Local Bar and Grill

39-24 Bell Blvd.

Bayside, NY 11361

C.J. Sullivan's

213-10 41st Ave.

Bayside, NY 11361

Canterbury Ales

Canterbury Ales

314 New York Avenue

Huntington, NY 11743

http://www.canterburyales.com

The night Jody and I went to Meehan's, we also stopped at Canterbury Ales in Huntington and had much better wings. The first audio recording Jody and I tried happened here on my Blackberry, and it is a short, 28 seconds, but gives you a good idea of what Canterbury Ales had to offer. Take a listen:

As you can hear, the wings were big, spicy and "solid." Canterbury Ales also has a pretty good beer selection, is a nice replica of a typical British Pub and has a solid menu. This place is worth checking out if you find yourself in Huntington.

What do you think of the audio posts? Leave us some comments.

The Swan

The Swan

7 Cosmo Place

WC1N 3AP

Russell Square

London, England

I am going to get right down to it on this one, the Spicy Wings were spicy, but small, soggy and definitely not worth the exchange rate (which was almost 2:1 in January, so £7 wings cost around $12-$13). There were 8 wings in the order and 2 were far from edible and quite tiny. Lets just say that if I did not order the bowl of chips (side of fries in America), I would have spent close to $12-$13 on an empty stomach. They had a decent flavor, but nothing to write home about (although I did, in a postcard to my fiancée... who is now my wife). England does not equal good wings.

Assessment... don't come to London for the wings. In fact, don't come to London for food in general. There is nothing special here to eat. Fish and Chips are just big fish sticks and french fries.

The Swan did have a number of good local beers on tap and is definitely worth a visit if you stay near Russell Square. Order something other than the wings to eat.

Thursday is "Wings and Bud Night" and for £18 you get a bucket of wings (any flavor... BBQ, Hot BBQ, Honey and Soy, Spicy or Sweet Chili Sauce) and 4 bottles of Budweiser. That is over $30 for a bucket and 4 beers, so depending on the number of wings in the bucket (it didn't say on the advertisement), it can be a decent deal. They also had a really interesting idea connected to the bucket of wings. The sign said, "Feeling Brave? Ask for our Roulette Chicken Wings." I asked the bar tender what that meant and she told me that in the bucket, they have 1 super spicy wing. As you and your chaps (friends) eat, one person will pull the extra hot wing and sweat out the taste. It is kind of like chicken wing Russian Roulette. Pretty cool.

Meehan's of Huntington

371 New York Ave.

Huntington Village, NY 11743

www.meehansrestaurant.com

Let's try something a little different. These were just supposed to be notes that we could use to write a review later, and I sound like a total dumb-ass in it - but what the hell. Here goes:

Atomic Wings

528 9th Ave
New York, NY 10018

(with other locations throughout the city)

www.atomicwings.com

While working in Midtown, I see these delivery guys riding around on bikes wearing "Atomic Wings" vests all the time. One day while sitting around, waiting to hear from a client, I decided to google them and find out where they were. Ends up, they're a franchise and have (as far as I can tell) ten locations in and around NYC. I found the one nearest to me, grabbed my jacket and headed out.

One thing that they offered, which I've suggested on this blog before and am a big fan of, was the option of ordering your wings "dry" and getting you sauce(s) on the side. The reason I'm such a big fan of this is it gives you a better chance of testing out a lot of flavors without having to order a hundred wings. So that's what I did, opting for traditional buffalo, teriyaki and honey mustard - my three favorites.

Atomic Wings, dry.

My selection of sauces: Teryaki, Honey Mustard and Buffalo.

All-in-all, these were average wings. I wouldn't go out of my way to get them, but the convenience factor (bike delivery guys) and being able to order sauces on the side is enough to give them another go. My biggest complaint is that they were really oily and my stomach was paying for it later. If you've got a good wing/lunch spot near you, that's probably still the way to go. But if you're craving some wings and can't get out of the office, this isn't a bad option. The reason I'm labeling it a lunch spot is because it kind of had a chain fast food vibe when I was there. Sure, you can order a beer but you're still putting your tray on top of a garbage can when you're done eating. After a day of work, there's no way you'd pick this place over any local sports bar. Consider them a decent delivery option in NYC.

Rookie's Sports Club

70 Gerard St.

Huntington, NY 11743

http://www.rookiesny.com/

On a recommendation, a bunch of us hit Rookie's Sports Club in Huntington. It's a pretty cool sports bar with all kinds of nightly specials. We went a little earlier in the day so we missed out on their $16 all you can eat wing night (9-11 PM Mondays and Wednesdays), but we did not miss out on their "Rookie's Wing Sampler". What?! Sampler? 3 wings x 8 flavors?! Honey Thai, Chipotle BBQ, Honey Thai Hot, Buffalo, Jamaican Jerk, Parmesan Garlic, Pan Asian and Hell Fire all one ONE PLATE?! Holy shit. I was a little flustered. Anyone who's been out to eat with me knows that I get overly excited for anything with the words "sampler" or "combo platter" in it. It was obvious what we were going to order. The only question? How many? There were four of us, so if we divide the number of flavors x 3 by the amount of...screw it. We each got our own. Bring it on.

We were all a little shocked when they came out. These were not your average size wings. Hell, they weren't even large wings. These were mini drumsticks. All of a sudden, the all-you-can-eat option looked like the worst deal in town.

So, variety - check. Size - DOUBLE check. But how did they taste? Um, they were ok. We all pretty much agreed that the Pan Asian was the best, followed by the Parmesan Garlic and Hell Fire (yeah, surprisingly something called "Hell Fire" actually had some of the best flavor). The Honey flavors were by far the worst. The reason I say they were just ok is that we all felt like the flavors weren't bold enough. They just lacked a little bit. There was so much potential with the variety and size that I'd love to give them another chance, but judging solely on flavor these were middle-of-the-road type wings.

Since Rookie's was recommended to us, it can't just be dismissed. And don't get me wrong, they weren't bad. We just thought they would be better. Maybe it was an off night. I know just the mention of the word "sampler" would be enough to get me to give them another try. Have you been there? What do you think?

Taxi's Grille

217 New York Ave.

Huntington, NY 11743

www.taxisgrille.com

I was working in Huntington recently and a couple of co-workers and I ordered some lunch from Taxi's Grille, which is up in the Village. I'll keep this one short and simple: STAY AWAY - from the wings at least. We got two orders, Buffalo and honey mustard. They were both over-cooked and dry with very little meat. The buffalo wings were made with Texas Pete's sauce, right out of the bottle. I have nothing against that, but there wasn't much of a coating. The honey mustard was down-right awful. It tasted more like a mayonnaise than a mustard. Gross.

Luckily, we only ordered these as a side. And luckily, their steak sandwiches are really good as are their chicken sandwiches. I did eat there a few times during my six weeks working in Huntington, but I never went near the wings again. I'd advise you to do the same.