http://www.kookycanuck.com
If you’re in the mood for a burger and happen to be in downtown Memphis, stop by the Kooky Canuck for, what I believe to be, the best burger and fries in Shelby County. If you’re extremely hungry, with a large group of people, or have a death wish, order the Kookamonga. It’s their signature 7 lb burger that helped put the restaurant on the map. As seen in one of the original Man vs. Food episodes, the challenge sounds simple but is something that most have failed at attempting. Eat the humongous burger in under an hour and you get your picture on the wall. I have ordered it with a few friends before but not even 3 heavy-duty eaters could finish it together. It amazes me that some people actually have, one of which has done it 3 times. A few others have finished it in under 15 minutes!
If you’re not in the mood for a burger, the Canuck offers a very unique menu that caters to the well-known Memphis traditions, such as BBQ and fried pickles/green tomatoes, and has a variety of Canadian-style dishes too. I almost always get the mushroom swiss burger myself but mixed it up a little bit recently. I ordered the buffalo chicken sandwich and asked for the “HOLY SMOKE!” sauce. I was amazed with the heat of this sauce that smothers a large, fried chicken breast. I then decided that upon my next visit, I would try this sauce on their hot wings.
The Canuck is a frequent stop for me. I absolutely love the atmosphere, friendly staff, location, unique menu and LARGE beers. For around the same price (if not cheaper) as your average restaurant chain, such as Applebees or Chili’s, you simply cannot go wrong with the Kooky Canuck. Whenever I have friends in town, an event downtown or just an average visit to Beale Street, I almost always stop by for a cold one. During all the Memphis in May festivities, I visited the Canuck a few times. Last week when wrapping up the BBQ Cooking Contest, me and my friend Tim walked over for a beer. Regardless of all the BBQ and wings I could ever dream of for 5 straight days, I finally gave in and ordered a 12 piece of their “HOLY SMOKE!” hot wings. I was instantly sweating after the first wing and knew I was in for a long haul. With 4 left, I debated on throwing in the towel but remained strong and quickly finished them before the thought of quitting entered my mind again. Another 34 oz beer and 30 minutes later, the pain finally ceased. It was apparently comical to the bartender who said a guy earlier in the day couldn’t finish them. She explained that the heat depends on who cooks them that day. She said that their secret is simple: Adding a dose of 53,500 scoville “Endorphin Rush Beyond Hot Sauce” to their hot wing sauce. http://www.hotsauce.com/Endorphin-Rush-Beyond-Hot-Sauce-p/1121.htm They order this stuff by the gallon. The flavor of the sauce mixture was excellent and the heat was truly an amazing experience. I might go back to my usual mushroom swiss burger upon my next visit but let it be known, the Kooky Canuck has some killer hot wings that burned my mouth beyond what I was expecting! Maybe one day they will add a hot wing challenge to their list and I, too, could have my picture on their wall-of-fame.
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