wing review: my home

It took about 30 minutes to get my order, but they came out hot and juicy with a good amount of crispness. The staff was attentive, but not helpful. I had to help myself to the beer, but it was nice and cold. Sauce was very hot and burned my lips. They were only served with carrots. Ranch was a little too thick. I would get these again, but call in my order to speed it up.

I was able to talk to the chef and get the recipe:

Preheat oven to 400
Sprinkle cornmeal and garlic powder (Granulated California Garlic from Costco) on cookie tray
Cornmeal coat is very light and meant to help stop skin from sticking to tray
Spread 1.5 lbs of wings on cookie tray
Top with extra virgin olive oil top with garlic powder
Bake for 12 minutes
Flip and add more garlic powder
Bake for 15 more minutes
Add an ounce of "The Original Louisiana Hot Sauce" to bowl
Add ounce plus of Red Roster sauce to bowl
Add a few dashes of white vinegar
Add wings to bowl and cover with two more ounce of sauce
Top with another bowl and shake vigorously until all wings are coated
Serve with ranch dress, carrots and celery



I was watching Code Talkers while I ate. I was really surprised that the used old stock footage for the Navy gun scenes...

Wing Review: Hennessey's Tavern

What is it with the overpriced wings around this area of Mission?

So the menu claimed you get a 1 lbs of wings for ~$10. Turns out that a pound is 8 wings. The size was all over the map. I had one drum that was huge and juicy and another that was so small it was like jerky.

The flavor was good and it had a little burn to it. The came with lots of celery and the ranch just the right consistency to coat the wings. I would get these again, but maybe bring a scale to verify the weight.


Hennessey's Tavern
4650 Mission Blvd San Diego
(858) 483-8847

Wing Review: Ocean Pizzeria‎

This will be my last wing review this year and the results are not good.



Runny ranch
No veggies
Dry and tough like they were cooked in the microwave
No flavoring until side sauce is applied
Sauce was buttery and not tangy or spicy

There pizza is marginally better when it's fresh. Their sandwiches are a better bet.

Ocean Pizzeria‎
4150 Mission Blvd San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 581-9490
oceanspizzeria.com

Wing Review: Dirty Birds

I have stopped in once before for a beer while waiting to pick up some food from the Thai shop. The place wasn't crowded then either. I noticed then that there prices were high, but the bartender assured me they were the best.

So the Friday night the wife and I were trying to decided were to go eat. I mentioned that I wanted to give Dirty Birds a shot, but recalled their prices were high. After getting seated and looking at the menu, I said "Ok, let me see if I got this right... for $7 you get six wings? They better be some god damn good wings."

They weren't.

Here are my notes:
Runny ranch
Dry spiced Lemon Pepper was bland
Pricey

The bartender was very attentive and the beer was served in an iced mug. The wings took a while considering we were only two of seven people in the bar. I usually would try the buffalo style, but Alison was sharing so we compromised on Lemon Pepper. Although they were bigger in size, they reminded me of the wings at Boll Weevil. I wouldn't get these again, but will come back and try the buffalo when they have their half priced wings.




Dirty Birds
www.dirtybirdspb.com

4656 Mission Blvd
San Diego, CA 92109
(858) 274-2473

Wing Review: Wings n' things

We went downtown last night. The original goal was to meet up for a little boat party at the Hyatt. Long story short, there's more than one Hyatt near a marina in San Diego. Since Alison was meeting up with friends for a girls night and I was to drop her off, we went to have a drink at the Top of the Hyatt. As usually, we went to the wrong bank of elevators the first time, but we eventually made it up there. We had a great view of the midway.

I dropped her off at Sushi Deli on Broadway and was craving BBQ, so I headed over to Phil's BBQ. It was about 8 pm on a Saturday night, but I got a spot with out a problem. My hopes were high until I rounded the corner and saw the line. I've never eaten here before, just have had the food when someone else has picked it up. I'm not patient enough to wait in line, so I hoped back in the car and went to my backup plan: Wing's n' Things.

I haven't been here in years. I used to go more often when they had a shop in PB and even more often when I worked for Sharp near Convoy. The smell hit me as I walked in. I ordered 16 hot wings (I skipped the breadsticks) to go and sat down to wait patiently. That's when I noticed a sign in the next shopping area over "Wing Street". Oh, what have I missed? Then I saw it was a Pizza Hut, so I assumed I wasn't missing much.

I should have eaten then there for maximum freshness, but I wanted to head home first. Was I trying to tease Shelby? The smell filled the car and spilled out on to the streets as I motored home with the top down. First bite reminded me what a good traditional wing sauce tastes like nice and tangy. In the to-go container the are swimming in sauce, and this is a good thing. I can tell you I spent a little too much time in the sun yesterday as my chapped lips were quickly on fire. My nose started to run and my eyes teared up. Despite this, they weren't uncomfortably hot. No really, I mean it. I regret not getting a few bread sticks to soak up the extra sauce. Other than that, it was a great meal. Ranch was good and the celery carrots were cold, crunchy and fresh.


3445 MIDWAY DRIVE
SAN DIEGO, CA 92110
619-226-0185

Wings: Boll Weevil Restaurant

On a whim, we went to the new Boll Weevil Restaurant in Bird Rock. This spot used to be a swanky place that never seemed to have a crowd. It was funny to see how different it looked. We each had a couple of beers and split a burger and wings. I was surprised that the bill was nearly $40. This was mostly due to the pricey beers.

Out waitress warned us that the wings were spicy and a lot of people send them back because of this. We chalked that one up to the clientele, families with young kids. In fact, we skipped the main dinning room when we saw all the families. Nothing against families (I'm in one myself), but there was a nice big empty bar that was separated from the rest of the place by a wall. I bet a lot of people think the wings are like McD's nuggets.



Back to the wings, they came with fries and a buttery ranch dip. The fries were nice, crisp and hot. This was another place where there was no sauce applied after they were fried. They looked harmless, like nuggets, but they had a kick to them. They were really hot and tender, but tiny in size and not many were included. The fries had the job of filling you up.

With all the choices we do have around here, I don't think we would go back. The burger wasn't impressive, the ranch was too butter and there was no celery or carrots. Or server was nice, and got us to order before the kitchen closed (9:30!).

wing review: Luigi's At the Beach

We got a half dozen wings at Luigi's At the Beach last night. They were not very good unfortunately. The sauce was too strong with one spice (almost like too much cumin). They weren't too hot. They were really tender though. They just fell off the bone. We were able to fill up on some good pizza and beer.

Luigi's At the Beach - luigisatthebeach.com - (858) 488-2818