I'll return to this review and spice it up later, but for now this is all you're going to get...
Food Quality (Pass): The wings are above average for the area, but the place itself is not. The best wings I have had in my life, which I ate several times a week, were at my University. These do not come close. The hottest wings I have had would have been free if I had been able to finish 6. Unfortunately after one I was temporarily blind and after two I had to go outside because I could no longer be near them and breathe. I probably should have noticed that there were only 2 pictures on the wall reserved for people who could actually eat all six before I stepped up for the challenge...but I digress. This implies, note, that all I care about are the wings. The two times I tried them, the fries were subpar---not really crispy and were allowed to retain too much of the oil in which they were fried.
Cleanliness (Fail):
The place is usually pretty dirty and in two instances, smelled like all the surfaces were cleaned with towels that had been soaking in dirty water for a few days.
Service (FAIL):
The service is slow, forgetful, and inattentive. That being said, a lot of the waitresses are fantastic eye candy, which makes the wait a lot easier. Most people decent people won't take that into consideration so....
Note that that when I had no choice but to sit at a table in the bar area (below), the cleanliness and service lost significant points. Once the waitress brought our order, it took 10 minutes to figure out that I would have to go up to where they all congregated to obtain the blue cheese dressing they forgot ... and then another 15 until I walked over and was able to get a to-go box (the smell made me take most of my wings home to eat).
Atmosphere (Fail):
During the school year, it's full of loud college kids and no refuge can be had in the dining room, as the entire place is more or less open. The parking lot is shared with a few other business and is definitely too small. I spent more time waiting for a space than for a table most of the time.
Wait Time (Pass, with exception): If you don't care where you sit, it's not usually more than 15 minutes for seating even when they have been quite busy. However, in one instance they stuck my party at a table in the bar area, which I grudgingly accepted because we were starving and I was told that I could wait up to an hour to get a seat in the in dining room.
Prices (Major Fail):
My biggest personal complaint---the wings, on a per wing basis, are overpriced significantly at approximately $1.70 each at the introductory level (a plate of 6). Wings should top out at about $1.25 max and absolutely not over $1.50 each if they are a bit larger than average. Also, when one orders more than a couple dozen the should fall to or below about $1.00 each. In order for that to happen at hangar, would have to order more than 96 wings ($99.00), and since that is the largest offering on the menu, I guess it might as well be infinity-1. Note that at their other locations (such as Agawam) they extort even more from you. Never goin
Assuming that 6 wings is actually enough for anyone, you're going to have to shell out $10.00 for them. I have a lot of restaurant and wing experience, and that's quite a markup. Looking back at their older menus, it seems that they source high maintenance chickens now, as the price has more or less increased by 75%. Personally, I require at least 20 wings, and usually more, to be comfortably full (and have eaten 68 when motivated by a significant gift card elsewhere---eating contest). I'm not at all a big guy, by the way.
(Boneless Wings Comparison, also Fail): Counterintuitively, boneless "wings", which are not wings at all (and more likely chicken tenders, that is, the part of the breast that we used to toss away when preparing chicken for various dishes) are less expensive (and sold by weight rather than number). I tried them a couple times and it's like they make their wings but source the boneless ones from 7-11. Enough said. Except for the instance of wings that blinded me, I can pretty much eat any of the levels of spiciness, but usually go for the second or third level, which gives a tiny bite, but, at the same time, allows me to appreciate the flavor of the particular wings at the particular place where I am eating.
Other (Fail): I am very disappointed that the do not have a night on which the wings drop to a lower price per across the board. That's when I can really have fun and not feel like I was taken at all. It appears that the used to but eventually decided they would stop, likely just because they didn't have to. That misses the point.
Conclusion (Fail, but have to suck it up): I will probably end up there again just because there do not seem to be many other offerings in the area and I cannot go more than 10 or so days with out them. However, I will continue to seek better wings and jump ship as soon as I find them. read more