In an epic battle for Chicken Wing supremacy, the Crown and Dragon on Yonge Street emerged as the victor yesterday after two hours of battling heavyweight corporate Goliaths — Jack Astor’s, St. Louis, Hooters, and Duff’s. In true Slumdog style, the underdog took the win in all four categories of Wing Off 2009: Best Traditional Buffalo Wing Mild, Best Traditional Buffalo Wing Hot, Best International Flavour, and Most Creative Taste.
The Crown rolled out four of their 27 flavours with Key West BBQ (Mild), Dragon’s Breath (Hot), Bollywood (International) and Roadside Lemonade (Creative). Along with Chef Vincent Lo and GM Mike Weger, manager Stephanie Coones celebrated in the Tortilla Flats arena, where she expressed no surprise at their win.
“Our menu is about a year and a half old and it has had a great response at the restaurant. Honestly, I think we have a great product with original flavours. When we were asked to do this, we thought, ‘Alright, we can’t lose, we can’t lose.'”
And lose they did not, as all seven judges — including Chef Robert Rainford (License to Grill) and Top Designer Robin De Groot (Restaurant Makeover) — agreed that the Crown would take, er, the crown.
For the sake of investigative journalism, I decided to take a few nibbles of the Crown jewels and boy, the "flavour flav" was subtle yet undeniably present. The Roadside Lemonade was, dare I say, a light chicken wing (with its refreshingly zingy lemon glaze spruced up with rosemary), while the Dragon’s Breath was able to create a palatable spice without overshadowing the chicken itself — which was neither oily nor dry.
“They’re doing them in a more homemade [way] with genuine sauces," said Suzanne Lejeune, part-time judge and wing enthusiast. "I think that’s why they stand out from Jack Astor’s and Hooters, because [those] are mass produced and Crown and Dragon are making their own sauce.”
According to Brian Salnek of Northern Management, the Wing Off 2009 competition is more of a “wine-tasting” than a chow down. Wing Off 2010 is expected to return next year but, in a cryptic teaser, Salnek noted, “[it] will be quite different.”
Wing Off 2009 competitors are encouraged to participate again next year but the question remains: will the losing conglomerates return in a Rourke-worthy blaze of glory?