my interest was certainly peaked.

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: The Pizza Shop ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	Deep fried, pizza wings
PRICE:	10 for $6.50 20 for $11.50 30 for $16.50
SAUCES:	BBQ Mild/Medium/Hot Suicide Honey Garlic	1/1
HEAT:	Suicide had a nice slow burn
SIZE:	large	2/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	Nice and wet	2/3
CRISPINESS:	Crisp – didn’t get soggy on the way home	2/3
FLAVOUR:	Good – suicide was tasty, but bbq was pretty weak	2/3
SIDES:	n/a
CLEAN UP:	n/a
WING NIGHT:	n/a
OTHER:	Didn’t try the pizza
TOTAL:	Really good pizza wings	9/13*

First thoughts: I love the box. I've really been pining for my childhood memmory; my first wings that came in a carboard bucket, piled high, and tasted so good. Usually take-out wings come in styrophome container, and not that there's anything wrong with that (other than the environment), but there's just a special feeling from a flimsy box.

Second thoughts: these are some big wings for pizza take-out. You always gamble with pizza place wings, where they are often small and this night I gambled with a lot of wings. But they were certainly some of the bigger wings to come from a pizzaeria.



The chicken itself was pretty meaty. It was a bit chewy, but not rubbery by any means. The skin was still crisp despite the drive and the sauce all over them.

I split my order into BBQ and Suicide for some variety. When I ordered, I could see a bunch of big jugs of sauce in the back, so I know they wouldn't be homemade, but then again, few take-out places make homemade.



SUICIDE

I was pretty sure this was going to be 3rd Degree: it was syrupy, had a smell of chili pepper, and that shiney red colour. When I bit into them, there was the faint taste like 3rd, but I believe it is a rival brand of some sort.



The heat on this sauce was good - it was slow building, first in the throat, and later on the lips and tongue. Not the hottest sauce ever, but it let me know it was there.

The wings were covered pretty good with sauce, glimmering and calling me to them. They were sticky, but spicy. What a great suicide wing and to prove it, I ate every single one.

BBQ
The BBQ sauce was a different matter. It was thick, but very lightly added to the wings. It was more 'bold' than sweet, but by bold I mean 'earthy' in flavour. It wasn't strong in taste, just sticky wings. I ended up dipping them in the suicide to make up for them.

FINAL SCORE: Sometimes you just have to take a chance on place. I didn't try their pizza, but The Pizza Shop makes a pretty good wing for a pizzeria. BBQ wasn't so great, but the suicide was leaving me satisfied yet still craving more. The chicken is crispy, meaty and large. This just might be my go-to-not-willing-to-experiment-night wings. 9/13*

The Pizza Shop
1679 Carling Ave, Ottawa

thepizzashop.ca

Click HERE for The Pizza Shop flyer over at The Wing Bucket

WK Guide to Classifying Chicken Wings

Here it is, the diffinitive guide to classifying chicken wings. Surprisingly, most people do not understand the difference between chicken wings, their cooking methods, styles or the variations that have come about from the popularity of this cooked chicken extremity. After seeing, hearing and watching people confuse and misrepresent what a Buffalo Chicken Wing was, I had to come up with a way to educate and inform about the greatest food out there.


While chicken wings have been apart of the food world as long as we as humans have been eating chicken, it is important to understand that the phenomenon of WINGS comes from the Anchor Bar in Buffalo New York in the 1960's. From that fatefull day, chicken wings have become an important member in the lexicon of popular cuisine. Buffalo Wings were born, then Hot Wings were developed, and then an explosion of the styles and methods of cooking have graced the world. We need to understand the differences so that we can be clear what kind of food we are talking about.


I am breaking this classification down into 4 sections: Wing Parts, Cooking Methods, Wing Styles & Wing Variations.

WING PARTS
Let's start by looking at the physical wing itself. Some restaurants/chefs may split it into three parts, two, or as one jumbo unit.

1. THE WINGETTE - aka FLAT, MID-WING JOINT
   -Part of the wing with 2 bones, and delicious stretched skin.
2. THE DRUMMETTE - aka DRUMMY, MINI DRUMSTICK
   -Part of the wing that resembles a chicken leg: bulbous meaty end
3. THE TIP - aka NUB,
   -Part of the wing that is just a tip. Usually discarded (or put into soup etc), but may remain attached. People unfamiliar with the tip may fear it is a mutant part of the chicken, or that it is simply a waste, but can be a small source of crispy joy.
   

Wing sizes vary from restaurant to restaurant and grocery store to butcher shop. Most of the time, bigger is better - but always try to avoid frozen.



COOKING METHODS

There are many ways in which to cook a wing. These are the most mainstream ways to make wings, but there are always people inventing new ways to prepare them.

1. DEEP FRIED
   -In a deep fryer or pot filled with oil (different oils will produce different flavours) cooked at extremely high temperatures.
   -'Traditional method for "Buffalo Wings"
   -Produces the most crispy wings (WK prefered method of wing cookery)


2. a) BAKED - aka ROASTED
   -Placed on a rack or a pan and roasted/baked, usually at high temperatures.
   
   b) BAKED with SAUCE IN
   -Sauced wings that are baked, creating a more flavoured skin.


3. GRILLED
   -Wings cooked over or on a direct source of heat such as a BBQ (charcoal or gas) or a grate (also known as a grill) over a fire.
   
4. STIR FRIED
   -Frying wings quickly at high temperatures in a frying pan or wok in a thin layer of oil.
   -More common in Asian style of wings.


5. SLOW COOKED
   -Chicken is cooked in a crock-pot/slow cooker or pot in sauce on low heat for many hours, producing a 'fall-off-the-bone' soft skinned wing.


6. BROASTED
   -A pateneted technique that involves a marinated and breaded piece of chicken, then deep fried and pressure cooked
   -Not a common technique but tasty results


7. SMOKED
   -Like grilling, chicken is cooked over an open heat source, but it is the smoke produced (from various types of wood chips/logs) that actually flavours and cooks the wings by drying them out.

CHICKEN WING STYLES

There are hundreds of ways to serve wings once they have been cooked, or even before. Here are the 8 main catagories in which to serve wings.

1. BUFFALO STYLE
   -Wing is deep fried, then tossed in a butter/margerine and pepper sauce (Frank's or Crystal). That is all. If you bake, dust, batter or sauce any other way, it is NOT a Buffalo Wing, it becomes a 'HOT WING'.
   -Traditionally served with blue cheese dip with celery and/or carrot sticks to dip.
   -Made famous by the Anchor Bar in Buffalo New York, hence the term 'Buffalo' wing
   -Residents of Buffalo when refering to 'wings' often mean 'Buffalo wings', but this is misleading as there are hundreds of variation of 'wings'. Hence this classification guide.
   


2. SAUCED
   -Any wing prepared, then covered in sauce.
   -Hundreds of sauce possibilities. Most common include: mild/medium/hot/suicide, BBQ sauce, honey mustard, curry, garlic-parmesean, sweet Thai, maple. Please note that no matter how many people order Honey Garlic, the LOTW blog does not consider Honey Garlic a chicken wing ~ it is an abomination.
   


3. BREADED TYPE
   -Preperation of wing involves a coating added on before cooking. There are several variations:
   
   >DUSTED, aka DREDGED: Raw wing is lightly tossed in flour (maybe other spices as well) before cooking.
   
   >BREADED: Wing is dipped in liquid (beat egg, butter milk, hot sauce etc.), then tossed in a dry ingredient (flour, cornmeal etc.) before cooking to create a crispy outside.
   
   >BATTERED: Wing is dipped into batter (dry ingredient & liquid combination) before
   frying. Different batters include Beer Batter or Tempura. Least common breading technique.
   


4. ASIAN
   -A huge generalization, mostly known from North American Chinese establishments.
   -Wings are generally stir-fried in a wok (or deep fried first) with various ingredients (often garlic, shallots, peppers etc) as well as a spicy/sweet/sour/salty sauce (ie soy sauce, teriyaki, honey etc) combination.
   -Korean Fried Chicken is a glowingly popular dish that is close to both Breaded type and Sauced. I have yet to try but yearn to so much.
   -Indonesian ? Maylasian? Japanese? Sure - but I can't report on them yet.
   


5. KFC
   -Wing that is seasoned with secret herbs and spices, breaded, then pressure fried. Some place may simply deep fry.
   


6. DRY SPICED
   -Wing (which may be naked, dusted or breaded), fried, than tossed with dry seasonings. Sometimes wings are spiced before cooking.
   -Common seasoning include: Cajun, dry salt, lemon pepper, Mexican, and various potato chip flavours.
   


7. GOURMET
   -Wings that are served in posh environments with flavours rarely catering to the masses
   -Wing is often made into a lollipop configuration (meat and skin is all pulled to one end of the bone).
   


8. NAKED
   -Chicken wing that has no sauces, seasonings or breading before or after the cooking process.
   -Most often ordered from a restaurant so that a consumer may sauce or season themselves.
   

CHICKEN WING VARIATIONS


It took over 20 years for modern 'wings' to become part of the popular cuisine in North America, but once it did, it didn't stop at the wing.

1. BONELESS WINGS
   -Chicken that is cooked and sauced like a chicken wing (often Buffalo style sauce) but has no bones. It never refers to a wing that has actually been de-boned.
   -Chicken types may include: Chicken Finger/Fillet, Chicken Nugget/Fling and Pop Corn Chicken
   -May be served on top of a salad
   
2. BUFFALO CHICKEN SANDWICH
   -Chicken burger/finger that is tossed in a Buffalo wing sauce, often topped with blue cheese dressing
   -May be served as a wrap in a tortilla.
   -The term Buffalo refers to sauce, not the cooking method.
   
3. BUFFALO CHICKEN LEG
   -A chicken leg or thigh that is deep fried, then tossed in Buffalo wing sauce, just like a Buffalo Wing.
   
4. BUFFALO WING DIP
   -Appetizer dip generally consisting of cream cheese, blue cheese, shredded cheese, shredded chicken breast, and hot sauce (usually Frank's) that is baked and served warm.
   -No actual wings are involved in the dip.
   
5. BUFFALO WING SOUP
   -Creamy, chicken soup (may have wings in it, but more likely pieces of chicken meat) that has Buffalo wing sauce.
   
6. SNACKS
   -Wide range of snacking foods that have a Buffalo wing flavour.
   -May include, but not limited to: Potato Chips, Pretzel Bits, Pop Corn, Crackers, Nuts etc.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So as you can see, Chicken Wings are not just some simple bar food. Complex, diversified, tasty, they truly are a marvel of modern cuisine.

Happy Thanksgiving 2008!!!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

You know what I'm thankfull for . . .

WK Buffalo-Butter Chicken Drumsticks

Ok, so last week I made up some Buffalo-Butter Wings. This week, I changed things up and got some cheap chicken drumsticks at the store. I did them very close to last weeks recipe, but I changed a few things up, so I'm not going to bother making this an official recipe.

My plan was to marinate the chicken, dust, deep fry, then maybe sauce the drumsticks. The first thing I did was marinate the chicken for 3 days in Laredo hot sauce. I was off to a good start, but there was a problem come deep fry day: how was I going to remove the excess sauce from the cold chicken so that they could be dusted then deep fried? I could 'bread' the drumsticks with the sauce, but I was sure that was going to make a mess. What to do what to do? I can't use a paper towel - that would be so messy and wasteful. Then it hit me, I could bake the drumsticks until the sauce was sufficiently roasted in - brilliant!

Here the drumsticks about to go in the oven - so saucy and marinated.

Now the drumsticks are baked, then dusted in cayenne/flour/s&p. Shake shake shake.


Deep fried. I was a little nervous pulling them out because they looked over cooked/burnt. Uh oh.

Oh, I also did some Deep Fried Ravioli. How do you do that you say? Well you take frozen mini ravioli, dunk them in milk (butter milk is best, but I only had milk), dredge them in Italian bread crumbs (see picture above), then deep fry. Simple. I screwed these up.

First, the ravioli was crap (do not buy Equity products, they just suck). Second, get the mini ravioli, can't stress that enough. Full size was too much. I got this recipe from Giada over at Everyday Italian and I did it once for my students back in rez where it went over well. Today, not so much.

Final product. I knew the ravioli went wrong, but would the chicken?

Well, the chicken drumstick turned out great. A bit spicy, crispy skin, juicy chicken meat. The darkened spot was just flavour colouring, not burnt skin.



The BBS was good to - it highlighted the spice and add some extra moisture.

Good for mopping up the skinless chicken.

I also did a few pieces of chicken in the oven, to contrast the two. The oven baked pieces were MUCH spicier. Clearly the baking process protected the heat from the cayenne, while the deep frying eliminated most of the spice. But after eating one roasted, I tossed the rest into the deep fryer for the deliciously crispy skin.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENTLY?

The ravioli was a loss. No equity, and only mini next time. They should be light and fluffy. These were heavy and, well, not fluffy.

As for the chicken, I'm at a loss. The marinade didn't really get into the chicken; I suppose I could have pricked the chicken first with a fork. I really like the spice of the cayenne on the roasted drumsticks, but the crispy skin of the deep fried was so tasty.

All in all, the chicken was good. I had planned to have about half for lunches, but only 2 remained. They will make a great lunch tomorrow!

WK Buffalo-Butter v3.0 & Dry Dill Wings v2.0 ~ Recipe

What is better than having a deep fryer?

How about having TWO!?!?

For my B-day, LJ got me a deep fryer. Yes she knew I had one already, but my original one is in a storage trailer in Scotland Ontario, (did you know there was even a Scotland Ontario???) and as she said, now you can deep fry twice the wings! What a wise and wonderful woman.

This Rival is the 'civilian' model of my Wing-It fryer. There are only 2 real differences between the two: this model has more precise control of temperature, but it has a round basket thus limiting the amount of food going in. I knew as soon as I opened it up I was having some fresh wings soon!

WK BUFFALO-BUTTER & DRY DILL WINGS v2.0

INGREDIENTS:

• chicken wings, split
• cayenne pepper
• s&p
• garlic powder
• flour
• oil
• Frank's Red Hot Sauce
• butter
• Dill popcorn seasoning

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. wash wings, pat dry.
2. toss wings in flour/cayenne/s&p, shake well to remove excess flour.
3. heat deep fryer to maximum - place wings in when heat ready.
4. When wings are golden and crispy, remove from fryer and pat excess oil with paper towel.
   
   FOR BUFFALO-BUTTER:
   
5. in a bowl, melt butter (1/3 part to 2/3's hot sauce); when melted add hot sauce.
6. Toss wings in hot sauce and enjoy!
   
   FOR DRY DILL:
   
7. Immediately after deep frying, shake on dill, generously.
   
   FOR LJ's SPICY DILL:
   
8. Toss wings in hot sauce, then generously shake on dill seasoning.
   

2 packages of wings ready for a cold shower. Got to keep clean.

Pink wings? Yes, the cayenne and flour dusting turned my wings pink. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Time for a hot bath. I'm so excited.

Ooooh, can you smell what the Rock is cooking? The Rock is me by the way. No one calls me The Rock. And deep fry isn't really a good smell. Can you hear what I'm cooking? No, cuz this is the Internet. Bummer. Can you SEE what I'm cooking? YES!

Crispy, almost perfect sitting in that little basket.


Let's towel them off now.


The Final Product: two great wing styles in all their glory.

Now some people are asking, 'WK, why do you call it Buffalo-Butter wings? Aren't they just Buffalo wings?'. My answer is NO. They are Buffalo wing inspired, but I dusted the wings before deep frying. People from Buffalo are very serious about their 'wings' and the authentic recipe is wings simply deep fried with a Frank's/butter combo. I am honouring and defending that tradition. So while the sauce is a 'Buffalo' sauce, I can't in good conscious call them Buffalo Wings.

The difference from V.2, is that I didn't have chili peppers, but I did add cayenne.

The Buffalo-Butter sauce - so good!

Club House Dill Pickle Pop Corn Seasoning. Shake liberally.


Oh man, white gold!!! Crunchy, dilly - DILL-ICIOUS!!!
Way better than my first attempt HERE

Having traditional wings? Gotta have veggies and dip!!!


The dip sucked. A dill packet from the salad dressing section with sour cream. Junk.


Also did up a few pita wedges in the ol' fryer. First batch was over done - no more than 1 minute. Lesson learned. Great for dipping in the hot sauce.


Just a glorious wing. Spicy (but could have been much hotter). I would rate these hot. The cayenne dusting was tasty but not hot enough.


The dill was a very exciting addition to the wing repertoire. Highly recommended, especially to those who don't like hot spiced wings.

A few weeks ago LJ, who loves dill wings, had the idea for spicy dill. I followed through with the last remaining wings:


Sauced up hot, and then sprinkled with dill - OMG- so goood!!!


Spicy, tangy, dilly - crazy dillicious. Yes I used that joke again.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE DIFFERENTLY? Um, not much. I didn't make the sauce too spicy so that LJ could enjoy it. But if it was just me eating, I would have bumped up the sauce with either cayenne directly into the sauce, or some sirachi (talk about polluting a pure Buffalo sauce!). The dusting was great. The deep frying went well. Hot was good, dill was good, and hot-dill was excellent.

Thanks LJ for the deep fryer and for the wings!!!

THE LIEUTENANT's PUMP ~ Ottawa

It was a grey, rainy day down on Elgin street in Ottawa. I had to go to straighten out my election situation down at Elections Canada so I could vote in the 40th general election on October 14th. It's complicated, but I did find out that on my birthday (the whole day, month, year dealie), there were 2 other births of people with my family name. Huh. As exciting as that was and feeling like a good citizen, I decided it was time for some wings.

But where to go. I walked up and down the street in the misty rain, trying to choose from the many pubs and restaurants that exist in this usually busy late night strip. They all seemed interesting; a few too expensive, some danky, some too small, others uptight. In the end, I decided on the very first place I saw, The Lieutenant's Pump.




First, its The Lieutenant's Pump, pronounced LEFT-tennant. Not the LEW-tennant of American speak. Good old Queen's English Left-tennant. Second, I don't know where the pump is. I don't know who the Lt. is, and I really regret asking. There was no lack of staff, and my waitress Amanda was quite helpful in answering my questions. I don't know why I didn't ask. Actually until I left I thought it was Lieutenant Pump's, and I was thinking there was some guy named Pump that helped build the canal with Colonel By, but I read things wrong all the time.

When I've passed by this establishment in the summer, the patio was always packed. Today in the rain it was empty. Outside. Inside, there was a lot of staff on hand, and even for an early lunch there were a few patrons I could see. I couldn't see a whole lot because there are several little rooms making up the whole pub.

The manager (I assume he was the manager as he was instructing the staff) said I could sit anywhere. Not sure where to go, I stayed in the main room (empty except all the staff and a guy at the bar). I was nervous at first due to the proximity of the staff and me taking pictures, but watching and listening to everything go down at the bar was worth me staying. Not that I have any really exciting stories, but just people-watching (and listening) was entertainment enough.

Not only did I have a great view of the bar, but I sat by the window, where I loved the greenery in what is really a pub in the bottom of a concrete apartment building. The atmosphere wasn't really rocking at 11:30 am when I came in, but it seemed to attract a lot of regulars. There was also something else attracting the regulars that I didn't expect when I chose the Lt's:

I happen to go to this place and they just happen to have $0.35 wings the day I come in. What luck. "Is this all day?" I ask Amanda, "yes it is". Sweet. "I'll start with 10 suicide please". What a great place matt!

2008 THE SCORE 3.0: Lieutenant’s Pump ~ Ottawa

STYLE:	Deep fried, dusted
PRICE:	$7.95 for 10 $12.95 for 20
SAUCES:	Hot Suicide BBQ Honey Garlic Teriyaki Cajun Spiced Lemon Pepper Spiced	1/1
HEAT:	Suicide had a strong bite – due to Ghost Pepper
SIZE:	Small-medium	1.5/3
WETNAP FACTOR:	Very saucy	2/3
CRISPINESS:	Chewy meat – not really crisp wing	1/3
FLAVOUR:	Not bad	1.5/3
SIDES:	None (but it was wing day, so that might have affected order)	0/3
CLEAN UP:	Wet naps, napkins, and wing plate	3/3
WING NIGHT:	Wednesday all day $0.35 wings	1/1
OTHER:	Patio, lots of rooms, free refills on coke (but a coke was $3.30!)
TOTAL:	Suicide nice effort, chicken not so great	11/20

The wings came out on a huge basket, but 10 wings looked like a lot. They were small to medium in size, and they were simply deep fried. The sauces aside, the chicken was chewy. Slightly tough, chewy. The skin was crisp, but the chicken meat really ruined the wing for me. Frozen chicken was very likely, not fresh.



SUICIDE:


I could smell the sauce as soon as it came down. Very wet, almost watery, but there was definetly some heat going to be involved. There were lots of flakes involved, and the smell made me think of carribean hot sauces. I tasted it, and I got the hiccups from my first bite. This had some heat! My mouth was stinging and wasting no time attacking the lips, tongue and throat.

I was really impressed with the sauce. The flavour was not my favourite (almost fruity) but I like the burning that was going on. When Amanda came to clear my empty plate, I asked if the suicide was homemade. She told me it was and asked how it was. I said I could tell that it was homemade with all the flavours and I appretiated that, and that it was hot, although I could eat hotter. She told me that the chef was experimenting with a 'Ghost Chili', supposedly the hottest in the world and was looking for feedback. I said it had a good bite for sure. At the time I didn't remember Ghost Peppers, but I faintly remember hearing something about it a few months back. When I got home, off to wikipedia and google for some help:

"The pepper is used as a spice in food or eaten alone. One seed from a Naga Jolokia can produce sustained intense pain sensations in the mouth for up to 30 minutes before subsiding. Extreme care should be taken when ingesting the pepper and its seeds, so as to not get it in the eyes. It is used as a cure for stomach ailments. It is also used as a remedy to summer heat, presumably by inducing perspiration. In northeastern India the peppers are smeared on fences or used in smoke bombs as a safety precaution to keep wild elephants at a distance."

Well, if the Naga Jolokia 'ghost chili' is good enough curing stomach ailments, remedying for summer heat and for keeping wild elephants away, its good enough for my wings!

BBQ:

I was enjoying my endorphin rush, but I wanted to balance my wing eating with a sweetish bbq sauce. Well, it was sweet, but no boldness to it. No tang or zing. Think Kraft bbq sauce. I'm not saying it is, but it was just a really weak bbq for me.


FINAL SCORE:

So this suicide actually lives up to its name. Ghost chili definetly gives it a big kick. BBQ was mild. Very mild. I wanted to try the cajun and the simple hot, but the chicken meat was just so chewy and tough, I gave up. It was sad. Everyone around me was ordering wings and I felt like saying no to their poultry. I'm hoping this was due to wing day and not their normal fare. But I liked the pub as a watering hole and the service was great. 11/20

The Lieutenant's Pump
361 Elgin Street, Ottawa