L-R: Wings Gone Wild - My Ranch is on FireAnother one for the best of series. This time I'm doing wings. Coming in at #5 on the blogto list of best Wings in Toronto is All Star Wings & Ribs. I didn't know the "& Ribs" were a part of their name since I don't know anybody who has ever had their ribs before but I digress...
Location: 2/5
I believe there are two locations, neither of them are in Toronto. The one I went to is the one in Markham (the only other one I'm aware of is in Richmond Hill). It is located in a plaza at the corner of 16th Ave and Woodbine. Needless to say, you can't get here by TTC. You can probably take the YRT (York Region Transit) or VIVA but since you would probably have to camp out for a bus, I wouldn't bother making the trip unless you have a car. If you do have a car though, their wings are definitely worth the drive.
Taste: Could be anywhere from a 1/5 to a 5/5
Don't get me wrong, All Star has fabulous wings. They're lightly breaded, covered in sauce yet remaining crunchy and very flavourful. The problem is that they have over 150,000 flavours to choose from. That may be an exagerration but they easily have over 100 flavours, most of which have a vague names like American Eruption, Tsunami, Pucker Up Baby and Killer Bee. This wouldn't be a problem if there were little descriptions about each flavour but there isn't. It's just one long list categorized by how spicy they are (their classification system goes from Pacifiers to Baseballs to Flaming Stars to Fire Alarms to Mushroom Clouds and finally to a Radioactive Material Logo). Sure, you could stop a waitress and ask them but this place gets PACKED on Friday and Saturday nights so the waitresses seem rude and rushed. With the help of some friends though, I have compiled a list of some of the flavours we have tried and a little description of it to help you out.
Aaron: Snakebite - A bit tangy and not too spicy (Categorized under 3 Flaming Stars on the menu)
My Ranch is on Fire - Too much ranch. It was disgusting and it made me throw up (Yes Aaron, we're sure it was the wings and not the alcohol lol but I'll take your word for it. 4 Flaming Stars)
Aileen (Note: Aileen and Aaron are fraternal twins): My Ranch is on Fire - Her favourite flavour. Creamy ranch with a little tangy hot sauce with freshly ground black pepper. (I haven't seen a set of twins go in such opposite directions since Victoria Beckham got her boob job. Bada-Bing)
Sweet Tooth Rancher - Creamy and sweet but thick in the mouth (That's what she said. 1 Pacifier)
Nero's Epilogue - Like my ranch is on fire but instead of black pepper, they top it with parmesan cheese. (4 Flaming Stars)
Cheesy Where's The Beef? = Poutine - Fries + Wings. That's basically what it is but instead of using cheese curds, they use shredded cheddar (1 Pacifier)
Christine: Honey Garlic - Standard honey garlic (1 Pacifier)
Honey BBQ - Didn't like it. It was too sweet and there wasn't enough barbeque taste (1 Pacifier)
Shirley: Wings Gone Wild - This flavour is the BEST. Not spicy has a honey mustard taste.
Teresa: Sicillian - Breaded, dry and slightly spicy. (No rating because it's on the dry style side of the menu)
Victoria: Hot Hawaiian Honey - Tangy, Sweet and Hot (3 Flaming Stars)
Myself: Fourplay - This is disgusting. It was spicy and it is a blend of four different sauces (I have no idea which four) The sauces might be great alone but they come together to form the taste of ass (4 Flaming Stars)
Wings Gone Wild - My favourite flavour. It definitely has a honey mustard taste to it. A bit sweet. A bit of kick would make it even better (3 Flaming Stars)
Nero's Epilogue - I didn't think this tasted like My Ranch is on Fire. It wasn't all that flavourful. It was topped with parmesan though. (4 Flaming Stars)
There are still over 100 flavours left to be tried but I'm simply not adventurous to go for them after experiencing the disaster known as Fourplay. If you have tried any flavours that we missed out on, I would love to hear from you. Leave a comment with your review!
Value: 3/5
Okay so wings are expensive anywhere you go (I don't know why, it's just chicken wings and sauce) so I doubt we will ever see a 5/5 on value. I got a double order (20 wings) and a coke and it was around $20-22 after tax and tip. I guess it could be worse but that's at least a dollar a wing...
Verdict: 3.5 Peters in your Mouth out of 5
Peters, Buffalo, Wings, get it? Nevermind...The location is a bit lousy and the price definitely isn't for the budget-minded but the awesome wings (once you find your flavour) certainly makes up for it. However, I find that they're outdoing themselves by listing so many flavours on their menu without a description. While some flavours are certainly worth its weight in gold, the fact that picking a new flavour is such a crapshoot kind of sucks. Who doesn't want to try a Kama Sutra or a Pandora's Box?
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