Warning: this review is saucy!

If you’ve ever ventured into the JJ’s Place dining room, chances are you’ve seen a table laden with gallon-sized sauce dispensers. I was quick to spot—and utilize—them one night while trying to spruce up a dry black bean burger, and I decided I should rank them from the perspective of a South Asian person who knows flavor (no offence!).

A few disclaimers before we get into the ranking:

  1. For all those concerned about my arteries, I spread out my JJ’s consumption over two weeks.
  2. I used either curly or crinkle-cut fries as an accompaniment for the sauces, depending on what was available when I went.
  3. I included the opinions of one of my friends so these reviews could be as in-depth as possible.
  4. I did not review basic condiments like ketchup, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce, etc., for obvious reasons. We’re epicureans here at Bwog.
  5. If I missed a sauce, please pardon me. They get rotated quite often, and though I visited JJ’s thrice for the purpose of this article, it’s still possible there may have been a couple that hadn’t been put out when I went.

Without further ado, here’s what we tried and thought!

Korean Wing sauce: I’m not sure what was inherently Korean about this sauce, but I liked the subtle soy flavour. This was really good with the spring rolls! It tastes sort of similar to the Teriyaki sauce. Is JJ’s generalizing the Asian subcontinent? Perhaps…

Teriyaki sauce: We enjoyed this more than the Korean sauce! It was super umami (well, as umami as a dining hall sauce can be, really) and not too sweet. If an Asian person tells you something isn’t too sweet, trust them, and know they think very highly of what they’re eating.

Golden Barbecue sauce: This tasted like a creamier barbecue sauce. We really liked it! Again, this wasn’t overpoweringly sweet like classic barbecue sauce. Not much to say here.

Honey Hot: My friend initially thought this was too sweet, but it ended up growing on her. I also enjoyed this sauce! I think it would go really well with chicken wings. It reminded me of the fried chicken I ate at a Korean restaurant one time, so do with that information what you will.

Garlic Buffalo sauce: My friend said, and I quote, “This is what I imagine buffalo tastes like.” To me, it tasted like a tangier buffalo sauce. The garlic didn’t really hit me at first, but the more I ate, the more I liked it!

Nashville Hot: The consensus was that this was peppery, but most definitely not spicy.

Lemon Pepper sauce: This sauce contains eggs, which I am allergic to, so you’ll have to take my friend’s word for it—she thinks “[It doesn’t have the most] spice 😔  it’s not very sour and the pepper hits you (underwhelmingly) after a bit.”

Honorary mention: a peach (?) sauce that I tried in early September and haven’t been able to find on subsequent visits. This was delectable, and the peach definitely came through.

Honorary mention #2: sweet chilli sauce that came with spring rolls from the fry station. This wasn’t a part of the sauce bar, but sweet chilli sauce is a classic. You can’t go wrong with it. My friend has a video of me chugging some. 

OVERALL RANKING:

  1. Honey Hot
  2. Garlic Buffalo
  3. Teriyaki
  4. Korean Wing
  5. Lemon Pepper
  6. Nashville Hot
  7. Golden Barbecue

Let us know what you think! Do you agree? Disagree? Need an excuse to get JJ’s fries? (I don’t.)

JJ’s Place via Bwog Archives