Grey Lodge

January 7th, 2011

Grey Lodge Pub
6235 Frankford Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19135
(215) 856-3591
www.greylodge.com

Let us just get one thing out of the way, we here at Wing Quest are huge fans of the Grey
Lodge. The fact that such an outstanding bar exists in Northeast Philadelphia, no offense (we’re
all NEasters too), borders on mind-boggling. Their constantly rotating draft selection is second
to none in the area and if you're ever curious as to what's on tap at any given time, just check their website. Craft beers, micro brews, domestics, bottles, cans, whatever you’re looking for, they have it. It’s a beer drinker’s bar through and through. Beer Advocate ranked it in the top 50 bars in the country. Order anything on the menu; we defy you not to enjoy it. From their award-winning French fries to their fish tacos; their mussels to their burgers, you cannot go wrong. And if you’ve never been to the Grey Lodge, we urge you to go, like now. Seriously, now. That being said, please understand that we all took our own overbearing nerd love of this establishment into consideration when we chose to make it our second destination. We tried to be as unbiased as possible and it should also be noted that for all the times we’ve been to the Grey Lodge, most of us had never even had their wings. So, with that out of the way, let’s get into it.

Going to the Grey Lodge on a Friday night, and most other bars for that matter, means
dealing with the crowds and fighting for real estate. Being a sizable bar equipped with both up
and downstairs dining areas, it’s hard to believe just how quickly the Grey Lodge fills up. Again,
just a testament to how awesome this place is. Finally, after much shifting around and waiting,
all the Questers managed to find seating and got right down to business. The Grey Lodge, on any
given day, offers three types of wings: Hot, BBQ, and Cajun. This night, however, we were
privy to two more tasty, yet ominous options on the “Specials” board; Atomic and Nuclear.
Normally such an amount of options would be overwhelming but, luckily for us, we came
prepared. Brought along as back up, we enlisted the help of some good friends and with enough
man power to take down the whole bar, we placed our orders.

First up were the Cajun wings. If you were to ask Tom why he’d ordered them, he
couldn’t tell you, but he wasn’t disappointed with his decision. The Cajun wings came with the
standard celery and bleu cheese, but instead of being drenched in sauce, they came to the table
smothered in a dry rub. The combination of spices that comprised the rub worked well together;
it was a mix of spicy and salty, but not too much of either. The side of bleu cheese was baffling
when paired with the Cajun wings since they didn’t particularly go well together. And while the
wings were tasty, Tom found himself wanted something more to go with his wings; a different
dipping sauce perhaps.

Nuclear wings are what greeted us next. These were served up to two of our lovely guest
judges, Katie and Ginger. Again, you got some celery, some bleu cheese, etc. The Nuclear
wings had a nice slow burn to them. You weren’t even aware that you were in their spicy grasp
until four or five wings in, and by that time, well, at least you can run to the soothing embrace of
your beer. Katie said the wings had a great "peppery" flavor, and while Ginger agreed, she also
thought the wings were a bit heavy on the vinegar. “Pickley”, I believe, is the word she used to
describe them.

The Nuclear Wings

Following the Nuclear wings were Nick’s BBQ and guest judge Jim’s Hot wings. Right
off the bat, something needs to be said for the Grey Lodge’s BBQ sauce. It’s phenomenal. It’s
made in house and has a great garlicky tang to it. Members of the Quest will generally put it on
anything they get at the Lodge because it’s so damn delicious. Anyway, back to the wings…
While Nick agrees that the BBQ sauce is “second to none”, the lack of enough sauce on the
wings left something to be desired. Jim had a similar experience with his Hot wings. He
thought that while the sauce was delicious, there just wasn’t enough of it on his wings. Overall
both agreed that the wings were crispy and tasty, but the sauce issue still left an impression.

Lastly, we had the Atomic wings, served to Sean and guest judge Chris. We should
clarify that the Atomic wings are billed as being hotter than the Nuclear, and since none of us are
scientists, we can’t really refute the logic. Made with chili, jalapeno, and habanero peppers, these
wings have a huge flavor and an equally huge spice. Warnings of “Don’t eat three in a row, you
will regret it” and “Left my tongue and lips aflame” were heard from our brave wing-eating soldiers,
though neither of them were complaining. And with a sauce that Sean touts as being “incredible”
and Chris as “outstanding”, these wings were the best reviewed of the night and come highly
recommended from all who partook of them.

The Atomic Wings

Finally, one more thing that we took note of in our judging of the wings at the Grey
Lodge was the price. Their menu doesn’t list the quantity of wings you’ll receive, but for $7 an
order, our baskets were filled with 10-14 wings each. We really don’t need to tell you what a
deal that is, and for the overall atmosphere of great beer and great food paired with friendly
service and a kick ass jukebox, you really can’t beat it. So while we all felt like they could be
more generous with their delicious sauces, everyone enjoyed their wing experience at the Grey

Lodge.

Wing - 7.9
Sauce - 7.9
Price - 8.3


Overall - 8.0




Review by Tom Kaericher