Ying and I decided to go to All Star tonight because we were craving chicken wings. (It's been over 2 years since I've had wings. Even longer since I've been to an All Star.)
Dry-dusted Cajun wings
We decided to split two pounds into two flavours — the classic dry-rub Cajun and Hail Caesar (previously known as Gar Par, which is garlic sauce and parmesan), which have always been my go-to choices simply because I do not have the patience to ask what each of their 100 flavours is. This is a huge weakness of All Star, in my opinion — the quality of their wings is actually quite good, but the majority of their flavours have completely vague, non-descript names like "Back in the Village" and "Pucker Up Baby," and none of them come with actual descriptions so you are forced to ask your server for all of them, which they have to recite verbally. All Star thinks this is cute and charming and they purposely don't put descriptions of the flavours (I've asked about this), but it is actually extremely annoying to a hungry diner and I forgot that this was the reason I only used to go to All Star to eat ANYTHING BUT THE WINGS. (They actually do excellent grilled cheeses.)
"Hail Caesar" wings
Another thing I didn't realize, or perhaps just never paid attention to, was that they have a "splitting fee." Yes, if you want to order 2 or more pounds of wings and want to split the flavours, they charge $2.75 for it, which is fucking highway robbery. I don't know how common this practice is among wings restaurants, but I cannot recall going anywhere else that does this. It's ridiculous. They also will not allow you to choose all flats or all drumsticks (I'm not that picky, but Ying only likes flats and they straight-up refused). From what I recall, neither St. Louis nor Wild Wing have issues with this, nor do they charge flavour splitting fees. And they include descriptions of all their wings flavours on their menu, as well as basic fries with their wings.
Cleopatra Brew City Fries
Speaking of which, the surprising star of the night was actually the Cleopatra Brew City Fries — ultra-crispy, beer-infused battered fries topped with honey garlic and creamy garlic sauces and then sprinkled with parmesan. I never ordered this before because the addition of honey garlic to fries was somewhat questionable, but I wanted to try something new and it paid off because they are shockingly delicious. And it wasn't even the combination of flavours that did it for me — they do fries exceptionally well here in general. They are thick (thicc, even) crinkle-cut fries that have got to be double- or even triple-cooked because they are extremely crispy. Dare I say crunchy. They did not get soggy at all, even after half an hour slathered in sauce. Frankly, if I go back to an All Star, it's going to be for the fries and not the damn wings.
We decided to split two pounds into two flavours — the classic dry-rub Cajun and Hail Caesar (previously known as Gar Par, which is garlic sauce and parmesan), which have always been my go-to choices simply because I do not have the patience to ask what each of their 100 flavours is. This is a huge weakness of All Star, in my opinion — the quality of their wings is actually quite good, but the majority of their flavours have completely vague, non-descript names like "Back in the Village" and "Pucker Up Baby," and none of them come with actual descriptions so you are forced to ask your server for all of them, which they have to recite verbally. All Star thinks this is cute and charming and they purposely don't put descriptions of the flavours (I've asked about this), but it is actually extremely annoying to a hungry diner and I forgot that this was the reason I only used to go to All Star to eat ANYTHING BUT THE WINGS. (They actually do excellent grilled cheeses.)
Another thing I didn't realize, or perhaps just never paid attention to, was that they have a "splitting fee." Yes, if you want to order 2 or more pounds of wings and want to split the flavours, they charge $2.75 for it, which is fucking highway robbery. I don't know how common this practice is among wings restaurants, but I cannot recall going anywhere else that does this. It's ridiculous. They also will not allow you to choose all flats or all drumsticks (I'm not that picky, but Ying only likes flats and they straight-up refused). From what I recall, neither St. Louis nor Wild Wing have issues with this, nor do they charge flavour splitting fees. And they include descriptions of all their wings flavours on their menu, as well as basic fries with their wings.
Speaking of which, the surprising star of the night was actually the Cleopatra Brew City Fries — ultra-crispy, beer-infused battered fries topped with honey garlic and creamy garlic sauces and then sprinkled with parmesan. I never ordered this before because the addition of honey garlic to fries was somewhat questionable, but I wanted to try something new and it paid off because they are shockingly delicious. And it wasn't even the combination of flavours that did it for me — they do fries exceptionally well here in general. They are thick (thicc, even) crinkle-cut fries that have got to be double- or even triple-cooked because they are extremely crispy. Dare I say crunchy. They did not get soggy at all, even after half an hour slathered in sauce. Frankly, if I go back to an All Star, it's going to be for the fries and not the damn wings.
All Star Wings & Ribs
9255 Woodbine Ave.
Markham, ON L6C 1Y9
(905) 927-1616
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