Sapsuckers Hops & Grill

Sapsuckers Hops & Grill
287 Main Street
Huntington, NY 11743
631-683-4945
http://www.sapsuckersli.com/
Directions

One of the newest bars in Huntington Village, NY, Sapsuckers has quickly become a local favorite with their craft beer selection, variety of top shelf liquor options and gastro-pub style cuisine.

My wife and I found ourselves here on her suggestion.  She, being the Wingmen supporter she is, and knowing my love for craft beer, had heard about this place from a co-worker and figured I'd want to give it a try.  She was right, as always.

Two Brothers Witbier

I was initially struck by the ornitholigical theme to the place (a sapsucker being a woodpecker common to the northeast), complete with lithographs of birds on the wall and a field guide, not to the birds of the area, but to BEER!  A clever touch to a subtle theme.  The beer selection, which includes cans, bottles and the tap, is extensive and the field guide does help. I had the Two Brothers Witbier and my wife had the Steigl, which is a lager.

Very small wings, big taste

We ordered the wings, which were pricey at $8 for 6 small wings.  They were lightly breaded and were generously coated in hot sauce, served with thin strips of celery and a gorgonzola dipping sauce.  Despite their size, they were cooked well, spiced well and a great start to our meals.  The gorgonzola dipping sauce was a nice variation on the typical bleu cheese, and had a salty and sharp flavor that complimented the wing sauce.

As for our meals, she had the nachos which were loaded with goodies and I had the Sardinian Style Dog, which is wild boar sausage loaded with caramelized onions.  The meals, reasonably priced were very good and are different from anything else you'll find on Main Street in Huntington Village.

Sardinian Style Dog

With the price of the wings for what you get, it's hard to say Sapsuckers is approved for their wings alone, but as an interesting craft beer bar with unique food and great atmosphere, the Wingmen approve the restaurant as a whole.

Top Bunz

337 New York Avenue

Huntington, NY 11743

www.topbunz.com

Steve and I play on a baseball team together - yes, baseball... not softball. After having our asses handed to us by a team with an average age of 51.5, we needed to drown our sorrows in some beer soda and wings (we walked around Huntington Village at noon and none of the bars were open - weird).

After wandering around for a few minutes, we came up to Top Bunz (which used to be American Roadside Burgers). The sign on the window advertised hot wings so we decided to give it a go. It's sort of a retro, ode to the drug stores and soda fountains of the 50's and the burger definitely has top billing. We had a gut feeling and instinctively ordered the wings as a side instead of the main course. We rarely ever do that, if at all, but it ended up being the right move. I'm not saying these wings were inedible. I'm just saying that they weren't the type of wings that can stand on their own as a main course.

The full spread. The wings do not dominate this table.

The wings themselves were kind of reminiscent of something I'd expect from a TGiF or Applebee's, maybe even a Wingstreet or something like that - kind of fast food-y. They were breaded and could probably be put in the same category as 1849 or Hooters, but a few rungs down on the quality ladder.

On the positive side, they were cooked well and had a pretty good amount of meat on the bone. The sauce was a traditional hot sauce and butter mix with a nice peppery flavor. It was a tasty sauce and the wings were drowning in it.

Mmmm. Look at that pool of sauce.

Overall, I don't think this is a bad place to go grab a bite for lunch. It's definitely not a wing destination - and at over $1 per wing, they weren't a bargain either - but the burgers were ok and the rest of the food looked pretty good. If you're wandering around Huntington Station at noon on a Sunday, you could do worse than Top Bunz.

Rookie's Sports Club

70 Gerard St.

Huntington, NY 11743

http://www.rookiesny.com/

On a recommendation, a bunch of us hit Rookie's Sports Club in Huntington. It's a pretty cool sports bar with all kinds of nightly specials. We went a little earlier in the day so we missed out on their $16 all you can eat wing night (9-11 PM Mondays and Wednesdays), but we did not miss out on their "Rookie's Wing Sampler". What?! Sampler? 3 wings x 8 flavors?! Honey Thai, Chipotle BBQ, Honey Thai Hot, Buffalo, Jamaican Jerk, Parmesan Garlic, Pan Asian and Hell Fire all one ONE PLATE?! Holy shit. I was a little flustered. Anyone who's been out to eat with me knows that I get overly excited for anything with the words "sampler" or "combo platter" in it. It was obvious what we were going to order. The only question? How many? There were four of us, so if we divide the number of flavors x 3 by the amount of...screw it. We each got our own. Bring it on.

We were all a little shocked when they came out. These were not your average size wings. Hell, they weren't even large wings. These were mini drumsticks. All of a sudden, the all-you-can-eat option looked like the worst deal in town.

So, variety - check. Size - DOUBLE check. But how did they taste? Um, they were ok. We all pretty much agreed that the Pan Asian was the best, followed by the Parmesan Garlic and Hell Fire (yeah, surprisingly something called "Hell Fire" actually had some of the best flavor). The Honey flavors were by far the worst. The reason I say they were just ok is that we all felt like the flavors weren't bold enough. They just lacked a little bit. There was so much potential with the variety and size that I'd love to give them another chance, but judging solely on flavor these were middle-of-the-road type wings.

Since Rookie's was recommended to us, it can't just be dismissed. And don't get me wrong, they weren't bad. We just thought they would be better. Maybe it was an off night. I know just the mention of the word "sampler" would be enough to get me to give them another try. Have you been there? What do you think?

Taxi's Grille

217 New York Ave.

Huntington, NY 11743

www.taxisgrille.com

I was working in Huntington recently and a couple of co-workers and I ordered some lunch from Taxi's Grille, which is up in the Village. I'll keep this one short and simple: STAY AWAY - from the wings at least. We got two orders, Buffalo and honey mustard. They were both over-cooked and dry with very little meat. The buffalo wings were made with Texas Pete's sauce, right out of the bottle. I have nothing against that, but there wasn't much of a coating. The honey mustard was down-right awful. It tasted more like a mayonnaise than a mustard. Gross.

Luckily, we only ordered these as a side. And luckily, their steak sandwiches are really good as are their chicken sandwiches. I did eat there a few times during my six weeks working in Huntington, but I never went near the wings again. I'd advise you to do the same.