Wing Nutz At the District

Earlier tonight my wife and I were lucky enough to get a baby-sitter and break away for dinner and a movie.  Our initial destination was Buffalo Wild Wings, but we went to The District Theater picked up our tickets and decided to stay in walking distance.  I should let you know that in the past month I have been slightly sleep deprived same as my wife with a newborn baby.  For some reason we have just been craving chicken wings.  

Moving On!

We entered through the side door and I didn't realize it wasn't the front door until I bumped into one of the waitresses.  I apologized for entering the wrong entrance and she was very friendly and said no problem.  I asked if we could be seated and she said "pick any seat you would like."  We were in a time crunch so we chose to sit at the bar.  We let her know before we sat down we need to make it to a movie and let her know the time constraints before ordering.  To which she replied "you have plenty of time enjoy!"

Side note, we bumped into a family friend and I bumped into an old friend while sitting there.  I never run into anyone anywhere so that was pretty cool.

The waiter came over and asked us if we wanted some waters.  As mentioned before we were on time constraint for a movie so we asked for a beer recommendation.  My wife went forward with the special $3, not sure if this is a regular thing but it seemed reasonable for a pint.  I went with the waiter's recommendation and it was $4.

Being in a hurry we let him know that we wanted to place our food order (20 wings) we knew we wanted traditional hot sauce but he recommended the lemon hotties anyway.  We agreed to try 4 lemon hotties and 16 traditional.

Yankees were playing the Angels on a large screen in front of the bar, the volume wasn't too loud so we enjoyed some nice conversation sipped on some beer and waited for the wings.

Our wings arrived with plenty of time to eat, the lemon hotties were definitely worth trying and the traditional was slightly hotter than we are used to but we had no problem finishing them.  I would say I like my wings more on the saucy side.  The taste was great on them but something tells me it might kick it up a notch if they sauced it up a bit more.

The two people I encountered here were accommodating and one of them made two recommendations for me that turned out well (beer & wing sauce).  I do have to give Wing Nuts some kudos for being a more personal environment.  We catch dinner and a movie most of the time we go on dates.  I would go here again and I would explore more of the menu.  I hope they have $3 beer specials regularly that is slightly more than a soda at most restaurants these days.

Thanks Wing Nutz for having us tonight and we may see you soon!

I've been here many times. The wings are good. I love that they are baked and still taste like real wings. They are more healthy (less calories), which helps if you regularly eat wings like I do. The Hog Wings are good too, but hit or miss. Sometimes they are tender and fall-off-the-bone, but other times they are tough. The boneless wings are legit. They recently expanded their beer selection, so now it's good, instead of sucktacular. I like the Buffalo Chips too, but sometimes they are soft (gross) and sometimes they are overdone (burnt tasting). Crispy is just right.

Some complaints: restaurant is not as clean as it could be, the service is inconsistent. Good at times, poor at others. It really depends on who you get. The nachos suck. The crowd can be a bit sketchy depending on the night, although it's never been a real problem. It would affect when I would bring kids though, e.g. not during a game/fight or too late.

I generally like the sauce selection, but there are several sauces that are simply combinations of other sauces, and those all start to taste same-y, e.g. Southern Hotties, Lemon Hotties, Southern Lemon Hotties. Seems like they use one base as the basis for many sauces. I'd like to see them branch out more. Jalepeno Honey BBQ is legit, so is Buffalo Hot and the Garlic one.

I love this restaurant!

I've been going to Wing Nutz fairly regularly since they first opened. Back before the expansion, when the place was half the size it is now. It's pretty much the same as it's always been. Even their inconsistencies remain consistent.

The wings are baked, not fried. Nine times out of ten they'll be every bit as good as fried wings, but once in a while they'll be a little soft. No biggie. The sauces are out of this world. Listen, I like the national wing chain north of this place as much as the next guy, but their sauces tasted like they were poured from the bottles they sell up front, while Wing Nutz' sauces taste homemade. I don't know if they are or not, but they taste like they are.

And they have some really creative sauce flavors. Chili Garlic is my favorite. Raspberry Chipotle and Mango Pom Habanero are close behind. Most of the people I know like the Caroline Mustard sauce the best. They have a curry one (I forget the name) that is pretty awesome too. Once in a while they even have limited-time sauces written on their specials board. I remember trying a pumpkin one a while back. It's efforts like this that make the place feel special, and not like another nationwide factory restaurant. I especially love that they'll kick up the heat level on any sauce. My favorite flavors happen to be mild, but I like my food hot, so this is great for me!

The Buffalo Chips are a nice change of pace from the typical fries you get elsewhere. I get them spicy. They're actually pretty amazing. My wife likes them with bleu cheese crumbles on them.

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the area, and I enjoy going often. Their rewards program is very liberal. We get $10 off coupons in the mail all the time and use them up quickly.

Now onto the things that bug me...

I mentioned inconsistency earlier. I'd say the most inconsistent thing in the place is the amount of sauce you get on your wings. Sometimes they're drenched, while other times they're barely drizzled. I've even ordered two different flavors and had them come out with vastly different amounts of sauce on each. Odd.

There's a communication gap somewhere. If you order a SIDE of Buffalo Chips, you will get them as an appetizer... Period. I've asked "can I get those with my meal instead of as an appetizer?", got a "yes" response, and still had them come out early. I've even gone so far as to ask "if I order these, can you promise me they'll come out with my meal, rather than as an appetizer?", received a "yes", and got them early. There's nothing wrong with appetizers, and these would make fine appetizers. The problem is that, while I'm trying to order wings with a side of Buffalo Chips, my wife orders a wrap that comes with Buffalo Chips. She's already getting some. If they bring mine out 10 minutes early, what am I supposed to do... Eat my MEAL before my wife has been served? Share them, then eat half of hers? It's just awkward when they do that., and they do it 90% of the time, regardless of what you ask for. Hamburger joints and steak houses have been serving potatoes with people's meals for decades... I'm not sure why they can't figure out how, despite my begging. Honestly, while I still go to Wing Nutz a lot, this issue alone has probably cut my number of visits in half.

A few other suggestions:

At a wing place, nobody should have to ask for wet naps. We just ate sauce-covered food with our hands.... We need them. Drop them off when you bring the check.

Basic condiments on the table would be nice. Salt, pepper and ketchup are all I need. Most restaurants do this... You can too.

My complaint section looks long, and I'm frustrated by those hiccups, but don't let that fool you. The food at Wing Nutz is tremendous. I have out-of-state friends that insist on going there every time they come to town, and I love going too. In fact, I think I'll go tomorrow, as I got hungry for some Chili Garlic wings just by writing this review.