Location: Raleigh, NC (It's a chain, so they're located everywhere)
...burgers and fries. It's not really a "motorcycle friendly" place, as in they don't have any kind of bike nights, bike signage, etc, inside the place. It's more of a family resturaunt, but several guys I know freqeunt the place on their bikes, so...
I kept hearing how good this place was through radio ads, and word of mouth, so I finally decided to try them out.
Supposedly this place has won a bunch of "best burger" awards....or so their signage in their place states. Their menu is pretty basic, as they only have hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and drinks. If you want something else, go somewhere else. ;)
So the wife and I visited the place, and ordered our food. First thing I noticed was the freaking price. Something like $23 for two burgers, two fries, and two drinks. A little pricey imo. Keep in mind this place is basically a fast food joint. You order your food, sit down, they call your number when the food is ready, and pick it up. They don't refill your drinks, bring the food to you, take your order from your table, etc....nothing.
So, 10 minutes later, we get our food. Acceptable wait time. We get our food, which came in a bag. Not even on a tray. Get the food out, make the spread on the table, and dig in.
First was the fries. When I first got them, I almost got excited! They look like the kind you'd make at home with fresh potatoes...and there was a LOT of them. Looked like enough fries to make a meal for two, without the burgers. Unfortunately, they sucked. I'm not sure if they were overcooked, or just really not fresh, and had some funky coating on them. Either way, they were far from great.
Then the burger. I've gotta say, it was pretty good, and fairly large. But, I have no idea how they won any kind of award with it. When I say it was good, that makes it average. Better than Mcdonalds, but worse than....well....anywhere else that charges the same price as this place for their burgers.
Overall, I rate this place a 5 out of 10. It's average. Barely above average burgers, and slightly below average fries, with an "acceptable" wait time for the food.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Scooters Bar and Grill...and Victory/Big Dog dealership.
Location: Raleigh, NC
Scooters is another place I've been frequenting lately. Usually Saturday for lunch, me and a couple buddies will head up there. It's a pretty cool place in that it's not just a bar and grill, but also a Big Dog motorcycle dealership and a Victory motorcycles dealership.
Just walking in the front door of the resturaunt, and ignoring the dealership part of it, it looks like your "typical biker bar". And generally speaking, the type of people you'll see in there are "Harley Bikers". Not really the type of place I'd expect to get good food from.
Also, despite it being your "typical Harley type bar", I've never felt anything but welcome at this place. I've never had ny problem out of the other "bikers", the waitresses, etc.
Well, since I first went there (several years ago), I was plesantly suprised. Not only is the food just "not bad", but it's actually GOOD! I've never been in there and had something that was terrible....or even, just "bad".
Normally, I get either a burger, or the Ribeye steak sandwich. Both are pretty awesome! I've tried their grilled chicken sandwich, and it isn't anything special, but not bad either. I've been probably 2 dozen times, and always recieved good to great service. All the times I've been, I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the food.
For the first time about a month ago, I finally tried their wings. I was expecting typical bar type wings, that had the typical vinegar taste, and were typically overcooked. Not so here! While the wings aren't as good as Buffalo Wild Wings, they're not bad! They had more vinegar taste than I really care for, and they were a hair overcooked, but they were still MUCH better than WWC, and probably right inline with Buffalo Brothers. Overall taste was actually better than Buff Bros, and were actually a hair warmer than BWW.
As for the dealership part of the place, it cool as well. The type of bikes they sell (cruisers and choppers) aren't typically what sparks my interest, but I like looking at, and sitting on, just about any kind of bike...even if they're not a bike I'd consider buying. The salesman in the place are more than willing to talk to me even if I do ride in their on a "Crotch rocket". They'll answer any question I have, let me sit on anything, etc. I'm treated better in this place than I am in some Jap bike dealers. Hah!
Overall, I give this place a 9 out of 10. The food is good, the service is great, and so is the atmosphere. And on top of the resturaunt, it's got a motorcycle dealership in the place. What more could you ask for? Slightly better wing sauce, and quality of wings would have landed them a 10, but that is really nit picking for a place that is otherwise awesome.
Scooters is another place I've been frequenting lately. Usually Saturday for lunch, me and a couple buddies will head up there. It's a pretty cool place in that it's not just a bar and grill, but also a Big Dog motorcycle dealership and a Victory motorcycles dealership.
Just walking in the front door of the resturaunt, and ignoring the dealership part of it, it looks like your "typical biker bar". And generally speaking, the type of people you'll see in there are "Harley Bikers". Not really the type of place I'd expect to get good food from.
Also, despite it being your "typical Harley type bar", I've never felt anything but welcome at this place. I've never had ny problem out of the other "bikers", the waitresses, etc.
Well, since I first went there (several years ago), I was plesantly suprised. Not only is the food just "not bad", but it's actually GOOD! I've never been in there and had something that was terrible....or even, just "bad".
Normally, I get either a burger, or the Ribeye steak sandwich. Both are pretty awesome! I've tried their grilled chicken sandwich, and it isn't anything special, but not bad either. I've been probably 2 dozen times, and always recieved good to great service. All the times I've been, I've never heard anyone say anything bad about the food.
For the first time about a month ago, I finally tried their wings. I was expecting typical bar type wings, that had the typical vinegar taste, and were typically overcooked. Not so here! While the wings aren't as good as Buffalo Wild Wings, they're not bad! They had more vinegar taste than I really care for, and they were a hair overcooked, but they were still MUCH better than WWC, and probably right inline with Buffalo Brothers. Overall taste was actually better than Buff Bros, and were actually a hair warmer than BWW.
As for the dealership part of the place, it cool as well. The type of bikes they sell (cruisers and choppers) aren't typically what sparks my interest, but I like looking at, and sitting on, just about any kind of bike...even if they're not a bike I'd consider buying. The salesman in the place are more than willing to talk to me even if I do ride in their on a "Crotch rocket". They'll answer any question I have, let me sit on anything, etc. I'm treated better in this place than I am in some Jap bike dealers. Hah!
Overall, I give this place a 9 out of 10. The food is good, the service is great, and so is the atmosphere. And on top of the resturaunt, it's got a motorcycle dealership in the place. What more could you ask for? Slightly better wing sauce, and quality of wings would have landed them a 10, but that is really nit picking for a place that is otherwise awesome.
Friday, December 14, 2007
Buffalo Brothers Pizza and Wings
Location: Raleigh, NC (Capitol Blvd)
BB's is a place I used to frequent a couple times a week. I still go there on occasion, just not for wings anymore.
This place is your typical Sports Bar & Resturaunt, that's a pretty family friendly place. They're pretty packed on friday nights, and normally play whatever "big game" is on. It's not just a wing joint, or just a pizza place. They've got a pretty good selection of food, and all of it is pretty good.
The food at this place is actually pretty good. I originally started going here for their wings, because at the time, they had the best wings in town....that I could find anyway. BWW's wings are better in taste, but overall quality is the same. More of a vinegar taste than I care for is the biggest complaint. They're hottest wings are warm, but eating a half dozen of them isn't any problem. They're probably the 3rd best wings I've had so far, so they're not terrible by any means...just not the best.
I've also had burgers and pizza at this place. Their burgers are pretty damn good. I'd say about a 7 out of 10. Their pizza is the best I've found in the area, short of REAL Italian Pizza (which is almost always the best). WORLDS better than any delivery pizza. This is usually what I get when I go here. If you haven't tried it, you should! ;)
The service here is USUALLY pretty good. When we stop in on the bikes, and it's blazing hot outside, they'll usually drop off a pitcher of whatever we're drinking at the table, and just refill the pitcher when we run out. We also usually are given the largest available table as well, so we've got plenty of room to put our jackets, helmets, etc. Every once in a while, we'll get a ding bat waitress that doesn't know wtf is going on, and our service will suffer...but these happenings are few and far between.
Overall, I'd rate this place about a 9 out of 10. It's convienient for me and most of my friends to meet at, the food is pretty good, good service, and they've always been friendly to me if I'm on my bike, or in the car. They'd get a 10 if they're wings were "only" as good as BWW's, but this gripe is minor. Don't let it stop you from trying them out!
BB's is a place I used to frequent a couple times a week. I still go there on occasion, just not for wings anymore.
This place is your typical Sports Bar & Resturaunt, that's a pretty family friendly place. They're pretty packed on friday nights, and normally play whatever "big game" is on. It's not just a wing joint, or just a pizza place. They've got a pretty good selection of food, and all of it is pretty good.
The food at this place is actually pretty good. I originally started going here for their wings, because at the time, they had the best wings in town....that I could find anyway. BWW's wings are better in taste, but overall quality is the same. More of a vinegar taste than I care for is the biggest complaint. They're hottest wings are warm, but eating a half dozen of them isn't any problem. They're probably the 3rd best wings I've had so far, so they're not terrible by any means...just not the best.
I've also had burgers and pizza at this place. Their burgers are pretty damn good. I'd say about a 7 out of 10. Their pizza is the best I've found in the area, short of REAL Italian Pizza (which is almost always the best). WORLDS better than any delivery pizza. This is usually what I get when I go here. If you haven't tried it, you should! ;)
The service here is USUALLY pretty good. When we stop in on the bikes, and it's blazing hot outside, they'll usually drop off a pitcher of whatever we're drinking at the table, and just refill the pitcher when we run out. We also usually are given the largest available table as well, so we've got plenty of room to put our jackets, helmets, etc. Every once in a while, we'll get a ding bat waitress that doesn't know wtf is going on, and our service will suffer...but these happenings are few and far between.
Overall, I'd rate this place about a 9 out of 10. It's convienient for me and most of my friends to meet at, the food is pretty good, good service, and they've always been friendly to me if I'm on my bike, or in the car. They'd get a 10 if they're wings were "only" as good as BWW's, but this gripe is minor. Don't let it stop you from trying them out!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Wild Wings Cafe - YUCK!
This is a new wing joint to the Durham area, that just opened up a few weeks ago. Since it was a new place, they were playing lots of radio ads. After hearing so many, I decided I'd give them a try, and I set my expectations high. What a let down.
Since the place was so new, I think everyone in North Carolina decided to show up. We got there, and had to wait 45 minutes. Not a big deal, as I somewhat expected a wait.
We sit, order our food and drinks, and wait...and wait....and wait. FINALLY, over 30 minutes later, we get our food....or some of it anyway. While they were on their way delivering, they dropped (as in, on the floor), half the order. Ten to fifteen minutes later, I finally had ALL of my order.
As usual, I ordered (the hottest) wings. One of my buddies ordered a burger, another ordered wings, and my wife got the Terriaki chicken platter.
The two of us that got wings, hated them. Chicken was dry, maybe a hair overcooked, and just plain not good. The other guy that got wings, said there was just a dusting of sauce on them. Barely enough to even taste. He then dips them in blue cheese dressing to give them some sort of flavor, only to find out that was crap as well. The sauce on my wings, well, there wasn't enough...or more like, it was just dry. What sauce WAS on my wings, was not the tastiest of sauces I've had. BWW and QS&L both have a better taste BY FAR. The one thing I can say about the WWC HOT wing sauce is that it is the absolute, without a doubt, the hottest sauce I've ever had in my life. Had the actual taste, quality, etc, been better, it would have been GREAT....but not a chance.
I think this place had the worst wings that I've ever had in my life. I've had wings that were more overcooked, or drier, or had a worse taste, but never everything all combined on one wing.
The burger that the third guy got, he said was pretty good. Didn't get any more info out of him that that.
My wife said her food was good!
I got a desert as well...Chocolate cake with hot fudge on it. It was "ok". No more, no less...just ok. The wife thought the same.
The setting of the place, I didn't care for. They had a band in there when we got there (at 7), but when we left, they still hadn't played anything (at almost 10). They did manage to strum their guitars, but no music came out. The entire place was extremely L O U D. Not like most sports bars are, but MUCH louder. Almost like it's a club....with crappy food....and music. I didn't care for it at all.
Overall, this place gets a 5 out of 10. I didn't die from eating the food, and two of the people liked it. It was to loud tho, with crap for food (wings anyway....this IS a wing joint afterall), and a band that didn't know how to play music, but managed to be "loud". If in 6 months (when the novelty of the place has worn off) I happen to be in the area, and just so happen to be hungry, and everything else is closed down except them, I MIGHT try them out again....maybe. Don't hold your breath for a new review on them.
Since the place was so new, I think everyone in North Carolina decided to show up. We got there, and had to wait 45 minutes. Not a big deal, as I somewhat expected a wait.
We sit, order our food and drinks, and wait...and wait....and wait. FINALLY, over 30 minutes later, we get our food....or some of it anyway. While they were on their way delivering, they dropped (as in, on the floor), half the order. Ten to fifteen minutes later, I finally had ALL of my order.
As usual, I ordered (the hottest) wings. One of my buddies ordered a burger, another ordered wings, and my wife got the Terriaki chicken platter.
The two of us that got wings, hated them. Chicken was dry, maybe a hair overcooked, and just plain not good. The other guy that got wings, said there was just a dusting of sauce on them. Barely enough to even taste. He then dips them in blue cheese dressing to give them some sort of flavor, only to find out that was crap as well. The sauce on my wings, well, there wasn't enough...or more like, it was just dry. What sauce WAS on my wings, was not the tastiest of sauces I've had. BWW and QS&L both have a better taste BY FAR. The one thing I can say about the WWC HOT wing sauce is that it is the absolute, without a doubt, the hottest sauce I've ever had in my life. Had the actual taste, quality, etc, been better, it would have been GREAT....but not a chance.
I think this place had the worst wings that I've ever had in my life. I've had wings that were more overcooked, or drier, or had a worse taste, but never everything all combined on one wing.
The burger that the third guy got, he said was pretty good. Didn't get any more info out of him that that.
My wife said her food was good!
I got a desert as well...Chocolate cake with hot fudge on it. It was "ok". No more, no less...just ok. The wife thought the same.
The setting of the place, I didn't care for. They had a band in there when we got there (at 7), but when we left, they still hadn't played anything (at almost 10). They did manage to strum their guitars, but no music came out. The entire place was extremely L O U D. Not like most sports bars are, but MUCH louder. Almost like it's a club....with crappy food....and music. I didn't care for it at all.
Overall, this place gets a 5 out of 10. I didn't die from eating the food, and two of the people liked it. It was to loud tho, with crap for food (wings anyway....this IS a wing joint afterall), and a band that didn't know how to play music, but managed to be "loud". If in 6 months (when the novelty of the place has worn off) I happen to be in the area, and just so happen to be hungry, and everything else is closed down except them, I MIGHT try them out again....maybe. Don't hold your breath for a new review on them.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Buffalo Wild Wings
This is a place I usually eat at every, or every other week. It's the best wing joint I've found that isn't 2.5 hours away.
This place has the second best wings I've had as of yet (2nd to QS&L of course). Wings are great! Very meaty, not over cooked, and while they have a slight vinegar taste, it's no where near being over powering.
As with any other place, I usually order the hottest wings they have, but have also tried their second hottest. Both sauces were good. The hottest wings are pretty warm. 5 of them is about all I can handle without needing a stomach pump. ;) Not the hottest I've had, but not to far off either.
Second hottest wings aren't nearly as warm. Anyone that likes hot wings should be able to handle these with no problem. A hair more vinegar taste than the hottest, but again, not over powering with it.
Unlike QS&L that has "other food" but also has GREAT wings, this place has good wings, and then "other food". Meaning wings is their primary type food. They've also got burgers, sandwhiches, and other similar food, but the wings is what everyone goes there for.
I've never eaten their "other food", but pretty much everyone I've gone with does. They all say the food is pretty good (but I don't think I've ever heard it called "Awesome!"). I have tried their deserts (I had a piece of cake with ice cream), and it was great!
The one thing I don't care for there is their fries. They don't have regular, plain jane, fries....or even regular thick cut fries. They've got "potatoe wedges" and "buffalo chips". The wedges are ok, but nothing spectacular. Add cheese if you want, but it doesn't really improve them. Then they have their buffalo chips. The name makes it sound like they're going to be super awesome tasty, but their not. Their just sliced up potatoes that are fried. For some reason, being shaped different than a fry, makes them taste different than a fry...or maybe it's that they're just to soggy for my liking. Whatever the case, this is pretty much my only real complaint....and a minor one at that.
The service at this place is hit and miss. One day, their on top of their game. The next, it takes 30 minutes to get a refill. Overall, I guess it's average, or just below. Good enough where I keep coming back, and don't get pissed at them...
Overall, I give this place a 8 out of 10. The service could be a little better, the sauce could be a little better, and the fries could be a little better. The thing that keeps me from scoring them a 7 out of 10 (instead of 8 as I did), is that they have up front motorcycle ONLY parking, with curbs that prevent cars from pulling in the spaces. I think the bike specific spaces are closer than the handicap spaces. :D
This place has the second best wings I've had as of yet (2nd to QS&L of course). Wings are great! Very meaty, not over cooked, and while they have a slight vinegar taste, it's no where near being over powering.
As with any other place, I usually order the hottest wings they have, but have also tried their second hottest. Both sauces were good. The hottest wings are pretty warm. 5 of them is about all I can handle without needing a stomach pump. ;) Not the hottest I've had, but not to far off either.
Second hottest wings aren't nearly as warm. Anyone that likes hot wings should be able to handle these with no problem. A hair more vinegar taste than the hottest, but again, not over powering with it.
Unlike QS&L that has "other food" but also has GREAT wings, this place has good wings, and then "other food". Meaning wings is their primary type food. They've also got burgers, sandwhiches, and other similar food, but the wings is what everyone goes there for.
I've never eaten their "other food", but pretty much everyone I've gone with does. They all say the food is pretty good (but I don't think I've ever heard it called "Awesome!"). I have tried their deserts (I had a piece of cake with ice cream), and it was great!
The one thing I don't care for there is their fries. They don't have regular, plain jane, fries....or even regular thick cut fries. They've got "potatoe wedges" and "buffalo chips". The wedges are ok, but nothing spectacular. Add cheese if you want, but it doesn't really improve them. Then they have their buffalo chips. The name makes it sound like they're going to be super awesome tasty, but their not. Their just sliced up potatoes that are fried. For some reason, being shaped different than a fry, makes them taste different than a fry...or maybe it's that they're just to soggy for my liking. Whatever the case, this is pretty much my only real complaint....and a minor one at that.
The service at this place is hit and miss. One day, their on top of their game. The next, it takes 30 minutes to get a refill. Overall, I guess it's average, or just below. Good enough where I keep coming back, and don't get pissed at them...
Overall, I give this place a 8 out of 10. The service could be a little better, the sauce could be a little better, and the fries could be a little better. The thing that keeps me from scoring them a 7 out of 10 (instead of 8 as I did), is that they have up front motorcycle ONLY parking, with curbs that prevent cars from pulling in the spaces. I think the bike specific spaces are closer than the handicap spaces. :D
Friday, December 7, 2007
Quaker Steak and Lube
From here on, known as QS&L. So far, this is the absolute best place for wings I've found, and what all other wing joints (and resturaunts/sports bars in general) will be measured by.
This is a pretty cool resturaunt that I stumbled onto about 6 or 7 years ago. On the outside, it looks like a automotive garage. Usually, there's a car parked out front by the faux gas pump, and on some days, there's a pretty big crowd. Inside the place, there's old bikes, bike parts, etc, hanging from the ceiling and walls. Very cool!
Their wings are hands down, the absolute best wings around....Period. They're meatier than most places. To many times have I went to a wing joint, and it looks like the wings came off a starving Etheopian chicken. Not here!
The sauce is pretty damn good as well. For the record, I like HOT wings. The kind that really make you sweat. When ever I go into a wing place, I always order whatever the hottest they have is. I realize not everyone is like this, and I've always got someone with me that doesn't like them nearly as hot. With that said, all of us that went liked the sauce. They weren't your typical vinegar based sauces like a lot of so called "wing joints" are (like Hooters has....ugh). In general, the sauces were "tasty". No idea how to describe it other than that. Hah. This place also has the second hottest sauce I've ever had in my life. They call it "Atomic Sauce", and for good reason. Borderline to hot. Four wings is about all I can eat of these. If you order these, they'll make you sign a waiver, and give you a free bumper sticket. I'm not sure if the waiver is more for the "Fun of it", or because some have actually complained about it being to hot (wouldn't surprise me). Either way, I got a laugh out of it.
I've also eaten other things from this place. Their burgers, cheese fries, steaks, everything, are all excellent. I haven't had anything that I didn't like there.
As I said in the beginning, there are no sports bars or wing joints any better than QS&L. This place gets a 10 out of 10 rating. I'll gladly ride the 2.5 hours to get there for their food!
This is a pretty cool resturaunt that I stumbled onto about 6 or 7 years ago. On the outside, it looks like a automotive garage. Usually, there's a car parked out front by the faux gas pump, and on some days, there's a pretty big crowd. Inside the place, there's old bikes, bike parts, etc, hanging from the ceiling and walls. Very cool!
Their wings are hands down, the absolute best wings around....Period. They're meatier than most places. To many times have I went to a wing joint, and it looks like the wings came off a starving Etheopian chicken. Not here!
The sauce is pretty damn good as well. For the record, I like HOT wings. The kind that really make you sweat. When ever I go into a wing place, I always order whatever the hottest they have is. I realize not everyone is like this, and I've always got someone with me that doesn't like them nearly as hot. With that said, all of us that went liked the sauce. They weren't your typical vinegar based sauces like a lot of so called "wing joints" are (like Hooters has....ugh). In general, the sauces were "tasty". No idea how to describe it other than that. Hah. This place also has the second hottest sauce I've ever had in my life. They call it "Atomic Sauce", and for good reason. Borderline to hot. Four wings is about all I can eat of these. If you order these, they'll make you sign a waiver, and give you a free bumper sticket. I'm not sure if the waiver is more for the "Fun of it", or because some have actually complained about it being to hot (wouldn't surprise me). Either way, I got a laugh out of it.
I've also eaten other things from this place. Their burgers, cheese fries, steaks, everything, are all excellent. I haven't had anything that I didn't like there.
As I said in the beginning, there are no sports bars or wing joints any better than QS&L. This place gets a 10 out of 10 rating. I'll gladly ride the 2.5 hours to get there for their food!
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