Monday, January 31, 2011.
World Of Wings.
When the WOW Wingery opened in Covington in 2001, we were so wowed by it that we went all the time. The product was good: chicken wings with the lightest of batters, tossed with a variety of unique sauces developed by Chef George Rhode IV. Then, for unknown reasons, we stopped going completely. Except Jude, who often went to the WOW near Jesuit. (WOW is where Jude developed his passion for chicken.) I haven't sampled the place since well before the hurricane.
But for some reason the Marys are hot on WOW right now place. "The menu is a lot bigger," MA says. "They have salads and platters and burgers and poor boys now!" I take all this with a grain of salt. Mary Ann likes chains.
I dislike chains, but MA persuaded me to have lunch with her at the new WOW, in the cluster of stores and restaurants in the booming southwest quadrant of Covington. Lots of restaurants around there, almost all of them locations of chains. She booked the CEO and founder of WOW as a guest on the radio show tomorrow, too.
The menu indeed has grown so much that the place can be called a generalist. It is kept from being generic by one point of distinction: this is not fast food. They cook every order as it comes in, and a wait of ten minutes after the waitress collects the details is typical.
Two items caught my eye: red beans and rice (it's Monday, after all) and sliders. Four sliders, dressed classically with mustard, grilled onions and pickles, fries on the side, for nine dollars. Wow. I am cursed with the memory of my first encounter with sliders at the Krystal on Airline Highway in 1966, when they were ten cents apiece.
It was the first time and the last time for me. The meat patties appeared to have been made by hand from fresh ground beef and grilled to order, but they arrived at four little burgers but cutting one big burger into quarters--not exactly the same thing as a slider. In lieu of the fries, I had a cup of red beans, which were pretty good. Mary Ann enjoyed a grilled chicken salad that looked utilitarian to me.
Next time we eat here I will have red beans and chicken wings. Stick with the specialties, I say.
No need for dinner. After a few warmer days, the wind got cold and began to howl. A huge rain overnight began a week of the season's most uncomfortable weather. But my birthday is Sunday, and after that things start warming up for good.
WOW Cafe and Wingery. Covington: 70380 Hwy 21. 985-892-9691.
