Sports Pub and Grill
It was a rainy day in Cleveland in November (what a rarity) when we say the
DOT sign for Wing House. We made a special trip in the middle of the afternoon
to conduct this review for our readers.
As we entered Wing House, we were impressed by the logo floor mats at the
entrance door. It turns out that Wing House is a local chain with four
locations in the Cleveland/Akron area. We approached the order window and
perused the menu. After not seeing any evidence of pasta salad, we placed an
order for 6 atomic wings and waited for our name to be called.
While waiting, we cased the joint. It was large, with seating for over 100
people (not a good sign) and a great number of TV’s. There were plenty of neon
beer signs to increase the ambiance points, and one of them wasn’t working for
that special touch we like. They have pool tables and video games galore.
Unfortunately, there is no non-smoking section – something that few wing joints
actually have, but we still long for this. There were a large number of beer
taps – 32 to be exact!!! Indoor-outdoor carpet surrounds the bar and dining
area. The whole place is nicely dimly lit
We continued to examine the extensive menu. The appetizer section is
impressive, as is the French Fries section with five different types of
freshly-prepared fries to choose from. We noticed the statement under Wings –
“We have the biggest & the best!” and we began to have some concerns about the
product we ordered. When we saw the ribs on the menu we realized that we were
probably in more trouble than we expected.
There is an unwritten rule about wing joints with BBQ – either the BBQ will
be bad or the wings will be bad – YOU CANNOT HAVE GREAT WINGS AND GREAT BBQ IN
THE SAME RESTAURANT. We have never seen an exception to this rule, and it would
prove in the end that Wing House was no exception.
They do have 16 different sauces – mild, medium, hot, ouch, atomic, bbq, bbq
hot, honey bbq, bbq jack, garlic, garlic hot, Cajun, honey mustard, kung fu,
California gold and garlic hot parmesan. 6 wings go for $3.95, 12 for $6.75, 24
for $11.90, 18 for $9.75 and 50 for $19.95. Celery and sauce will cost extra –
something we’ve always frowned on.
They also have rib and combo dinners, wild breasts, hamburgers, hot dogs,
subs and such, sandwiches, soups and 5 different salads (again, no pasta salad
thankfully), wild chili and pizza.
Our wing snack arrived in the traditional paper red & white food trays, and
they had covered the order with an empty tray for bones. When we lifted the lid
we thought we might have ordered turkey wings – they were just that big!!! BIG
means TOUGH, and these appendages were no exception. We just can’t get over the
general public’s stupidity about wanting extra-large wings to get “more for
their money.” These idiots are ruining the wing business. If you look at our
Wing Pyramid, you’ll see
Café Hot Wing 8 and
WingStop at the top of the heap, mainly because of their great sauces, but
also because they are able to maintain a medium-small tender wing.
These big, tough, chewy wings lacked any evidence of crispness. We ended up
just nibbling them around the edges because we suspected if we got too close to
the bone we would end up with raw chicken. They only cooked the wings for 10
minutes, and because of the size of the wing they just weren’t good.
The sauce was pretty, with pepper chunks visible, but it didn’t have an
“atomic” heat level. As a matter of fact, we were able to maintain our
composure with just a glass of water. The sauce was somewhat tasty and nice
looking, it just didn’t have the punch that we were expecting from an “atomic”
sauce.
Our research is complete, and our recommendation is to avoid Wing House like
the flu. Thank goodness we have dedicated researchers at
Wingazette® willing to risk life and limb to help protect you from
inferior products. Thank goodness for chains like
WingStop in the Cleveland area – so we can get the bad taste of Wing House
out of our mouths.