The World's Best Chicken Fingers... In The World!

Let me talk about another passion of mine... it belongs to the same genus: chickenus friedisha and was almost the focus of my blog :)

Upon entering the restaurant my buddy and I are greeted by same waitress that serve us on countless occasion we eat at Mitzi's... and yet I do not know her name.

This was our favourite place to go for chicken fingers. The fingers were handmade (go figure!) in-house apparently by the owner, Shirley Eng herself! (More info at: http://www.downtownwinnipegbiz.com/home/business/business_profiles/mitzis/)

For those who haven't been, let me just go on to say Mitzi's chicken fingers are the best in town. Not only are the fingers marinated in a 'super secret' recipe made by Shirley, they are also made fresh. The fingers are tender and unlike most fingers you get elsewhere, Mitzi's fingers aren't flat!

If you order any finger platter combo (choose between fries, rice, or salad) you are started off with rice consommé which is a type of soup made up of rice, soy sauce, and fresh green onions. Don't let the description fool you... the soup itself is delicious as it is interesting to look at (the green onions contrast with the dark-coloured broth).

Shortly after enjoying the soup, our unnamed waitress brings out our identical order of '5-piece with fries.' The other good thing about eating at Mitzi's is the speed of service. Because they are located downtown (St. Mary at Garry), lunchtime is their craziest time. Unfortunately, they do not accept reservations during lunch as it gets really busy so avoiding the rush between 11:30am to 1pm would be a smart idea.

As I look at my mouth-watering platter, I quickly check and make sure I got the mayo-dill sauce and coleslaw. I call it mayo-dill because unlike honeydill, Mitzi's dipping sauce is not clear. It looks like a mayo-like concoction with the little dill herbs swimming in it. The viscosity of their mayo-dill is also different from traditional honeydill so the experience is bound to be different! lol.

The coleslaw, however, is left to be debated. To me it's kinda hit or miss. I really like fresh coleslaw, unlike the green stuff you get from KFC. But the coleslaw at Mitzi's, to my experience, is sometimes not enjoyable because of its lack in the freshness department. Sometimes it just doesn't have that 'zing' coleslaw brings in your mouth.

Nevertheless, the fries, fingers, and mayo-dill are the elements that make my Mitzi's experience satisfying. As long as all three elements are okay then my mouth is smiling and another tick under Mitzi's is added for the best chicken fingers in the whole wide world.

poultry quality

hot, fresh, and prepared to order -- what else do you want?

I was amazed by the wings I got. I had to wait a few minutes before diving into the basket cuz the wings were fresh and steaming hot! And when I say fresh I don't mean dripping with oil it was cooked in; I mean the wings must have been cooked and seasoned just moments before they were served to me. Whenever this happens, I get really excited. It makes any wing-lovers dining experience extra special and I'm sure a lot of people would agree. For me, the feeling is more of as if they knew I was coming and the cooks stood by; waiting for me to put my order through and prepared my wings as soon as they got the order. Sounds cheesy I know but what can I say? I'm a sentimental kinda guy lol.

Try the teriyaki... you won't regret it. I normally stay away from teriyaki wings unless I know the teriyaki was hand-prepared by an old woman in her Japanese house making the sauce with authentic ingredients from her backyard. I'm kinda picky. Nevertheless, Tony Romas' teriyaki sauce is a good substitute. They don't use the regular gooey stuff you get from Superstore. Instead, they have a special teriyaki sauce they apparently make in-house. I thought that was cool but the wings will speak for itself -- the sauce is not sticky and it doesn't overcoat the wings (or your face for that matter!) when you nibble on them. The flavour is very oriental; with the touch of soy and subtlety of what I think is ginger. Who knows?! All I know is that this is the only place I'd go for teriyaki wings.

Bottom line is that their wings are top-notch quality (and the service too) that I'd ask them to cater my wedding! Soup, salad, or chicken wings ma'am???

Wing Etiquette.

Once you get past the point that approx. 5 chickens had to die just so you can enjoy a pound of your favourite wings then you're off to a good start!  Actually, I'm more after the idea that I didn't the good pieces of the chicken that I feel I'm in such a loss...

Anyhow, for those of you holding back on chicken wings because, well, they're just messy little buggers!  Here's a tip on how to eat them with the least number of fingers involved.  Even the queen would approve! Ha! Don't quote me on that.



Actually, I don't recommend that technique to the ladies because it doesn't look lady-like to pummel a wing with their fingers. Besides, aren't you worried you'd get wing bits in your nails???

Instead, grab a wing portion (the one with two bones) and you can apply the same principle of "The Plunger" technique except push the meat from one side to the other while holding the wing portion at both ends.

Eventually, I'll post a video of me demonstrating the technique here. Or better yet, go out and do it yourself!!! Should be fun... so fun, you'll want to strip the meat off other people's wings too! Good luck!

Kicker

A mix of lemon pepper and cajun.  That's the feature tonight.

It's been a while since we last went to Smitty's on Ellice for wings.  I forget about the wing features and how clever the guys in the kitchen could be by mixing ready-made flavours with spices and call it the feature of the day.  Awesome!  Haha.

So tonight, I ordered the feature and my same choice of electric honey.  The order got to us quick - same time as we got our drinks.  Normally, of course, I'd order beer with it but since we all went out last night to Shannon's with all of Section 1, I ordered a Diet Coke instead.

The wings got to us quick - same time as our drinks.  That's what's good about Smitty's... you can expect the service to be quick.  There had been some nights when service had been slow and poor altogether but tonight was a good experience.

We were served by some girl named Faye.  I've never seen her before, then again it had been a while since we went there.  It's funny though how goin for wings at Smitty's Ellice has never changed.  I still see the same Smitty's regulars who frequent the place for some late night snacking.  It's sad really and even worse, I'm part of that crowd.  Haha.

Anyway, the feature was good and the electric honey was extra slimey tonight -- too much honey... or too much electric???  I don't know, it was good nevertheless.