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