Coach's Corner

Two weeks back, I had the opportunity to hit up Coram, NY and visit what used to be "Mike's Place". "Mike's Place" had great wings so why not find out whether or not Coach's Corner did the same. The wings were not breaded and seemed like they were baked not fried. They were fried, however, but they had that baked consistency. The sauce is the same from "Mike's Place". It seems as if they pour the sauce on after the wings come out. The wings were good but they needed to be more well done. They sort of reminded me when I visited Ireland and ordered a plate of wings. Holy Crap, those wings were disgusting. They broil theirs...uuggggghhh.....but the Guiness is awesome. If the Coach's Corner wings had a little crunch to them, I'd say they were really good, but for now their rating is fair.

Mike's Place Too

1086 Mastic Rd.

Mastic, NY 11950

I can divide the last 15 years of my life into phases using wing spots.  Now, I'm probably in the Dempsey's phase of my life.  It's our current go-to for wing night.  High school was Big Barry's.  It's been closed for so long that I don't even remember what the wings taste like.  I do remember that they were good, and probably responsible for kicking off our obsession with wings.  In between the high school Big Barry's days and the Post-Collegiate Dempsey's Days there was Mike's Place.

I was at my Mom's house recently, in the old neighborhood, and was in the mood for a throw-back dinner.  So My wife, sister, brother and I decided to get some apps from Mike's Place Too - wings included of course.  I don't even feel like I need to review Mike's wings.  If you lived near Coram (when the original location was open) or Mastic (the neighborhood of Mike's Place Too) you know of Mike's Place and you've certainly had their wings.  The sauce is not a traditional one.  It's not hot sauce based and is more salty than spicy.  But it is damn tastey.  I'm going to say, without a doubt, it's my favorite buffalo wing sauce - ever.

UPDATE:  I don't know how I could have forgotten to mention this.  My head was a little out-of-whack after watching the Yankees claw their way back to a lead, then blow the game and fail to clinch.  Anyway - Another thing that sets Mike's wings apart is the way they're cooked.  I think they use some sort of double-cooking method, like baking then grilling.  They are nice and tender in the middle, but have this perfect grill-char on the skin.  So good.  Maybe one of our Mikes/Grumpy Jack's connections can give us a little insight here.

(END UPDATE)

Here's the thing though.  We used to go to the location in Coram, which has since closed and re-opened as Coach's Corner.  A couple of the owners  opened a new place in Port Jefferson called Grumpy Jacks.  Then, of course, there's Mike's Place Too.  So that's three spots that could conceivably be making different variations of the best wings sauce ever concocted.  Are you seeing where I'm going with this?  Yup, a Grumpy Jack's/Mike's Place Too/Coach's corner smackdown.  A three way battle royale to see who makes the best wing sauce, well, the best.  I know we've got a couple of friends with connections to the original Mike's as well as Grumpy Jacks.  So, what do you think?  You guys up for it.  Some wings, some beer and maybe a little trash talking?  Sounds like a good idea to me.