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.

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.

Product Review: Trongs

Trongs: Finger-Food Utensil

"Get A Grip On Finger-Food"

1-866-99-TRONG

http://www.trongs.com/

While eating at The Shack, I spoke with a woman who worked for a local cable company and she started telling me about her about her food website (which is still not live) and she introduced me to a product called Trongs. She met the guys who invented them and gave me a pair to try out and review. I was intrigued, but a bit skeptical. These little plastic fingers look like fake vampire teeth that tweens wear when they see a crappy vampire movie. Skeptical or not, I had to give them a try.

They are made to keep you fingers clean while eating wings (or ribs), but isn't part of the fun getting dirty? Licking your fingers clean? Using a wet-nap? The Trongs Website addresses this by saying, "There will always be people who will eat wings using their fingers, just as there are people who have yet to appreciate the benefits of e-mail and cell phones. The reality is that getting your fingers dirty is annoying and is probably the main factor in the thought process that leads to the decision to not go out for wings. Eat with Trongs and enjoy wings wherever and whenever." All I can say is we'll see.

Trongs in use, my fingers are clean.

Pros:

1- They do keep your hands clean as you eat the wings.

2- They are made well, so you can really get a good grip on the sauced up, slippery wing.

3- I can answer my phone, shake hands or grab a drink without transferring wings sauce onto any of the aforementioned items.

Jody's "there's no way in hell I'm using

these" face.

Cons:

1- You look like a TOOL with them on your hands. Big orange fingers? What am I, a Muppet? As Jody and Jeremy eloquently pointed out, I looked like a "nerd" using them.

2- I like getting my fingers dirty and, Trongs inventors, I have been using a cell phone and e-mail for a very long time. You don't order wings when entertaining clients or on a blind date, but other than that, fingers can get dirty eating.

3- Now that you are finished eating, the Trongs are DIRTY. What am I supposed to do, head into the bathroom and clean them off? I would be better off washing my hands! I mean, I don't bring my own fork/knife/spoon to a restaurant, why would I bring these?

4- Let the phone ring, just say hi and lick your fingers before you grab your drink. Your hands do not need to be spotless for any of these things and awhile back, someone invented napkins for this purpose. When did napkins become obsolete?

Summary-

Trongs are made to minimize the mess of eating hot wings, ribs and other finger food while dining out. And they succeed at doing do so. But, just because something works does not make it a good idea. Looking like a complete tool, using a wet-nap and having to cart home dirty utensils completely outweighs clean hands and not having to lick my fingers and use a napkin before I grab my cell phone. This is just another invention out there that may be seen on TV late at night for insomniacs to purchase. I just don't see people stopping before wing night to reach into their utensil drawer to grab their Trongs.

The website goes on to say that these can be used in food prep, like breading chicken cutlets, this I can see a lot more. With food born illnesses out there, having a sanitary way to work with meats that also gives you the use of your fingers is a good idea. Latex gloves do the same thing, but most people don't have boxes of latex gloves in their homes. So if you get a free pair, use them when making chicken, if not, a fork or some tongs (no "r") will do just fine.

If you are into odd little gadgets, then enjoy. If you own a bar and want to have these as an extra utensil for patrons, that may be a good idea too, but I sure as hell won't use them. As far as The Wingmen are concerned, this product is: Grounded.

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.

Grilled Hot Wings with Wingredient Sauce

Grilled Hot Wings on the Barbecue

Featuring: Wingredient Hot and Mild Sauces

Award Winning Sauce for Buffalo Wings

It's Memorial Day and I am going to a BBQ later in the day, so I decided to make my own wings for lunch. I surfed the internet for a few recipes, but then remembered that Bryan Deats, the maker of Wingredient Sauces and fellow Wingman, sent some samples of his Hot and Mild sauces a few months back. I have been sitting on them for a while now and decided that I would give his sauces a try. What can be better than hot wings fresh off the barbecue and a beer on Memorial Day? Not much, I tell you, not much.

I grabbed some raw wings, a bit of flour, some celery and Bryan's sauces and headed out to the barbecue. I started by putting two small trays on the grill and put the hot sauce in one of them and the mild in the other. Once they were simmering, I added 7 raw, floured wings to each tray. After they simmered in the sauce for about 10 minutes, I transferred them to the grill at medium heat. I cooked them for a while on each side and dipped them again into the sauce trays. I put them back on the grill until they were crispy and a bit charred on the outside, then I plated them.

They were smoking hot, so I added the celery, opened a beer and gave them a minute to cool off a bit. They smelled delicious. The smell of spice coming off them actually made me tear a bit when the smoke from the barbecue got in my eyes and when I sat in front of my plate and took a sniff, my nose began to run. I couldn't wait to dig in and see what Wingredient Sauce tasted like.

Wingredient has to be one of the tastiest sauces I have ever tried. I will be honest, other than a bit of red pepper, cayenne, and a few other easily recognizable spices, I am not sure what Bryan uses to make his sauces. They were samples, so they did not have ingredient labels on them. But I really don't care, the careful mixture of flavors and spices are very well done. The sauce has the perfect consistency, stuck to the wing perfectly and coated your fingers quite well. Finger licking good is an understatement. After eating a few hot wings, I did not have any idea if I were eating the hot or mild sauce because my mouth was burning and nose was running. I also didn't care, they both were good enough for it to not matter. They weren't prohibitively hot, so finishing all fourteen wings was no problem.

I suggest becoming a fan or someone who "likes" Wingredient on Facebook. Bryan makes a few batches of his wing sauce a year and sends them out to interested wing enthusiasts. Thank you Bryan Deats for the amazing sauce! I can see why you have won awards for your hard work. Delicious.

I also have to say thank you to everyone who has or is currently serving our country! Come home safe and Happy Memorial Day! The Wingmen salute you!

The Shack

The Shack

"Clams and Chaos"

1 Stony Hollow Road

(Route 25 A)

Centerport, NY 11721

631-754-8989

http://www.theshack.org/index.html

Map and Directions

The Shack is a local roadside eatery on Northern Blvd. in Centerport. It is a favorite in the area and, when open, is always packed. I say "when open" because it is a summer hangout. It opens in April and closes in early fall. As long as the weather is nice, it is open, but if it rains, don't expect to get food from The Shack, there is no indoor seating. It truly is a roadside shack with a kitchen. There are a lot of picnic tables and some counter seating so if you go in a group or alone, you will feel comfortable eating there.


The Shack was a biker bar 20-odd years ago, but was bought out and renamed. They went from burgers and apps to seafood, pasta, salads, soups and burgers and apps. You will still find lots of bikers stopping there for a meal, but The Shack caters to a much larger clientele nowadays. Being on the north shore of Long Island, The Shack brings together people from all socio-economic backgrounds for good food. I don't care who you are, good food is just that, good food.


Now for the wings. On the menu you can order, and I quote, "A Classic... Shack 'Buffalo Wings' with celery sticks and bleu cheese dressing," so I did just that. I also ordered some onion rings. They came out piping hot, and looked a bit different than normal wings. The Shack deep fries the wings naked, plates them (and by plates I mean puts them in paper trays) and then adds the hot sauce. They then garnish them with some fresh parsley sprinkled on top. The wings were crispy, very juicy on the inside and were pretty big. There were about 10 wings and a few stalks of celery to the order.

How did they taste? I personally prefer the wings to be completely coated in hot sauce. I want every ounce of the wing to be covered so that no matter where I grab the wing, my fingers will be sticky. At The Shack my fingers did not get all that sticky, which is a minus in my book. Also, I am pretty sure they use a generic hot sauce. This is only bad if it tastes bad, which it definitely did not, but making a "Shack" hot sauce would be a solid idea. I am sure they could come up with one, bottle it and sell it on the website. All that being said, they were pretty good wings. They were spicy, but did not kill your mouth, they were big enough to fill you up and cooked well and quickly. The onion rings were also quite good and they have a pretty extensive beer selection.

I really don't think you can miss at The Shack. The prices are a bit high ($9.95 for the order of about 10 wings), but it is the north shore of Long Island, so you have to expect the prices will be a bit higher. The staff was friendly, helpful and quick. All in all, this was a great Saturday afternoon and I can't wait to try their burgers! As I sat there, I saw a bunch come out and they looked pretty damn good. So if you are enjoying a nice scenic drive along the Long Island Sound on Route 25A and want a good bite to eat, The Shack is good place to do just that.

Chicken Holiday

Chicken Holiday
1203 Grand Avenue
Baldwin, NY 11510
516-505-0909
http://www.chickenholidaybaldw.com/index.htm
Maps and Directions

I am not quite as lucky as Jody is... he gets to walk through Manhattan, stare at the skyline, enjoy people watching, sit down at sidewalk cafes and find places to grab wings for lunch. I drive through Baldwin on the south shore of Long Island... not the prettiest area. There is nothing wrong with Baldwin, but it sure as hell does not compare to Manhattan. Jody... you lucky son of a gun.


As you head off Exit 20 South on the Southern State Parkway there is a small strip mall about a half a mile from the parkway on the east side. It has a good deli, decent chinese food (with surprisingly good sushi), decent pizza and a few other shops. There is also a fried chicken joint called Chicken Holiday. It is a franchise chicken place, but being individually owned and operated, they are free to change up the menu any way they see fit, the complete opposite of how McDonalds runs their franchises (McDonalds fries that you eat in NY taste the same as they do in Cali, London and Moscow. Quality control for the whole company and all of the franchises). I was anxious to see how they handled their buffalo wings.


I ran out for a late lunch and ordered 8 Buffalo Style Wings with a side of french fries and grabbed a seat at one of the two available tables. Chicken Holiday is not a very large restaurant and only has the 2 tables for dining in. I wanted to eat in and not rush back to work, so I was lucky enough to find the place empty. It was, as I said, a late lunch, so I am assuming the lunch rush was over. My food came out in about 10 minutes and I was a little surprised when I opened the Styrofoam container with my lunch.


I found 8 relatively small, not tiny, but small breaded and fried chicken wings. They came with two plastic cups; one with hot sauce and one with bleu cheese. I did not realize that "Buffalo Style Wings" means "Do-It-Yourself" at Chicken Holiday. But hey, what kind of Wingman would I be if I were afraid of a little work? Not very much of one, I dare say. So I dipped my wings in the hot sauce and then the bleu cheese and then ate them.


What did I think? Well, they were definitely forgettable as Buffalo Wings. The hot sauce had to have come out of a large economy sized plastic container and was not home-made. So think about taking your KFC and dipping it in Frank's Red Hot Sauce. Same concept. Not a bad concept, but not a true buffalo wing. As fried chicken wings, they were good. I love fried chicken and this place makes some damn good fried chicken.


When you get down to it, they were crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and piping hot when I started to eat them. The breading was very well made and they tasted delicious. Even the generic hot sauce was decent. All in all, a forgettable buffalo wing experience, but a very good chicken wing outing.


The intangibles: Price wise, Chicken Holiday is on the high side for wings. 8 wings for $6.75, 16 wings for $12.99, 24 wings for $19.49 and 48 wings for $38.99. Thats $.84 per wing for the small meal and about $.81 for a lot of fried chicken wings with a tub of hot sauce. So you seem to pay extra to do the work yourself. The staff were great, very friendly and eager to help. The place is small, but it is very clean and they have a television so people waiting for their to-go orders can watch as they wait.

So, you want to know the absolute worst thing about this place? It is their website! It the most annoying website ever. The chicken dance starts softly in the background and then progressively gets louder... luckily there is a stop button on the page. Other than that, is it just a very busy site, like someone took everything they know about moving .gifs and flash and just threw it on one page. Visit the restaurant, not the website.