Canz Restaurant & Bar
1610 Old Country Road
Westbury, NY 11590
Canz Roadhouse or Canz Restaurant & Bar is a localized version of Hooters in Nassau County, NY. The place has, you guessed it, empty cans all over the place but I think they mean something completely different when they say "I (heart) Canz" or "Do you have a Crush on my Canz" on the back of the waitresses' shirts. I may be wrong, but I am sure I am right. It is a sports bar with a lot of TV's playing just about any sport event airing that particular evening and hires attractive waitresses that wear skimpy uniforms... like Hooters. Another one is opening soon in Astoria, Queens.
Jody and I were there for a team dinner with our baseball team and the guys had already ordered hot wings and they arrived at the tables just after we grabbed our seats. Great timing on our part, if I do say so myself.
The hot wings were really good. They were the traditional butter, hot sauce and cayenne pepper hot wing recipe, but they were made perfectly. They were of decent size, coated well with sauce, and had a little kick to them, but not too much. They seemed to be fried first and then baked/broiled to make the inside juicy and outside crispy. If that is not their method, then whatever it is, they need keep it up because it's working! For traditional hot wings, these were some of the best I have had.
Since that was just the appetizer, some of the team ordered dinner, but Jody and I happened to notice that hot wings were not the only wings on the menu. Upon further review, we saw that there was Plain, Mild, Medium, Hot, BBQ, Honey BBQ, Asian, Teriyaki and Dirty Canz. Dirty Canz has a note that says "Extremely Hot" next to it. Jody went with teriyaki, being a big fan of teriyaki flavored wings, it was an easy decision. I, on the other hand, went with the Dirty Canz wings. I mean, "Extremely Hot" is a relative phrase... what is hot to one person is mild to another, so how bad could it be?
As I ordered, the less than polite waitress told me that they were "inedibly hot" and asked if I was sure. Of Course I Was Sure! Damn it, I'm A Wingman! I politely said yes, I am sure and she kind of shook her head and walked away. The team, upon hearing that I ordered the Dirty Canz, proceeded to rib the crap out of me. Now, this was nothing new, I had already been taking abuse for ordering a Blue Moon beer which happens to come with a slice of orange. I heard such clever things as "You don't fruit the beer!" and "What size skirt do you wear, Sally 'Fruit-in-the-Beer'?" I don't care, Blue Moon is good and the orange is a nice addition. Why am I explaining myself to a computer screen? Whatever, back to the review.
Well, I ate my words with the Dirty Canz wings. When they came out, I did not get the smell of something really hot and spicy... you know, when you nostrils burn before you even taste them... they just did not have that kind of smell. They looked good and they were the hottest wings I have ever eaten in my life. I mean these were eyes tearing, nose running, lips burning, forehead sweating, mouth smoldering, hiccup inducing hot. These wings need to be served with bread or milk because water and beer just do nothing to combat that kind of heat. After the first wing, everyone was laughing at me, and I would have been laughing at me too if I was not looking for a fire extinguisher to put our the fire in my mouth. That level of heat is nothing I have ever tasted before and most likely will never do again. Of the 12 ordered, I only could eat 4, Jody had 2, and the rest were eaten by other members of the team. They all agreed that they were HOT wings.
I don't want to ignore the Teriyaki wings in this review, but honestly, I cannot tell you what they tasted like. The Dirty Canz burned my mouth so bad that I couldn't taste a damn thing. They were also cooked well and had smoked sesame seeds sprinkled on them. I was using the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce to cut the burning from the Dirty Canz. Jody will have to comment on the teriyaki sauce since I only saw what they looked like and remember a hint of ginger in the recipe.
Canz is nothing more than a sports bar with a similar gimmick to Hooters. It seems to be working for them and their food is pretty good. The wings are worth the trip, but they are expensive... $26.95 for 30 wings or, almost $1 per wing! They do have Monday Wing Night special, $19 for all you can eat/drink wings/draft beer. That is worth the trip. They have a bunch of other nightly specials, check out their website for more. The Wingmen would, and probably will, go back... maybe we'll hit up the Astoria one when it opens.
One last note. I am going on record and saying that I will most likely never eat the hottest wings on the menu again. I mean, normal hot wings are ok, but if they come with a warning label, make you sign a waiver or have to prepare them with a Hazmat suit on, I will shy away. I'm in this for the taste, not to prove anything. Does that make me less of a man? Probably.
