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*****
Two of my best friends from college got married this weekend, and we had the bachelor party for the groom Thursday. We went for laid back, going to the F1 Boston kart racing track in Quincy, which was a blast, followed that with lunch, then went climbing at Central Rock Gym in Watertown, and finally drinks and some food in Boston at Patron's Mexican Kitchen. Both F1 Boston and Central Rock were a blast, though I highly recommend you have some cold water on hand for the kart racing, as it is pretty easy to get overheated in there.
Lunch was at The Fat Cat Restaurant in Quincy, a superb little pub with some of the best bone-in chicken wings I have ever had. I went for a Philly Cheesesteak, which was well made, on pretty standard bread, but with roasted peppers, caramelized onions, smoked shiitake mushrooms, and both cheddar and mozzarella cheeses. The steak was perfect, still juicy and delicious, and the vegetables were spectacular. It also came with hand cut french fries, which were really good and insanely crisp, but which I did not end up having much of because I was so full from the sandwich and a few wings.
Those wings were really the key to the meal; we ordered 50 for the table, as three people were having them for their primary meal, and one other person and I were just having a couple each. The wings are big, but not gigantic, cooked perfectly so the skin was crispy and crunchy, but the meat did not seem overcooked or dry. The exterior held the sauces well, so it did not just slough off and leave just a small amount on the wing or drumstick, but instead coated them completely and evenly. Those sauces were the best part, and we picked three: XXX, Cajun, and Qcity. The XXX is a buffalo style, made with house-infused habanero vodka; it had far, far more flavor than any other sauce of an equivalent heat level that I have ever had, including the Mango Habanero from Buffalo Wild Wings, a personal favorite. The Cajun comes as either a sauce or a dry rub, and we went dry; it was good, a little spicy, but nothing super incredible. Qcity was my top choice, and it was also probably the simplest; essentially, it was just honey and pepper, and it was just absolutely awesome, with intense honey flavor without being overly sweet.
For dessert, I had bread pudding, which was served in a giant ramekin. Essentially just big pieces of bread with a slightly sweet sauce, but so, so much more in flavor. It also had a giant mound of delicious homemade whipped cream, which was closer to clotted cream than the stuff that comes in a can, both in flavor and texture. By this point, I was so stuffed that I could not finish the bread pudding, which was very disappointing considering how incredibly good it was.
Fat Cat had a couple good options on draught, including Belhaven Scottish Ale, which I love, and Berkshire Brewing Company's Steel Rail Extra Pale Ale. They also have a handful of interesting looking cocktails and alcoholic coffee drinks. They do their own infusing, including the aforementioned habanero vodka. Since Dan, the groom, is obsessed with insanely spicy things (the table gifts at the wedding were bottles of various hot sauces) we got him a shot, and the waitress (an awesome Irish lady) added a second on the house to congratulate him on getting married. We each tried a tiny bit, and as soon as I took a very tiny sip, I felt an incredible burning sensation in my mouth and began to hiccup instantly, a phenomenon that has never occurred before. I think Dan enjoyed the vodka, but if not, it was at the very least a very cool concept and it makes one hell of a wing sauce.
All in all, this was a really good meal, and pretty reasonably priced at under $130 for 50 wings, my sandwich (only $7, which was insane considering how much food there was and its quality), an order of fish and chips, four desserts, plus about a dozen drinks between the five of us. I highly recommend it.
*****
Not so long ago, Allston's Sunset Grill and Tap was topped by Big City, one of the greatest beer bars in the northeast, with about 130 taps, good food, and great ambiance. Sadly, it is now Patron's Mexican Kitchen, a mediocre bar with a couple mediocre pool tables and seriously lacking staff. Our waiter was acceptable at best, but the manager was a major asshole, making rude and snide comments about a couple members of our party to some employees who were playing pool next to us. We ordered wings again (they were also served the following night at the rehearsal dinner, and ordered at Amherst Brewing Company when we went out after that...Dan really likes wings), which were decent, but nothing special. I ordered nachos, and instead of nachos, we received the $7 bowl of multicolored chips; absolutely pathetic. The beer list has been cut tremendously, to only a couple dozen options on draught and a similar number in bottles. I do not know what the reason for this is, as downstairs still offers over 130 taps and 380 bottle varieties. All in all, this is no longer worth going to; just have drinks and food down at Sunset Grill and Tap. That said, we had a good time, but only because it was a great group of people.
Showing posts with label Buffalo Wings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Buffalo Wings. Show all posts
Sunday, June 1, 2014
Thursday, April 10, 2014
Kali B's Wings and Things (Turners Falls, Montague, MA)
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*****
In this area, all things wing related are judged against The Hangar Pub and Grill and their food arm, Wings Over, the rapidly growing franchise that originated in Amherst serving my fellow UMass alums. Famed for their boneless wings and dozens of sauces, it was a staple for us as college students and has remained so since graduating several years ago (albeit with some loss of quality of late, in my opinion). As such, anytime someone mentions that they had wings, the inevitable question is, "how did they compare to the Hangar?"
So, when Kali B's Wings and Things opened a restaurant in the former home of Ristorante DiPaolo in downtown Turners Falls, of course, everyone asked just that question. And incredibly, the resounding response was "they're better." That is high praise, and of course, it made me want to try the restaurant immediately; naturally, life got in the way of that, but I finally had the opportunity to try it the other day, dropping in for some wings and beer with my friend Jay.
The first thing I will say is, please, do not be put off by its location. Turners Falls is, to say the least, a broken village, but it will never get better without places like Kali B's; plus, with its private parking lot, you do not have to leave your car parked on the street or walk a ways down Avenue A to get to it (though I forgot about the lot, and did just that). Once you get near the restaurant, all you smell is the delicious odor of fried food. Inside, it is a nice set up, with a few seats at the bar, some small high tops (no more than two people can comfortably sit and eat at them, I would say), and a few booths in the main room, then several more tables and two large, comfortable looking semi-circular booths for larger parties. It is all very well lit, with some televisions in the main room that were tuned to the Red Sox post-game show, and while it does not have a dive-bar feel, it also is absolutely not going to be confused with being hoity-toity; I would say it is a perfect place for a family to have food or to go later in the evening for a drink and a snack, and everything in between. Clearly the owner/s did their hiring with the same basic criteria as the owner of The Hangar; young, pretty, and friendly, while also being competent...good mix for a sports bar type place.
Now, the important part; the food! Boneless wings are ordered by weight essentially, so Jay and I grabbed the "Over 1 lb" size, at a very reasonable $12 (same price as The Hangar; noticing a pattern here?), with their "hot" buffalo and honey mustard sauces, along with a large side of fried pickles. The wings were spectacular, giant white meat chunks of well cooked meat with a crispy breading that tasted delicious. While the buffalo sauce doused the three wings it was on, the honey mustard was less evenly coated, so there were parts of the chicken pieces that were not covered; I actually do not mind this, especially with a slightly sweet sauce like honey mustard, but it may not be everyone's favorite method. The sauces themselves were very good, with the buffalo sauce just a little spicy (neither Jay or I could figure out what their mild must be like, since this seemed very mild to both of us), but really flavorful, much better than most similar sauces that are all heat. This seemed very traditional, primarily just butter and a hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot, and it was delicious, among my favorite I've ever had. The honey mustard was fine, though it is a flavor that I think is a little played out, probably because I ate so much of it as an undergrad.
The fried pickles were huge, both the portion and the individual pieces, with thick slices of dill pickle coated in rather a large amount of batter. I really liked them, but I immediately regretted ordering the large, and we left nearly half of them uneaten as we were both stuffed and Jay didn't love them. The batter was relatively crunchy, they stayed very hot as the heat was trapped by the fried coating, and the pickles were sharp and crisp inside. I think a small order between two or three people would be fine, but the large was enough for at least four to six people.
So, it comes back to the question everyone must ask in this area: "how do the wings compare to The Hangar's?" Quite frankly, they do not. They are different, and not in a negative or a positive way; they are just different. I think to just grab a beer and some wings, I prefer Kali B's, but it will never replace The Hangar as the place where we gather to welcome back our friends when they return from Afghanistan, bid them farewell as they depart to start a new life (or just a summer) elsewhere, or congratulate them on a new job. It is just plain different. But, it is also highly recommended, and I hope it is just one of many new successful businesses in downtown Turners Falls.
*****
In this area, all things wing related are judged against The Hangar Pub and Grill and their food arm, Wings Over, the rapidly growing franchise that originated in Amherst serving my fellow UMass alums. Famed for their boneless wings and dozens of sauces, it was a staple for us as college students and has remained so since graduating several years ago (albeit with some loss of quality of late, in my opinion). As such, anytime someone mentions that they had wings, the inevitable question is, "how did they compare to the Hangar?"
So, when Kali B's Wings and Things opened a restaurant in the former home of Ristorante DiPaolo in downtown Turners Falls, of course, everyone asked just that question. And incredibly, the resounding response was "they're better." That is high praise, and of course, it made me want to try the restaurant immediately; naturally, life got in the way of that, but I finally had the opportunity to try it the other day, dropping in for some wings and beer with my friend Jay.
The first thing I will say is, please, do not be put off by its location. Turners Falls is, to say the least, a broken village, but it will never get better without places like Kali B's; plus, with its private parking lot, you do not have to leave your car parked on the street or walk a ways down Avenue A to get to it (though I forgot about the lot, and did just that). Once you get near the restaurant, all you smell is the delicious odor of fried food. Inside, it is a nice set up, with a few seats at the bar, some small high tops (no more than two people can comfortably sit and eat at them, I would say), and a few booths in the main room, then several more tables and two large, comfortable looking semi-circular booths for larger parties. It is all very well lit, with some televisions in the main room that were tuned to the Red Sox post-game show, and while it does not have a dive-bar feel, it also is absolutely not going to be confused with being hoity-toity; I would say it is a perfect place for a family to have food or to go later in the evening for a drink and a snack, and everything in between. Clearly the owner/s did their hiring with the same basic criteria as the owner of The Hangar; young, pretty, and friendly, while also being competent...good mix for a sports bar type place.
Now, the important part; the food! Boneless wings are ordered by weight essentially, so Jay and I grabbed the "Over 1 lb" size, at a very reasonable $12 (same price as The Hangar; noticing a pattern here?), with their "hot" buffalo and honey mustard sauces, along with a large side of fried pickles. The wings were spectacular, giant white meat chunks of well cooked meat with a crispy breading that tasted delicious. While the buffalo sauce doused the three wings it was on, the honey mustard was less evenly coated, so there were parts of the chicken pieces that were not covered; I actually do not mind this, especially with a slightly sweet sauce like honey mustard, but it may not be everyone's favorite method. The sauces themselves were very good, with the buffalo sauce just a little spicy (neither Jay or I could figure out what their mild must be like, since this seemed very mild to both of us), but really flavorful, much better than most similar sauces that are all heat. This seemed very traditional, primarily just butter and a hot sauce like Frank's Red Hot, and it was delicious, among my favorite I've ever had. The honey mustard was fine, though it is a flavor that I think is a little played out, probably because I ate so much of it as an undergrad.
The fried pickles were huge, both the portion and the individual pieces, with thick slices of dill pickle coated in rather a large amount of batter. I really liked them, but I immediately regretted ordering the large, and we left nearly half of them uneaten as we were both stuffed and Jay didn't love them. The batter was relatively crunchy, they stayed very hot as the heat was trapped by the fried coating, and the pickles were sharp and crisp inside. I think a small order between two or three people would be fine, but the large was enough for at least four to six people.
So, it comes back to the question everyone must ask in this area: "how do the wings compare to The Hangar's?" Quite frankly, they do not. They are different, and not in a negative or a positive way; they are just different. I think to just grab a beer and some wings, I prefer Kali B's, but it will never replace The Hangar as the place where we gather to welcome back our friends when they return from Afghanistan, bid them farewell as they depart to start a new life (or just a summer) elsewhere, or congratulate them on a new job. It is just plain different. But, it is also highly recommended, and I hope it is just one of many new successful businesses in downtown Turners Falls.
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