Product Review: Michele's Buffalo Supreme Popcorn

Michele's Totally Awesome Gourmet Popcorn
PO Box 1662
Concord, NH 03302-1662
603-798-5300
www.michelesweetshoppe.com

Jody and I were at a Yankees game a few months back when Rebecca P., one of the Wingmen faithful, contacted us about a product she wanted us to try.  Despite my stupidity about what she meant by "mail you something to try" (see our Facebook page for the comment on April 27, 2011 for what I mean), she was able to ensure that a large bag of Buffalo Supreme popcorn arrived for us to review.

That's a big bag o'popcorn!

Michele's Totally Awesome Gourmet Popcorn operates out of Concord, NH, and was founded by Michele and Dave Holbrook in 2007. This family-run business is not only an American phenomenon, but has been shipping globally too.  Michele's offers twenty flavors of popcorn that include Cookies-n-Cream, Peanut Butter Cup, Caramel Apple, Garlic &Rosemary, Cajun BBQ, Dark Chocolate Orange and many others.  Their fresh, sweet, savory and deluxe flavors of popcorn were selected for the Official SWAG Bags of the 37th Annual Daytime and Sports Emmy Award Shows of 2010.

The popcorn arrived with a note that says "The Wingmen, Rebecca P. wanted you to give this a try. Let us & her know what you think. Michele" so here it goes: upon opening the bag, the aroma of buffalo wings fills your nose making you think a fresh plate of wings has just arrived at your table.  As you take a bite, the flavor of hot sauce and butter fill your mouth and before you know it, your nose is running from the heat.  This popcorn is spicy!  It was everything I could do to stop myself from eating the whole bag.  The buffalo blend seasoning captures the wing flavor quite well and the canola oil seems to act like the clarified butter.  The only thing missing is a bleu cheese drizzle, which I can make happen with a quick drive to the supermarket!

Check out Michele's by heading to www.michelesweetshoppe.com or by visiting them on Facebook.  Michele's Totally Awesome Gourmet Buffalo Supreme Popcorn is Wingmen approved!  I can't wait to try some of the other flavors... Cajun BBQ has piqued my interest.

Thanks Rebecca P. and Michele for the support!

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.

Mets v. Yanks, Part 1 - McFadden's at Citi Field

McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon

Citi Field

Behind Center Field on 126th Street

Flushing, NY

Remember that day that Steve and I went looking for McFadden's, to no avail?  Well, ends up we drove right by it.  Like, four times.  Steve had an extra ticket to a Mets/Phillies game and he invited me along (thanks again Steve).  Quick disclaimer:  I am not a Mets fan, I am a Yankees fan. However, pretty much all of my friends are Mets fans and I live in Bayside - heart of Mets territory at only 5.2 miles away from Citi Field (according to Google maps).  So, somehow I end up at more Mets games than Yanks games.  For shame, I know.

It's pretty clearly marked

Anyway, it's game day and Steve gets to the stadium before me.  He says he's in McFadden's and we should meet up there.  I'm thinking to myself, it must be inside the stadium since we surely couldn't have missed it if it were accessible from the outside.  Wrong.  I hop off the 7 train and start walking around to the bullpen entrance of the park, which is on the same street that we drove down last time we were looking for McFadden's.  Sure enough, there it is.  In our defense, it's tough to see... if you manage to look past the huge awning bearing the bars name as well as the additional signage that pretty much lines the whole block.  Long story short, we're idiots.

Just an average picture of some average wings

But how were the wings?  Eh, they were ok.  They had average flavor, were average size, had an average amount of heat... just all-around average.  The thing about wings though is that finding a place serving average wings is still a victory.  I mean, come on, they're wings.  You know that saying about pizza right?  Something like, pizza is like sex... even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.  Well, same goes for wings.  And being that these were better than bad, there were no complaints.

I'm so glad my doctor doesn't read this blog

We also ordered this heart attack on a plate, which was pretty decent - for those of you looking to supplement your wing intake.

We didn't want to stop there though.  We killed a lot of time at McFadden's and still hadn't even entered the stadium yet even though it was like the 6th inning.  We decided to finally make our way in and see what else we could find... and maybe even catch some live game action.  Unfortunately we were out of luck.  We tried the World's Fair Market and they had fried chicken but no Buffalo wings.  The concession stands had chicken tenders but no wings.  Looks like McFadden would have to be the lone wing representative for Citi Field.  Obviously our next task was going to have to be making our way to the Bronx to compare McFadden's wings to the wings at Yankee Stadium.  

For the baseball purists out there who might be upset that we spent so much time in McFadden's before actually entering the stadium, it gets worse.  While we were sitting there, watching the game on the LCD screens, we subtly pointed out to each other that R.A. Dickey was throwing a no-hitter - without using the actual words, obviously.  That put us in a tough spot.  Everyone knows that you can't move your seat when a pitcher is making a bid for the no-no.  But on the other hand, no pitcher in the history of baseball has ever thrown a no hitter for the Mets.  Not Nolan Ryan, not Tom Seaver and not Doc Gooden.  We couldn't miss witnessing the first in person... it would have been history.  Hell of a catch 22.  So of course, we moved... and got to our seats just in time to see Dickey give up his first hit.  So yeah, sorry about that.  Maybe next time.

Anyway... we did eventually make it to Yankee Stadium for a wing challenge.  Check in on Wednesday, we'll have part 2 posted then.

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.

Paddy Power!

Totally kick-ass mullet

Totally kick-ass boom pole

Last week, on National Buffalo Wing Day, The Wingmen were all set to embark on a new feature of the blog to enhance your reading pleasure. We were going to shoot our first semi-sort of professional video review. We gathered a bunch of ragtag video equipment (including a boom pole made out of a painting pole, curtain hook, rubber bands and tape - eat that MacGyver), met up nice and early and promptly got the phone call informing us that the shoot was a bust. But we're professionals now, we improvise. With a majority of the day ahead of us, we decided to go on a 3 stop wing mission - the old fashioned way.

So, for National Buffalo Wing Day, we'll post each stop over the course of the next three days. First up for The Wingmen's National Buffalo Wing Day Week is: Paddy Power!

Paddy Power

70 Merrick Ave.

Merrick, NY

516-223-3900

Website

Maps and Directions

During the colonial period, Merrick became a trading center because vessels could enter Jones Inlet and sail up deep channels to docks beside what is now Merrick Road. During the War of 1812 these channels, canals and coves made Merrick a haven for buccaneers who preyed on merchants in search of wings (probably true). Pirates (one eyed Willy) in whaleboats once robbed prominent landowner George Hewlett and two friends while they were duck hunting (for wings), ripping the silver buttons from their coats (so they can play a few songs on the juke-box). At one point, residents armed with muskets captured one bandit leader and shipped him to New York in irons for trial because he would not share his wings (probably true as well).

Paddy Power is a bar located in the town of Merrick. Just along other shops and stores, Paddy Power provides a nice Irish tavern appeal that seems to bring in a local crowd. Throughout random conversations with my neighbors, they all suggested we try this place out. Bottom line....worth it. The bar set up was perfect for whatever mood you are in. If you feel like sitting at the bar, it is l-shaped and goes throughout the entire pub. In addition, there is a long bar set up in the middle of the place as well as tables for a more private option to your outing. There are an abundance of televisions as well as games available.

The Hot Wings at Paddy Power- what can I say, as good as buffalo wings get. Images of the BBQ and teriyaki can be found on our Facebook account.

Now for the wings: simple but good. Paddy Power provided you with flavors such as BBQ, teriyaki and buffalo. All excellent, especially since I'm not a teriyaki fan and they were great. My fellow wingmen were fans as well. The meat to bone ratio was just right with enough crisp on the outside as well as moistness on the inside. All in all....spectacular. This place will be my new towny spot, replacing Cassidy's. Cassidy's is great but this place offers a better variety and is just as convenient to get to. Go there and let 'em know The Wingmen sent ya!

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.

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.

Dave and Busters

www.daveandbusters.com

Locations all around the country

I've never been a huge fan of large chains. The food usually isn't as good as privately owned places and they just don't have the same charm as the mom n' pop restaurants. Sometimes though, they have their place. A perfect example is going out to dinner with my wife and one year old daughter, Gianna-Rose. Gianna is a very well behaved child, but when she sits down at a dinner table she has the attention span of - well, a one year old (unless she's chowing down, then she's all business). It was one of those scorching hot days that we had in New York last week and we had to get out of our hot apartment. Dave and Busters is air conditioned, loud, bright, has all kinds of flashing lights and noises and has a wide open eating area. Perfect. We grabbed our stuff and headed out.

It never even crossed my mind to review this place. That's why I wasn't prepared, as you can tell by these photos that I ripped off from the internet. As a matter of fact, the last thing I wanted to eat was wings. This was the day after Steve and I went on a tear and scarfed down an enormous amount of wings from three different bars. I didn't even want to look at another wing for at least a few days. Or so I thought. Ends up my wife orders an appetizer sampler platter (I love those) that included a few Buffalo style wings. I took one look and thought, "of course I have to try them".

I'm pretty sure these are from Dave and Busters, but who knows.

I was a little disappointed in myself. They were fresh, plump, well cooked and flavorful. I actually liked them. Is that allowed? I mean, we're supposed to be wing connoisseurs and here I am enjoying food from a chain. My credibility is shot. In my defense, the menu did say that their sauce was "original", for whatever that's worth. So maybe they did put some effort into it, who knows. Still, it made me feel a little uneasy. Where do I go from here? TGiF? Chili's? Do I just have to throw in the towel and call it a career with this whole wing reviewing thing?

Ah, who am I kidding... we're talking about chicken wings here. Sure some are better than others (and some are way better), but it's not like we're talking about an exquisite dish from a Michelin Starred, James Beard Award winning restaurant. They're wings. Basically left over chicken parts that nobody wanted, deep fried and tossed in store-bought sauce with some butter. Going out for wings is as much about the experience as it is about the food, maybe more. So I think I can come back down from the ledge. If you're in the mood to play some video games, while drinking beer and eating wings, Dave and Busters is a decent option in my book. Just to be safe though, my next review will be a nice, small, Irish pub.

Dillingers Pub & Grill

Dillingers Pub & Grill

46-19 30th Ave.

Astoria, NY 11103

www.dillingersny.com/

One of the pubs on our ever growing list of your recommendations is Dillingers in Astoria. Spots that were recommended by you guys are usually my favorite. It means someone has already been there and liked the wings enough to suggest them to us. It's a much better system than flying blind.

Well Jimmy Junior, thanks for the heads up. Dillingers is a great spot to dig into some wings. They have a Tuesday night special with 25¢ wings and $10 pitchers starting at 6 PM. There are four different varieties: buffalo, teriyaki, BBQ and Dillingers. I was immediately intrigued by the Dillingers sauce - nice, something different. Just as quickly, I dismissed the BBQ - save it for the ribs and brisket. I ordered one plate each of buffalo, teriyaki and Dillingers (don't worry, I had help).

It wasn't all perfect, so I'll start with the bad. The Buffalo was a bit dry. They were cooked alright but they just didn't have enough sauce. I feel like there are two ways cooks can go here. They can put the sauce on before the wings hit the flames, or they can toss them in the sauce after. I prefer them to be tossed after, but these seemed to have been prepared the other way. You can see in the "after" picture, there are still plenty of wings left on the plate.

The Buffalo weren't terrible, but the other flavors were much better.

Now that that's out of the way, on to the teryaki. These were much better. The sauce itself was on par with most teryaki sauces out there, but they were coated much more thoroughly. To me, if you don't have to lick the sauce off your fingers or at least go for a napkin before you pick up your beer then there's not enough sauce. Unless of course you're a Trongs user, then that theory flies right out the window. These passed the test. They were also nice and crispy without the meat being dried out. Overall, a good wing.

Don't worry. I took care of that last teriyaki wing after I snapped this shot.

How about the namesake wing? They're probably the best of all three. The flavor was tough for me to place. I'm on the fence between a carefully constructed concoction of garlic, citrus, a little sweetness and possibly a touch of Thai seasoning - OR - they just took all of their sauces and mixed them together. Either way, I liked it and it was refreshing to have something different. I'd recommend giving this sauce a try.

Sorry, the light wasn't great. Luckily the new iPhone has a built in LED light!

Anyway, these are the Dillinger wings.

Although the wings were definitely a plus, the real draw of Dillingers is the pub itself. It's the model local neighborhood pub. It's small, laid back and had a welcoming vibe. They had good beers on tap and all of the food coming from the kitchen looked great. The service was an A+. Everyone was very friendly. Flat screen TV's played all the local teams in action. What else do you need?

We crushed the Dillingers flavored wings... whatever they were.

Bar 89

89 Mercer Street
New York, NY 10012

www.bar89.com

The next stop on my recent tour of SOHO brought me to Bar 89 on Mercer St. just South of Spring St. I knew nothing of this place when I first set out, other than it was nearby and served wings. When I first walked in, I thought I might have had the wrong place. As you can see by the picture, it's not exactly the type of place that you would expect to find wings being served. It felt more like a chic loft club than anything that resembled a pub. I felt a little out of place and underdressed, luckily I ordered them to go.

What really attracted me to this place was their combo platter. Once I see that on a menu, I'm sold - LOVE the combo platter. Bar 89's platter included all three flavors of their wings: Buffalo, Dragon and Buck'N Wings. The combo platter also comes with a side of waffle fries, which I thought were a pretty nice touch.

The buffalo were nothing special. They were a bit on the dry side, not very meaty and could have used more sauce. They seemed a little saltier than most Buffalo sauces I've had, but I actually liked that.

The Buck'N Wings, described on Bar 89's website as a teriyaki and spice glaze, were also a little on the small and dry side. The sauce is tough to judge because, like the Buffalo wings, there wasn't a whole lot on the wing. From what I could tell, it was a pretty average teriyaki sauce.

The Dragon Wings, which Bar 89 calls "full of the Orient", were easily the best of the group. They had two things going for them, in my opinion, that made them the clear winner. First, they were larger which means they weren't dried out in the middle. Instead, they were plump and moist. Second, they had a much more generous coating of sauce. I like that for the obvious reason of stronger flavor, but I also like that the excess sauce burns just a little and gives it that nice char flavor that we're always looking for. Flavor wise, these were a little sweet. Not quite as sweet as BBQ or Honey, but definitely toward that side of the spectrum.

Although the service was good and the maitre d' was friendly, I just don't see this place being a go-to destination for wings. Just the fact that I just typed "maitre d'" on a blog about wings seems a bit odd. There is pub grub on the menu but the surroundings are anything but... and the prices reflect that. I got about 30 wings and it set me back 40 bucks. The rest of the menu was just as pricey.

If you have to satisfy a craving for some pub grub, but need a trendy, chic environment then this is your place. If not, I'd recommend just hitting one of the numerous other pubs in the area.

Tommy's Place

109 Main St.

Port Jefferson, NY 11777

http://www.tommysplace.com/

Last Monday was a beautiful day and Steve and I both had off from work. We wanted to grab some wings while still enjoying the weather. Since we were around the Eastern Suffolk area, we decided to head to Port Jeff. We used to spend a lot of time there in high school - 14 years ago (holy crap!) - but I haven't really hung out there too much since. It's still a collection of quaint shops, restaurants and bars down by the water - and you can still get a burger at Tara's for a buck, so I guess not much has changed in the decade-plus since I've been there.

We ended up in Tommy's Place, which is basically at the very end of Main St. (Rt. 112) just before you get to the ferry docks. We put in an order for two plates of wings, Homemade Buffalo and Teriyaki. At $6.99 for about 10 wings, they were decently priced.

Overall, the wings were meaty and cooked well. I prefer a little more crisp, but they were still moist and tender. The Buffalo were pretty standard, not too hot but a nice flavor. I'm not sure what "homemade" means in this case - did they just mix some hot sauce with butter, or did they make the sauce from scratch using actual peppers? Steve's sister, Meredith, works there so maybe she can get us some answers (can you?).

If you're like me and love teriyaki wings, this is definitely a place to add to your list. The sauce was really thick and coated the wing very well. It was kind of, um, gooey... in a good way of course. I've been trying this flavor pretty much every chance I get and this is one of my favorites.

Other notes - The service was good. The bartender was friendly even though we accidentally rubbed it in her face that we had off and she didn't. Parking can be tough though. I found some two hour spots a few blocks away but Steve parked right in front of the bar in a 1/2 hr spot (what can you do in PJ in a half-an-hour?). The bartender said the local police were pretty strict on enforcing the rules. I think they're only in effect until 7 pm though.