Dude, you KNOW I love chicken wings–this is body by chicken wings, bro! And while I wish that every night was wing night, over in Bloor West Village, the night of the wings is Tuesday, when these two funky little craft beer joints are both serving up a pound of the good stuff for about eight bucks. Man, even Bill Gates’ haircuts cost more than that!!!
So, we’re starting off at Shakey’s, this funky little hockey bar just a bit west of Runnymede. This is the place to go for Leafs fans in the neighbourhood, so it’s probably a good thing that I wasn’t wearing my Calgary Flames jersey after the Flames blew ’em away in the third period on Monday!!!
Now, this place is serving up all sorts of wings ranging from mild to suicide–or honey garlic, if you’re into that–but I went in a different direction with the dry-rub Cajun wings. These wings were hot in more ways than one–I had to wait for ’em to cool down before I could pick ’em up. And $8.50 also gets you a side of fries, although the ranch dressing is a dollar extra…
Of course, if I’m eating wings you KNOW I’m not sipping on a vodka cranberry, bro! This here’s a West Coast Style IPA from Beau’s. It definitely tastes like an IPA, but the ones I’ve had in Seattle were a lot more bitter…which isn’t necessarily a good thing.
Now, speaking of bitter beer, Bryden’s is actually owned by Great Lakes Brewery, which is known for its grapefruit-tasting pale ales. But when it comes to wings, we’re going for the sweetness with these Maple Jack bones. You get more maple than Jack Daniels here…but why drink Jack Daniels when you can drink beer?
Going completely away from the IPAs, this Robust Porter from Cheshire Valley hits the spot with its cocoa Guinness-y goodness. I could probably pound a few more of these, but after all that blue cheese back there, I think I’d better not.
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Now, when it comes to wings, I’d say that Shakey’s gives you more bang for your buck–‘specially if you like French fried potaters. But the rotating taps at Bryden’s impress me more. If I was in the neighbourhood on any day other than Tuesday, I would probably hit that place up first–definitely if the Leafs were playing!
Burgers, Bacon & Beer 