Dining Out: Cajun & Hail Caesar Wings and Cleopatra Fries at All Star Wings & Ribs

Ying and I decided to go to All Star tonight because we were craving chicken wings. (It's been over 2 years since I've had wings. Even longer since I've been to an All Star.)

Dry-dusted Cajun wings
We decided to split two pounds into two flavours — the classic dry-rub Cajun and Hail Caesar (previously known as Gar Par, which is garlic sauce and parmesan), which have always been my go-to choices simply because I do not have the patience to ask what each of their 100 flavours is. This is a huge weakness of All Star, in my opinion — the quality of their wings is actually quite good, but the majority of their flavours have completely vague, non-descript names like "Back in the Village" and "Pucker Up Baby," and none of them come with actual descriptions so you are forced to ask your server for all of them, which they have to recite verbally. All Star thinks this is cute and charming and they purposely don't put descriptions of the flavours (I've asked about this), but it is actually extremely annoying to a hungry diner and I forgot that this was the reason I only used to go to All Star to eat ANYTHING BUT THE WINGS. (They actually do excellent grilled cheeses.)

"Hail Caesar" wings
Another thing I didn't realize, or perhaps just never paid attention to, was that they have a "splitting fee." Yes, if you want to order 2 or more pounds of wings and want to split the flavours, they charge $2.75 for it, which is fucking highway robbery. I don't know how common this practice is among wings restaurants, but I cannot recall going anywhere else that does this. It's ridiculous. They also will not allow you to choose all flats or all drumsticks (I'm not that picky, but Ying only likes flats and they straight-up refused). From what I recall, neither St. Louis nor Wild Wing have issues with this, nor do they charge flavour splitting fees. And they include descriptions of all their wings flavours on their menu, as well as basic fries with their wings. 

Cleopatra Brew City Fries
Speaking of which, the surprising star of the night was actually the Cleopatra Brew City Fries — ultra-crispy, beer-infused battered fries topped with honey garlic and creamy garlic sauces and then sprinkled with parmesan. I never ordered this before because the addition of honey garlic to fries was somewhat questionable, but I wanted to try something new and it paid off because they are shockingly delicious. And it wasn't even the combination of flavours that did it for me — they do fries exceptionally well here in general. They are thick (thicc, even) crinkle-cut fries that have got to be double- or even triple-cooked because they are extremely crispy. Dare I say crunchy. They did not get soggy at all, even after half an hour slathered in sauce. Frankly, if I go back to an All Star, it's going to be for the fries and not the damn wings.

All Star Wings & Ribs

9255 Woodbine Ave.

Markham, ON L6C 1Y9

(905) 927-1616

Photolog 2019: Day 324 of 365

Went for some late-night cajun wings and onion rings at Wild Wing with Chelsea tonight. 'Cause apparently, it's cheat month, not cheat week. But, hey, there were carrot sticks!

Photolog 2018: Day 223 of 365

Nothing like catching up with an old friend over cajun wings and chili cheese fries on a Saturday night.

Wild Wing

I hadn't seen my friend, Cynthia, in about four years (we went to university together eight years ago), so we decided to meet up for dinner tonight. After much debate and discussion, we both agreed to go to Wild Wing since neither of us had had wings in a while. And what better place to catch up with an old friend than over wings?
Pickled Willys
Gar Par Wings
Ever since I saw Liz's post featuring her photo of deep-fried pickles, I have been curious to try them. So when I saw that Wild Wing offered them as an appetizer, I was like, "We must order these." And Cynthia was down to try them, so we did. And now I wonder how I had gone so long without ever having had deep-fried pickles. It's genius, really. Pickles help expand your appetite, but deep-fried foods do the opposite. Put them together, and it's the perfect appetizer! You get the fattening, crunchy satisfaction of deep-fried batter and the crisp tartness of a pickle all in one bite! These ones are served with a cool creamy dill dip that mellows out the briny flavour of the pickle, as well. Oh, man, I'm drooling just thinking about these...
On Tuesdays, Wild Wing offers a pound-and-a-half of wings for the price of one pound ($10.99), so it was really meant to be. The wings menu initially reminded me of All Star Wings, but what Wild Wing does better is that they offer enough flavours to satisfy everyone's cravings without being overwhelming, and their menu actually includes a small description of what each flavour is. After asking for recommendations for something that wasn't too spicy or sweet, Cynthia and I decided on the Gar Par wings, which is essentially garlic and parmesan. They are super flavourful but not overpowering, and are creamy but not a dripping mess. The meat itself was soft and fall-off-the-bone tender. They are absolutely, positively delightful — but not for anyone who can smell your breath afterwards. 

Wild Wing 9408 Highway 48 Markham, ON L6E 0N1 (905) 209-9464

Anchor Bar

We couldn't stay in Buffalo and not eat at the "Home of the Orignal Buffalo Chicken Wing," am I right?

Mild Buffalo wings

The original medium Buffalo wings

Are they worth the hype? A resounding 'yes.' Each wing, which I thought was larger than the average chicken wing, is deep-fried to crispy perfection, with tender, moist meaty goodness on the inside. The mild wings have an almost buttery flavour to them with a hint of spice. The medium wings (which is the original recipe) are tangy, equal parts sweet and spicy, and just as addictive. Neither of them are too dry or too saucy; they are just perfectly coated, and absolutely divine whether or not you dip them in the blue cheese dressing. And no need to get sides — a single order (ten wings) will be enough to make you (really) full. The service is polite, attentive, and efficient, and the decor is equal parts rustic and motorcycle gang. Basically, it's a must-visit for chicken wing fans.


Anchor Bar
1047 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 886-8920

St. Louis Bar & Grill

Day off means enjoying nice weather with friends and buffalo ranch chicken wings.

St. Louis Bar & Grill

Even though I ate two burgers and two hot dogs at last night's BBQ, I still went to St. Louis to devour a pound of my new favourite buffalo ranch wings (with fries and dill sauce!) today. And it was worth every single calorie and fat gram.

All Star Wings

While my car was getting serviced yesterday, Shawn and I walked over to All Star Wings (at Yonge and Elgin Mills) for lunch. I just have to point out that every time I go to the Yonge and Elgin Mills location, the service is always friendly, efficient, and informative. When I go to the Woodbine and 16th location, however, I find the waitresses to be slow, impatient, and uninformed. I think I will only be going to the former location from now on, even if it is a bit further from where I live.

When we asked about the wings flavours, our waitress just said, "We're not allowed to give out a list with all of our flavour descriptions in case someone tries to steal them, but I do know all of them and I can tell you which is which." Honest, and to the point. She didn't mind spending a good five minutes explaining the flavours we were asking about, either. She didn't rush us or roll her eyes. This is how service should be. Per our waitress' recommendation, we ordered the wings in My Ranch Is On Fire, which is ranch sauce, hot sauce, and ground black pepper. It was tasty with lots of flavour, and the ranch sauce and hot sauce went well together. It was spicy, but not overly so, and was quite enjoyable overall. I would order it again.

We also ordered the Chili Cheese Fries per her recommendation, and they were fantastic. There was chili and cheese spread throughout the entire basket of fries, not just sitting on top. The chili was really, really good; ground beef, black beans, and onions in a well-seasoned tomato base that wasn't too runny or too chunky. It came out steaming hot, too, so it melted the cheese into perfection around the fries. When I think of chili cheese fries, this is how I always picture them to look and to taste. This is a definite re-order. Hell, even if I'm not in the mood for wings, I'd totally go to All Star for the chili cheese fries.

All Star Wings

Shawn and I went to All Star Wings (at Woodbine & 16th) for dinner, during which we probably experienced the worst service of all time. When we inquired about some of the flavours, our waitress went to grab her "cheat sheet" because she couldn't remember what all of them were. Fair enough, it's hard to remember 100+ flavours. But when she came back with said cheat sheet and we asked what a few different flavours are, she got super impatient with us and said, "Ugh, can I come back in a few minutes?" Okay, we understood, she had other customers waiting as well. So we asked if she could leave the cheat sheet so she wouldn't have to spend so long with us, and she said simply, "I'm not allowed to give it to customers."

I'm not sure how her logic worked, because even after she helps all her other customers, we're still going to have the same amount of questions regarding their asinine menu (I mean, what the hell is "Ephestius" flavoured wings?), which means she'll still end up spending that same amount of time with us. She could easily have explained to us, in a nice way, that she was getting slammed, and would we mind giving her a few minutes to help serve other people? We're rational people, we've been in customer service and we would've understood. What pissed us off was that she kept sighing and rolling her eyes, like we were severely wasting her time. Is she not getting paid to serve us? Customers should be equally as important, no?

She finally came back after nearly fifteen minutes (that is a long time to wait just to be waited on), and we eventually just ordered two flavours that we weren't even sure sounded good (let alone taste good), 'cause we didn't want to ask anymore questions. The first one was the "Canadian" flavour, which is honey garlic and teriyaki. I'm not sure why they named it "Canadian," seeing as there's really nothing Canadian about it. It tasted kind of tangy and sweet but salty as well, and the mix just didn't seem to work. The second flavour we got was the "Jamaican Jerk," which tasted like a weird combination of spices including cinnamon, which is not exactly a spice I like with my chicken. Both flavours were mediocre, at best. This is why they should list the menu describing each flavour. Seriously, it's customers' biggest complaint for a reason.

We ended up ordering dessert because the wings were so unsatisfying. So we went with the Dulce de Leche cheesecake, 'cause you really can't go wrong with that. And it was really good. But it's also ready-made by another company, so I can't say that it's because of their efforts. In the end, it's not really the food that we'll remember. It's at no fault of theirs that we didn't love the wings, because we picked the flavours and it's usually trial-and-error at All Star Wings. What we will remember, though, is the super-impatient and, let's just say it, bitchy waitress. She alone is the reason why I doubt we'll be going back to this location any time soon.

Duff's Famous Wings

Shawn and I had dinner at Duff's Original Wings (at Rutherford Marketplace) tonight. We decided to share Combo #1, which includes 20 wings (up to 2 flavours of your choice), celery sticks with dill or blue cheese dip (dill, for the win), a large basket of fries (excellent with the dill sauce), and a small pitcher of pop for $27.95. We decided on BBQ (me) and Medium-Hot (him). The BBQ reminds me very much of Swiss Chalet's barbeque ribs; really, the taste is exactly the same (a.k.a. delicious). The Medium-Hot was, in my tastebuds' world, super hot. As in, I can't feel my mouth, my lips are swollen two sizes, and my tastebuds can't taste anything anymore. Those who love their wings spicy will love these. (Clearly, Shawn ate most of this flavour.) All in all, the food was super-tasty and got to our table really fast (I would say in about five minutes), and the service was nice, polite, and efficient. I would definitely go again, and soon!

St. Louis Bar & Grill

I met up with Dom, Hannan, and Edward at St. Louis for wings tonight. We got their Monday special, which includes three pounds of wings (about 30 pieces), fries with dill sauce, and a pitcher of beer for $29.99. We got half of our wings in sweet Asian BBQ and the other half in cajun dust, and they were just so super delicious. And I actually like that they only have like, 12 different flavours of wings. Because you go to All-Star Wings, who has over 180 flavours, and it's way too overwhelming and it takes about a year to decide which flavour to get (because what if you picked the wrong one?!). I've yet to have a bad experience at St. Louis, though. It's always good. And their dill sauce is like crack. For real.

All Star Wings

Shawn and I went for lunch at All Star Wings, who are famous for their 180+ flavours of chicken wings (hot chocolate wings, anyone?). I ordered the Sicilian dry rub wings (Italian herbs), and we shared the Greek fries (Greek dressing, cheese, and herbs) as suggested by our waitress. My wings were awesome; simple and flavourful, but not overwhelmingly so. I prefer the dry rub wings over the original kind because I find the original ones way too messy with sauce everywhere, but that's not to say they're not good. Shawn had the Hail Caeser wings (Caeser dressing, parmesan cheese), and they tasted great but were just messy to eat. I will admit that the flavour is a little too overpowering, especially if you're eating a whole basket full. I like it when I can still taste the chicken wing, and it's not all about the flavour. It's like putting too much hot sauce on your food. In the end, you don't even know what you're eating anymore, 'cause all you can taste is hot sauce.

The Greek fries were okay, but not fantastic, and I probably wouldn't order them again. They were just a little overwhelmingly sour with the dressing. You might like them if you like vinegar on your fries. But I didn't really like the sourness mixed with the cheese. I think I will try the Garlic Parm or Tex Mex fries next time. We also learned the hard way that a single order of wings each and a basket of fries to share is way too much food. We could barely get through the first layer of those fries, and it became torturous to eat the last chicken wing. So, next time, one basket of wings, one basket of fries.