ON THE WINGS OF LOVE
September 17, 2014
THE HUNGER JAMES OFFICIAL RATING:
For anyone who knows me, you know how much I love a good deal. Whether it is the 5$ movie bin at Walmart or a bogo special on a pair of kicks from PayLess, I am a happy camper. Maybe this is why I love when bars have .25 cent wing nights (or, I just really like chicken wings, whichever).
Whenever I moved to Astoria, my friends in the area told me that I needed to go to Dillingers, an Irish pub type place that has quarter wings on Tuesday. I am actually pretty disappointed in myself that I have lived in Astoria for over three months and I just made my first appearance there last night.
But it was worth the wait.
My fellow foodie friend Rachel trekked all the way to Queens from her East Village walkup to accompany me to this new spot. Over the course of my time in NYC, I have been to many a wing night, from Thunder Jacksons on Mondays to Turtle Bay on Wednesdays, this city is definitely not lacking in places to get your wing fix. But, having one a few blocks away from your apartment changes everything.
We walked into the bar, not knowing what to expect. We saw a packed bar with no available seats and four high tops full of people enjoying beer and spicy chicken wings. One of the tables was empty with a “Reserved” sign sitting on top. People really take this wing night seriously.
“Is this it?” I said, looking around. There were only four tables and all of the people were just beginning to eat. “I don’t want to wait thirty minutes for chicken wings.” Even I couldn’t believe I uttered those words. I guess I say crazy things when I’m starving.
The bartender/busboy/ hostess told us that they had a table in the back on the patio if we wouldn’t mind sitting outside. The weather is cooling down a bit and this may be the last week New Yorkers will have the chance to eat a meal al fresco, so we concluded that we would take the table outside and just throw on a jacket if we got chilly.
Now, usually when there is a wing night, there is also a beer special, and Dillinger’s was on top of their game. They had a beer pitcher special coinciding with the chicken wings, where any draft beer pitcher was 11$. “We’ll take two pitchers of Coors Light, please.”
When the beer reached our table, we were ready to order. Rachel ordered 10 wings in the medium buffalo sauce while I ordered 20 in the mild. When in Rome, right? Now, I know that 20 wings seems a little abundant and daunting, but I was so hungry and I have a really bad gauge of how much food I should (could) eat, so 20 was the lucky number.
The wings appeared before I could even finish a glass of beer, and they looked amazing. Most times you go to a wing night and the wings are so
small, with maybe one or two bites of chicken on each. Not these ones! They were plump and juicy and so heavenly fried. I powered through the first 15 like a champ. The remaining 5 were a little harder to get down, but don’t worry, as soon as I got my fourth side of Blue Cheese, I finished them off.
When we were all done, we asked for the check, knowing there was a tray of cupcakes waiting for us at my apartment. Aside from the beer and the meal itself, the best part about these wing nights are the prices. Between Rachel and I, we had 30 wings which cost us a whopping $7.50.
Yes, seven dollars and fifty cents. That’s cheaper than a Starbucks venti coffee.
Dillinger’s in Astoria seems like it has all of the right qualities to make it my new favorite Tuesday night hangout. I just may have to wait a few weeks to go back. I can’t really feel my heart beat.
