News

Wings make appetites soar

Hot stuff: Local eateries serve up wide variety of flavors and styles.

By Joe Soprano jsoprano@timesleader.com
Sports Editor

Everyone knows the origin of Buffalo-style chicken wings can be traced to the upstate New York city that gave them their name.

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Angie Kishbach, of Kingston, drives all the way to West Hazleton just for Bottlenecks’ wings.

Jonathan J. Juka/For The Times Leader

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But Buffalo has nothing on Northeastern Pennsylvania when it comes to the deep-fried barroom treat.

In bars, pubs and restaurants around NEPA, fans of wings can enjoy a wide variety of flavors and styles, from the traditional hot or mild to Teriyaki and everything in between.

What follows is list of what Times Leader staffers decided were the top five places for wings in the area.

No. 1

Bottlenecks

2 S. Broad St.

West Hazleton

Bottlenecks has everything you could want in a wing place. Reasonable prices, cold beer, friendly service and plenty of good TVs.

And, oh yeah, the wings are fantastic.

Bottlenecks also has some of the biggest wings we’ve ever seen. A half order of six wings is perfect for a quick snack while watching the game and a full order of 12 wings will satisfy even the hungriest of customers.

The thing that most caught our attention about Bottlenecks’ wings was that they had an ever-so-light breading on them. The breading made them the crispiest wings we’ve sampled without turning them into something that tasted as if they came from a fast food restaurant.

To keep their wings as crispy as possible, Bottlenecks serves the sauce on the side, but the wings also are available “tossed” in the sauce of your choosing, which was how we had them.

Bottlenecks offers 14 different styles of sauces. We enjoyed the hot, which seemed just about perfect. The sauce was just spicy enough to enjoy without becoming one of those barely able to stomach, over-the-top searingly hot sauces.

We’re overjoyed to hear that Bottlenecks is expected to soon open a shop in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Until then, though, we have no problem making the half-hour drive from Wilkes-Barre to West Hazleton for a little wing heaven.

No. 2

Pizza Perfect

16 Carverton Road

Trucksville

Its name may be Pizza Perfect, but as far as we are concerned, it could be called Wing Perfect.

The Back Mountain eatery finished a close second in our taste test, but in this competition there are no losers, only full stomachs.

To keep things fair, we sampled the hot wings, but we also added a side of french fries.

Thanks to the size of the wings (don’t let anyone fool you, size does matter here), the fries went largely unfinished.

But, much like at Bottlenecks, what caught our attention first about Pizza Perfect’s wings was the crispiness.

These babies crunched as if you were biting into a potato chip.

The sauce also seemed to be just perfect. Spicy enough to let you know you were having hot wings, but not too hot to make the wings unpalatable.

And while Pizza Perfect doesn’t have as large a selection of sauces as some restaurants (four to be exact), we’re not sure there’s a reason to order anything other than the hot wings.

We strongly recommend a trip out to the Back Mountain to enjoy a tasty order of wings. But be prepared to bring a hearty appetite.

No. 3

Windsor Inn

669 Washington Ave.

Jermyn

Step inside, grab a seat and take a menu off the wall.

Welcome to the Windsor Inn.

The Jermyn restaurant with a casual atmosphere has been a landmark for wing lovers since its opening in 1978 when founders Andy and the late Paul Whitiak perfected a recipe for the first hot wings outside of New York State.

In 1985, Windsor wings made their claim to fame official as they were named the world’s second-best hot wings behind the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. Cooked to perfection and drenched in sauce, their wings are served in multiples of 10. “Super hot” wings come with an extra kick and an extra charge of $1 an order.

Order a plate of garlic, barbecue or honey mustard wings for some variety.

No. 4

Kelly’s Pub and Eatery

1802 Cedar Ave.

Scranton

Kelly’s wings have long been a staple in the Electric City as evidenced by the crowd waiting to get into the restaurant the day we arrived.

Here’s a hint. If you are in a hurry, you might want to pick a day other than Wednesday as it gets quite crowded thanks to the bar’s 35-cent wing special.

But if you must go on Wednesday, the wings are well worth the wait.

As usual, we went with the hot and added a side order of fries.

While not as crispy as at Bottlenecks, the wings were more than crispy enough for our liking.

Kelly’s doesn’t offer a wide range of sauces, just hot BBQ, extra mild, mild, medium, hot and extra hot.

But the selection was fine. When we’re at Kelly’s, we will be having the hot wings.

No. 5

Happy Pizza

40 W. Main St.

Plymouth

As you can tell from the name, Happy Pizza is known more for pizza, but we think their wings are just fine, too.

In fact, we strongly suggest you stop into the pizza shop next time you are traveling down Route 11 and try them for yourself.

Once again, we sampled the hot, but a wide variety of styles are offered, including Cajun, mild and hooter to name a few.

We took the takeout route here, and by the time we got home, the wings were still piping hot and crispy.

The sauce seemed to find a safe spot between being spicy and not unbearably hot.

The wings were large enough that a dozen satisfied our hungry appetite.

If you choose to enjoy your wings at the restaurant, you will find it has all the charm you would expect in an old-fashioned pizza parlor.

The wings are reasonably priced for either six, a dozen or a bucket.

Honorable Mention

Banko’s Seafood, Plymouth Township: Although the restaurant is known more for seafood than wings, we highly recommend you try the Cajun style. They have just the right mix of spiciness and Cajun flavor to always be a treat.

Senunas’, Wilkes-Barre: When we asked what exactly the bar’s own S.0.S. sauce was, the bartender was not quite sure how to describe it. We are – darn good.

Donkey Cafe, Scranton: One of the Electric City’s hidden gems but well worth the trip for some great wings.

Whiskey Business, Wilkes-Barre: One of Wilkes-Barre’s more popular spots for wings features a wide variety of sauces. Our personal favorite – Old Bay.

To tell us your favorite wings, visit www.times leader.com

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