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.
