The Swan

The Swan

7 Cosmo Place

WC1N 3AP

Russell Square

London, England

I am going to get right down to it on this one, the Spicy Wings were spicy, but small, soggy and definitely not worth the exchange rate (which was almost 2:1 in January, so £7 wings cost around $12-$13). There were 8 wings in the order and 2 were far from edible and quite tiny. Lets just say that if I did not order the bowl of chips (side of fries in America), I would have spent close to $12-$13 on an empty stomach. They had a decent flavor, but nothing to write home about (although I did, in a postcard to my fiancée... who is now my wife). England does not equal good wings.

Assessment... don't come to London for the wings. In fact, don't come to London for food in general. There is nothing special here to eat. Fish and Chips are just big fish sticks and french fries.

The Swan did have a number of good local beers on tap and is definitely worth a visit if you stay near Russell Square. Order something other than the wings to eat.

Thursday is "Wings and Bud Night" and for £18 you get a bucket of wings (any flavor... BBQ, Hot BBQ, Honey and Soy, Spicy or Sweet Chili Sauce) and 4 bottles of Budweiser. That is over $30 for a bucket and 4 beers, so depending on the number of wings in the bucket (it didn't say on the advertisement), it can be a decent deal. They also had a really interesting idea connected to the bucket of wings. The sign said, "Feeling Brave? Ask for our Roulette Chicken Wings." I asked the bar tender what that meant and she told me that in the bucket, they have 1 super spicy wing. As you and your chaps (friends) eat, one person will pull the extra hot wing and sweat out the taste. It is kind of like chicken wing Russian Roulette. Pretty cool.

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:

Atomic Wings

528 9th Ave
New York, NY 10018

(with other locations throughout the city)

www.atomicwings.com

While working in Midtown, I see these delivery guys riding around on bikes wearing "Atomic Wings" vests all the time. One day while sitting around, waiting to hear from a client, I decided to google them and find out where they were. Ends up, they're a franchise and have (as far as I can tell) ten locations in and around NYC. I found the one nearest to me, grabbed my jacket and headed out.

One thing that they offered, which I've suggested on this blog before and am a big fan of, was the option of ordering your wings "dry" and getting you sauce(s) on the side. The reason I'm such a big fan of this is it gives you a better chance of testing out a lot of flavors without having to order a hundred wings. So that's what I did, opting for traditional buffalo, teriyaki and honey mustard - my three favorites.

Atomic Wings, dry.

My selection of sauces: Teryaki, Honey Mustard and Buffalo.

All-in-all, these were average wings. I wouldn't go out of my way to get them, but the convenience factor (bike delivery guys) and being able to order sauces on the side is enough to give them another go. My biggest complaint is that they were really oily and my stomach was paying for it later. If you've got a good wing/lunch spot near you, that's probably still the way to go. But if you're craving some wings and can't get out of the office, this isn't a bad option. The reason I'm labeling it a lunch spot is because it kind of had a chain fast food vibe when I was there. Sure, you can order a beer but you're still putting your tray on top of a garbage can when you're done eating. After a day of work, there's no way you'd pick this place over any local sports bar. Consider them a decent delivery option in NYC.

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.

Wing Zone

Get in the Zone ....Wing Zone... Who's lazy? Who hates leaving the house in this aweful weather? Me and if you like traveling in the snow there is something wrong with you unless you are the wingzone delivery guy. The wingzone delivery guy, in my book, is cool and better have a postal person attitude. Make those deliveries in rain, storm and snow. Anyway.....what's better than eating wings at a pub.......having them brought right to your home. And the best part is, they are actually very good.

I hit up the nuclear hot, buffalo blue, honey mustard, spicy bbq and the garlic parmesan. I wanted to try and grab as many flavors as I could that were similar to O'Neils in Maspeth and see who rated better. O'Neils is still better but for delivery and not having to travel to Queens...worth it. First let me get into the nuclear. Damn hot, crazy hot. I wasn't able to eat four in a row. They weren't kidding with their slogan its like having a firecracker in your mouth. Not that I would know what a firecracker in my mouth would feel like. Imagine the guy that did that. Yep, I just lit a M-80 in my mouth, gotta go to the hospital and that would be a great name for a hot wing. Keep in mind he probably wrote that because if he actually did do that it would probably sound like hffhfmmfhyfufjmfhfyffyfyujmyh (mumbles, if you didn't get it).

The other flavors were very good as well. The honey mustard was covered with suace as well as the garlic parmesan, the spicy BB and the buffalo blue. The garlic parmesan were good but only for about 4. Any more than that it got old. The buffalo blue were good but it defeated the point in getting a hot wing and dipping it into the blue cheese. The spicy bbq were awesome. You could eat 20 and they wouldn't get old. Just the right amount of spice and bbq. The wings were medium sized and very tasty. Wingzone offered a variety of ways to order. It ranged from 7, 10, 15, 20 30 50, 100 or more. In addition, you can order them online, pay online and not have to phone it in. Awesome.
I give them a B plus.

Mustang Sally's

324 7th Ave.

New York, NY 10001

http://www.mustangsallysny.com

A good friend of mine was in town last week and we were going to meet and do some catching up after work. After a few texts back and forth, he told me he'd be at Mustang Sally's in Chelsea on 7th and 28th. I'd been there a few times. Its close proximity to Penn Station/MSG makes it a good jump off, or a place to kill some time before you catch the next train heading out of town. I had never been there for wings though.

After a beer or two, we decided to order some food. We only had to peruse the menu for a minute before deciding on an order of wings. We ordered, and they promptly brought out a plate of traditional buffalo wings. I was very pleasantly surprised with the quality. Meaty and well cooked. A heavy coat of thick, flavorful sauce. Nice amount of heat, but not over the top. We turned our plate of deep-fried treats into a pile of bones in minutes. Still hungry and pleased with the last batch, we asked for another order of wings. They again came out pretty fast and we took care of business.

I guess because I've always associated the area around Penn Station with a place to start and/or end your night, not spend it...I never really considered looking around there for good wing spots. Lesson learned. So, if you're in the area - whether you just got into the city, are heading out or just happen to be in the neighborhood - Mustang Sally's is worth checking out. As a side note, McSorley's was on tap and they were running a promotion. The bartender was giving away those little half pint mugs they serve their beers in at their location in the East Village. I love free pint glasses, especially when you don't have to have someone tuck one into their purse for you.