The Legendary Wing King

The fiance was off to work last night, but as a special surprise present, she left me some money to purchase myself a little treat. I decided to make it a night for myself, so as I finished watching the hockey game, I got myself a gory movie that I wouldn't normally get a chance to watch (Die Hard, the original of course), and enjoyed myself a little chicken wing snack.

The Legendary Wing King is a local establishment in Lethbridge that aims to make quality chicken wings. They are a take-out or pick-up service only. No tables or chairs available except for a bench (for picking up) and a few bar seats facing the window. While that doesn't really boost it's atmosphere, it's covered in a brilliant hot pink that attracts the eye and sucks you in. It's located downtown at 1-1515 Mayor Magrath Drive South, but hidden around the corner from the main road which hides it from possible customers.

Because the fiance had left the cash, I didn't want to drive across town for a pick-up, so I called for delivery. Because I can't really judge on the waiter and staff, the phone person gets a review! And she was delightful. Okay, not exactly charismatic, but she handled the call clearly and efficiently, which is really what a business should want from their employees. No complaints here! I ordered 3 1/2 pound orders, which is targeted at about $5.99. One pound of wings costs $10.99, which when comparing with the neighbourhood pubs, is actually a few bucks cheaper. However, those same pubs usually bust out a "wing night" which attracts crowds. Wing King unfortunately has no such deal... Anyway, I got myself three kinds of wings. I got the dry "Roasted Garlic and Pepper", "Honey Garlic", and of course "Hot" wings. The wings are marketed as "always fresh, never frozen" and "quality" wings, but they don't really explain where or how the wings are obtained.


They took about 30 minutes to arrive, which isn't bad being that it's a 15 mins drive across the city. And it did give me time to set up my fortress of solitude. The fellow dropping the wings off was also a nice guy, which was also a nice bonus. Once again, nothing special, but got the job done and was positive about it. The total was $26.00 (Plus tax and tip), which seemed a little expensive for 18 wings, but when comparing again with the bars, it actually seems to come out on top.

Now, as for the wings themselves. Served with a blue cheese dressing and some veggies, they actually look pretty good, and are a definite improvement over the classic bar type in terms of size. I went straight for the hot wing, which was.... disappointing. It tasted more like a sweet and sour sauce to me, and I even ended up checking the box to see if a mistake had been made. Disappointing for a hot wing, when I'm expecting some serious heat. The other wing flavours were pretty much what I had expected, but once again wasn't really anything to brag about. They had flavour and it was nice, but I don't know if they were really anything special. I was really hoping for some oomph from them, but sadly wasn't really getting astonishing. The veggies were...veggies. The blue cheese dressing was a pleasant surprise, as it was really lightly flavoured and not too strong (Sad if you want a strong blue cheese dressing then) so it would be good for blue cheese amateurs.

So really what it comes down to, is that if you are a big wing fan, and don't mind paying the $12-$14 dollars for a dozen wings at a bar, then the Legendary Wing King is your place to go. You save a few bucks and you get bigger, better wings! However, the flavours are about what you would expect just about anywhere. If only the hot wings were hotter... However, if you only like going for the 25 cent wings, then Wing King will probably not be worth it in the end. For a guy lazing around on the couch watching a Die Hard movie though, they suited me just fine.



Staff and Service - C+
Food and Flavours - B-
Atmosphere - C+