Finnigan was a winger… But do his wings live up to his legacy?

A last minute decision to accept Rod’s offer to go see the Ottawa Senators’ game against the New Jersey Devils meant that dinner wouldn’t be super healthy tonight.

So be it.

We walked into the Scotiabank Place, and pondered what to do. Time was limited, but perhaps because this is basically the last day of the Holidays, there wasn’t that many people in the concourse.

We stopped by the Club Red to peer at the menu, and thought that a pricey fine dining experience was probably not what we needed.

Walking towards the concessions, we noticed that Frank Finnigan’s was pretty much empty – which suited us just fine.

Born in Shawville, QC, Frank “The Shawville Express” Finnigan played 10 seasons for the Ottawa Senators in the 20s and 30s, and was captain of the team for two seasons. He scored 115 goals and accumulated 203 points in 553 NHL games, winning the Stanley Cup with the 1927 edition.

Finnigan was part of the ‘Bring Back The Senators’ campaign, but he died before the new Senators took the ice. The Senators honoured him by retiring his #8 jersey. Finnigan’s number was retired 58 years after he finished his NHL career – the longest wait for a player to have their number retired. The street in front of the main entrance to the Scotiabank Place is also named Frank Finnigan Way.

We found two spots at Frank Finnigan’s bar, and after a few painful minutes of being ignored by the not-so-busy staff, we finally were able to get some service. We ordered a couple of beers (had to settle for a Canadian – they were out of Rickard’s Blonde, my first pick) and we got some menus to look at.

Finnigan’s menu, although limited, is what you expect for a sports bar. Chicken tenders, smoked meat, a couple of different sandwiches, wrap and burgers. There is also a recent addition of fish and chips and a few salads and there you have it. All entrées are under $20 in this casual establishment. Their doors open at 4:30 p.m. on game days.

And, oh, of course, Chicken Wings. Finnigan’s wings come in 5 declinations: mild, medium, hot, BBQ & honey garlic. We decided to share an order, and since Rod is a sensitive guy, we ordered the BBQ wings.

They arrived promptly, which was good, as the clock was ticking and game time was nearing.

There were 9 wings on our plate, accompanied by 3 celery sticks and a blue cheese dipping sauce. The wings were medium-sized. They were served warm throughout. The BBQ sauce was a little tangy, a little sweet. Nothing special, but not terrible. The wings weren’t drenched in the sauce, which is good, just a nice coating. Without being super moist and juicy, I can’t say they were dry either.

Basically, what we had here is some average wings at a major league price…
The wings alone were listed at $13.99, or $1.55 per wing.
Add three 16 oz beers to that, and the bill ended-up being $38.32, before tip.

Thankfully, we got to our seats in time. Game on!