Bart and Urby’s

Basic Information:

• Bart and Urby’s Two Timers - 10/26/15
  Overall Rating: 85

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 43 out of 50

  Environment: 9
  

  I have been to Bart and Urby’s in downtown Wilkes-Barre only a couple times and every visit has been a great experience. The place is very hip with a nice bar area and plenty of tables for seating. There are many TVs along the walls if you wanted to relax and enjoy a good game of your favorite sport. Our waitress was very nice and provided good service. The wings didn’t take too long to come out considering the fact that the tables were almost completely filled. On wing night, they host Wingo, which is their take on Bingo. It’s a silly thing, but it’s actually quite fun. Plus, you have the chance to win free orders of wings and free drinks. It adds whole new meaning to the saying, “Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner.”

  
  Wing Size: 8
  

  For their wing night, which is every Monday, Bart and Urby’s offers wings at 50 cents a piece and Yuengling Lagers for $2.00 a bottle. The wings themselves are large and in charge, with plenty of meat on the bones to fill you up. You must get at least orders of six on wing night. I ordered 18 and struggled to finish them all. You should leave more than satisfied if you order your normal amount.

  
  Wing Flavors: 10
  

  Bart and Urby’s offers a large variety of flavors that will please traditionalists and people who want to try options outside the box. In addition to the normal fare of Mild, Hot, BBQ, and Butter Garlic, you’re provided with interesting choices like Honey Jalapeno BBQ, Tuscan Rub, and Sriracha Bleu. Each week, Bart and Urby’s has featured wing flavors on their wing night. We had the options of Pumpkin BBQ and Sriracha Scampi on our visit. If you’re unsure about a flavor, the descriptions on the menu give you a pretty good idea what to expect.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 8
  

  The plain Hot at Bart and Urby’s is a classic wing sauce with just the right level of spice. They packed plenty of flavor without having too much heat. Curry can be an overwhelming spice, but Bart and Urby’s Thai Curry gets the balance right with a sticky, sweet sauce up front and a hint of Curry spice to round out the taste. The Sriracha Bleu is another flavor with great balance. The Sriracha-based hot sauce is mellowed out with Bleu Cheese to provide an all-around tasty wing. You can stick with plain Hot and be happy with your choice, although I recommend trying something different because Bart and Urby’s makes a great wing no matter what you order.

  Serniak's Rating: 42 out of 50

  Environment: 9
  

  Bart and Urby’s, located in the heart of city of Wilkes barre, appears to be your traditional restaurant bar from the outside. But on the inside, patrons know there is much more going. Every night has a different food and drink special and the place really caters to all ages. When I was there I looked over and saw a few tables full of college kids and when I looked the other way, there was some older gentlemen with their well-dressed wives. The fun that can be had there is one where anyone can enjoy. Monday is their wing night and the added treat to that is their version of bingo, which is cleverly dubbed Wing-O. Everyone gets a card and a dabber and if you win, then an order of wings is on the house. It’s fun and gives you something to do besides darts and pool. It’s also creative and shows that they’re thinking about making sure you’re having a good time. Our service was also fine, with our waitress checking on us many times.

  
  Wing Size: 7
  

  The wings at Bart and Urby’s aren’t little guys by any stretch of the imagination. They’re meaty and will fill you up. They’re 50 cents a wing, which is slightly above the average. Pretty much 45 and 50 cents a wing for a wing night is what you will most often see anymore. Also, the orders come in orders of 6, so take that into account when ordering.

  
  Wing Flavors: 10
  

  Another place that crushes it with the amount and uniqueness of wing flavors. They have your regular flavors that you can get everywhere but then they add one’s like Jose’s Chile Lime, Srirach Blue Cheese 50/50, to dry rubs such as their Tuscan, and Italian rubs. They also had two feature flavors that were not on their menu, which were pumpkin and sriracha scampi. Their effort is much appreciated.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 8
  

  I got the 50/50 and no that doesn’t meant that I ordered Crystal Club’s 50/50 soda, which I would love to have. Pretty much, if you can get your hands on this soda, let me have one. Anyways, their 50/50 wing is a mix of their hot sauce and blue cheese. It’s a simple mix to think of, but very effective in terms of flavor. Their hot is solid that packs nice heat helped by spicy seasonings and the cooling effect of the blue cheese makes it a can’t miss. Next I ordered the sriracha scampi, which was one of their feature flavors. It was heavy on the scampi sauce, which was good, but I actually could have used more heat from the sriracha. Just a little bit more would have made this an ultimate sauce. Finally, Thai garlic teriyaki is a complex mixture that if the proper diligence isn’t put into it, can go haywire. Thankfully the craftsmen at Bart and Urby’s know what they’re doing because this sauce rocked. Spices such as red pepper constructed the Thai portion followed by the garlic being subtly hidden in the sauce. The garlic gave another wonderful flavor note that you had no choice but to appreciate. Lastly, the saltiness of the teriyaki brought the whole flavor home. The trio of all those flavors made for one boss of a wing sauce.

  
  
• Bart and Urby’s First Time - 01/13/15
  Overall Rating: 78

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 36 out of 50

  Environment: 8
  

  Bart and Urby’s is one of those places that I have been told about so many times to check out for wings, and we finally got around to it. I will begin by stating that every time I talk about this place, I want to call it Burt and Ernie’s, as though it was owned by the famous Sesame Street duo. That is not the case. I have yet to see a Sesame Street themed restaurant and this place does not fill that hole. Regardless, it is a very nice place. It’s a sort of upper class joint in the heart of Wilkes Barre. The place has a nice long bar when you walk in, with plenty of high-table seating and regular sit down tables. It is pretty spacious inside. They offer Yuengs and Wings on their wing night, where you can also get Yuengling for $2.00. Also, they have a Bingo sort of game called Wingo. The menu states the game happens once every hour. We got to experience it once, and my one friend actually won a free order of wings. Personally, I love me some Bingo, so it was a nice touch. Oh, and on top of all that, Wheel of Fortune was on one of the TVs. The wings didn’t take all that long to come out, but the service wasn’t top notch. Although it wasn’t bad by any means, there were times we were sitting around waterless or didn’t get checked on in a while. It wasn’t super busy either for a wing night. As we were leaving though, a pretty big group walked in, so your mileage may vary.

  
  Wing Size: 6
  

  The wings were set at $0.45. That’s not the complete story though. If you want to split an order or get only 6, you have to pay an extra dollar. That’s another thing, the lowest order amount you can get is 6. It wasn’t the worst thing, but I like my orders in 5 so I can get more variety. There is no way I’m taking down 24 wings, but I can put a pretty decent dent in 20 wings.

  
  Wing Flavors: 10
  

  I had no idea that Bart and Urby’s had such a huge assortment of wings. I was very happy with the amount of options. Not only do they have all your traditional options, but they do offer some unique flavors that I have not seen elsewhere. I loved the different dry rub options provided.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 6
  

  With the group that went, we got a real smorgasbord of flavors. The traditional hot were just that. It wasn’t anything outrageous or out of this world, but it got the job done. Chipotle Ranch were amazing. I have yet to find a Chipotle Ranch I don’t like. It has that perfect amount of spice you like that gives it a smoky flavor, while also being mixed with ranch. You cannot go wrong with these wings. I was a bit let down by the Thai Curry. I was expecting a spicier, curry like wing sauce. It was more like a Sweet Chili Thai sauce than a Curry sauce. To be honest, I didn’t get the curry at all. It was good as a Sweet Chili Thai sauce, but it didn’t not pull off that curry flavor well. The Cajun were a surprise hit. My experience with Cajun has not been very good. I have such high hopes and I am always let down. At Bart and Urby’s they actually pulled it off quite well. It’s one of the best Cajun wings I’ve had. The 50/50 is a mix of Bleu Cheese and Hot Sauce. That’s exactly what they tasted like. You’re not going to be surprised by this one. Sriracha Bleu is along the same lines, only made with Sriracha sauce. I preferred these wings over the 50/50 due to the extra flavor of the chili. Finally, the Thai Garlic Teriyaki almost seemed like a guaranteed hit for me as I am a sucker for Teriyaki. This wasn’t your traditional Teriyaki though. It was more like a sticky, sweet sauce than a salty sauce. It was good, but not the kind of Teriyaki that I go crazy for. More or less, you can find some pretty awesome flavors at Bart and Urby’s. I love their huge selection, and if you choose the right flavors, you will leave more than satisfied.

  Serniak's Rating: 42 out of 50

  Environment: 9
  

  Bart and Urby’s is a place that doesn’t have activities like a pool table or darts or anything like that but they don’t need them. The atmosphere that everyone there projects along with innovative and interactive activities is so profound that it sucks you into having a good time regardless of your mood. Our server was spot on with everything we ordered and was sociable. Bart and Urby’s, to me, mixes the class that you get at a place like Jack Draft’s House and fuses with a upbeat college type atmosphere like you would get at a Mickey Gannon’s. All walks of life can be found there along with quite the disparity of ages. Back to the activities they have. On their wing night, they have a game called Wing-O, which is their version of bingo and if you win, you win an order of wings. It’s fun, different and makes me feel good that someone is thinking on how make customers have a good time besides just drinks.

  
  Wing Size: 7
  

  The wing night price is 45 cents, which is pretty much the new average in wing prices for a wing night. The wings themselves are nothing to sneeze at unless you’re sick and if you’re sick why would you sneeze at wings? It doesn’t make any sense. But they’re large and will fill you up. I certainly didn’t walk out of there hungry.

  
  Wing Flavors: 10
  

  They nailed with the amount of flavors they have and the range of flavors they have. They carry 23 different flavors ranging from sirracha blue cheese to Jose’s chili lime all the way to dry rubs of Italian and Tuscan spices. This place clearly puts effort and thought into their sauces and that will always be rewarded.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 8
  

  Bart Urby’s brought it. What’s it you ask? It is what you can’t see but in this case, it is what you can taste. I ordered their hot, Tuscan Rub, sirracha Blue cheese and Cajun. Their hot were on point. Had a quite a bit of zest and a fair amount of heat. The Tuscan rub was very interesting. It was a dry rub that was loaded with spices that you would find in an Italian kitchen. Extremely tasty and unlike some places where you get a dry rub, they really cake on the rub. It was refreshing to see and eat. Sirracha blue cheese, a real ying and yang flavor idea that delivered with every bite. If you know me at all, you will hear me praise sirracha sauce and will also tell you that it’s coming and will be right up there with bbq sauce in a few years. But this wing brought the heat and then cooled you off with the blue cheese. A solid concoction, indeed. Finally, the Cajun wings were not a letdown at all. They had those southwest spices going mixed a creamy sauce that was consistent with every bite.