by Luke McKinney
FoodConnect Toronto
luke.mckinney@foodconnect.com

Chicken wings have surged from "low-quality snack" to "actual food item" recently, with dedicated chains setting up city-wide. But people seem to have forgotten: good chicken wings can't be separated from the atmosphere. Simple rule: if you're somewhere the napkins aren't usually used to mop up beer spills, you're in the wrong place for wings. If you want to do it right you won't find a finer combination of tasty wings and dank pub-tasticness than Ein-steins.

Ein-steins is the wonderfully titled local pub of the Engineering and Physics faculties of the University of Toronto, meaning you've got all the action of a student bar and proof that those with higher-than-average IQ still do stupid things - in fact, they do funnier ones. The location isn't its only grace: the extremely warm feel, the classic bar atmosphere of jukebox and pool tables, and way the underground interior is utterly immune to whatever time it is in the "real world" make it a popular destination.

In such an environs any food will be popular (at least after a few pints), but these snacks aren't just ordinary drunk-fodder. The multiple award-winning wings didn't pick up their prizes for fine balances or soupçons of subtlety: they are beloved because they are damn fine meat-sticks dripping with powerful flavor. They're also a great timesaver for the clubs who hold "official meetings" in the bar (aka "the better clubs") - a platter of wings saves the cat-herding hoopla of trying to co-ordinate twenty drunks into ordering, and I can't think of a better way to use a food budget.

Two steps for wonderful wing-itude:
1) Have a drink. An un-alcoholed stomach is an untenable environment for this snack.
2) Order the "Hammer" wings. It's the pro-flavor, not on the regular menu but available for those who know.

Which now includes you. Why don't you go try them out?

Ein-Steins is located at 229 College St.