fauxffalo

Wings aside (let's come back to those in a minute), as U street drinking destinations go The Saloon is kind of a strange bird. There's no television, no standing, and more than one credit card per table costs $2 each. Notes in the margins of the extensive beer menu border on pedantic. "If you do not like beer, other places may be a better place for you". No matter though, customer condescension has proved a successful formula in the past, and if the wings were good all would be forgiven.

Momo's reputation preceded it; I'd been told by several people that they made good wings. Not Buffalo mind you, but fall-off-the-bone BBQ. So when I needed a place to catch up with a friend over wings and beer the U street sports bar seemed like a logical option. I got there a little after 9 on a Friday and things were quiet but just getting started. I ordered the smallest order, 10 wings, with a Stella and sat down to wait. There was no shortage of flat screen TVs tuned to sports of various sorts to keep me occupied until Miranda arrived. She told me she was "ignorant of wing topics" and "didn't know what to expect". All would be revealed.

I went with a group of people to see the Earth Day concert on the mall. The Flaming Lips headlined, and when things wrapped up at about 6:30 we were all ready for wings and beer. With the crowd descending on Penn Quarter eateries like a swarm of locusts, we decided that Gordon Biersch would be a good bet for wings and fast service. On our way in I stopped at the entrance to take a picture for this review -- one of my friends ran out to tell me: they don't have buffalo wings.

My friend Andrew made an astute observation as we sat down at the Froggy Bottom Pub: Any restaurant that has both buffalo wings and pho on the menu could be a diamond in the rough... or it could just be The Rough. Intrigued by the possibility and hungry for wings, I did what any self-respecting wingman would do. I ordered both.

My friends and I had a thing for a while where we would go out on Tuesdays for happy hour and get sloshed, which we affectionately referred to as Tuesday Night Drinking Club. Generally, this took place at Lucky Bar. Although we were Lucky Bar patrons on many Tuesdays, we never realized that they had a great deal on Tuesdays: $0.25 wings! And also $3.00 pints and $12.00 pitchers of Yeungling!