The Tuesday Taste: Gabby's Chicken Wings

 

 

If you're stuck in a rainfall

of shattering glass

Where you miss the moment

watching it pass

 

Another Tuesday has arrived here in September 2021, and so we continue along with Chicken Wings Month. This week we look at a different prominent chain of pubs here in the GTA, a franchise which I have not been employed by (unlike last week)... Gabby's.

According to their website, the first Gabby's was opened on Yonge Street just north of Lawrence in 1989 (I'm assuming it's their "Roadhouse" location on 3263 Yonge). They've since expanded to twelve outposts, which to be honest seems considerably lower than I would've guessed. In my mind I assumed they were everywhere... maybe it's just because I've always somehow lived or worked close to one. I mean, there are two within a fifteen minute walk of where I live now. 

As for personal nostalgia... I don't really have anything beyond going to the Gabby's on King and Peter a few times over the years. Once on a date, another time before a Blue Jays game, and more recently with some co-workers after a Roy Thomson Hall shift because we were hungry for... chicken wings! Now there's a segue.

Like last week, I got a pound of wings tossed in what I figured would be their spiciest sauce: Ghost Chili. Unlike last week, I elected for french fries this time because I genuinely didn't remember if Gabby's had good fries or not (plus it was only an extra two bucks). With tax and tip, it came to about twenty dollars... still rather steep for my liking but an improvement over the eighteen I paid last week without fries. 

First off, these fries are entirely decent. They remind me of the fries I used to get from the food trucks parked along St. George across from the Sid Smith building at U of T. Once they get completely cold they're fairly unsalvageable (the texture becoming too dry to bother with a reheat) but while fresh they provide a salty, very potatoey flavour... and (while I bet they still are) they don't taste as obviously frozen as many other pub french fry offerings.

How about the main attraction though? As a chicken wing, this is also a definite step up from last wing (I mean week). The texture is really what you want in a good wing: a firm and slightly crisp exterior yet accessibly soft, while the meat within is juicy enough to slip off the bone. These are notably greasier than the Firkin fare (you'll need lots of napkins) and where those wings left me wanting more due to the small portion size... these Gabby's wings are just the right amount (as I feel like another pound would've been just a bit too much oiliness for my poor stomach).

The dip you see pictured is one of the blue cheese variety, definitely more on the creamy side and the blue cheese taste exists more as a hint than a domination. It's very okay and actually works better as a dip for the fries than for the chicken.

How about the spice though? Well this here was the let down... this ghost chili sauce* just wasn't very hot. And there was a lot of it, so there was plenty of opportunity to unleash it upon myself. Nah, this was more like a slightly sweet, more refined version of Frank's Red Hot... more of a sharp sting on the tongue than anything burning throughout your mouth or lips. It could linger a bit on a good bite, but otherwise a very underwhelming result. I'd give it a 5/10 on the New Hotness Scale (with a "1" being a piece of cardboard and a "10" being the chili Homer Simpson can only eat by covering his mouth in wax). I gotta get myself one of those spoons carved from a bigger spoon. 

*also if you're thinking I could've just gotten their suicide sauce... bah I figure I'll have to go for that eventually at one of these places. In the meanwhile I'd prefer to try something more unique to a place if I can.

Overall... while not impressing with the level or quality of their spice, Gabby's do impress with the quality of their wings. I like that they're tender, notably larger than many wings you'll come across elsewhere, basically just enjoyable to eat. As for burning my mouth into ashes, I guess you'll just have to wait until next week... oh no how terrible. 

 

Burnt Ends -- Slowly plugging away at a few ideas but none are really close to even finished first drafts. Mostly thinking it might be fun just to rewatch a random Star Trek episode and write about it, call it "This Week In Random Star Trek" or something. Just something I can write quickly and not put an excessive amount of thought into. 

I'll also probably have an article about the Blue Jays coming out later this week on BattersBox. I hear that team is playing pretty okay these days...

 

The Bat'leth In The Stone -- Speaking of Star Trek (I know I was), I simply have to share these classic fairy tale titles revised for a Klingon audience. Qapla! And may the rivers run red with the blood of your enemies!

 

Port Landsia -- Speaking of rivers! Even though I share a lot of their stuff on here, BlogTo's level of journalism is often dubious. This article, however, really does an excellent job detailing the extensive project happening down in the Port Lands. From diverting the flow of the Don River and trying to build a sustainable rock bed and riverbank for that, to what they're doing with that cool looking bridge you've probably seen. It's vivid photos galore of... dirt, rocks, maps and I swear it is significantly more interesting than I'm making it sound.

 

Love Or Confusion -- Speaking of vivid... the legendary Jimi Hendrix needs no introduction, surely. Here's a quick interesting read about some factoids regarding his debut album with The Experience, one of the most influential albums in rock history. 

 

Tuesday Tune -- Speaking of influential... well this isn't the first time I've shared a Radiohead tune and it definitely won't be the last. It's the twentieth anniversary of the Kid A/Amnesiac release and so the band has remastered a bunch of songs from their vault of that era. Here's one they released just last week and it is yet another good one, simultaneously sweet and bleak (so, basically Radiohead).

 

 

 

That's it for me this week. Until next time, hey go vote next Monday if you haven't already, be kind to each other, don't be a trash clown protesting a hospital and especially don't spill that mustard.