Genesis Bar and Restaurant

Upper East Side

Genesis Restaurant and Bar
1708 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10128
212-348-5500
www.genesisbar.com

After reading through some of our reviews, lately, it seems that we are a bunch of homers that love every place we have been to.  And the truth is, we go to places that you, the Wingmen Faithful, suggest because you love those places.  So of course the wings are good.  We have not been blindly just stopping in a place and testing out their wings.  Well, Jody and I stopped at Genesis Bar and Restaurant the other night without any recommendations, without knowing what the place was like and not knowing if their wings would be any good.  This is what happened...

We were on the upper east side and decided to look for wings.  We saw the menu outisde of the restaurant and liked what Genesis promised: Genesis Jumbo Chicken Wings- Buffalo, BBQ, Bourbon Street, Korean Style and Bayou (their to-go menu has Southwestern on there as well, but the restaurant did not offer this selection).  We were stoked, starting planning what we'd try and went inside.

After sitting down and ordering our beer, we finally decised on Buffalo because we had to, Korean Style because Jody loves the Asian flavors and Bayou because I love Cajun wings.  We stayed away from BBQ and Bourbon Street because they seemed similar and too sweet. 

Here is what was GOOD about the wings: They were jumbo, they were cooked well, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Hot Wings?

Here is what was BAD about the wings:  EVERYTHING ELSE!  I mean, honestly, how do you fuck up buffalo sauce?  It is clarified butter and hot sauce.  That is it!  They were sweet and had zero heat to them.  Buffalo wings should not be sweet.  The Korean Style wings were even sweeter, sickly sweet.  Authentic chili and garlic sauce my ass!  It tasted like Karo syrup with a sweet soy sauce.  They were, in my opinion, disgusting.  The Bayou wings were fried chicken wings.  They were described as a dry rub by the waitress, but there was no rub.  They were bland fried chicken wings.  They even came with a bland sauce that did nothing to the taste excpet make them wetter.  Kentucky Fried Chicken wings are worlds better than these were.  They were also $8.00 per plate of 8 wings, so not only were they horrible, but they cost $1.00 each.

 

KFC?

The place itself was nice and had a good beer selection, but I cannot recommend this place's wings.  Just horrid.  This place is NOT Wingmen Approved.




On a funny note, as our wings arrived, the women sitting at the table next to ours looked over and said "I think I'm going to throw up," and we are not sure if they knew the wings were bad, thought three plates of wings were just plain disgusting, or just didn't like Jody and I.  I guess we'll never know.

Something clever about bad Korean Style wings?

Kabooz's Bar and Grill

Penn Station
2nd Floor, Amtrak Terminal

Just another late night in Penn Station, looking for a place to grab a beer and some wings. Everyone knows about Tracks, and for good reason. There is a lesser known pub upstairs though called Kabooz's. I've never had the wings there so I decided to give them a shot.

I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. They were lightly breaded which is not a deal breaker by any means in my not-so-traditional book. The sauce was much lighter than what I'm used to seeing. It almost looked like a cream sauce that you'd find on penne al la vodka or something like that. Don't worry, the comparison is for appearance only. There was a pretty significant amount of heat, but it didn't overpower the strong flavors. They were cooked very well with a bit of crisp to the skin.

Not too shabby for an uncrowded pub tucked in the corner of the second floor of Penn Station. They certainly blow Tracks' wings out of the water. While I can't crown them the best wings in NYC, I am willing to crown them the best wings in Penn Station. For now at least.

The Mermaid Oyster Bar

79 MacDougal St.
New York, NY 10012
Website

Last weekend was date night for me and the Mrs., so we headed into The Village to one of our favorite little restaurants, The Mermaid Oyster Bar. It's not an overly stuffy establishment but certainly a little classier than the bars and pubs we usually write about. It was voted "Best New Seafood Restaurant" by Time Out New York Magazine last year after all. However, they do have excellent happy hour specials and the staff is not afraid to promote them. Oysters, lobster sliders, shrimp corndogs, fish tacos and, of course, lollipop chicken wings. We were in the mood to pick at a bunch of finger foods, so I did my civic duty and asked for the wings.

These were by far the "fanciest" wings I've had so far. The meat is pulled mostly off the bone towards the shoulder of the wing, giving it the appearance of a lollipop. As you can see, they were served meat down and bone up, not unlike the way you typically see lamb chops served. In the center of the plate was a celery and cucumber salad, which I thought was an interesting take on the common celery side. There was also chunks of bleu cheese distributed around the plate. Bonus points for presentation.

The bunched up meat made the wing super neat and extremely easy to eat (no Trongs necessary for these guys). The sauce was based off the traditional blend but had a really nice amount of sneaky heat. I'd go so far as to call it a creeper sauce. I really loved the bleu cheese. It added a great burst of flavor that was a little more concentrated than what you get from dipping in dressing. The only real problem I had was, due to the meat being all bunched up, they were a tad undercooked. I don't know if it was a one time thing or if that's the norm but all the other food is cooked perfectly so I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. We're dealing with chicken here though and most people are smart enough to avoid pushing your luck with undercooked poultry. I, however, am not one of those people and I decided to forge ahead... stay the course. It's due in part to my unbridled love of food, part due to my extreme hatred for wasting food but mostly due to the vow I took to uphold the code of The Wingmen. I have a duty to carry out. An obligation to the people. So, I finished the entire plate and I'm happy to report that my stomach did just fine.

We've been here a couple times now and absolutely love the place. It's cozy, has great food, super friendly service and incredible happy hour specials 7 days a week. Plus, they finish off each meal with a little sweet surprise. I can highly recommend it... even the lollipop wings. Just order extra oysters as a backup, just incase.

[Side note: while writing this review and poking around online, looking for the address and whatnot, I found out that Zach Braff is an investor in Mermaid Oyster Bar. The Chef, Laurence Edelman, is his high school friend.]

Kool Bloo

117 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10013

Website

I've worked across the street from the takeout/delivery joint Kool Bloo for about a year now.  I went there once when we first moved into the building... and hated it.  I take full responsibility though.  I ordered a shawarma sandwich from a place with nary a spit.  I should know better.  Still though, I've avoided this place since then.  Until today.  They advertise wings in huge letters on the outside of the building (which Steve noticed when he picked me up for our trip to Buffalo), so I guess it's about time I gave them a try.

The wings come in a combo deal that set me back $9.75.  It includes 5 wings and fries.  Not exactly a huge portion, but, as you may know from my last post, I'm not a fan of huge portions anyway.

Right from the first bite I could taste the recognizable combination of Frank's Red Hot Sauce and butter.  If I had to guess, I'd say the normal 1:1 ratio was slightly skewed in favor of the sauce, giving it a little extra heat.  There were also some added seasonings which kicked them up a bit.  The wings were relatively plump with a decent amount of meat, but very little (if any) crisp in the skin.  These were pretty average across the board.  I wasn't disappointed because I didn't have high hopes, but I wouldn't go out of my way for them either.  Put simply:  they'll do.

The fries on the other hand, those were good.  I'm getting those again.

Tracks Raw Bar and Grill

Located in the LIRR terminal of Penn Station

7th Ave. between 31st and 33rd Streets

Website

Thanks to LIRR service cuts, I literally ran to track 18 in time to watch the 8:19 depart and had to wait an hour for the next train.  Bad enough I was working on a Saturday, now I was stuck in Penn Station. But, I decided to turn a negative into a positive by planting my tuckus at Tracks to watch the game, eat some wings and enjoy a couple of adult beverages.

See the tracks around the plate?
Get it?

The wings were cooked beautifully. Buffalo would be proud. They had a very crispy shell while keeping the meat juicy and tender. They were also meaty and had a nice coat of sauce.  So far, so good.  The problem though was the sauce. It was too sweet. It wasn't quite Redemption or Johnny Famous sweet, but still too sweet for my taste.  It was kind of a shame because there were some good flavors. This was another case of a ketchup based sauce ruining both the flavors and the finely cooked wings. They came so close to being a good wing, but it's all in the sauce.

While I can't quite approve these wings, don't let that stop you from stopping at Tracks to kill some time waiting for your train.  It's always a friendly, inviting atmosphere and a perfect place to grab one last drink before you head home.  You can also try their famous raw oyster bar. It's their claim to fame but I've never tried it.  Next time I'll ask for that instead of the wings.

Blind Tiger Ale House

281 Bleecker St.
New York, NY 10014
Website 

Craving wings, but running out of places to try in SoHo, I took advantage of the nice weather and crossed Houston St. into the West Village (along with my co-worker, Chris).  I've heard of Blind Tiger Ale House a few times on various "best of" lists so I've wanted to try them for a while.  This microbrewery has a cool old school vibe accentuated by the use of wood from a 19th century farm house (according to this article in New York magazine).  It's really cozy, the type of place you enjoy spending some time in.

... and the bottles.

The chalk board menu
for draught beers...

Luckily for us, when we ordered we were told the wings were baked, not fried, so they were going to take a little while to prepare.  It was clear by the boards posted on the walls that there was an outstanding selection of beers.  Since I'm always a fan of making a slightly negative situation positive, we decided to sample some of the brews.  They have over 30 rotating beers on tap and an almost countless amount by the bottle.  I decided to spend my wait with the Alagash White.

After about a half an hour, the wings came out.  They absolutely lived up to the hype and were worth the wait.  Obviously, since they are baked, they are not going to have that crispiness that we usually demand of a wing.  This would be the only negative though and I was happy to make an exception.  Baking does give you a nice and tender meat though, and these were fall of the bone tender.  The flavor was pretty unique, although there were some similarities to Mike's Place wings (which are right around the top of my list).  Maybe it was Italian dressing?  What separated it from Mike's though, was a nice smokey flavor - probably chipotle.  They also had a nice, creeping kick.  It doesn't get you right away, but the heat does sneak in and kick you in the mouth after a minute or two.  To me, this was an exceptional blend of flavor and spice.  The sauce was "suck-off-the-bone" good.  I'd probably drink it out of a cup.  Well, probably not.  But still, it's really tasty.  

So, head-to-head, I'd give Mike's the advantage in crispiness while Blind Tiger gets the nod in heat and a slight edge in flavor.  Did Blind Tiger Ale House just knock Mike's Place Too off the top of my list?  Hm, I think they did.

Irish Times

254 West 31 St.
New York, NY 10001
Website

Last week, I was heading out of work and was in the mood to grab some wings.  I sent a text to one of my NYC correspondents, BJ, and we decided to give Brother Jimmy's a shot.  We took one step in, realized the place was mobbed and it was going to be tough to get food and walked right out.  So much for planning ahead... we scouted midtown for another spot.


Right up the road was a place called Irish Times (I wonder why no one has ever come up with that name for a bar before [sarcasm]).  The crowd was much more manageable so we decided to give it a go.  We ordered a plate of traditional Buffalo wings, which were their only choice, and got to work.  

Decent flavor, but 

rubbery and salty - Pass

The wings were a bit of a disappointment.  They weren't very big and had a rubbery texture.  The sauce was pretty standard and actually had a decent flavor, but was overwhelmingly salty.  I think this may have been a mistake because I can't imagine they serve wings like that on a consistent basis.  I'm thinking the salt was added afterwards and a line cook who might have been in a bit of a rush was a little too liberal with the shaker.


It was not a very good experience overall and we promptly moved on.  It's possible we caught them on an off day, but there are just too many promising wing joints in NYC to find out.  Maybe we should have just waited it out at Brother Jimmy's.

Redemption Grill

1003 2nd Ave (@53rd St.)

New York, NY 10022

Website

I was hanging out with my wife, daughter and buddy (BJ) on Saturday and we stopped at Redemption Grill for a bite, al fresco.  I've been craving wings lately and was happy to see them as part of the brunch menu, so I got an order.  

You can almost see the sweetness
in the photo.

There's really no need to go into a ton of detail on these.  They may have been the worst I've ever eaten.  If I had to choose between these and Johnny Famous wings, I'd take Johnny Famous every time.  They were just generic, probably frozen wings soaked in an unbearably sweet sauce.  It was another one of the now infamous ketchup based sauces, but sweeter than any of them I've had so far.

I ate one of these as well.  It was the
best thing I ate all day.

The bleu cheese was actually pretty good, and my wife like her sandwich (It was some kind of turkey club).  The rest of the menu looked interesting (Mexican fusion?) so I'm not going to say that you should stay clear of this place totally, but definitely skip the wings.  BJ ordered the Buffalo chicken sandwich which was made with the same sauce.  He was also not a fan.  My daughter, Gianna-Rose, had an uncrustable peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is always excellent, but not on the menu - we brought it from home.

On weekends they have a brunch special from 11:30am - 5pm.  You get your choice of a meal plus three cocktails for $20.  Not a bad deal considering it would normally cost close to that for the drinks alone.  The service was pleasant and people watching on 2nd Ave. is fun.  I'd go back and give it another shot, but I'm not going near the wings.

Studio Square

35-33 36th St.

Long Island City, NY 11106

Website

Recently, I met up with friends of The Wingmen, Lee and BJ, at Studio Square - the "new" beer garden in Astoria (actually Long Island City). We've been to Bohemian Hall, the original, a bunch of times and it's always fun, so I was excited to see how the new one would stack up.

It's tough to judge. I'm not sure if it's a beer garden or a hip bar with a really large outdoor drinking area. Although it's missing a lot of the charm that Bohemian Hall has, it's still not a bad place to grab a beer after work.

As for the wings, I was not impressed. They were meaty, and they were certainly crispy but the flavor was generic. They were breaded and coated in a basic traditional sauce and reminded me a lot of the wings at Top Bunz. They may both get their stock from the frozen food section in Costco, who knows. I'm not saying I wouldn't eat them again. Hell, I could down a plate of frozen Costco wings with no problem - they're still wings. They're just not worth going out of your way for. If they're just something to pick at while you guzzle pitchers of beer and watch the game on the gigantic screen they have set up outside, well, then they're perfect. Eat them fast though. They seemed to get rubbery as they got colder. I'd really like to compare them to the wings at Bohemian Hall.

Eh. I'd eat them again if I end up there. I'm not going out of my way though.

I've heard a lot of negative comments on the overall atmosphere of this place. Apparently it gets pretty Bro'd out. Like Jersey Shore Bros. We showed up around 7 on a Wednesday and it didn't seem too bad. There was plenty of open space (the place is HUGE), the Yankees game was on the 1,000 foot (give or take) screen and there was absolutely no line for beer or food. So I guess if you want to avoid the hair gel and wife beaters (as well as tight white tank tops), it's probably best to go during the week and earlier in the evening. If you're a Bro, well, go whenever and have at it.

Ok, maybe it's not quite 1,000 feet but it was pretty big.

This has nothing to do with wings, but check out this space-aged, laser sighted hand dryer. I think it took a couple of layers of skin off.

Virgil's Real Barbecue

152 W. 44th St.

New York, NY 10036

website

map

Dear BBQ Wings,

It's no secret that you and I got off to a bad start. You're generally too sweet... too tangy... and pale in comparison to the myriad other varieties of wings available. I've said some bad things about you, publicly. I've embarrassed you and called you mean names to our readers. While sometimes you do deserve it, I have to admit that my feelings have changed. I think we're turning over a new leaf you and I. Ends up, I was just at the wrong places at the wrong times. I've been enlightened though. My last two experiences have been wonderful. We got off on the wrong foot, but I think we can turn this around. I'm willing to give it a try if you are.

Your new friend,

Jody

Yeah, that's right. I now like BBQ wings and I'm not afraid to say it. After having a pretty satisfactory batch at Canz in Astoria, I followed the recommendation of reader Rebecca Podniesinski and visited Virgil's Real Barbecue in Times Square. We've really been trying to hit all of the recommended places lately, which is really great for us. We used to actually have to do research and whatnot to try and come up with places to go. Now we just work our way down the list. Keep 'em coming. The other day, I found myself in Chelsea with some time to kill, so I hopped on the 1 train and headed for 42nd St. I'm pretty sure that most of our readers are either from NY or have been there, so you can appreciate the amount of dedication it takes to brave the perils of Times Square. You're welcome.

Luckily, I went late in the afternoon, after lunch but before the PM rush - it was fairly empty. I found a spot at the bar and put in an order for wings. Like I said, I did like the BBQ wings at Canz. However, they're not even in the same league as Virgil's. Canz has wings with BBQ sauce on them. Virgil's has real, smoked, BBQ wings. There's a huge difference. While sitting and waiting for my wings, I read that they're smoked over a combination of three different types of wood which, obviously, impacts the flavor of the meat. I'm just an amateur foodie, but from what I know there are basically two schools in the BBQ world. One is all about the sauce. The other casts the sauce aside in favor of a dry rub... and never, so I thought, the Twain shall meet. Not the case at Virgil's. The wings were coated in sauce as well as a mixture of spices. I loved this. Between the smokey flavor, the taste of the sauce and the accent from the spices, these wings were among the tastiest I've ever had. They were excellent. They looked great too... there was a Midwestern tourist couple sitting next to me. They weren't hungry, but popped in to grab a beer and escape the heat for a while. After seeing my plate of wings, they were convinced to come back later to try the food. I hope they did.

I tried the chipotle ranch dressing. It was good, but unnecessary. These wings were fine on their own.

I know we usually look for the perfect char or crisp on the skin but, since these were slow cooked, I didn't feel bad making an exception. They were so tender that the meat basically just fell off the bone. I don't think I even needed my teeth. As for the price, here's your tip of the day: sit at the bar. On the menu, it lists wings at $13.95. However, everything on Virgil's "bar bites" menu is $8.95. There were about 8 full wings to an order, which means 16 when broken into the wings and drums. That puts them around 56¢/wing, which is a pretty good price... but in Times Square that's basically free.

One of my favorite side notes was the "napkin". Normally, you'd go through a whole stack while eating these wings. Virgil's thought of that and, instead of napkins or paper towels, they give you a full sized kitchen towel. When you're done, you get a wet, steaming wash cloth instead of a wet-nap. Classy.

If I had a washing machine in my Co-op, I might do this every night at dinner.

Well, consider me a convert. I'm a fan of a good BBQ chicken wing. Now I just have to convince my colleagues. Jeremy, Steve... maybe Dinosaur BBQ?

Epilogue: I did have leftovers. After writing this review, at about 1 am, I'm heading to my refrigerator to crush the survivors. Mmmm.

BonChon Chicken

Find a location near you

Website

A relatively new culinary trend is starting to take hold in New York. KFC. Yup, in the South, people eat this style of fried chicken all the time. Luckily, it's been making it's way over to us in recent years. Oh, I'm not talking about the South as in below the Mason-Dixon line. I'm talking about below the DMZ in South Korea. KFC doesn't only stand for Kentucky Fried Chicken anymore. Now it stands for Korean Fried Chicken as well. Confusing, I know.

So what separates Korean Fried Chicken from the fried chicken we're used to? Aside from the obvious differences that would be apparent between any nationalities (namely seasoning), KoFC uses a technique known as double frying. The first time a wing hits the oil, it is to ensure it's thoroughly cooked. The second time is to create a super crispy, almost shell-like, crust out of the skin. All of the flavors are infused into the chicken and it gets a very unique texture.

It seems that the two most popular KoFC franchises in The States are Kyochon and BonChon. A while back, I think it was Tim Hill who suggested we give BonChon a try. Well, it took a few months but we finally got there. BonChon is a franchise based in South Korea that now has almost 40 locations. More than a handful of them are right here in New York. I stopped by my local BonChon for lunch yesterday afternoon.

After a quick glimpse at the menu board, I placed an order for a small box of wings (9 pieces). You have a choice of two flavors: Hot and Soy Garlic. Of course, I got a combo of the two. First of all, due to the double frying process, the prep time is around 30 minutes. So if you're in a rush, you might want to just head over to the other KFC for a Double Down or something and wait until you have some time to try KoFC. After walking around for a half-hour, I finally returned to BonChon for my KoFC feast.

It was packaged in a neat little box that divided the two different flavors. It also came with pickled radish and a side of Kimchi coleslaw. I guess that's the Korean version of carrots and celery.

Pickled radish > carrot, Kimchi coleslaw > celery.

As I took my first bites into the soy and garlic wings, my first impression was hardly a surprise: wow, that's crispy. My second thought was: wow, that's hot. Not spicy, just steaming, piping hot. They just came out of the fryer, but I have no self control and kept eating. I probably didn't actually taste a wing until I was halfway done. When my taste buds finally did come around, I was very pleased. It's no secret that I've always loved the Asian flavored wings, so coming from an Asian restaurant, these flavors were good. The hot wings had some serious kick. While American hot wings tend to use cayenne to turn up the heat, these were powered by some super hot Korean red pepper. I don't know if this makes sense, but it seemed like a more aggressive heat to me. Yes, I broke a sweat and yes, my nose was running. In my defense, I don't think the air conditioner was working and it was bordering on 90 degrees. Still, these were hot. Thank god for the pickled radish and Kimchi coleslaw. These did a much better job of cutting the heat than carrots and celery ever have. I think I'm going to try asking for them next time I'm in an Irish pub, we'll see what they say.

Hot on the left, Garlic Soy on the right.

I can see how people get addicted to these wings. The flavors are potent and the uncommon texture really stands out. There are people who claim they put crack in their sauce... I get that. On the other hand, I can also see why some people call them overrated. The quality of meat wasn't great, they were puny and, at $11 for 9 wings, they were far from a bargain. In my mind, they're the White Castle of chicken wings. You know it's not that good, but there's just something about it that makes you have to have it every so often (usually while inebriated at 3 am). So no, these aren't the best wings I've ever had. But I'm sure I'll be craving them a few weeks from now. Come to think of it, I could kind of go for a sack of sliders right about now.

Merrion Square Bar & Restaurant

1840 2nd Ave (corner of 95th St.)

New York, NY 10128

Website

One of the really cool things that has been happening as a result of this blog actually being read from time to time is that I have been getting all kinds of texts and emails asking for wing suggestions as well as giving recommendations for future reviews. After my experience at Dave and Busters, I was glad to get this tip on a great, local, Irish pub on the Upper East Side via text:

"Merrion Square!! 95th and 2nd. Impressive. Traditional Buffalo, nice and crispy, not over cooked and great beer with cooler pitchers. Great deals: buy a pitcher, half dozen wings free."

That was a promising lead, similar to the email I got for Lucky 12 Tavern. The difference, though, between the two is that Lucky 12 Tavern is a few states away. Merrion Square is just a quick walk on Canal St. and a ride uptown on the 6 train. I don't mind taking people's word for it, but getting to taste them for myself is even better. So a few days later, a few of us met after work to give them the official Wingmen seal of approval.

I'd say the description was pretty spot on. The key phrase to me is "traditional Buffalo". These wings weren't anything extraordinary and they probably don't stand out among the thousands of Irish pubs in New York City. But they were an absolute success in delivering everything you'd expect from a traditional Buffalo style chicken wing. Good meat, nice crisp, thick coat of sauce, decent amount of heat and, most importantly, great flavor.

Look, you can see that nice crisp in the skin.

You also can't really beat their special of free wings with a pitcher of beer. It's like, let me get this straight... we look all over for great wing night specials. 10¢ wings, 25¢ wings, sometimes even 50¢ wings and you're saying you're just going to give me free wings... just for buying beer... which I was going to do anyway? Now that is a wing special.

Some of their specials up on the board. Nice chalk work.

Other notes on the bar: It was pretty empty and, from what I hear, it doesn't usually get over crowded. Back in our college days, that was the kiss of death. It's dead? Move on. Now, in our advanced age, it's funny how we have a greater appreciation for being able to claim a bar stool and hear each others conversation. Merrion Square also has a pool table and Skee-ball game (which is having a huge resurgence in NYC - I think I want to join a league). Its biggest downfall is that it's an Eagles bar. Yeah, I know. I guess this will be more of a warm weather pub.

Skee-ball - one of my favorite sports.

This sign was above the urinal in the men's room. Yes, I can multitask.

Manny's On Second

Manny's On Second

1770 2nd Avenue

Between 92nd and 93rd

New York, NY 10128

212-410-3300

http://www.mannysonsecond.com/index.php

Map and Directions

Friday night, Manhattan, a bit of a spring chill in the air, but an otherwise gorgeous May evening. New York City is a mecca that The Wingmen have yet to truly explore, but to truly explore this plethora of dining locations would take a lifetime. There seems to be an infinite number of bars, restaurants, diners, pubs, take-out joints and sidewalk carts to satisfy any craving one may have, including those of you hankering for wings.

Jody and I were on a mini-mission to hit at least two places that serve wings that night. It didn't seem right doing a real big NYC review sans Jeremy. We need a full crew to not do this amazing island dirty. As you read earlier this week, we hit 1849 in the Village first and then took off with BJ and Dina to Manny's on the Upper East Side.

In our younger days, BJ and I would hang out in this area a lot (BJ still does... me, not so much). We would frequent Blondie's (which is now Manny's) and the Big Easy (which is now out of business and vacant... and also where Jeremy obtained the best wing stain ever! Ask him about it). I was a little sad when I saw how desolate the place looked when we got there. Manny's has a temporary sign on the front, the Big Easy was boarded up and the street seems to be under some major construction... hence no picture of the front of Manny's. I just couldn't get a good shot of the place and their website does not have one either, it seems that they had the same issue. It is not the prettiest part of Manhattan right now, but I assure you, this area can be a lot of fun.

Manny's On Second's wings are really good. Just look at that picture on top of this post! We ordered the buffalo wings, hot. They are coated in hot sauce, the aroma as they waft by your nose can be felt in your throat and they were big wings. Not the biggest we have had, but big. The sauce was buttery and spicy and all those things you would expect from really good hot wings. They were so sauced up that you were a mess when you finished them, but they tasted so good, you really didn't mind.

As for value, well, you are in Manhattan, so it is hard to measure value, but they are still under a buck a wing, so that can be considered a win. 10 wings for $9.95, 20 wings for $17.95, 50 wings (up to 2 sauces) for $39.95 and 100 wings (up to 4 sauces) for $69.95. You can choose from Honey BBQ or Buffalo. The Buffalo sauce come in Mild, Medium, Hot or Scorchin. They come with bleu cheese, celery and carrot sticks.

I suggest trying Manny's On Second. They have a good beer selection, usually a really cool crowd hanging out there, better than solid wings and Beer Pong tables upstairs. Yes, Beer Pong Tables in the bar! It seems they picked up where The Big Easy left off and kept Beer Pong on the Upper East Side. They supply the cups and balls, you just have to buy the pitchers. So order up some wings, buy some pitchers and challenge some friends (or strangers) to a good ol' game of Beer Pong!

1849

1849

183 Bleecker St.

New York, NY 10012

www.1849nyc.com

Last Friday, Steve schlepped into the city and met me at work. We wanted to hit a couple of top notch wing spots - no, the best wing spots. Whenever I ask Google to tell me who has the best wings in New York City, I end up seeing a slue of different pubs and dive bars. It's a little daunting. There are 23 square miles packed with all kinds of places to choose from, and everyone has their favorite. I did seem to notice a couple of places that were mentioned more than others though. My less than scientific research told me that if we were to hit two places that night (and that was our plan), we should try 1849 in The Village and Blondie's on the Upper West Side. We didn't exactly make it to Blondie's. We actually ended up at Manny's on the Upper East Side which used to be Blondie's but...well, Steve will tell you all about it. He's got that review. First though, we hoofed it over to The Village to check out 1849.

As you can probably tell by the name, 1849 has an old Western gold rush theme. It might sound a little gimmicky, like something you'd see in Times Square, but I thought it actually worked well and was a cozy place. Instead of a bunch of tables set up outside of the bar area, 1849 has plush couches and ottomans set up in circles. It was a little more comfortable than your standard pub and probably not a bad spot to settle in for the night. Adding to the mood are buffalo heads mounted on the wall and antler chandeliers dangling from the ceiling... so, you know, they've got that going for them.

On to the wings. We started out slow. If we were going to sample multiple spots, we'd have to pace ourselves. We ordered a plate of the "Gold Rush" wings and a couple of beers. It's worth pointing out that the waitress was pretty helpful here. Steve is a big fan of Hoegaarden, which is a wheat beer and not all that common on tap. He asked the waitress what they had that was similar and she gave a couple of recommendations. I always like when you can talk beer with a bartender/waiter like people talk about wine because, well, you should be able to do that. Anyway, the wings came out and they had a very familiar taste.

They were tender, well cooked, flavorful and lightly breaded. Yup, we each took one bite and thought, "Hooters". I do think they're a little better than Hooter's wings. The breading is a little lighter and they are not as greasy. So for all of you guys who tell your GF's/wives that you only go to Hooters for the food, you may not want to mention this place to them. Better wings, no orange shorts. But if you don't like Hooters wings, or just breaded wings in general, you're probably going to want to stay away from these. I do like breaded wings though - I know, I know... blasphemy. Don't worry, I think they're better "naked" as they say, but it's nice to mix it up every once in a while. We both enjoyed them and should have stopped there and moved on to Blondie's, er, Manny's. But of course, we didn't.

The lightly breaded Gold Rush wings.

Against our better judgement and our prior experiences with BBQ wings, we decided to order a plate of their other flavor. This is where Steve and I have differing opinions. He thought they were too sweet and pretty awful. I thought they were the best BBQ wings we've had so far. I also believe that the best BBQ is still worse than the worst Teriyaki (maybe a bit of an exaggeration) but all-in-all I still thought they were pretty decent. I definitely prefer the Gold Rush, but I'd eat the BBQ again.

Our nemesis, the BBQ wing. I thought they were ok... Steve? Not so much.

Were these the best wings in NYC? Probably not. But they were good, the beer selection was large, flat screen TV's were showing all the local sports teams in action, the juke box was playing good music and it was an overall cool environment. I'll be back. That's the thing though... it's probably going to be impossible to find the best wings in NYC. But we sure can have a good time trying. Would Manny's be any better? We grabbed our metro cards and headed out the door to find out...