WWWWWW #68 ~ Buffalo West Wing

Yes, World Wide Web Wacky Wing Wednesday. WWWWWW. This is where I will surf the Web, and find other people talking about chicken wings. The world is full of chicken wing stories, wacky and otherwise. Recipes, restaurant reviews, eating contests or whatever. Today's Blog relating to wings in some shape or form:

Buffalo West Wing: A White House Chef Mystery by Julie Hyzy

Buffalo West Wing:

"With a new First Family, White House executive chef Olivia Paras can't afford to make any mistakes. But when a box of take-out chicken mysteriously shows up for the First Kids, she soon finds herself in a "no-wing" situation. After Olivia refuses to serve the chicken, the First Lady gives her the cold shoulder. But when it turns out to be poisoned poultry, Olivia realizes the kids are true targets."

Get it? "no-wing" situation!

"Julie Hyzy's very first job had her flipping burgers and chopping onions at a neighborhood hot dog stand. She traded that experience for a job as a singing waitress at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour -- but gave that up when she started college (and because she couldn't carry a tune).

Over the years, she's acted in community theater productions, appeared in television commercials, and crashed a previously all-male fraternity to become one of the first female brothers in Loyola University's Chapter of Delta Sigma Pi. Julie had dreams of becoming a writer, but family, friends, and frat brothers convinced her otherwise. Having held positions as junior officer at a downtown bank, office manager at an architectural firm, and financial advisor at a prestigious wealth management company, she realizes that the business degree was probably a good choice -- but fiction is truly her passion. Now, with some well-earned life experience behind her, she's delighted to finally be able to make writing a priority in her life."

I haven't read it but I like that Buffalo wings are the catylist in a mystery novel. Did you ever expect to read that on a book jacket?

Pick this book up at Amazon for a variety of prices.

Have you read this? Would you read this? Let me know in the comments below!

FUTURE BAKERY ~ Toronto ON

It was the end of term and we, the Residence Life Functional Group I belong to were having our end of year meeting/social. We still keep meeting and working during the summer, but we celebrate surviving the academic year. The best way was to do so is at a pub bakery.

OK, so Future's Bakery also has a bar inside (best bakery ever?). Future's has been a destination for University of Toronto students for years. Located in the Annex (but they also have a location in St Lawrence Market), they serve awesome desserts, beer, AYCE perogies on Wednesday and free wi-fi; this is a arts major's delight.

It's a strange environment inside - kind of coffee shop vibe with tables and couches - it certainly doesn't feel like a restaurant. There's a great patio outside. The crowd is mostly young, but there are a few professor types in the place on this particular afternoon.

My crew was mostly here for Sangria and beers. I was hungry and when I saw wings, well you know what had to be done.

One thing to watch out for - the wings are not served until 4pm. We got there at like 3:30, so I had to wait till I could order off the 'Bar Food' menu.

It was a huge platter that came out filled with 8 wings, veggies sticks, blue cheese, fries with ketchup and the side of suicide sauce I ordered. Please note in the chart above, there were a few other sauce options but I lost the notes I had on them.

The fries were nice and crispy, but soft inside - really good. And it was a huge pile of them. The veggies were good and the blue cheese dip was creamy with some blue cheese chunks.

I was really expecting tiny wings (and not looking forward to them because it was a $11.99 price tag on them). But to my surprise, they were quite large in length and in meatiness. The skin was crispy, and the wings were deep fried naked.

I went with hot sauce on them. This was a good hot. A little kick, a lot of cayenne sauce. They were decently wet.

Suicide had a stronger kick. It looked like and tasted like a homemade sauce (or at least some sort of Frankenstein mix). Wing monster like. You can see the chilis and it's oily goodness.

FINAL SCORE:

I had low expectations from the wings at Future's. I mean I know their deserts are good, but I did not see these coming. They are pretty pricey, but you do get a lot of fries on the side. A wing night would be nice though. They are large, crispy and the sauces have some nip and flavour. Well done Futures. Well done. 6/10

Future Bakery & Cafe

483 Bloor Street East

PS: I don't know why they are 'Future' - any idea?

Did Hell's Kitchen have a Wing Eating Contest?

I don't watch the show regularily, but did I just see a clip of Gordon Ramsey have a chicken wing competition for his chef's?

Whhaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?

Did you see it? Tell me all about it!

Valentina Extra Hot Sauce

We are still playing catch up on reviews and such, and sauce and wing making is no exception. A few months ago I looked at my large stash of sauces, and decided I just need to start opening up and checking sauces out. I was feeling a little Mexican, so I picked up the Valentina on my shelf and went for it.

From their website:

"Founded over 40 years ago, Salsa Tamazula began operations with its "Tamazula" Hot Sauce. Such was the acceptance of this flavor that over the years, the company brought Salsa Valentina hot sauce to the market, becoming the leader in the field of hot sauce production and sales in Mexico . . . Currently the factory, located in Guadalajara, Jalisco - Mexico, is over 279,000 sq. ft. and generates employment for over 125 families in the area."

Of course they have a regular hot sauce ( I actually reviewed it back in 2007 - wow there have been a lot references to the past lately . . . ) but that is a long time ago. This sauce is simple in ingredients: water, chili peppers, vinegar, salt, spices and sodium benzoate.

I decided to try this as a Buffalo inspired hot sauce, so I mixed it with butter. The sauce has a nice red colour, its a solid liquid that pours pretty easily but is still thicker than typical cayenne sauces.

I did a flour dusting on the chicken, then deep fried them. The oil was getting a bit old, so the chicken came out a little darker than usual. I tossed them in hot wing mixture and enjoyed their red glow.

First off I need to say that I had a too high butter-to-sauce ratio. It wasn't bad, but it diluted the Valentina too much. You can see it in the bowl above.

That being said, this was a good sauce. It had a very layered flavour, with a dry heat. Taste wise it starts off slightly sour, then the heat kicks in. Its a nice little burn that lingers a bit.

This is a good little sauce. Flavour, kick - it was good. I don't think I would use it straight up on wings, but on tacos or something this would be great. Mixed in with a larger hot wing recipe it would be a great contributing character.

Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce: Extra Hot 

Salsavalentina.com

Return to MOOSE WINOOSKIS

RIP - This location is NOW CLOSED

Back in April, my parents were coming through Toronto on their way home and I decided to tag a ride and head back with them. On the way, we stopped in to a family favourite, Mosse Winooski's in Brantford.

I reviewed Moose Winooski's waaay back in 2006 with Dude, but my family has been going here since the 90's when they opened in Brantford. Since then, not much has changed.

The atmosphere is log cabin/woodsy with crazy moose heads on the wall, antlers for chandeliers, and snowshoes hanging from the ceiling. The crowd on this Saturday afternoon was kid heavy. Loud kids running around, having fun. But there were also seniors here (which is strange, because the kids are loud, and so is the music). I missed our waitresses name, but she was friendly, bringing drink refills and helping with anything we needed.

When my parents come, they always get the "Feta Bruschetta Bread" ($10.99). This monster loaf is like 2 feet long and chalked full  of tomato mixture with feta. I'm not a bruschetta lover myself (the warm tomatoes just don't do it for me) but the garlic bread and the cheese are good.

What keeps us coming back for sure are the wings. Glorious wings.

Wings come in order sizes that don't actually explain how many are in an order. Like snack, or Jumbo. We all went with House sized orders, which contain about 8 wings.

On the side are fresh cut veggies and a thick and chunky blue cheese dip. Crispy and fresh and the dip is good and creamy.

The wing sizes are large to jumbo, but are increased by their double dusting. That means the wings are breaded, then breaded again. Then they are pressure fried. This gives them a super crunchy coating. If you are a non-breaded wing purist, this may not be for you . . . but as someone who embraces breaded and non-breaded, these are gold.

At the same time, the pressure cooking means that these very meaty wings are super juicy and meaty inside. There is no effort to pull apart a flatty wing.

 I went with hot. I've had the suicide before (its spicy and chunky with lots of peppers) and the Buffalo, but the Forrest Fire Hot is the way to go. The sauce is thick, slightly sweet with a nip of heat. It is hard to describe other than when I have the wings in front of me I just want to keep eating. Nom nom nom. Every little bit of meat and sauce and every crumb of the breading. I wish I knew how they made their sauce. When asked, this is my parents favourite place for wings. While I tend to go for Buffalo-style wings, these have to be in my top 2 of all time.

FINAL SCORE:

I love these wings. I'm unabashedly biased (not that they pay me or anything). They are big. They are crisp and crunchy. They are saucy, and that sauce is full of flavour and spice. The only downside; no wing night. Over the years we have come and sometimes the wings are smaller than usual, or the sauce doesn't have the right zip. But on this return trip, it was wing nirvana. And mom couldn't finish hers, so I had some leftovers the next day. Thanks :)   9/10

Moose Winooski's
45 King George Road, Brantford ON
moosewinooskis.com

DUKE of SOMERSET ~ Toronto ON

= The Duke of Somerset is NOW CLOSED - RIP =

Another review from back in March. Crazy (and makes me a little upset too).

So my good buddy Ricky over at fuzzification.com  was the first of some guest visiting for the weekend. We were hungry, looking for a pub to eat some grub, but not wanting to go far from home base. I knew of this pub not far that used to be the Devil's Advocate. Now it's the Duke of Somerset, and we decided to check it out.

The theme: British Pub. Lots of Union Jacks. Ok not lots, but they were there. The DofS is a chain in the "Duke" series. Not long ago I had been to the Duke of York. The menu's are similar, but not the same.

Inside the place was buzzing on this Friday night. The crowd was mixed of young professionals, business types, older people, younger people. The waitresses were all dressed in kilts (that's typical British right?). The feeling is a slightly nicer than average pub, but not swanky to alienate any one pub going crowd.

Now when you sit down at your table, and you have the above as the placard and they advertise fresh local wings, how can you not order them?

And then again on the menu they hammer in the point 'fresh, never frozen.' I like the sounds of that.

The actual menu description of the wings.

Ricky also ordered some Deep Fried Pickles. I may have stolen one or two. Crispy batter, dilly pickle, ranch dip. While I don't think these are made in house, they are good.

Both Ricky and I were feeling the wings this night. Here he sits patiently while I take a picture. Thanks.

They look pretty good eh?

The wings are ordered by the pound, which means about 8-9 wings in an order.

An order comes with a pile of carrots and veggies. And a side of blue cheese dip. This was pretty creamy, but no real chunks of blue cheese.

Size wise the wings were about a medium. Meat wise they were about a medium too. Crispiness, about a medium. They were crispy, but then were not crispy after a while.

HOT

Standard pub hot. The flavour was good, but they were a bit salty for my liking (and I don't usually mind salt).

Suicide

I got suicide on the side. This had a bit of a kick, but not as hot as I would like. It was good, a little peppery.


FINAL SCORE:

The Duke pubs are pretty decent pubs, and Somerset is no different. The wings were good. Not great, but good. Decent size, decent sauce. A little salty. Too pricey in my opinion and no wing night? Crazy. 4/10

The Duke of Somerset

655 Bay Street, Toronto ON

somerset.thedukepubs.ca

Return to SNEAKY DEES ~ Toronto ON

Playing catch up on some blog work. Back in March (yes March!)  the Canadian Film Festival was playing in Toronto, showing new Canadian films. One of my staff, Cathy, is a big Edward Furlong fan and he was in a film playing  one evening (Below Zero). My friend Ryan was also going, so I decided to go as well. Before the movie started, we decided to grab some grub before the show.

Ryan is to Nachos what I am to chicken wings, and I knew Sneaky Dee's was just down the street. Sneaky Dee's does great nachos and Tex-Mex, they have good wings, so off we went. It's been a couple of years since I had been there with my friend Nee, so I thought I would do an update review.

Inside I don't think anything has ever changed. I actually got carded at the front door (when was the last time that happened?) and it was very busy, but we got a seat pretty quick. Our waitress was indifferent (not friendly, but not rude either). She was busy so was not frequent around our table.

Ryan went with the Nachos ("crisp corn tortilla chips with salsa roja & Monterrey jack cheese 7.95") to which he added bacon, onion, ground beef, and tomatoes. There nachos were on a large pizza platter and while not piled high, were well spread out and covered in a thick layer of cheese. This was a massive amount of nachos. It was good, but I think having the tomatoes and salsa inside (not on top) and cooked in made them soggy.

Kathy had eaten before, so she just went with a snack of the Sweet Potato Fries ($5.25). These were a standard cut sweet potato, with a bit of breading and served with a garlic aiole. Very crispy, very tasty.

I of course went with the wings.

Wings come in orders of Small (approx 9-10 wings) Medium and Large. The wings are deep fried, tossed in sauce, and served with veggies and dip.

But not your typical dip of blue cheese, or ranch. This is an avacado-sour cream dip. It's unique, but I find it's a pretty flavorless side for dipping myself. 

Compared to last time, the wings have shrunk a bit. The wings ranged a bit, most being medium, but there were a few large. And by large I mean long. Most of the wings were not meaty. In fact, some had really pulled away from the bone. The skin was crispy and the wings were nice and wet.

HOT

I went with my wings hot. This was a good classic hot - a bit of heat but a lot of flavour.

The sauce had a hint of sweetness and a hint of hot. It was good. The wings might have been small, but the flavour on these were big.

SNEAKY SAUCE

I had no idea what Sneaky Sauce was. I asked the waitress, and even she had a hard time describing it: 'Laredo Hot sauce (I reviewed it a long time ago) butter, chilis and garlice mixed together.' It did not look appetizing then it came out - very oily. The texture looked like baby food and oil. But boy was it tasty. So unique. The dominant flavour was garlic, with a little spice. Not like any sauce I had ever had before. It was good - but I don't think I could have eaten a whole order of wings in this sauce due its heaviness.

FINAL SCORE:

Disappointingly the wings got smaller and inconsistent. But the flavour was still there. Hot was good. Sneaky Sauce was unique and really stood out as a crazy good concept. The service was slow, but the place was packed and the alternative atmosphere is great. Good sweet potato fries, huge nacho platter. Sneaky Dee's was worth the wait for a return. 6/10

Sneaky Dee's

431 College Street, Toronto ON

sneaky-dees.com

PS: The movie was . . . interesting. I don't think it will be coming to a theatre near you. A few days later I did see A Little Bit Zombie and found it hilarious and do recommend it.