Cavanaugh's

Cavanaugh's

Restaurant and Pub

255 Blue Point Avenue

Blue Point, NY 11715

631-363-2666

http://www.cavanaughsbluepoint.com/

Map and Directions

Cruising the south shore of Long Island on a Friday morning traveling from one Long Island College to another doing a bit of non-Wingmen related research, I worked up a bit of an appetite.  I saw what looked like a cool place, called The Portly Villager, on the north side of Montauk Highway and decided to stop.  Well, they only serve sandwiches, so I was a bit out of luck.  The bar tender, Bob, told me that if I wanted good wings, I needed to head on down to Canavaugh's. A small pub with tons of TV's and serving up cold beer and pub grub. I ordered Cav's Chicken Wings ($7) and a Stella Artois. They seem to be the only flavor and only spice level, so we'll see how they taste.

A busy place at lunch, Cavanaugh's seems to have a very dedicated crowd that frequents this small Irish pub.  It seemed to me, even before I feasted on my wings, that Bob's suggestion was going to be a good one.  If you are a gambling person, well, there is plenty of it here: buy a Mega Millions or Powerball ticket, play Quick Draw or bet on some televised horse racing, you can do it all... you can even buy some scratch-offs if you'd like.  Not being much of a gambler, I was watching golf.

My 12 wings came with celery and bleu cheese, piping hot and sitting in a large reservoir of extra hot sauce at the bottom.  Before I bit into the first one, I took notice of the presentation.  Good sized wings cooked well and charred a bit on the outside edges.  They reminded me a lot of Mike's Place's wings. My first bite made me a very happy man.  The spice was non-existent, but the flavor was like a tidal wave of hot sauce, butter, spices and what I can best describe as Italian dressing.  I am not sure that is what is in there, but it was a tangy flavor with a lot of layers to it, so Italian dressing is my best description.  They were quite crispy, most of them had a good juicy core (some of the smaller ones were over cooked a bit) and then, couple those qualities with the char on the outside and one could argue that they were perfectly cooked.  

So, next time you are on the south shore and in the mood for wings, stop by Cavanaugh's and order a dozen.  They will be cooked well, served in a very tasty sauce and you'll be surrounded by good folks in a great bar.  Cavanaugh's is Wingmen Approved!  Try them out some time soon!

More please!

Smok-a-Burger's

Smok-a-Burger's

380 Larkfield Road

East Northport, NY 11731

631-266-2600

http://www.smokaburger.com/

Maps and Directions

Running errands a few weekends ago, I was heading down Larkfield Road in East Northport on my way to Commack and saw Smok-a-Burger's and decided to stop for a quick lunch.  It's a small roadside burger joint with a solid menu.  Lots of burger choices and loads of sides as well as quesadillas, starters, sandwiches, wraps, salads and drinks (soft drinks and beer).  They also have desserts and milk shakes... mmmm.

The wing menu was pretty impressive too.  They offer BBQ, Buffalo, Blazin', Sweet Chili and Bourbon.  Only having appetite for one order of wings with my burger, I could only try one flavor and choosing was going to be difficult.  I wished I had a big spinning wheel with all the flavors on it so I did not have to choose, but after some real soul searching, the Sweet Chili called to me.  It was a flavor I have not seen on many menus, so I decided to give it a whirl.  My burger on the other hand was much easier to choose and dress up.  I grabbed a single patty with American cheese, tomato, jalapenos and ancho chipotle sauce.  I was stoked for both of my choices!

(tear)... they look so beautiful together!

How were the wings?  Well... They were awesome!  The sweet chili sauce was, as the name suggests, sweet and tangy with a tiny bite to it.  The wings were not very crispy, but were juicy, pretty big and delicious.  I was fascinated by the arrangement of flavors, so I asked the server how it was made and he said they buy it "pre-made," and that it is very similar to a "duck sauce."  Duck sauce is made from fruits (like apples, pears, plums) apple juice, garlic, mustard powder and a few other ingredients.  I could taste the fruit, although this seemed to have a bit more citrus to it and the chunks of chili peppers in there is what gave the wings their little bit of spiciness.  They were very tropical in flavor, in fact, they reminded me of wings I used to eat weekly when I lived in the Cayman Islands.  On Grand cayman, there is a bar called The Wreck Bar in Rum Point and their wings were amazing.  Ahhh... nostalgia. 

The Wreck Bar, Rum Point, Grand Cayman

How was the burger?  Also quite good.  Cooked well and big for a cheeseburger that cost me $3.89.  The spicy flavors of the jalapenos and ancho chipotle sauce were a perfect compliment to the sweet wings I had just devoured. 

From what I can tell from the limited menu items I sampled, Smok-a-Burger's has really good food.  It comes out fast, hot and tasty.  The Sweet Chili wings are Wingmen approved, but because there are so many other wing flavors on the menu, another trip (or 2) for the Wingmen will be necessary.  I guess I will just have to take one for the team and go back again and again.  Don't feel bad for me, it's my job.

Cross Sound Deli

Cross Sound Deli

41270 Main Road (Route 25)

Orient, NY 11957

Although the receipt had this address:

2 Ferry Street

New London, CT 06320

(I was totally on the Long Island side)

Heading up to Massachusetts for a party to celebrate my friends, Seth and Allissa's wedding, I decided to take the Cross Sound Ferry from Long Island to Connecticut. I made 2 PM reservations out of Orient Point and drove east. Hitting traffic, I showed up 20 minutes after 2 and missed my boat. So as I sat in the standby lane, I noticed two things, 1- a little deli and 2- I was hungry.

Walking in I stood on line thinking a BLT would be perfect and as I looked at the menu on the wall I saw "Buffalo Wings...... $5.95" and thought to myself, "how many times am I going to be out here, in standby and hungry? I have to order wings," and anyway, I am a Wingman, it's my job.

They came out, piping hot and in a Styrofoam container served with a package of Ken's Bleu Cheese Dressing. Frozen, breaded and a bit small, these didn't have much going for them. And then add the fact that I saw the cook take a plastic bottle, squeeze out a bunch of hot sauce on the wings and then bring them to me with no shaking, no mixing, no agitation at all and you have a recipe for poorly prepared wings.  I got a bit sad.

Hot wings, lemonade, and my Jeep's fender as a table.

Oddly enough, they were surprisingly good for what they were. The hot sauce from the bottle had a decent kick and the cook was very liberal in the application, so there was a generous pool of red goodness in the container for dipping. Again, they were small, but crispy and juicy on the inside. I really had no problem polishing off all 10 of them.

If I had been at a bar or restaurant, I would be a hell of a lot more critical of the wings, but this is a little stand at the easternmost tip of the North Fork of Long Island. This place feeds beach goers, ferry riders and people heading over to the casinos. It is not a wing place... Heck, they seem to be known more for sandwiches and ice cream.

I am not going to say that the Cross Sound Deli is Wingmen approved, but when you are waiting for a ferry (be it the 3, which just left, the 3:30, which I may or may not get on, the 4, which I have a chance for or the 5, which is guaranteed), they are good in a pinch. Honestly, if I miss the 3:30 too, I see ice cream in my future.

 

Yup... Missed the 3:30.  I made it onto the 4.

Dixie's Smokehouse

Dixie's Smokehouse

"Texas BBQ and Rotisserie"

12 Indian Head Road

Kings Park, NY 11754

(At the LIRR Station)

631-292-2520

http://www.dixiessmokehouse.com/

Maps and Directions

Jimmy Junior, let me get this straight, you suggest Dillinger's Pub and Grill, and Jody does the review. You suggest Cabo, A Taste of Mexico, and Jody and I do the review. Now there is a review of Dixie's Smokehouse because you suggested it? Are you kidding me? You are 3 for 3 son... we must really like your suggestions! Don't worry everyone else who suggested places, we really do have a list and we will get to most of them (we don't have a travel budget yet [the FoodBuzz advertising checks have not come in yet], so those of you across the state line, it may take us a bit longer to get to you), but we truly appreciate the suggestions! Now to Dixies...

Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ and Rotisserie is settled in a small shopping center just south of Northern Boulevard on Indian Head Road in Kings Park, NY... yes, the same Kings Park where Craig Biggio of the Huston Astros went to High School. It is a very small smokehouse with limited seating and a small bar. When I got there, it was pretty packed and it was a week night. I had spoke to my Uncle Carl that evening and he said the ribs were really good, but I was not there for ribs, I had three flavors of buffalo wings to conquer!

Cowboy Mike's Famous Chicken Wings come in Hot, Honey Mustard and Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ flavors and are served in orders of five (5) or ten (10) wings at a time. The five size is perfect because it afforded me the opportunity to order 5 of each of the 3 flavors! I placed my order, tried a sip of a new beer they had on tap, Honker's Ale, decided I didn't want one and grabbed a Blue Moon instead. I then waited, and as I did, I read the placemat.

As I read, this caught my eye: "The Secret to True Pit Smoking- It's about time, temperature and heat source. At Dixie's Smokehouse, our smoker requires no electricity or gas to cook our meats. We smoke them using indirect heat from burning hickory wood at low temperatures over long periods of time. There are no shortcuts in our smoking process 'low and slow.'" Now that is cool and made me wish that I had ordered something smoked, not fried. But alas, my wings were on their way, and I couldn't have been more excited!

My wings arrived all on one plate and ready to be consumed. I took my usual picture and the family next to me started whispering about how weird that was. I tried to explain that I blog about wings, but I still think they walked away thinking I was a complete weirdo. Some people, I mean really. I then went back to the wings and tackled them one flavor at a time, starting with the hot.

Bottom left- Hot

Bottom Right- Honey Mustard

Top Center- Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ

The hot were not overpowering and the heat did not blow me out of the water by any stretch. What they did have was late blooming spice that got stronger as I hit wings number two, three, four and five. The sauce was not your traditional butter and hot sauce, but it was very tasty. I know there was cayenne pepper in there, but the other flavors I could not place. They are worth ordering again.

I then moved on the the honey mustard and just looking at them I was a bit disappointed. The fatal flaw with these wings were that they were fried first and then tossed in the honey mustard. If you want the sauce to permeate the wing, you really need to fry them after they are dipped in the honey mustard and then toss them again in the sauce. What saved these wings was the fact that the honey mustard they use is very good and they used a lot of it. There was a decent puddle of it on the bottom of the plate and you know I sopped up the last few wings in it. Again, I'd order them again.

I finished the night off with the Dixie's Smokehouse Texas BBQ sauce. Anyone who knows me (or has read previous reviews) knows I don't like BBQ sauce on wings. It is usually too sweet and is just not for me. Dixie's BBQ is really no different. The wings were drenched in it, which is a plus, the smokey flavor in the BBQ sauce was a nice change from the norm and they had a bit of a kick, but they were still too sweet for my liking. If you like BBQ sauce, and you like the taste of smoke, then you may enjoy these, but they just are not for me.

These wings were all cooked to a nice crisp, retained they juiciness on the inside and just as Jimmy Junior said on our Facebook page, they were a bit small in size. They are a decent deal though, five (5) for $4.49 and ten (10) for $7.49, so my fifteen (15) wings set me back $11.98 or $00.80 per wing. My beer was $6, so I was sated on $17.98 + tip worth of wings and beer.

The only side note I have to this review is the day after eating these wings I was not feeling too well. Those of you who know me, know that I have a bit of a weak stomach at times, and those of you who don't know me, well, now you know too. I am about 99.99% sure that the food was not the issue and it was too many incredible flavors for my weak stomach to handle. I have to tell you about this aspect of the experience because if the same thing happens to you, then our readers need to know!

All in all, give Dixie's Smokehouse a try when you are in Biggio's backyard! I can't wait to go back and try the ribs and brisket!

Hurricane Grill and Wings

Hurricane Grill and Wings

1037 Route 112

Port Jefferson Station, NY 11776

http://www.hurricanewings.com/PortJeff/

Map and Directions

The second stop for Jody and I on our Monday off was Hurricane Grill and Wings in Port Jeff Station (it is in the shopping center with the DMV, we had a little trouble finding it). Back in November of '09, Jessica Miller Gomez commented on our Facebook page that Hurricane's was coming soon and we would have to check it out when it arrived (Thanks for being a fan Jessica!). We finally were out there and decided to give them a shot. Eric, don't get upset that we didn't stop at Grumpy's, we plan to, but it will be a huge Wingmen Event! It will take some planning.

So we walked into Hurricane Grill and Wings and instantly felt like we were in Orlando or Tampa at some waterside bar. It felt very different from your typical Port Jefferson, North Shore of Long Island, right on the Long Island Sound bars.  This was more tropical, complete with hardwood floors made to look like they have sand on them, seascapes on the walls, luau feeling decorations Reggae music playing, and fake palm trees. I feel like I have been to this exact place in San Diego, Miami, Orlando... and now Port Jeff, which is good because I can't remember when 3 feet of snow have fallen in Southern California or Florida, but it does in Port Jeff!

After polishing off quite a few wings at Tommy's Place, we decided to try the $18.49 sampler plate. Anyone who knows Jody knows he has a hard time passing up a combo plate, so this choice fit right into his indecisive sensibilities. We had 20 wings with four different flavored sauces. We ordered the Honey Mustard, Mango BBQ, Thai Ginger and Garlic, and Gold Rush as our four flavors. They mostly came at the suggestion of the bar tender, since there are a LOT of flavors to choose from. Check them out here.  You can see there are quite a bit of them and you can even create your own.

Combo Platter- Starting to the left of
the ranch dressing and
moving clockwise: Gold Rush,
Honey Mustard, Thai Ginger & Garlic,
and Mango BBQ.

Lets get into the review-

1- The Honey Mustard were good. The flavor was a bit on the sweet side, not enough mustard, but it is understandable, since a lot of people are getting into the sweeter flavored wings these days. Miller's Honey Mustard was way more traditional, as are Wings To Go in York, PA (which I have not been to in years. We need a trip down there boys, those were good wings). I would suggest staying away from these only if you don't like sweet wings.  If you are a honey mustard fan, go for it.

2- Mango BBQ were a wildcard for us. As our faithful followers may know by now, we have never been really happy with any BBQ wings we have tried, but Mango BBQ, how do you pass up Mango BBQ? They were quite sweet, as I am sure you can imagine, but also completely solid. A lot of flavor. Best BBQ wings I have had, and I have tried a lot of BBQ wings.  The Mango adds sweetness, but also distracts your mouth from the tomato and molasses base that usually makes BBQ too much for me.  I'd eat these again.

3- The Thai Ginger and Garlic wings were way too gingery for my liking and sickly sweet. There is way too much honey in that recipe. They were good, but the flavor was just too strong and sweet for me. If you are into ginger, give them a whirl.  We all have our own particular tastes and these just were not for me... they can't all be winners.

4- The big winner of the afternoon was the Gold Rush Sauce. They are described as a "special honey mustard sauce with a hint of heat" in the menu and as "not honey mustard tasting at all" by the bar tender. In my opinion, it was honey mustard mixed with a buffalo sauce with some spicy red pepper thrown in the mix.  This sauce is great and I wish I had some bottles of it right now, I'd BBQ myself some winglets and douse them in the stuff.  I'd go back for these... and of course to try some of the other flavors.

All of the wings were large, juicy and had a good crisp to them, like all wings should. They reminded Jody of Rookie's in Huntington because they had some many flavors on the menu and they were big juicy wings. Hurricane's has a good beer selection, advertises a happy hour everyday from 4-7PM with two for one appetizers, $2 pints and $8 pitchers, and is a nice novelty bar. If there were outside seating and it was located closer to the water in Port Jeff Village, I could see this place being crazy in the summer. I am looking forward to seeing how popular it becomes.

The Wingmen should make another trip there with some fans to help us get through all of the wing sauces. It is a job for more than 3 people! Who's in?

We will give this a preliminary Wingmen Approved stamp, we have to go back, try more and see what else we enjoy.

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: