ottawa foodies

I've had the chicken and the wedge fries at Wedge's Plus, and I have to say I'm not enthusiastic about either. I did get them to go, but that actually meant carrying them 1 block away. The fries had that hard "old" taste and the chicken was okay but not great.

I am almost positive that the Somerset 'Dixie Lee' has closed.

"Wedge's Plus" (on Dalhousie) always smelled better to me...

ottawa.newcs.sl.ca

"mouth-watering chicken," it claims.

www.restaurantica.com

"Great Fried Chicken and wedge fries!!!
It is soooo much better than the Colonel."

"Cheapeats Ottawa" is enthusiastic about the wedge fries but not the chicken, though.

Thanks for the quick replies everyone - looks like slim pickins' here in Ottawa so I suppose we'll be making it ourselves.
LOL - Fresh Foodie, KFC wasn't exactly what I had in mind! :P

I must preface this by saying that I have never eaten here but have been curious to try it.

They have just opened a second location of Dixie Lee Fried Chicken on St.Laurent (corner of Walkley). They also have another location on Somerset.
I found the below article from the Express written in Sept which was not favourable, but perhaps it was a bad day?

Anyone eaten here that can comment?

www.ottawaxpress.ca

Make your own. I use a recipe from Epicurious. I think it's called Bon Ton Chicken (after the restaurant that serves it.) It's not hard to make. I leave out the MSG and added a couple more seasonings, but the basic recipe is good, as long as you follow it and marinate the chicken for at least 24 hours.

www.epicurious.com

Try it.

There used to be a place years ago called the Parkway Terrace, or something like that... it was a greasy spoon. Your other alternative is to try the fried chicken at Mello's Coffee Shop located in a strip mall on Merivale Road. I've never tried it but I've heard good things, their fried fish is excellent... if that's any indicator...? Anyway, it's probably not southern style (since we're in Canada!), but it's fried chicken.

Eventually I'm going to hook this food up to KFC, but let's leave it out on the "Desperately Seeking" list for a while to see if anyone can suggest a source for authentic and fresh southern fried chicken!

Hi everyone - are there any restaurants in the area that serve real southern fried chicken? I have been craving the stuff since we got back from our trip to the States in 2005!
Thanks

felinefan, I don't know if the chicken is pressure-fried like at Zaki, but the end result is the same: crisp and moist!

As for the fries, I have to admit that I'm not well versed on the differences between frozen and fresh cut fries. They were good fries. Served super hot, nice texture, flavour, and crispy exterior.

My experience has been that frozen fries crisp up better than fresh ones because the freezing process dries out their surface a little, so I've never been very opinionated about fresh vs frozen fries.

Thanks for posting this. Is this cooked in a broaster a là Zaki? I'll have to try this place out. Fries look fabulous. I assume from the looks of them that they are of the non-frozen variety?

I like to try new fried chicken places, especially when they advertise that their chicken is Halal. Not because I follow Sharia but because this means the chicken will inevitably be Middle-Eastern style: super moist interior with a well seasoned and impossibly crunchy coating. And it sure was!

$8.95+tax gets you this 2-piece boneless fried chicken platter with fries and a pop. Two pieces, one thigh and one breast, turned out to be plenty because they are not small. The picture gives you some idea... remember, there are no bones in that photo!

You can choose from a large list of sauces and dips. I went with boring old gravy because I love to dip my fries therein. Notice the salt crystals on the fries... salty chicken, salty fries, and salty gravy. My diet Coke was not salty!

Service was friendly in that "Hey, you aren't Arab so we'll be polite but a bit aloof with you" kind of way. There was a sort of family reunion going on while I was there, and I felt a little guilty about eating the chicken with my left hand. But I'm left handed and I use my phone and take care of bodily functions with my right hand. Pleased to meet you. I'm also diligent about washing my hands so you can be pleased to meet me too. :D

It's great to have places like this available to us as an alternative to fast food chains. I'm keen to return to try their take on a Philly Cheesesteak one day!

A pretty well brined and fried chicken on a biscuit with coleslaw and a side of creamy Mac and cheese. I added show string fries which were quite salty. Nice texture but salty. The food is rich so it’s filling fast!

There is a nice selection of local beers on tap and a good wine selection. Service is very good too.

Late night on Fri/Sat (10:30-1) Bar Lupulus does a kitchen takeover / pop-up. This week Rich Wilson from the old Pomeroy House was preparing Nashville hot chicken. I tried the sandwich and wings. Amazing impossibly crispy with a med/high heat that lingered. Salty and slighly sweet/smoky. Sandwich had perfect amount of slaw and white sauce to offset the spicy. Didn't come here for this specifically but I would next time.

How this restaurant is not the buzz of the town baffles me. Second meal here this week and it was fantastic once again. I had their house specialty, the Hot Chicken, Yum! It was brined, beautifully crispy, and very hot at the same time.

Tried the Thursday special of Quinntuckey Fried Chicken - 2 nice portions of boneless chicken, fries and coleslaw for $10.99! Coating was nice and crispy while the chicken remained juicy. The server told us that they marinate, or a sorta brine, the chicken in franks before its breaded. I think I'll try this technique at home as it produced some stellar fried chicken!

This time the chicken had a thicker batter. It is quite reminiscent of the KFC "Extra Crispy" batter, only this one is crunchier, saltier, and has some spice to it. These chicken pieces are absolutely huge. I'm full with two and begging for mercy with three. (KFC I eat five pieces without any trouble.)

I called in my order this time. They said 20 minutes. I showed up after 25 and received my food at 35. I saw that to ensure freshness they didn't start cooking my fries until I showed up, so expect a 10 minute wait (this is a good thing!).

Massive fried chicken feast for under $10 including tax. Life is beautiful.

That's right, fried chicken from a shawarma joint! While not broasted like the stuff at Zaki, this is excellent fried chicken.

The natural skin of the chicken provides a large part of the crunchy exterior. It crisps up like a sort of halal chicharrón. ;-) The seasoning is mostly salt. It is awesome but it will make you thirsty. The flesh inside is moist and flavourful. These are good chickens!

The nice, thin fries come with your choice of gravy or garlic sauce.

They suggest calling your order in ahead, but be warned they are running on Lebanese time. When I ordered my food I was told it would be ready in about 15 minutes. It ended up being 45. :D

Can't wait to go back and try their shawarma platter!

I was dragged to this place even after I explained to my buddy about the tiny pieces of chicken. We both ordered four piece meals and it took 20 minutes to get our food. Not a big deal but the temperature was turned down to 55F and we had to keep our jackets on. After about 15 minutes one of the cooks came out and turned the heat up to 66F. I have to say the chicken was juicy but not worth the $ for the a tiny pieces. Seems no place in town serves any decent sized pieces of chicken so sadly for Ottawa this is about as good as it gets. The fries were awful. I would give them worst I have tried in Ottawa so nothing has changed in that department since my last visit. They were dried out low quality flavorless fries straight from a frozen bag. To top it off the bun/roll was so stale when you tore it apart you could see a difference in color on the inside compared to the middle of it. Can you say freezer burnt. I hear there is another boaster place out on Innes Rd that is due for a visit to see if the small chicken plague will continue. Pic is a thigh. It may look average but not that much meat on it at all.

For you East End folks - from Zaki's Facebook Page:

Salamu'Alaikum Ottawa, Hope you are all well - On behalf of Zaki Boast and Grill, we are pleased to invite you all to our grand opening of the East End location this Friday, September, 27, 2013 @ 11:00am! You can find us at the Donald Plaza, off of St Laurent Blvd, our restaurant will be open until 11:00pm. We look forward to seeing you all soon Insh'Allah. Please feel free to contact us for any additional information through Facebook, or call us 613-740-1500.

Yes, it's juicy and not very greasy. On the downside it isn't very crispy. A great alternative to the fries is to get the rice instead. It is seasoned basmati and they were happy to sub it for the fries last time.

This chicken is amazing like everyone said: plump, juicy, crispy, incredibly non-greasy, and lightly seasoned. The seasoning is very mild, which allows you to enjoy the chicken flavour but it might be too mild for some. I tried one of them tossed in hot sauce, and it was nice to have variety but I prefer them plain.

Fries were seasoned and boring. I ate a few of them and left the rest. I took one bite of the unnecessary bun to see how it was -- not too bad. Go for the chicken. ;-)

I'd like to get a 4-piece meal with salad instead of fries/bun. That would be awesome.

I picked up a "Big People" sized plate of chicken to go, choosing one piece of jerk and one piece of fried. The jerk chicken was great as always and the fried chicken was surprisingly delightful considering it is pre-cooked and kept warm on a platter until sold. $15 gets you a platter large enough for 1 ravenous greedy bastard or 2 lighter eaters.

Not really wanting to knock Jean Albert's they are one of the better fried chicken places I have had in Ottawa. But there is always room for improvement. I was recently at Paula Dean's restaurant in Savannah, Lady and Son's and I have never experienced fried chicken like this in my life. Simply amazing! Hopefully Jean's doesn't fall victim to the swollen head syndrome.

When I ordered the 3-piece, I got 2 drumsticks and 1 thigh. The batter was definitely not as thick/appealing as pictured in LOTW. Man, his picture actually looks pretty good.

Taste was alright though.

They gave me a brilliantly large portion: 1 drumstick, 1 full wing, and a giant back/breast piece. This is tasty chicken! The batter is mostly just salty but you actually taste the meat, which is in pleasant contrast with other fried chicken experiences.

My initial reaction was that it tastes a lot like those crispy salty fried chicken wings you see at Chinese buffet restaurants. But the meat here is more moist and flavourful. Very nice!

the portion is smaller than LOTW's description, but that's not to say that i left hungry.

the chicken is indeed light and crispy in its coating and not at all greasy. served with the tequila bbq sauce.

the coleslaw portion is about half of what you see there.

This is the Southern Fried Chicken meal (with sides). Three big pieces of chicken, described like below: light and crispy coating and skin and not greasy at all. In short, delicious.

And I don't see a small portion here at all.

I also added a side of their homemade Hot sauce, which was excellent. It has a kick, but is full of flavour. Next time I would get the chicken tossed in it for sure.

Super excellent. Just like I've had in places that really know fried chicken (Ohio, Kentucky, Northern Florida). Crispy on the outside, moist on the inside. Flavourful coating, but not so much as to hide the delicate flavour of chicken cooked on the bone.

As a previous reviewer states, the fried chicken here has a light coating. Was seasoned well, and with a few dashes of Frank's Red Hot, makes for a very satisfying meal. If you prefer the thick, super crunchy style of fried chicken, this is not for you.

The recipes used at Jean Albert's come from the owner's grandmother. They may be her recipes, but chef Leroy Walden was paying attention while she was preparing them. The Southern Fried Chicken is excellent. The coating is light and neither too salty nor spicy and the meat was tender and juicy.