Canz a City Roadhouse

40-11 30th Ave

Astoria, NY 11103

Website

For those of you who read this blog often, you know we already visited the Canz out in Westbury. Recently, they also opened a location in Astoria, Queens and we had to give it a try.

Right off the bat I liked this location better. First of all, it's in Astoria which means I didn't have to drive anywhere. I'm a fan of public transportation, especially when drinking is involved. Second, it has one of those storefronts that completely opens up - giving you the feel of sitting outside without having to bake in the sun. There was also another outdoor section in the back (sans TV's though). It was a perfect day for Wings Al Fresco. One odd similarity was the waitress. What are the chances of having the same waitress the only two times you go to two different locations? Probably pretty low, but we had the same girl as last time. I believe Steve called her "less than polite" in the earlier review. I'm happy to report that she was a little happier this time around - a bit frazzled at times, but friendly none-the-less.

The open, airy eating area in the back.

We ordered two different flavors from the last visit - Asian and BBQ - and made sure to stay away from the Dirty Canz wings. Hey, I'm willing to try a lot for this site, but I'm not dumb.

The Asian was ok. They were cooked really well and had a nice amount of meat but were a little on the dry side. They were really similar to the Teriyaki, which I guess makes some sense. Overall, pretty forgettable.

The BBQ was totally surprising. By now you probably know about our indifference towards BBQ wings. It's pretty well documented. Most of the time we just stay away from them, unless we're out of flavors to try. Well these were, by far, the best I've had yet. I loved them. They were plump, well cooked and coated in a nice, thick and gooey sauce. They weren't overly sweet like most BBQ tend to be. They actually reminded me a lot of the BBQ chicken I grew up eating off the grill in my back yard. Steve wasn't able to make this outing, but I texted him to tell him I actually liked a BBQ wing. He didn't believe me. He'll just have to make the trip and try them out for himself. If anything, these wings inspired me to expand my horizons in the BBQ category. I'm now looking forward to places like Virgil's and Dinosaur BBQ, which I'm sure will blow Canz away.

If you're looking at what I like to call the "full spread photo", you may be asking yourself, "what are those things in the middle?" They are the Canz Buffalo Bitez, a boneless chicken "wing". I know, I know... it's not a wing if it doesn't have a bone in it. Steve, Jeremy and I actually had a talk about these guys and decided to ban them from the site. We just didn't feel right about them. However, BJ (a friend of ours that I was with this night) ordered them kind of spur of the moment. I didn't know they were coming. But, with apologies to the traditionalists, I liked them. They're crispy, tasty and obviously their meat to bone ratio is unbeatable. I'd eat them again and I'm not ashamed to admit it.

The full spread shot. Yeah, those are boneless "bitez" in the middle.

So yeah, maybe this place is a little schticky. A modern day Hooters. But the wings are actually pretty good and worth giving a shot. They also have all the games on and a huge selection of beers both on tap and in cans, er, canz. It rides the line between chain-y franchise and cool neighborhood hangout, but I like Canz and I'll probably be back.