Geno's Steaks!!!!

The place can be seen here: http://www.genosteaks.com/
Location: Philly, Pa

For those not in the know, this is one of the two most famous cheese steak places in Philly. This place isn't exactly a "motorcycle friendly" joint...it's more of a tourist type joint. Who cares though? :)

A friend of mine and I went on a motorcycle tour back in may, and ended up lost in Pennsylvania. Way off our route, and not knowing which direction to go, Jason said "Lets go to Philly for some real cheese steaks!". With me liking food as much as I do, who am I to say no? :D

We wake up the next morning, and drive something like 2.5 or so hours over to Philly. Let me say that I've never been to a BIG city. City traffic was an eye opening experience. Parking further opened my eyes. Once we got to Geno's I circled the block several times trying to find a spot, and finally one opened up directly in front of Geno's (curb side parking only).

When we got there, there was probably 60 - 80 people in front of us. I was thinking it was going to be ATLEAST an hour before we gave anyone our order. 15 to 20 minutes later, we were sitting down, eating our food! AWESOME!



The above makes my mouth water just looking at it. Geno's Steaks has the best damn cheese steaks I've EVER had in my life. You WILL NOT find one as good, anywhere outside of Philly. Period. It's not going to happen. If everything else about our 7 day sucked, the trip to Geno's would have made the entire trip worth while.

Now, normally a place like this you wouldn't really rate on service. It's a tourist, fast food joint. That said, with only having to wait 20 minutes (at most) for food, when ~70 people were ahead of us, the service was damn good. As good as the food itself. I'm rating this place a perfect 10. Nothing could have been better. The ONLY thing I wish were different about the place, is that I'd like for them to be about 500 miles closer to me. ;)

Wild Wing Cafe - Take 2!

Location: Briar Creek in Durham, NC

So after my last review on Wild Wing Cafe, I was told by several people that I was WRONG. The place simply could not suck, and they had some of the best wings around. Period.

I decided last Saturday that I'd give them one more shot. I HOPED the food was going to be good, but was expecting more of the same junk I got the first time.

This time, a couple friends of mine and I went on a Saturday afternoon. As soon as we walked in the door, we were seated, and within 5 minutes we had our drinks. MUCH better than last time!

We order our food and had it within about 10 minutes. Tony (one of the guys that came with me last time), Random (sorry, I forgot his real name), and I all ordered wings. I ordered the hottest wings they have (Braveheart), Random ordered 3 steps down from that (Chernobyl), and Tony ordered ...umm....I forgot what flavor he ordered. :)

Upon receiving them, all of us noted that they looked like they didn't have enough sauce on them, and it appeard the sauce was cooked on them. However, after eating one, I decided my wings had just the perfect amount of sauce on them. This time, the wings tasted GREAT! Not overcooked and the sauce wasn't burned onto them. Last time the wings simply tasted "HOT", with not much other flavor. I also noted last time, they were the hottest wings I've EVER had. This time however, they didn't seem as hot, and they had an awesome taste to them! Very suprised, and was definately glad I gave this place another shot!

Random seemed to come to the same conclusion as I. While his wings weren't as hot as mine, they still made him sweat. I'm pretty sure he thought the sauce was just right, cooked just right, etc. I got no complaints from him, and he was glad he tried them out (For the first time) as well.

Tony had a couple comments/minor complaints on the place. First was even after trying them, he wanted a little more sauce on them. This didn't seem to slow him down from eating them though, so I didn't take it as a major complaint. The second note he made was that Buffalo Wild Wings wings were "easier to eat". He further elaborated and said they were more "tender".

Overall, this place was nearly great. The service could have been a hair better, and the wings MAYBE could have used a touch more sauce. For the total experience, I'll rate this place a 9.1. A hair better than BWW... mainly because the service was better than BWW (I never ran out of drink). As of now, this place comes second to Quaker Steak and Lube for some awesome wings. I'll definately be going back soon.

Locked and Loaded

Location: Garner, NC

Locked and Loaded is a motorcycle specific sports bar/restaurant. Their menu is similar to that of Scooters Bar and Grill (Hamburgers, wings, misc. sandwiches, etc). Primarily a Harley joint, but like Scooters, I've always felt welcome.

Both times I visited the place, I ate a hamburger. Both times, the quality was the same, and food tasted the same. Their burgers are pretty good...not the best in the world, but not bad either.

They've got home made chips that they call "buffalo chips". They're thin sliced potatoes, deep fried, just like you'd expect a home made chip to be. After frying, they put buffalo wing sauce, and parmesan cheese on it, if you want. I tried them this way the first time, and they were terrible. Quite possibly, the worst thing to ever go in my mouth. Ugh. The second trip I made to the place, I got them plain. This was was MUCH better than with the other stuff on it.

Both times I went, I went with a group of my buddies. I didn't hear any complaints from them about the food.

Their service one time was average, and the next trip it was slightly above average. Good enough that I'd go back, but...

For some reason, I haven't went back in a while. It's probably been 3 months or so since I've been. Normally anytime I'm on that side of town, I want wings, so I go to BWW. If I'm in the mood for a burger, or similar, I go to Scooters. L&L is a pretty cool place, with average service, and decent food, but it just didn't leave a "I've gotta go back there!" kind of impression on me.

Overall I'd rate this place a 6 out of 10. Slightly above average, but nothing to write home about. Definately worth checking out though if you're in the area, and I'd probably eat there more if they were a little closer to me.

Five Guys...

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.

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.

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!

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.