Cheap Shots

Basic Information:

Location: 1044 N Main Ave, Dickson City, PA, 18519
Phone Number: (570) 291-4420
Normal Wing Price: $9.99 for 12
Wing Night: Wednesday
Wing Night Price: 55 cents
Wing Flavors:

https://www.facebook.com/Cheap-Shots-Bar-and-Restaurant-2201269533422780/

Links: Facebook
  • Cheap Shots - 07/03/19

    Overall Rating: 69

    Lynch Serniak

    Lynch's Rating: 33 out of 50

    Environment: 8

    We’ve been to Cheap Shots Bar and Restaurant before, but that was before it was called Cheap Shots. For a short stint, they were known as the American Grille at the Bomb Bay Café. Prior to that, they were Mugshots for a while, which I think is likely to ring a bell with more people. On our drive there, we guessed that there wouldn’t be that many people there considering it has recently opened, but we were surprised to find a decent amount of people inside at the bar, as well as more people hanging out and playing pool.  As the evening went on, even more people came in to the establishment. I’m not sure if this was because it was the evening before the 4thof July, but good for Cheap Shots. The place is decently large inside, with a longer bar, a number of high and low top tables, a couple large TVs, a pool table, darts, and a small stage in the corner. I personally like places that have an open floor situation where you can see the whole place wherever you sit. Most people were sitting at the bar, and I would definitely consider Cheap Shots more a bar than a restaurant even though they have a decently sized menu. They say they offer all their food on DoorDash, so check out the app/website if you want to get an idea of the food they serve. I doubt the wing night price carries over to DoorDash, but honestly, I’m not positive on that. We aren’t DoorDash people though, so on our visit, we got waited on pretty promptly while sitting at the bar, and the wings didn’t take that long at all.


    Wing Size: 7

    Normally, Cheap Shots will sell a dozen wings for $9.99. On their wing night, they offer 55 cent wings, which is right around the average price that we’re seeing for a wing night. These are some pretty hefty wings, too. I only ordered 15, which is where I usually hover around, and left pretty full. Plus, according to our bartender, you can get orders of 5. I’m totally on board with that. In fact, she said you can get any amount you want on wing night, but I think anything below an order of 5 is a real jerk move.


    Wing Flavors: 6

    Cheap Shots offer an OK selection of flavors. Of course, they offer Mild and Hot. They also have a good variety of mixtures with hot sauce, including Garlic Parm, Ranch, and Honey Garlic. There was one sauce on one of their dry-erase boards that wasn’t on the menu: Jack Daniels. It wasn’t clear to me if this was a weekly special or if it was a flavor that didn’t quite make the menu yet. I’d like to see if they plan on expanding their menu or offering weekly specials.


    Wing Taste (x2): 6

    The wings at Cheap Shots are cooked pretty large with a hint of crispy skin on the outside. Personally, I like my wings this way, but others may prefer a crispier wing. I’m sure if asked, they would accommodate such a request. As for the sauces themselves, we got a decent variety between the two of us. Of course, since it was our first visit to Cheap Shots, I had to get an order of regular Hot to see what their base sauce is all about. Right off the bat, I liked the look of the Hot. It was a thinner, orange sauce with a good, spicy cayenne flavor, a nice vinegar bite, and a good amount of butter flavor. It was a bit on the oily side, so be prepared for that. The Hot Garlic Parm had the same thin hot sauce base with a slight hint of Parm, even though the grated parmesan was pretty apparent on it. I was left searching for some garlic flavor, which hardly came through. I wish the Garlic and Parm was amped up a bit more on these wings. Also, the Hot on this wing tasted slightly different. It certainly wasn’t as spicy as the regular hot, so maybe I got the mild, or maybe the mixture of flavors balanced it out. Finally, I ordered the Jack Daniels sauce. I’m always intrigued by Jack Daniels sauce because I have high hopes it is similar to the TGI Fridays Jack Daniels sauce that I love. Unfortunately, I feel like whenever I order it, it ends up being a slightly different Barbeque sauce. That was pretty much the case for the Jack Daniels sauce at Cheap Shots. It tasted like a traditional BBQ sauce with a bit more spice. I imagine if you like Barbeque sauce, you’ll like this flavor, but it just wasn’t for me.

    Serniak's Rating: 36 out of 50

    Environment: 8

    Cheap Shots, which is located where the American Grill at the Bombay Cafe in Dickson was, is a newly established joint. The makeup of Cheap Shots is similar to its predecessor, but it was much cleaner and ran a bit more smoothly. The place gives the feeling of a place where you can stop by and enjoy a beverage after a long day at the office but also is a real solid candidate to watch a game. The place is loaded with TVs and is also equipped with a fine pool table. We sat at the bar and our server was really nice and was diligent with refilling our drinks. Ultimately, I felt welcomed at Cheap Shots, which is an underrated quality for a place. Sadly, we didn’t get any shots so I can’t attest to exactly how much the shots. They’re probably cheap.


    Wing Size: 7

    Wing night can be had on Tuesdays at Cheap Shots and they’re 55 cents a wing. That’s not a bad price considering that many wing joints have their wing night price at 60 cents or even more. The size of the wing was right around average. Not too small, not too large, right in the middle. I didn’t think they were tiny or anything like that. Get your regular order, and you’ll be fine.


    Wing Flavors: 7

    There are 13 flavors listed on the menu at Cheap Shots. What Cheap Shots does is really cover the essentials that you need to have on a wing menu. They have all your hot sauces combined with garlic, parm along with mild that can do the same things. They have hot and mild ranch, which is always smart to have. Where Cheap Shots could choose to improve is simply having more flavors. That’s it. Just add more. Perhaps getting Sriracha and blue cheese involved. Those are easy flavors that they probably have anyways. Just a thought.


    Wing Taste (x2): 7

    I got my typical 20 at Cheap Shots. They were cooked very well and also had a nice crispness to them. First, I had sweet and hot BBQ. They were good and flavorful, but I thought they could have used more BBQ in them. Basically, I needed more sweetness, but they were good. Next, I had honey mustard and they were very honey mustardy. Nothing really stands out about these honey mustard other than they were solid. The honey and mustard were represented fine. I wish more places would try and make a really dynamite honey mustard sauce that was different than the rest. That be nice. I also had sweet chili. These were pretty nice. They had a good amount of sweetness but also had the chili seasoning in there that brought sufficient heat. Lastly, we have the hot ranch. I know I’ve said it about a million times, but hot ranch just can’t miss. The heat from the hot sauce and coolness of the ranch is an absolute good. These were no different. Definitely, make sure you get the hot ranch when you stop by Cheap Shots.