I remember driving to Buffalo, NY to eat at Duff's -- I don't remember if it was the purpose of the trip, but I do remember it being a highlight. For my friends Duff's was a legend, "The best wings ever" they used to drool -- and then slowly they began to appear in the GTA and somewhere along the line this anomaly just became part of the everyday Toronto landscape.
Now, I still do like the wings -- the sauce is not especially special, but it IS classic and after a number of disappointing experiences with weird flavours elsewhere I'll stick with classic any day.
The quality and freshness is right up there and I was surprised to read in The Toronto Star's occasional column "The Dish" that 10 wings from Duff's only accounts for 539 calories (versus 10 wings from Kelsey's which pack a whopping 1,110 calories) That almost seems reasonable doesn't it?
The restaurant is almost a palace compared to the original Buffalo, NY location -- though the atmosphere has a very pedestrian sports bar feel that kind of makes me wish I was sitting in the original grubby dive... At least that place had some street cred.