Tree's Wings & Ribs
Noted wing consumer Luis Barrios recently notified us of an establishment in
the Palm Beach area, Tree’s Wings & Ribs. Wingazette®
Magazine dispatched ace reporters Greg Scarlato and Hal Turner to investigate
and to file a full review.
Located just south of Forest Hill Boulevard at the corner of Purdy & Jog
Road, Tree’s would best be described as a "hole-in-the-wall"
establishment. Upon entering the restaurant, we found a nice assortment of video
machines in the dark, narrow corridor leading to the dining area. Ambiance
points were racking up as we found a Budweiser clock that wasn’t lit up. We
also discovered a TV set that wasn’t working – always a great way to boost
the score. A large "Welcome Race Fans" banner graced the wall above
the bar.
Our server for the evening, Sal, made us feel welcomed, and gave history
lessons about Tree’s. The location we visited is the only authentic Tree’s
restaurant remaining, although there is another restaurant with the same name
that pays royalties to Tree.
While perusing the menu, we found that you could get anything from a
six-piece order to an order of 5,000 wings!!! In fact, Sal informed us that it
was "not uncommon" for them to serve the 5,000 piece order. It sells
for $1,199.95, and they ask that you please call at least one day in advance.
We were pleased that the menu didn’t include any signs of pasta salad. The
menu has a great variety of items, from dolphin sandwiches to ribs. We didn’t
get to try the ribs, but we’re hoping that Tree’s will be a regular stop the
next time the Wingazette® Racing League is in
town. The wings are available in many different flavors to include mild, hot,
extra hot, cajun, honey dip, garlic and BBQ. We ordered the extra hot.
The wings arrived with a flourish of steam rising from the basket, along
with the celery and blue cheese. The sauce had a nice reddish-brown color and a
satiny finish. We did see one "mutant" wing in our batch, with an ugly
bone protruding from the flesh. Needless to say, we don’t eat the mutants.
We found the extra hot wings to have a good balance of flavor and heat.
Quality was very good, although the memory of the mutant wing caused a slight
reduction in points. Price-value was excellent, although still not in the Café
Hot Wing 8 range.
We told Sal that we were professional wing eaters, and asked if anything
hotter was available "off the menu". Sal said that they had only
served the recipe up about five times before, but they could do it for us. Sal
said he would take care of us, so we placed an order for six pieces. When these
wings arrived at the table, we knew we were in trouble. The fear-factor was
written all over these babies. One could easily see the pepper seeds and the
grainy appearance of the sauce laced with lots of cayenne pepper.
Hal delved into the capsaicin feast by grabbing a wing and using the speed
technique of consumption. Greg noticed the red line rising on Hal’s face, but
it was too late to do anything about it. Beads of perspiration began popping
out, and beverage consumption increased dramatically. Greg became nervous, as he
hadn’t tried the special recipe yet, and yet he could see the impact the one
wing had on Hal. Not wanting to be forever labeled as a wing wimp, he grabbed a
wing and downed it. Greg immediately began seeking the antidote, as Hal reminded
him that either milk fat or alcohol were the only acceptable solutions. Blue
cheese to the rescue!
The flavor was almost non-existent, since the searing heat quickly melted
down the taste buds. There was definitely an "insane" ingredient in
this mixture, some sort of spice extract that goes way beyond the pain barrier.
You could probably get the same effect from hitting your thumb very hard with a
hammer.
The next half-hour or so, the experienced wing eaters reveled in their wing
"high". Endorphins flowed freely in their systems, and laughter rang
through the air as they contemplated what the following morning would be like.
They both lamented the fact that they were living in motel rooms with no
provisions for putting the toilet paper in the freezer overnight. They tallied
up the ambiance points to the maximum, as Greg observed the smell of the
softball player who had just come straight from a game to the restaurant.
The final results:
Extra Hot:
Recipe: 8 of 10 points
Heat: 8 of 10 points
Quality: 5 of 7 points
Price/Value: 5 of 5 points
Ambiance: 10 of 10 points
Total: 36 of 42 Points
Molten Lava (off the menu)
Recipe: 2 of 10 points
Heat: 10 of 10 points
Quality: 5 of 7 points
Price/Value: 5 of 5 points
Ambiance: 10 of 10 points
Total: 32 of 42 Points