Quick Quest(s)

This week, while not too heavy on official WQ business, was definitely a record breaker on the Quick Quest front. On Friday, March 25 th , I went down to the Adobe Cafe on Passyunk in South Philly for a celebratory dinner/gathering. Generally regarded as a “Mexican” restaurant, Adobe Cafe received mixed reviews on the various sites I researched before heading down there, none of which made mention of their wings. What I learned from the reviews was that this is the type of place people either love or hate and after visiting the Adobe Cafe, I can see why. The place has only one real kind of wing, Texas Ranchero. They also offer Texas Ranchero Seitan (some vegan crap) wings, which whatever; I like vegan/vegetarian food, but I really don't understand how a vegan wing is supposed to work. Is there like a paper mache bone inside of the fake chicken goop? Whatever. Apparently, they were running a special on their wings that night for $.30 a wing, normally they’re $7 an order. Not really knowing what to expect from a “Texas Ranchero” wing, I just blindly ordered a shit ton of them cause I was hungry. The wings themselves are coated in a dark brown glaze and served with ranch dressing, which I guess explains the “ranchero” bit. One might get the impression from the brown glaze that they’d be in for some sort of BBQ sauce, but that's not necessarily the case. In fact, I’m not really sure what the hell I would describe the sauce as. It was a sticky glaze that had some semblance of sweetness but was instantly demolished by a surge of cayenne pepper which, if you know cayenne pepper, doesn't really have a taste, just a burn. So what you taste is pretty much nothing or maybe that's just what brown tastes like, I don’t know. And trying to save them by dipping them in ranch dressing is an even bigger mistake because just thinking about the combo of brown and ranch is making me sick to my stomach. The wings themselves were of moderate size, lots of crispy basket hangers and whatnot, but nothing resembling a saving grace could be found in these wings other than the $.30 price tag which, after eating the wings, even seems a bit steep. So overall I give these wings a rating of 3 because they were cheap, but unappetizing.

Saturday, March 26 th however, was a much better day to be me on a Quick Quest. I had stopped by the Great American Pub and Restaurant on Street road in Bensalem for a business meeting, and while I waited, I ordered some wings. The Great American has two kinds of wings, hot and BBQ. I ordered the hot wings, which at $7 or $8, I can’t remember, for twelve wings isn’t so bad. The hot sauce is totally a Frank’s and butter mix and is very lightly applied to the wings, almost as if the wings are coated in the sauce first, then baked. The wings are pretty large and really meaty. Served with bleu cheese and celery, these wings really hit the spot for me. I’m willing to go so far as to say that these could potentially be one of the better bar wings I’ve had, not as a contender in the official Quest, but if I was drunk and wanted wings, this is where I’d want to be. Overall, I’d give these wings a solid 7.

Reviews by Tom Kaericher

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Memphis Taproom

2331 East Cumberland Street
Philadelphia, PA 19125
(215) 425-4460

Aside from maintaining an already positive reputation for being a rad bar and restaurant in Philly, Memphis Taproom, located at 2331 E Cumberland St, has recently gained a lot of notoriety and publicity with the help of Mr. Guy Fieri on a little show called Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives.  The episode, which admittedly I have not seen, aired sometime in January if I’m not mistaken, and has since boosted the Taproom’s profile around town.  Memphis Taproom serves a wide variety of delicious food fares and has a great list of brews on rotation.  With so many good things floating around on their menu, it was hard to focus on our primary goal of just ordering wings, and while I managed to stay strong, others were seduced into straying from the path of wing righteousness, throwing in orders of fried pickles and pulled pork sandwiches.

The Memphis Taproom only offers one kind of wing, the Pilsner-brined Hot wings.  These fancy sounding wings are, as their name implies, brined in Pilser, fried, then tossed in their special blend of hot sauce.  The resulting wings are pretty impressive.  The wing quality was really good, maintaining a fair balance of crispy and juicy, though we encountered a number of wings with brittle bones that snap off in your mouth as you bite into them.  The sauce too was really good, a nice smoky flavor on top of the sting and burn.  Neither too tangy nor spicy, these wings had a good slow burn to them and you could definitely taste the pilsner brine if you got a wing that had extra sauce on it.  Thankfully this was not another Frank’s and butter mix, but rather a hot sauce that’s a couple notches better than Frank’s mixed with butter.  The real standout when it comes to the Memphis Taproom’s wings is the bleu cheese they serve with their wings.  Apparently homemade, this bleu cheese resonates with an awesome garlicky flavor and compliments the wings perfectly.  I’d imagine I could dip anything into that bleu cheese and have it come out tasting like magic.  Sean actually found the bleu cheese to be a bit of a turn off, while Nick and guest judge Graz really liked it.  As far as price is concerned, you can get ten wings for $8 or twenty for $15.  The price, when paired with the quality, makes sense and isn’t that bad at all. 

Pilsner-brined Hot Wings

With all relatively positive reviews, you’d think we’d be gushing about these wings, but the fact of the matter is that the wings, while good and filling, just didn’t stand out that much to us.  Definitely better than the average wing, we found ourselves getting bored with them after about five or six and with no other option than the Pilsner-brined Hot, there wasn’t anywhere else for our taste buds to turn to as far as the wings are concerned.  Though the bleu cheese makes a valiant effort to keep the wings fresh and exciting, it falls just short of doing so.  Overall, the wings were good bordering on very good, but just couldn't make it over the hump to greatness and I feel like with all the other menu options to choose from, next time I’m at Memphis Taproom, I’d most likely order something else.

Wing: 7.5

Sauce: 7.45

Price: 7.25

Overall: 7.4

Review by Tom Kaericher

Prohibition Taproom

Prohibition Taproom
501 N 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19123
(215) 238-1818

This week’s Quest saw our crew whittled down to just two of the three Wing Kings, Sean and myself (Tom), accompanied by repeat guest judges Mike (Fado) and Chris (Grey Lodge).  Luckily for us, the need to eat wings, drink beer, get drunk, make poop jokes, then later romanticize the whole affair on this blog, doesn’t require any great number of people.  Hell, I could do it by myself, but that probably wouldn't be as much fun and I’d probably be escorted out of any respectable establishment for drunkenly yelling poop jokes at myself.  Anyway, this week’s quest took place at one of my favorite bars in Philly, Prohibition Taproom.  Located at 501 N. 13^thStreet in Philadelphia, Prohibition is a cozy bar/restaurant serving up some of the best food and beer in the city.  The quality and selection from both the beer and food menus is incredible, and with ever rotating daily specials, there’s something for everyone.  And as far as wings go, Prohibition offers two different sauces for their wings; Hoisin BBQ and Hot Chile. Naturally we ordered both styles in mass quantities.

Hot Chile was up first, and I was greeted with a steaming plate of wings covered in a bright red sauce, speckled with (presumably) chile peppers.  The wings themselves are larger than average and really meaty.  Usually when wings are this big, they’re the weird genetically altered ones that are really fatty and leave you feeling ashamed of yourself for putting them in your body; not the case at Prohibition.  They were also really well cooked, ranking amongst the best of best on the Quest so far.  The Hot Chile sauce itself was great and packed a lot of flavor in each bite.  It had a solid citrusy base which lowered the sting of the peppers to a level that made eating them a hugely enjoyable experience.  They provided the burn you want in a Hot wing, but left out the aftermath of having your mouth on fire all night.  I didn’t need to eat the celery and bleu cheese that came with them, but I did anyway because this is America. 

Half-eaten Hot Chile

The Hoisin BBQ was next and pretty much took the table by storm.  Easily the favorite of the two, these Asian-inspired wings had everyone wanting more.  Glazed in what could best be described as a more sophisticated General Tso’s sauce and reminiscent of dim sum, the wings were topped with shaved scallions and black and white sesame seeds. Also, the wings were accompanied not by celery and bleu cheese, but by long slivers of daikon radish that complimented the Hoisin BBQ sauce quite well.  Everyone agreed that the Hoisin BBQ was a welcomed change up to the typical BBQ sauce.  We’ve had Thai-sesame wings and the like before, but Prohibition’s take on them was hands down the best we’ve had.  The sauce isn’t too sweet or spicy, nor too overpowering.  Prohibition managed to find the perfect balance when they created the Hoisin BBQ sauce, and when coupled with their well-cooked wings, it’s a tough wing to beat.

Hoisin BBQ

Our only complaint with the Prohibition Taproom’s wings was the price.  For $7 you can get six wings, or pay $13 for twelve.  Some people may have a difficult time justifying the price, (I’d gladly fork over the cash for more) but the fact of the matter is, these wings could be less expensive.  Don’t get me wrong, the quality is there, and the next time I’m at Prohibition you best believe I’m going to get more wings, but it does put a strain on the wallet for the quantity of wings you receive.  As a small side note to the price, every Sunday at Prohibition is BYOV (Bring Your Own Vinyl), where you can bring in any vinyl record you want and not only will they play it, you’ll also receive %20 off of your tab for the night.  So that's definitely something to consider if you want to defer some of the cost of their delicious food and drink.

Overall, Prohibition’s wings come highly recommended from all of us.  They rank in the top three on our list and if it weren’t for the price tag, they probably would’ve ranked even higher.  But if you’re really running low on cash, come in on a Sunday, bring a record, drink some tasty beers, get down on some of the best wings this city has to offer, and enjoy a %20 discount on everything.  Sundays probably don’t get any better than that.

Wing: 8.4

Sauce: 8.7

Price: 6.5

Overall: 7.9

Review by Tom Kaericher

Oh Bryon's Saloonery

While Oh Bryon’s was never suggested to us by anyone for having outstanding hot wings, it’s a place that we felt we needed to review.  For those who didn’t already know, Oh Bryon’s is the birthplace of Wing Quest.  It was here that Sean, Nick, and myself sat at a table one night, ordered wings, tasted said wings, and decided that it would be an awesome experience for all of us to go out and try to find the best hot wings in Philadelphia.  Perhaps more importantly, a year or so before that first unofficial quest was when Sean, Nick, and myself met for the first time at that very bar.  So Oh Bryon’s is not just another wing spot for us, it’s our bar.  We’ve all spent countless hours there, hanging out, drinking, and having some awesome times.  All of our friends go there, some even work there, and it’s because of that, this quest was one of great, if only sentimental, importance to all of us.  But if you’ve been keeping up with the Quest, you know that sentiment has zero bearing on our reviews and we went into this quest with no bias whatsoever.

Arriving at Oh Bryon’s, we all took our usual seats at the bar, greeted the regulars, and hassled our bartender gal pals Rachel and Caitlin before ordering our feast of wings.  According to the menu, there are two different sauces, Hot and BBQ, but apparently, as I learned that night, there are at least three more sauces/styles of wings to be had.  On top of the Hot and BBQ, there’s the Cajun, Garlic/Butter, and Old Bay.  Naturally, we ordered ten of each. Our wings arrived in a timely manner and we got down to doing what we do best.

Hot sauce

The Hot sauce was confirmed to be nothing more than a Frank’s and butter mix.  Now, we know that when we say, “just Frank’s and butter”, it sounds like we disapprove of that simple recipe and that's not the case.  We love Frank’s hot sauce and we love butter, who doesn’t?  When the two come together it’s like there’s a mildly fun party in my mouth and whilst everyone was invited, only a couple of my relatives showed up.  It’s a classic combo and you always know what you’re in for when you eat a Frank’s and butter hot wing.  The BBQ sauce, much like the Hot sauce, was of average quality.  Deemed a bit too sweet, the BBQ wings tasted like someone was a little heavy-handed with the brown sugar, though not to the point of being inedible.  The Cajun and Old Bay seasoned wings could be lumped together in one salty, dry rubbed category.  We didn’t dislike them, but we definitely don’t harvest a lot of joy from eating things that are comprised mainly of sodium. 

Look at all dem wings!

The Garlic/Butter wings were by far the most interesting of the wing selection.  These were drenched in an ocean of butter and topped with chopped garlic cloves.  Upon the first tasting, the wings had a really nice flavor, but as we ventured on, we noticed the wings had a really sweet flavor that eventually became too much for some of us to handle.  The sweetness of the wings, as hypothesized by Dan the karaoke man, is attributed to the fact that the bulk-sized jar of garlic has had a lot of time to sit and ferment, allowing the garlic to take on this sort of sweet flavor.  Perhaps some fresh garlic could revive these wings, though Sean seemed to really dig them as they were.

Garlic and Butter

The quality of the wings themselves was okay.  Oh Bryon’s bakes their wings first before throwing them into the fryer so they’re not a juicy as they could be, but they’re not that terribly dry either.  The wings are of average build and we didn't get any basket hangers or weird misshapen freak of nature wings.  The price of the wings is a bit of a downfall for Oh Bryon’s.  At $7.95 for ten, or $14.95 for twenty, the quality of the wings just isn’t enough to justify the price.  

Overall the wings were average; just some good old fashioned bar food.  But as stated before, the importance of this review is based more so on the fact that Oh Bryon’s is where all of this started and we felt the need to pay them this respect.  While the wings aren’t top notch, they were a lot better this time than they were the night we decided to start Wing Quest.  So, even though the wings are in need of improvement, we still like Oh Bryon’s and that's never going to change.  With its laid back atmosphere and friendly yet snarky bartenders, Oh Bryon’s is definitely a great place to go relax, have a beer, enjoy some good bar food, and more importantly, enjoy the good people and good times.     

Bosom Buddies Caitlin & Rachel

Bosom Buddies Sean & Tom

                                                                                          

Wing: 7

Sauce: 6

Price: 6

Overall: 6.3

Review by Tom Kaericher

Green Rock Tavern Quick Quest

For the next installment of Quick Quest, I, Sean, decided to indulge in some wingage at the Green Rock Tavern located at 2546 East Lehigh Avenue. The reason for my being at this bar wasn't for the wings. My friends band was playing a free show and I wanted to support my fellow musicians. Though I have been here many times and have enjoyed their food (fries and pierogies are incredible), I never had the wings. I decided today is the day!
The Green Rock offers only hot wings, priced at $8 for 10 wings.
I put in my order and about 15 minutes later, I received my wings with ample amounts of blue cheese (nice and thick) and a few pieces of lovely looking celery. The wings were good. There in lies the problem. They were just your average wing, which is why I had to give it an average score of 6. The chicken is cooked well but the skin was a bit soggy. The sogginess unfortunately was due to the sauce itself. The sauce seemed like a Franks and butter/vinegar mixture but was definitely watered down. When you picked up a wing, the sauce would just run right off it and right into the pool at the bottom of the plate.
While I wouldn't go out of my way to get the wings, I would eat them if placed in front of me. Maybe stick with the delicious burgers and pierogies if stopping by.


PS - I truly hate writing and that's why I leave it up to Tom!