I was originally not going mention the place I am about to review in the title of this article or mention it within the article. I was going to write this by merely referring to a new burger joint along Bloor St. I think, however, I would be doing a disservice to all the other reputable burger places scattered along the Annex neighbourhood. And this even goes out to Burger King near Bathurst St. which is not homegrown or a Ma and Pa type of place which I am so fond of but it does a hell of a lot better than the Wing Shop 366 does.
Everything right from the get go of my visit wasn’t right. Upon a look from the outside, you might think to yourself how nice it looks but how it looks much too nice to not be one of those places that was just put in the wrong spot at the wrong time and whose lease will go in a matter of weeks.
A walk-by with no intention of going into the Wing Shop 366 followed by a sudden urge to take a sharp turn to the right brought me into the heart of this wing palace to take them up on their offer of a veggie burger , fries, and a drink for only $5.98 which was boasting on their sign out front.
I’ve been a vegetarian for four years and although I wouldn’t call myself a veggie burger connoisseur, I would like to think I have tried enough of them to know what constitutes a good burger. And I don’t mean the one that has “actual vegetable chunks”, but one that legitimately tastes delicious.
After regaining my composure from my sharp turn into the Wing Shop, I plopped myself on the counter to receive some of that ‘we’re new to the neighbourhood and want your regular business‘ cheer. Instead I was greeted by a young girl surprised to see me as she walked out of a back room after I stood there for a good 35 seconds. Not that 35 seconds is a long time, but If I went to Burger King I would already have fries on my tray, four packets of ketchup and tiny packets of salt, awaiting the foil-wrapped veggie burger of chewiness to land upon its surface. Time isn’t everything when it comes to food, but at this moment I realized it plays quite role in setting up my pallet for the meal. The thing that really startled me was the guy in the back room that saw me walk in. He sat behind a wall in the kitchen…and awaited his co-workers return. No gesture of ‘I am going to make you food in a second and can’t wait,’ or the ‘we’re new to the neighbourhood and want your business’ charm.
The chemistry between the two employees presented something unsettling. They didn’t speak to each other while my burger cooked on the “halal and veggie burger only” side of the grill (as labeled), they uttered not a word.. He hovered over my sizzling mound of soy while she prepared the store bought fries and read a book. The fries were done and on my tray within minutes while another few minutes passed until my burger was done. She THEN took it upon herself to dress my bun (that sounds weird) with an assortment of toppings in different style containers including mayonnaise which is awesome.
The interaction with the female employee was pleasant but seemed forced and bothersome to her. And I don’t know about that other guy that only comes out to prepare food. So there I am sitting at my table all alone in the confines of the restaurant with a minuscule number of fries, water, and what appears to be a tantalizing veggie burger. The fries weren’t plentiful especially considering it was in a serving tray that could have housed more fries that WERE in fact prepared and just sitting in the metal drying rack for the literally zero amount of other people in the restaurant. They weren’t that bad though considering they were obviously store bought. Ok, maybe the fries were actually quite spectacular, but the ketchup to sooth their greasy heat was not that easy to come by. The ketchup comes to the patrons in the form of a large pump with absolutely no suction. Getting ketchup out of the nozzle was not as easy as it should have been. Do I pull up on the white handle to get more ketchup out? Nope, that didn’t work…ahh Phucket (it’s a province in Thailand). I will just do with what I had (which was already a fair amount of ketchup, I just really like condiments).
As shoddy as my experience sounds, I was surprised to see that this food establishment offered a large flat screen television, free wi-fi service and a website that allows you to order from home and get delivery. I wonder what the delivery person is like…
I don’t eat wings but there seemed to be a plethora of flavours to choose from. Even more than I knew existed. I am familiar with wing classics such as the hot, mild, and honey garlic flavours but who knew you could get parmesan, lemon pepper or tex-mex wings along with over two dozen other unique flavours.
This is not to mention the salads, the chicken bites, the garlic bread…plenty of options. And don’t think time wanes on these items. Wing Shop 366 is open late! Seriously, who wants garlic bread at 4am on Friday morning? I’ve been there.
I’ll admit my bad experience could be because I don’t fall within their carnivorous target market. But I still expected more from an infantile food establishment. And I realize many of the things I touched upon may come off as knit-picky, but these are the things that go through my mind and the mind of others (some not so vocal as myself) when dining at the Wing Shop 366. And so concludes by review of one of the newest food establishments in the Annex which has seen at least one customer come and go to never look back. But as Lavar Burton once said following the weekly broadcast of Reading Rainbow…don’t take my word for it.
(In no way is this review partnered or approved by Lavar Burton or any of his holdings. )
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