The Best Wings in Philly

Address: 1415 Locust Street, Philadelphia, PA 19102
Website: www.locustrendezvous.com
Price: 10 Pieces for $7.50

Tracy’s Overall Review: I’ve been Googling around looking for places to add to our wing to-do list and Locust Rendezvous came up a few times. When we looked at their menu online they listed their wings as “Vous Buffalo Wings ***The Best!!!” With 3 exclamation marks Scott and I decided we had to try them.

When the wings came out I noticed they had the wingtips still on them. Not something that would cause them to lose points in general, but I, personally, don’t like the tips left on my wings. When I first tried them they were nice and crispy and they tasted good, but not great. As I continued to eat and the wings cooled (you can tell a good wing by their staying power) the sauce seemed to be lacking and there was something kinda gross about the wings. Scott and I came to this realization at the same time — the wings were slimy. Slimy isn’t good. They were fatty and it gave them that gross, slimy taste. I don’t want to totally trash these wings, overall they were decent, but the slime really tainted the whole experience.

Scott’s Overall Review: Locust Rendezvous really caught me off guard. The outside was little dodgy looking to me but once I walked inside I was pleasantly surprised. Inside the place looked very clean, low key and inviting. The wings seemed to be a highlight on the menu with other buffalo items like “buffalo fries” and “buffalo nachos” so I was eager with anticipation. The wings came out with a bowl on top to keep the wings warm and room for the bones. Unveiling the bowl gave a whiff to an inviting tangy smell. The wing themselves where medium in size had a nice taste and good sauce. The Celery was okay and the bleu cheese a little more mayo then bleu cheese. All in all I was pretty happy with the wings. As we got through the bowl though Tracy pointed out that the wings were getting a little slimier as time went on. The wings were good though and I did like the overall look and feel of the place and will definitely go back, maybe for the “buffalo nachos”.

Authenticity: The wings were prepared authentically.

Wing size: Medium to small.

Sauce: Decent, but lacking. Could have used more tang and spice. They only offer one variation of buffalo wing sauce.

Accouterments: It came with Celery and Bleu Cheese dressing. Some of the celery stalks were rubbery. The dressing was a little gelatinous and tasted eh.

Atmosphere: Locust Rendezvous was cute, clean and dark. It was like a bar in someone’s living room. Unpretentious and sports bar-esque, the decor was homey with wood-paneled walls. It was like a small-town bar in the middle of center city. The service was nice and they also offer other Buffalo appetizers.

Rating:

Address: 1116 Walnut St Philadelphia, PA 19107
Website: www.moriartyspub.com
Price: 8 to 10 Pieces for $8.99

Tracy’s Overall Review: These wings got off to a good start but quickly degenerated into a dry, salty pile of chicken arms. I don’t like having to dismember wings before I eat them. By the time I ate a couple wings the remaining were so dry they actually grossed me out so bad I couldn’t finish them.

Scott’s Overall Review: The atmosphere was nice. The place is very clean, has an extensive bar and nice people.
The wings?!? The wings are a little confusing. A little different at first glance since the wings aren’t cut. The first couple wings were really good, but something happened. Maybe there was a change in the earths gravitational pull, I don’t know. The wings were very crispy and the sauce  good but sparse. I think the goal here was to get a nice crispy no mess wing. They accomplished that but as time passed the wings dried out and were not as good. They could have been a contender. They just needed to give more sauce even if it was on the side. The worst part of the order had to be the bleu cheese. I am not even sure if its allowed to be called bleu cheese. The taste is reminiscent of mayo and rubber with barely any chunks of cheese. For a nice size order of wings there was also very little celery and carrots. All in all okay but the search continues…

Authenticity: First off they serve the wings whole (inedible wing tip and all) and unchopped. That’s not how they do ‘em in Buffalo. They seemed not to use any extraneous ingredients in the sauce.

Wing size: The sizes varied, but they averaged out to a decent size. The downside was the smaller wings got a little overcooked. They say you get 8 to 10 in an order. We got 9.

Sauce: The sauce was good when the wings first came out, but then within minutes it became this dry, salty, orange wing coating. It kept your fingers cleaner than usual, but it was pretty nasty. Also it only comes in one (pretty mild) variety.

Accouterments: Pretty lame. We got only 3 celery stalks and some carrot sticks. Also the “bleu cheese dressing” was just gross. It was like a cup of mayonaise with some bleu cheese crumbles in it.

Atmosphere: Quintessential Irish Pub, complete with Irish music playing nonstop on the speakers, a zillion beer mugs lining the walls and a giant Bufflao head behind the bar. It was super busy with the lunch crowd when we first got there, but by the time we got our wings (it took them 25 minutes) it was just us and the alcoholics. The waitress was super nice. This place is also the recipient of a few Philly “best wings” awards (although we’re not feelin’ it).

Rating: