Daily Deals at Wild Wing

Anyone who reads this blog semi-regularly knows I love chicken wings, and that I do enjoy the never-frozen, double-deep-fried ones served by the Wild Wing establishments.

And so when Mel suggested that we go there for lunch as an enticement to go shopping at Ikea and DeBoers (the latter opening its doors for one last time), I couldn’ t say no.

So we ended up at the Eagleson road location, where we sat on the patio – and were the only ones to do so, even though it was a beautiful day. It is true that, like most Wild Wing restaurants, this one is also located in a small non-descript mall with a superb view of a parking lot. Nevertheless, the sun was shining, the breeze was refreshing, and we would sit outside.

The first thing I noticed: Inside the menu, which still features 101 kinds of chicken wings, was an insert (well, two of the same in fact, they really didn`t want us to miss it) featuring new Daily Specials. WW use to offer specials here and there, but now, there is one every day!

Let’s review them quickly:

Mammoth Mondays: Sampler Special for $24.99
Fat Tuesdays: 1½ pounds of wings for the price of 1
Twice-Over Wednesdays: 2 pounds and a pitcher for $29.99
Thirsty Thursdays: Pint & Pound for $12.99
Fish Fridays: Fish & Chips & Pint for $11.99
Slick Saturday: One Appetizer & Pitcher for $19.99
Family Sunday: 3 Appetizers & half order of fries for $19.99

Now, it being Saturday, we decided to jump on the opportunity. We selected the Loaded Potato Skins from their appetizer options, which also includes Pickled Willys; Broccoli, Bacon and Cheese Poppers; Calamari; Mozza Stix; Jalapeño Poppers and Mac and Cheese Wedges.

5 skins arrived in the typical WW basket. They were hot, crispy, a tad small. They are described as loaded, but I would argue that is not exactly the case. They could use more potato flesh. The skins are topped with small bits of real bacon, which is nice, and a blend of commercial shredded cheese. That’s it. Well, there was sour cream on the side. Mel, who doesn’t like onions in general, pointed out to my disbelief that the dish could use some green onions on top, and I agree. A hint of zippy freshness as a garnish would have gone a long way.

Of course, one doesn’t go to Wild Wing for the appetiers – that would be a mistake. So we both ordered a round of wings: Mel selected the Smokey Gar Par, I went for the Cadillac Ranch.

The smokey version of the Gar Par is a twist on the classic Garlic Parmesan combination, a popular pick at WW. Recently, and in many cases, unfortunately WW has abandonned Renée’s as a supplier for some of their sauces. It is not as bad in this case however, where Renée’s Ceasar has been replaced by another commercial dressing, but it is most certainly quite unforunate when Blue Cheese dressing is needed, in the Red Hot & Blue for instance: gone are the chunks of blue cheese. Nevertheless, the Smokey Gar Par was an interesting variation, the smoke being quite present and not overpowered by the garlic, which was in turn balanced by the parmesan.

My selection was bolder, and definetely had more heat than Mel’s choice (5 flames vs 1 star for the Smokey Gar Par). Caesar and Ranch dressing makes for a very garlicky mix, and a very creamy base on which a drizzle of Extra Hot Sauce was added. In my opinion, the ratio could have been higher for the hot sauce, but it was enough to get a nice burn feeling going. Perhaps another pound would have really brought it home. But I refrained.

I may not next time. Especially since I discovered, when I went in to pay, a promotion not as clearly advertised as the current Daily Specials: A sign behind the bar was calmly advertising an All-you-can-eat-wings special on Wednesdays! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

This calls for a Waffle Challenge.

So I am tentatively setting the date for The Waffle 1st Wild Wing Challenge for June 29th.

Stay tuned!