When you see a place called Sip, I think it’s fair to assume it won’t be serving food and instead focuses on drinks. But Sip Coffee and Beer Kitchen is more than just a place for caffeine and liquid depressants. It’s also a place to grab some food. And, on Friday nights it’s happy hour prices for appetizers.Check these profit singularity reviews.

So, I did what any intelligent person would do and ordered two appetizers. One was the Chicken Wings and the other was Pretzels and Beer Cheese. The pretzels not only came with beer cheese, but mustard as well. Which is dumb, of course, but the beer cheese more than made up for it. It was surprisingly spicy, but in all the right ways. The pretzels were long and fluffy, with just right amount of chewiness on the exterior and not too much salt.

As for the wings, they were grilled, which is almost always a pleasant way to eat such things. I had half buffalo and half BBQ. They came with ranch, which is not nearly as good as blue cheese dressing, but it was better than the celery that the wings also often seem to come with for inexplicable reasons. The buffalo was pretty great, being plenty spicy like the cheese sauce although it was a bit light. The BBQ was pretty good as well, although the lightness of sauce was even more noticeable for that flavor.

I liked Sip. I liked the happy hour situation. I kind of liked the concept. But I didn’t feel like it was anything overly impressive. It’s a place you go when you’re near or thinking you can use an easy and reliable meal. It’s not a place you go when you’re looking for something special, which is all just fine depending on what you’re looking for.

Ramen is fantastic, right? I mean, we can all agree on that. But we can also agree that summer in Phoenix is not the time for ramen. So, although I knew Obon in Scottsdale had great ramen from carrying out a couple times, I made a different choice when I decided to stick around long enough to eat in the restaurant.

I began with something not Japanese at all. It was called Fuku Wings, which were coated in a spicy gochujang sauce. Gochujang, for those who may not know, is actually a Korean sauce and I have yet to eat a take on it that I haven’t liked. These were no different and they were nothing short of fantastic. It was a little sweeter than a typical gochujang sauce, but packed a spicy punch. There was a little crispiness to the outside and plenty of juiciness on the inside. With such a strong connection between Japan and Korea (albeit an often contentious one), I let the gochujang wings slide on account of being so delicious.

For my main dish I went with Street Noodles, which are spicy yakisoba noodles with peanuts, minced chicken and bean sprouts. I am an unabashed lover of yakisoba and calling them street noodles is pretty accurate because they are generally cheap comfort food. Obon dressed theirs up and I must say I had no complaints. They were mighty spicy and flavorful, with plenty of chicken mixed in there to keep a healthy balance with the noodles. They’re not your everyday yakisoba, but unless you’re living in Japan no yakisoba is and these certainly got the job done.

Between the noodles and the wings, Obon handed me some upscale Asian food in just the right way. Perhaps more important than anything else, Obon is ready and willing to show the people of Scottsdale that Japanese food is much more than sushi and teriyaki chicken. And when the weather drops to whatever passes for a low temperature a few months from now I know the ramen will be a welcome warmer in my belly.

The Super Bowl is set! And while everyone is pumped to see the Patriots again, and the Eagles again (but not nearly as again), it is important to realize that for most people the Super Bowl is about food and commercials. So, food, right? Lil’ smokies might sound good for another year, but sometimes it’s smart to just hit up a bar. I was just given an opportunity to check out the goods* at B2 Burgers and Brews, which is looking forward to hosting a bunch of people with some pretty exciting specials.

And the goods were good. The burgers ranged from the Aloha (pineapple, ham, teriyaki mayo and provolone) to the Breakfast (over easy egg, sausage patty, bacon, ham and hash browns). And then there was the one that I ate – Spicy PBJ & Bacon – topped with its namesakes, as well as pepper jack cheese. It’s also maybe important to note that the jelly is pepper jelly.

It was another great take on what seems to be a growing trend of merging the American classics of bacon, burger, and peanut butter and jelly. And perhaps even more important than the execution of the toppings was the perfect medium rare that the burger was cooked to.

The burgers can be ordered with a variety of buns and also with some delicious fries or sweet potato tots. I’m generally not a sweet potato man, but if you’re into that I’m sure you’ll be into these.

Oh and there were the wings as well. Because no self-respecting sports bar can go without wings, right? Unlike some places that resort to an all-out blitz of flavor options, B2 only has buffalo, honey BBQ, and teriyaki. I tested out the buffalo and BBQ, which both tasted like your standard buffalo and BBQ. Most importantly, though, they were meaty, juicy and fried just right. Which, of course, brings me to the point of all of this.

For the Super Bowl, B2 has specials up the wazoo:

• 75 cent wings all day (boneless or the good ones)
• $1 domestic beers from kickoff until the first score
• $5 bloody mary bar
• All day happy hours (think cheap drinks and lots of $5 apps)
• Raffles at the end of each quarter, including a 55 inch TV at the end of it all (must be present to win)
• 10% off pre-ordered takeout and $15 growler fills

Those are some pretty sweet deals if you ask me, at the very least good enough to get you out and about instead of sitting on your couch alone watching the Patriots and Eagles play for it all.’

*Which is code for free, but those specials are really close to free so there’s that.

It’s hard to go wrong with bar food, but it’s usually pretty heavy stuff. So, when I entered East Park Tavern in Charlevoix, Michigan with a stomach that knew it needed to eat something for dinner, but wasn’t especially hungry, I hoped there would be something I could find. Instead of making my way to the full on entree menu, I went for the appetizers and the wings caught my attention.

They came tossed in either a maple sriracha sauce or house BBQ. As much as I love BBQ, I have a hard time turning down a mix of sweet and spicy flavors like maple and sriracha (while recognizing that, of course, there are BBQ sauces that are both sweet and spicy, sheesh). Like a good human, I went with the blue cheese dip instead of ranch and even though I saw there was celery, I let it fly because I thought someone I was eating with might enjoy it. Plus, celery on the side of a dish is never nearly as harmful as several other veggies.

The wings had a glisten to them that intimated that they were a lot more maple than sriracha, but I let my mouth be the judge of that. It turned out that while there was plenty of sweetness to the wings, this was balanced out by the spiciness of the sriracha, while the blue cheese dressing added a sour taste that melded well with the wings. The wings themselves had a nice crispiness on the outer edge to go along with the tender, juicy meat inside. All I really could have asked for was more meat on the bones, and perhaps just a classic wing sauce. Regardless, these wings delivered, continuing to prove that it is still tough to go wrong with bar food.

Sometimes all you want to do is watch sports and eat wings. And sometimes there’s not enough time to get home to watch said sports and you have to find the spot closest to your office. Thus, I found myself at House of Wings in La Verne. House of Wings not only had a great variety of wing flavors, they also sported a pretty great happy hour for beer and food.

I ended up ordering the happy hour wing special, which came with 5 boneless, 5 bone-in and fries to boot! For my bone-in I ordered the Spicy BBQ and for the boneless I got Sriracha Glaze.

The Hot BBQ was pretty delicious, managing to balance a perfect mix of spicy and sweet. Spicier BBQ flavors at wing spots usually disappoint me, but this did not. On the other hand, I was kind of disappointed with the the Sriracha Glaze. You see, the wings were tossed in a sweet sauce, but then the sriracha was just kind of squirted onto the wings afterwards. If you’re not going to toss it all together it doesn’t really make any sense to me. Plus, that made the blue cheese dipping kind of strange because the sriracha came off a good amount in each dip.

Regardless, I was very happy with my House of Wings experience. The happy hour was pretty great and I would definitely love to try some of the other flavors to see what might pair better with that Hot BBQ.

Ah, the fabled Rose Bowl. Host of UCLA football games, THE Rose Bowl, a monthly flea market and now the annual Masters of Taste. As a blogger extraordinaire, I was invited to cover the event, which took place on May 7th and I found it a much easier way to set foot on the Rose Bowl field than winning the Big Ten Championship (and some might say it was much harder than winning the Pac-12 Championship, huzzah!). Food and drink vendors appeared from all over LA to help bring in money for Union Station Homeless Services. It’s a good cause, and surely the now two-year old event is doing a much better job of drawing in money than the annual gala did before it. But enough, let’s talk food.

Belly Bombz – Spicy Garlic Parmesan Wing

If I had more time, I would have eaten all of their wings. As it was, all I could do was try out the Spicy Garlic Parmesan wing, which is Korean-inspired like the other wings they offered. It certainly inspired my belly to want more.

Nerano – La Polpetta

This is described as a “grass-fed meatball slider” but I will still refuse to call such a thing a slider. Yet, this meatball mini sandwich was delicious enough to make up for the misnomer. The cheese was all melty-like, the meatball was juicy and you can’t ask for much more.

The Raymond – Raclette

The Raymond decided to test the theory that everything is better with melted cheese. Uh, dude, yes. But while it seems obvious that their chorizo taco and Moroccan sausage would be better with melted cheese, the Fire Chicken (fried, topped with gochujang, and rice cakes) was just the right kind of experiment and proved well worth it.

Milk and Honey – Wellness Bowl

I know this isn’t what you expect, but I seriously love fruit and this Wellness Bowl was packed with it. The base was pureed dragonfruit (or pitaya if you’re being fancy) and the toppings were sliced fruit, a chunk of honeycomb, maybe chia seeds and some ridiculous edible flowers. No joke, this was incredibly refreshing with all the gluttony going on.

Cafe Dulce – Bacon Donut Hole

That’s more like it, right?

And that’s a wrap (at least of the food I thought worthy of highlighting)! Despite a brief period of torrential downpour and game delay due to lightning, the event was undoubtedly delicious and, more importantly, brought it more than 500k for Union Station. Good food and a good cause? Don’t mind if I do.

When it comes to grilling (as opposed to generating energy), charcoal is king. Somewhere along the way, someone realized that this would translate into a great restaurant concept. Thus, the world was given Charcoal in Venice. Charcoal, like most BBQs, is pretty meat-centric and great for unvegans. Nonetheless, there were definitely veggie options for those who prefer not to enjoy life as much.

We began with an order of the Smoky Grilled Chicken Wings, as we were told that the main courses would take a while. These were prepared with oregano, chili and vinegar and tasted pretty good. They weren’t smokey like the wings you would get at a BBQ spots, but certainly enough to bring the flavor of the grill. There were a few sauces at the table and I found the chipotle BBQ sauce went best with these.

I picked the Smoked and Grilled Bone-In Short Rib for my main course and shockingly my and every else’s main courses came out shortly after the wings arrived. This may have been an operational faux pas, but at least I didn’t have to wait long for my main course. It turned out to be served all sliced up and laid upon the bone, so “bone-in” may have only applied while it was being grilled, but that didn’t prevent these short ribs from being incredibly delicious. The meat practically melted in my mouth and was perfectly seasoned with what appeared to be just enough seasoning to bring out the savory flavor of the short ribs.

We also snagged ourselves a Yukon Potato Baked in the Coals. It was topped with salted butter, creme fraiche, aged gouda and chives. Oh, and did I mention that it was baked in the coals? Yes, this potato came out coated in the ash of the coals, which made the skin incredibly tough to eat, but gave the innards of the potato a perfectly soft and moist texture. The toppings helped it along with flavor, but this thing probably would have done just fine with a touch of butter to go with the flavor of the coals.

Are you the type of person that goes to summer BBQs and thinks, “Man, I wish this was more upscale”? If so, Charcoal is the place for you. Everything is perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked and reminiscent of what you would do if you were hosting for the 4th of July and had an unlimited budget to get great cuts of meat. Just be wary of the fact that all plates are meant to be “shared” and the main courses may arrive at the table faster than you would expect.

After many days abroad, one might think I wouldn’t jump right into another ethnic meal after returning to the USA. Well, you’re right, because my first stop was Taco Bell, but after that set my stomach straight it was time for a meal at Nicky’s Thai Kitchen in Downtown Pittsburgh. Nicky’s sits on the fancy end of the Thai spectrum, which is usually something I try to avoid because cheap Thai is awesome, yet I was willing to give Nicky’s a try.

I started out by splitting some Thai Chicken Wings with a buddy and they were actually really awesome. The sauce had just the right amount of kick (well, at least for a white guy) and the seasoning was delicious. Moreover, the wings themselves were pretty meaty.

As for my main course, I went with the Massaman Curry with chicken. It also came with potatoes, peanuts, and a mix of peanut butter and coconut milk with the curry paste. I ordered it at spice level 5 (out of 10), knowing that I could always add more if necessary. When it arrived, I was disappointed to find the curry littered with peppers and onions, but at least it wasn’t difficult to eat around these. As for the spice level, I found it to be pretty close to perfect. It was also the kind of spiciness that builds, so unlike my friends that added extra flakes after their first bite, I waited mine out and was rewarded with edible food. The curry itself was fine, but nothing really special.

So, along with pretty much any upscale Thai place I’ve ever been to, Nicky’s Thai Kitchen fell victim to simply not offering more that I could get at a less upscale spot. There was nothing bad about it, but just not enough good to justify the fancy pants-ness of the joint. Except maybe those wings.

Chicken Wings (or Buffalo Wings to everyone else) can be found pretty much anywhere in Buffalo. And while pizza places around the country have tried to introduce wings as a side to pizza over the last few years, this is nothing new to La Nova Pizza. With a location in the city and another in Williamsville, we made our way to Williamsville to get all of their goods.

Little did we know that this location was more of a carry out situation, but we grabbed seats at basically the only stools available and placed our orders. We began with some of their hot wings, then topped it off with their bacon cheeseburger pizza. And before I go any further, I should also mention that my buddy got some Bar-B-Que Wings “from the Pit” that had no business being as good as they were. Much of this was due to the fact that they were actually grilled and had perfect char to go with the rest of the flavor.

But as for my food, the wings were certainly tasty. By no means was their sauce amazing, but it was better than average and at a heat level that most people would find comfortable. The pizza we ordered was massive, sliced into squares and oozing with cheese (mozzarella and cheddar), ground beef and bacon. It also had tomato sauce, which was actually the best part of the pizza. Sure, the cheese, beef and bacon were great. I mean, how could those things not be? But that tomato sauce really solidified why La Nova was a worthy pizza joint to visit.

Having now visited La Nova, it is obvious to me why nationwide pizza joints want to capitalize on the addition of wings. The trouble is that to do so, they have to really care about their wings, like by preparing them the way La Nova does. It doesn’t hurt to make a damn good pizza either.

While Walnut Street in Shadyside is the typical haunt of my fellow students, Highland is another street in Shadyside that has a lot to offer. One of those offerings is Buffalo Blues, a sports bar with a fair amount of food options that you might expect at such a place. Wings dominate the menu, but there are also burgers, sandwiches and a few other things for those not so inclined towards the wings.

I, however, am a man who often inclines towards wings and this meal was no different. The food was a little expensive when compared to the beer prices, but still nothing to complain about. I ordered ten wings and chose two sauces. The first was Spicy Garlic and the other was Wet Cajun (their regular Red Hot sauce with a Cajun rub). Neither one disappointed. The wings were reasonably meaty and both went well in the blue cheese dressing. As usual, they came with celery, which I often fail to order without, but went untouched. Fortunately, celery is one of those veggies that doesn’t affect the outcome of the meal, but is still an annoyance.

I also have to put a plug in here for the Buffalo Blue Fries, which I had here on a later visit. These fries are topped with an incredible spicy blue cheese dip and pulled chicken and hit the spot no matter what mood I’m in. They eat like a meal, but they are also acceptable as an appetizer to split with a bunch of people. They will likely be the end of me.

So yeah, the wings were good enough to bring me back, but that dip is the real winner at Buffalo Blues. As a bonus, the place is slowly being converted into a Michigan bar.