ottawa foodies

This has been on my mind since coming to Ottawa and I was hoping someone on here might be able to help me.

Almost (but not all) pubs, bars, restaurants etc when serving chicken wings add a side of sour cream with the wings, and I don't get it. I've seen people requesting it when they don't get it with their order. Why? Why and when did this start? I've eaten wings all over North America and sour cream is just not the way it is usually done.

Blue cheese is the traditional side, with ranch as close second at many establishments. A few have Dill dip. And the purpose of these dips is to cut down on the heat of the wing (and in theory to dip your veggies, which fewer places add now). But they are all big on flavour. Sour cream is just so blah.

I've asked around and no one seems to know. One or two people here have mentioned the 'French' influence of Quebec, but I don't understand the connection.

So does anyone know why this is the case in Ottawa? Why does Ottawa wings = sour cream side? Is there a secret history?

Thanks for any help to this little mystery of mine.

I cook chicken wings often at my work, and serve wings with a choice of honery garlic, 1st degree, 2nd degree, and hot sauce. Wings are also served with celery sticks and baby carrots( does anyone know why celery and carrot for wings?) but I have never been asked for sour cream. I will ask my boss and chef friends. I really have no idea!!

My completely uneducated guess is that it's served with sour cream on the side because people are too cheap or too ignorant to use blue cheese dressing ;)

I agree with Momomoto, I think its being cheap, but on the vendor's part. In my experience, if a vendor has blue cheese or ranch dip, my friends and I will definitely go for it. I have found though that many vendors in Ottawa just don't offer anything other than sour cream, or there's an additional charge (I've seen up to $2.00!). I have no problem paying an extra 0.25-0.50 for a little cup with maybe 2 tbsp of blue cheese dip, but $2.00?!

Well I haven't travelled across the continent tasting wings and side dips but I don't see how sour cream is such an aweful dip?... It cuts the heat and it's neutral falvour doesn't get in the way of the flavour on the wings. I suppose the main reason it is chosen by restaurants is because it's cheaper but I really don't have a problem with it. Is it really only an Ottawa thing? I didn't realize this... Maybe I'm a little (well maybe alot) ignorant on wings ;-)

Aisu - thanks for going to find out. When Buffalo style chicken wings were first created at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo NY, they were served with celery sticks and blue cheese because that's what they had on hand late at night. Eventually carrots were added by some establishments.

Momomoto - that's what I was afraid of. I was hoping there was a 'cultural' reason or something more than just $.

Jaws - totally agree with you - and more places not only charge for the dip, they charge for celery/carrot sticks too!

Chopper - It seems to really just be an Ottawa thing. When I was talking to kitchen staff at a pub, they were not from Ottawa and also said they had never seen it before coming here either. I guess I'm just so curious as to why the Capital is the place that started this trend.

It's cheap, it's neutral, and something that all kitchens have on hand. It won't detract from the bbq sauce or honey garlic or one of the other 1000 flavours. It just helps mellow out some of the zippier wings, if needed. It also helps tame greasier wings, where blue cheese, or ranch might be too rich.

Thanks everyone for the input. I was hoping there was a regional/cultural reason, but I was just grasping at straws I guess.