Food 4
Decor 3
Service 2
Cost 3
Overall Score: 3
Our first impressions going in were mixed. There was no clear indication as to if it were self seating or if we had to wait to be seated. It was our assumption, because we called ahead, that they would seat us, but after standing at the door for a good three minutes or so with no one to greet us, we found a booth – which had not been cleared off, to sit at. It took another five minutes for a server to clean the table off. The place was busy and it seemed very clear that the restaurant is understaffed. There was also no clear way to tell the staff from any other patron and we were not given our server’s name (none of the three women who came to the table introduced themselves). It took quite awhile for any server to come and take our order, though the drinks didn’t wait too long to be refilled. There was no offer to clear away empty glasses or empty baskets until we asked.The menu is a little chaotic to look at, with the wing dinners/platters in one place inside the menu and all the flavors listed someplace else. So, we placed our orders and it was back to waiting.
Respectively, we ordered a wing platter that included 50 wings with 8 sauce choices, 2 large orders of waffle fries, 4 poppers and 4 cheesesticks. My husband and I additionally ordered burgers, Amy had a pita dipper with spinach dip, Tony ordered a burger as did Dan and Bob.
Bob was very excited about the 34 different kinds of draft beers, Amy had a martini…ok, two martinis and she was three sheets to the wind! The drinks, according to those who had them, were very good and we had arrived when the drafts were still discounted.
The wings were brought out to the table and we had to ask for silverware and napkins. Flavors sampled: Two dry rubs – cajun and carribean jerk, regular BBQ, Honey Mustard, Mojave Ranch, Kung Fu Hot, Garlic Parmesan and “Afterburner”. Afterburner is the claimed “hottest of the hot” on the menu. The dry rubs were fantastic and despite the heat of some of the flavors, it didn’t leave you unable to taste anything for the next ten minutes. The Afterburner maintained some flavor as well, but sadly, was not as hot at the ‘911′ wings at the Lizard. Of the 8 flavors we had, by far our collective favorite was the Mojave Ranch. It was spicey but the ranch sauce tempered that very well. Not a mix I would of thought to try, but it works. The burgers were very good as well, though nothing spectacular.
The game was on tonight, so the noise level of the place was pretty high and it was too cool to sit out on the patio. The decor was pretty run of mill sports bar. Banners and sports logos. The place does look a bit like a warehouse inside, with concrete brick walls. The booths and tables were wood. Where we were sitting, there was no easy view of any of the many TV screens around the place.
The cost was fairly average as well. The deal on the wings was the best, roughly $40 for the platter. The burgers ran around $5-7 depending on whether or not you got the 1/3lb or the 1/2lb and if you added fries and coleslaw. Between 6 people, averaging 3 drinks, burgers and the wing platter, we had a total bill of: $151.21. As a side note, after looking over all the receipts while I was tallying the total, I noted the server did *not* discount the drinks we had before the end of happy hour. Our total bill would of been about $14 less, had she given us the right price for the first round of drafts.
Overall, we had a good time. The service that night left something to be desired but the food was really good and the huge variety of wing flavors was great. Most places, you’ll get 12 flavors at best. Would we go back? Probably on occassion but not again soon – only because it’s a 30 minute drive from where we all live and there are plenty of other sports bars that have the same menu and not the drive. Curses to the gas price!
