Hey, we're back here wrapping up Chicken Wing Month with a look at another pub, The Queens Head in Leslieville. And yep, it's another place where I have some history so settle in! Time for a story.
(but first, it being National Day for Truth and Reconciliation here in Canada, do take a moment to learn, reflect, acknowledge and consider the brutal atrocities against Indigenous Canadians, and perhaps how you yourself can support organizations, Indigenous businesses or causes that can help these still struggling communities. One day a year is a nice gesture, but these are issues that should not be so quickly acknowledged and then forgotten)
Back in summer 2015 I jumped between multiple restaurant jobs, so when I saw Queens Head was hiring servers/bartenders I figured dropping off a resume couldn't hurt. I ended up getting an interview with the manager(?), who liked the cut of my jib(gib?) despite my serving experience being rather minimal at that point in time. He explained he also ran the Thai restaurant next door, and so as a trial shift I could work over there and see how I handled things. So far, seems reasonable right?
Heh. A few days later I arrive at the Thai restaurant and nobody was expecting me. The manager guy wasn't there (though at least the people working knew his name) and it was pretty dang awkward. Still though, I figured I'd see it through. Well... lets just say this ended up being the longest, most tedious two hours I've ever worked anywhere. Part of me feels like I'm still stuck there! There wasn't a single customer (which apparently was very common) and yet the rule was we had to stand ready at attention for people on the sidewalk walking by. I quickly realized this was a huge waste of time (even if they hired me, I suspect it'd be there and not the pub) so I made up an excuse/lie that I had to leave to go umpire a softball game (something I've never done in my life). The staff was not impressed, even making me process a phone takeout order before leaving, but I certainly didn't care then and I especially don't care now.
And that is the story of the shortest job I've ever "had", although since I didn't get paid I suppose it shouldn't really count. Enough of that, onto the food! Like I've been doing all month, I went for the spiciest option available which here was... "hot". Huh. Aside from those Firkin wings I really haven't burned my mouth very much at all this month (probably for the best).
While these wings aren't particularly spicy either, they have an agreeable hotness that's fairly between a Frank's Red Hot and a lighter Sriracha (without the thickness of the latter sauce). You definitely get that sharp scent when opening the box, which worried me, but thankfully that element was limited in the flavour.
The wings themselves are tasty, crisp on the outside and more oily than greasy on the inside. They're not as fatty as say those pizza wings I reviewed were, which makes them much more gentle on the stomach... plus these are quite large! There's a good mix of tender texture with accessible softness on each bite, they're cooked well, and there's a lot of meat within. Filling indeed.
As for the fries, although they were cold once I got home (had to bike about fifteen minutes with them), they're also quite good. Crispy, thin, with notable potato taste (skins on, which I like) and not overly salty. I used most of the blue cheese dip you see in the photo on them. Speaking of that dip, you can't see it in the shot but there are real chunks of blue cheese in that sauce! I'm so used to blue cheesy-like pungent salad dressings that come with wings, and while the overall consistency of this dip matches that description, finding actual large bits of creamy blue cheese was a welcome surprise.
Final verdict! These are good! Of all the wings I tried this month, hard to say if I liked these more than Gabby's... it's between those two. Queen's Head definitely have better fries. Granted, none of these wings were bad either... I've ragged on the Firkin ones but that's just because they're grotesquely overpriced. Pizzaville's were surprisingly decent (though a breaded chicken heart-attack machine) and Pizza Nova's perhaps the most unique in sauce and external texture.
The real question is though... actual best wings in Toronto? I know a lot of people rave about Crown & Dragon near Rosedale station. I've tried to go there a few times and they've always been way too busy, so I can't comment. Best chicken wings I've had this year, personally... has to be Toby's at College and Bathurst. They're enormous, juicy, I got mine tossed in a Sri Lankan curry and it was fabulous... a nice bit of earthy building heat with all sorts of various seasonings and spices in there. Highly recommended.
Anyway, thanks for reading Chicken Wing Month! The Tuesday reviews will go back to non-chicken items next week... unless KFC is actually bringing back the Double Down. Gulp... fetch the defibrillator folks.
No comments:
Post a Comment