Thirsty Whale

Well we did it. We ventured out last night for some wings & beer. Our very first outing. And, our vert first blog post about it. Being new to this the first few posts might be kinda ruff around the edges but I promise that as we do more they will get better.

The Place: The Thirsty Whale - 1700 So Randall Rd, Algonquin Il (847)458-8555

Before we begin I have to confess something. I choose this as our first place because I am kinda partial to the whale. I grew up at the original Thirsty Whale on Grand Ave in River Grove. My uncle was one of the owners and I spent many days as a little kid just hanging out there jumping off the stage and spinning around on the bar stools. It has long since closed and a BP and McDonalds now sits where this most awesome bar once was. But, my childhood memories are still alive and kicking.

Okay, now back to business.

The Thirsty Whale offers 'Jumbo Wings', I think that that term is over used and over exaggerated. For the most part they are your average size wing that you find at most restaurants.

The sauces they have are: Mild - Hot - Fire - Chipotle BBQ - Raspberry Chipolte. You can order 10 wings / $8.99 - 15 wings / $10.99 - 20 wings / 14.99. I have to honest here, I don't know what to say about the prices. In the past when I wanted wings I just got em, never looking at the $$$$ but from now on that is something that I will pay close attention to.

We ordered 20 Hot. They came to the table served on a white oval plate with celery and ranch. You could get blue cheese if you like that kinda thing but I don't so I didn't. The wings come out stacked on each other like a pyramid. First time I ever saw that with wings so they get triple points for presentation.

They were crisp and not drenched in sauce. I believe that a great wing can stand on its own without being soaked and swimming in sauce. We did order 20 wings so I counted there was an even mix of drumetts and wings. As for the taste, at first bite and smell you knew they were Hot but the zing slowly grew in your mouth so they were very easy to enjoy without always chugging your drink after each bite.

Now for the EXTRAS.

Our server was a bubbly spit fire named Celia. She came back to the table regularly and always smiling. Always asking how we were doing and how everything was. Definitely a person to ask for if you go.

The Thirsty Whale is a sports bar so there are flat screen TVs wrapped around the bar and hanging along with floating all over the main dining area. They had bowl games and the Hawks on, so big plus there.

Being a sports bar it wasn't hard to hold a conversation with the people at our table, or talk to Celia.

The crowd was a nice mix also. There were families with young kids, couples on dates, business men, ladies having a night out and like us groups of friends hanging out.

The restaurant is clean and nicely lit. And for those who must know, the restrooms are very clean and smell fresh.

Now for the reason behind this blog. HOW DO THEY RATE........... (our scale is a 1-5 rating system - 1 being the lowest 5 being the highest)

Wings : 4
Choices of sauces : 3
Server (Celia) : 5
Speed of food : 4
Atmosphere : 4
Restrooms : 4

Overall rating : 4

History class 101

I have been asked many times how the buffalo wing came about. Did a 5 star chef invent them or did some little old lady looking to feed her son and a group of his friends.

Well, after some research and getting my fingers messy with sauce here is how it all began.

Back in 1964 in a small family owned establishment in Buffalo New York called the Anchor Bar the Buffalo Wing was invented.

The bars owner Teressa Bellissimo's (leave it up to an good Italian mom) son Dominic and a group of his friends came into the family business late one evening back in '64. The boys were hungry beyond words. So Teressa being the sweet loving Italian mother she is ran into the kitchen to feed her son and friends, she grabbed the first thing she saw. Now, back in the day the chicken wing and some other odd parts were only used for soup.

Teressa grabbed some chicken wings, seasoned them and dropped them into the deep fryer. After letting them cook, she took them out and tossed them into a mixture of butter and hot seasonings. All the boys LOVED them!

Since that one historic evening they remained on the menu at The Anchor Bar.

For many years, the wings were a regional food found only in New York and surrounding areas. But, something that delicious can't be kept a secret forever and by the mid 1980s buffalo wings spread across the country.

We take our hats off to Teressa and her family. Because without them we wouldn't have one of if not the most delicious food of all times. And, now our adventure begins.

Welcome one and all!!

Well, we finally did it. After all the smack talk and arguments about who has the best wings and coldest beer (which for the record I enjoyed ever minute of, that is the wings & beer part). We started our Wing Blog. GO US!!!
Here is what we are planing for this Most Awesome Blog. We promise to go out and eat wings and drink some (alot) beer. That's pretty much the idea. 
Now you are probably asking yourself, how are they gonna pull this off, what are they gonna be doing, how will we know where they are and how the wings & beer was , and how are they gonna rate everything?????? All those and more questions are and will be answered as we begin this Wonderful Wing Journey together.
What I can tell ya is this. We will be trying a ton of restaurants eating the wings and drinking the beer. We will give the name and address of the place, we will tell ya what we ordered, we will take pictures of the plate when we get it (cause remember presentation counts), we will describe the food the waitress the customers the atmosphere the prices, we will take a picture of the plate after and a few more pictures that may or may not be able to be posted and the Most important part WE WILL rate our wingin' (beer) experience. 
We want to thank each and everyone of you for following our blog and we hope to entertain and educate   you all.