Currans Irish Inn, located on 6900 State road in the Tacony section of Philadelphia, is one of those places that you always see, most likely from driving south on I-95, and think about going to, but never get around to actually going there. I had only been there once in my 25 years of existing in the Northeast and had a fairly awful experience, what with all the regulars staring daggers at my friends and I, and being served the nastiest Guinness draught of my life. So we were all a little surprised when it showed up numerous times on the list of suggestions from fellow wing eaters. We had heard such great things about their generally middle-aged clientele as well as their awesomely overpriced cover bands, but the praise for their wings was so outstanding we had to go check them out. And indeed we did.
For starters, Currans has a pretty impressive list of wing flavors. There’s Hot, Mild, Medium, Cajun, Garlic, Plain, and BBQ. So, with seven different styles/sauces, we were all pretty stoked on the things to come. Currans, in their infinite wisdom, also offers the option to try out three different sauces in one 15 wing order, for a separate fee of course. But, regardless of the extra charge, we appreciate this kind of thoughtfulness since they have so many sauces to choose from. Altogether we ordered the Hot, Cajun, Garlic, and BBQ, respectively. While we waited for our orders to arrive, we had the pleasure of watching some basketball game that nobody cared about, playing on about fifty different televisions. Our orders came out fairly quick, thank God, and we dug right in.
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| Right to left: Garlic, Hot, Cajun |
First up, were the Garlic wings, though to be more specific, these were more like Butter Garlic Parmesan wings, and that's not a complaint. The Garlic wings were glazed lightly with a garlic butter sauce and topped with parmesan cheese crumbly bits. They had a nice flavor, though the BGP combo was really salty and dried out our mouths quite a bit (which is pretty much how the rest of the wings went). Next were the Cajun wings; they were coated in a typical dry rub of Cajun spices, though they mainly just tasted like black pepper wings that left our mouths dry, again. Enter the Hot wings; nothing fancy, slathered in Franks, butter, and apparently a shit ton of vinegar because that's all we could taste, slight expected burn, etc. Oh yeah, they dried out our mouths too. Finally we had the BBQ wings, and these were the most surprising of them all, not because they were so delicious, but because they tasted like candy. The BBQ formula that Currans uses (educated guess) is as follows: one part hickory BBQ sauce and five parts brown sugar. They were just too sweet to be enjoyable on any serious level, but did not leave our mouths dry (win?).
Now, when we rate the price of an establishment’s wings, we don’t do it right away like, “oh, these are too expensive…”, we wait until after we’ve eaten. A place could have wings that dirt cheap, but if they taste like garbage the cost doesn't mean shit, and the same goes for expensive wings. We would gladly pay exuberant prices if we knew we were getting the best of the best, ya dig? Currans’ wing prices were too high for the product that they’re selling. Ten wings for $7.95 or if you want to do the three sauce sampler, you’re looking at 15 wings for $12.95. And while we have paid eight bucks for wings before, Currans’ wings just aren’t worth it. Not to mention the fact that they really skimp on the celery and bleu cheese. If you run out of either and find yourself wanting more, you’re looking at an extra $.50 per celery or bleu cheese (retarded). That kind of price gouging is something that we here at Wing Quest don’t take kindly to.
The one saving grace of the Wing Quest Currans experience was their wing quality. While it was nothing spectacular, the wings were cooked really well. They’re super crispy on the outside and really juicy on the inside, possibly to compensate for how salty and mouth-drying their sauces are. The wings are also a fair size, and none of us had any that were overcooked or bottom of the basket.
So, if salty, overpriced wings are something you’re into, Currans is the place to be. While they’re wing quality is okay, their sauces and prices were not. We were all sort of disappointed with how our trip to Currans wound up since so many people pointed us in its direction. Maybe if they ever decide to lower their prices or lay off the sodium we would be willing to give them another shot, but until that happens, we won’t be returning to Currans for their wings. The cover bands and cougars however… that's a different story.
Wing: 7.2
Sauce: 5.7
Price: 4.8
Overall: 5.9
