Joanne P.
Yelp
I have to say, Yelp and I have had a pretty good relationship over the last year. I have come to feel I can trust Yelp's opinion on most things. So when I found myself on an impromptu trip to The Gong, of course I asked Yelp where to eat.
His Boy Elroy? Looks good. Good reviews, good photos. Good menu. But I suspect I have discovered what I'm going to call the Small Town Positivity Bias. As in there is so little choice, any ol' thing can seem good.
Everything about this place pointed to a great find. Obviously we got a big plate of Chilli Cheese Fries and Buffalo Wings and some beers.
If I had to put it in words, it's like those people you meet who have read about humour in a book but never seen it done and attempt it anyway. It's not wrong, but it definitely ain't right.
The fries had no actual chilli on them. As in beef chilli, pork chilli, whatever chilli you like as long as it is slow cooked and meaty. What they had was some kind of Louisiana Hot Sauce which they swore was Franks but like no Franks I had ever tasted, mayonnaise and melted cheese. It was like a French Canadian's attempt at Chilli Cheese Fries.
It was this same pseudo-Franks that they used on the Hot Wings, the sauce and NOTHING ELSE. No butter, no cayenne, no paprika, no garlic powder, no vinegar, no Worcestershire sauce, no good.
I really wanted to like this place but by the end of the meal Bill was dragging me out as I attempted to find the chef to share my own Buffalo Wing recipe with him. Bill hates a scene.
If you are in the Gong you'll probably end up here. There is not that much to choose from. Stick to the things that are hard to stuff up like hotdogs and burgers.