She said "it's not now or never
wait ten years we'll be together"
I said "Better late than never
just don't make me wait forever"
Don't make me wait forever
Another Tuesday, another Taste! And apologizes for making you readers wait forever for another review. As compensation for that, we've got a double feature today... plus another little something coming later this week to end off Chicken Wings Month.
For now though, it's a direct head-to-head wing challenge involving two pizza chains I've reviewed (pizza-wise) before: Pizza Nova and Pizzaville.
First off, I've always found the constant availability of wings at pizza joints kind of strange. Not to argue that they don't go together, quite the contrary... pizza and chicken wings seems nearly as perfect a "having friends over to watch a game/movie" combination as chips with dip. I'm just curious about the origin of the pairing. Especially since chicken on pizza is widely frowned upon (personally, it can work great in certain circumstances, like in pesto territories).
Regardless of how this culinary symbiosis began, lets dive into these particular selections and see what they do, and don't do, taste wise.
(like the previous wing reviews of the month, I went for the spiciest option each one had)
Pizza Nova
Pizza Nova describes their wings as "oven roasted". This may very well be true, as they lack the seeping greasiness you'd find in a deep fried item.
I know I come across as a Nova fanboy oftentimes, with my garlic pizza hacks and appreciation for their good tomato sauce... but yeah I do quite like these wings. They're cooked seamlessly through: satisfying to bite on the first go, the meat inside juicy without obstructive fatty or sliminess from being underdone. I know, it is Pizza Nova... these are probably pre-frozen products (there's a tinge of that frozen taste in there honestly) but that's hidden sufficiently enough behind solid execution.
As for Nova's "Hot" sauce... it's a mixed bag. I like the sauciness of it, the thicker texture, and how there's way less of a sharp vinegary taste than I found with the previous two wing reviews. The flavour itself though is rather strange, like a thicker ketchup with a hint of chili to it (an occasional chili seed can be found), mixed with sweet BBQ sauce. Even the colour has a bit of a brownish red to it. When the wings were warm these were... well at least a bit spicier than Gabby's ghost pepper wings. After a couple hours? It tasted very much like a tomato BBQ sauce with a heat that had long departed town. Lets move on.
Pizzaville
Pizzaville consistently surprises me with their consistent competence. And what does that... consist of? Okay okay, I'll stop being such a literal dork.
Well... perhaps this is just me, but on the trio of occasions I go to a Pizzaville each year I seem to set internal low expectations. Subsequently such expectations aren't then exactly shattered, rather merely bested by a reasonably decent product. Their chicken wings are no exception to that.
Are they spicy? Not even slightly. Their (rather confounding) menu doesn't offer a sauce to toss them in, at least I didn't see one, so I went for their "Spicy Crispy" option. There's some seasoning (like a dusting of powder cooked within the breading) that adds a faint "something"... but calling them spicy is a severe overstatement.
That said, these are (as said earlier) reasonably decent. They remind me of a better frozen chicken wing you'd get from a supermarket: it'll never taste like the truly best pub fare article, it's a bit overly greasy once you get into one, textures dance the tightrope with oily blubber below...
As mentioned these are on the fattier side, so definitely more of an occasional guilty pleasure than a "I'm eating chicken to stay lean!" type thing. Yeah, go ahead and eat a bunch of chicken wings for an extended period of time... see how that affects your physique. I speak from experience... um friend experience! Yeah sure! That's my story.
Verdict!
Nova is definitely better in terms of quality. Pizzaville ain't bad though, their wings are a good size and eight of them only cost me ten bucks tax in (Nova was about 13 bucks for ten). I still shake my head at how underwhelming that pound of wings from the Firkin was, at 18 dollars... and frankly these two portions individually are more food than that was. Both orders combined was barely a five dollar bill more of an expense too. I've got nothing against my former job, I swear! Only that your wings are overpriced and extremely unsatisfying in amounts demanded and provided.
Later this week.... more surprises!
Burnt Ends -- I'm gonna write about Star Trek again soon. Stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy this wonderful scene in an otherwise pretty bad Trek episode.
Is This The End of Zombie Shakespeare? -- As an English major type sorta guy, and appreciator of many (definitely not all.... Taming of the Shrew is unfunny and terrible) of his plays... I liked this article of everyday sayings we have evolved upon from the many works of Shakespeare. It does speak to the evolution of communication itself, how a mere reference of a quote can be so easily and commonly understood, even far separated from original context.
The Simpsons are likewise an excellent example of this. If you get the reference of the title above, you get it.
Tuesday Tune -- This song is mid-2019 for me. I saw/worked the show at Bud Stage when this band played there that summer, within still feeling the feelings. It's just a damn great tune and an insanely fun bassline.
They were damn phenomenal live by the way, even though the audio was somewhat obscured from the particular bar I was working that night.
That's it for me... until later this week! Until then, don't spill that mustard.
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