Finn’s Cafe 99

Basic Information:

• Checking on the Hype at Finn’s Cafe 99 - 06/09/25
  Overall Rating: 87

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 44 out of 50

  Environment: 10
  

  After winner the 2025 Wing Bracket for the NEPA Wing Bulletin, Finn’s Cafe 99 has been popping up all over the place on Facebook. It seems to be the new place to get wings. As soon as we walked in, that was pretty apparent as the place was packed. We had to stand for about 5-10 minutes until a table opened up. Even though it was bustling, the wait staff was quick to let us know they would let us know once a table opened up. In fact, even though everything seemed hectic, the staff was on top of everything, from taking our order, getting us the food, and checking in on us. The owner was also making sure everything flowed smoothly all while checking in on tables and talking about his wings. While talking to the owner, while he was humble about the wings, you could tell he took pride in the place and loved to have people try all the sauces. In fact, he gave us a couple extra to allow us to try different flavors we didn’t order. The place is not very big, with a good-sized rectangular bar in the center and. A number of bar-height tables around the place. There is a juke box that was playing an eclectic mix of music while we were there. And there’s lots of TVS, so even when it is not wing night, it would be a great place to stop by to catch a game. At first, I was concerned on how busy it was, but by the end of the meal and after talking with our waitress and the owner, you couldn’t help but walk away with positive vibes from the place.

  
  Wing Size: 8
  

  The wings were a pretty good size, with plenty of meat and a solid amount of crispy. I was very satisfied with my usual order. Plus the extra wings and fries to try additional sauces left me completely stuffed. On their wing night, you can get wings for 70 cents, which is becoming a rarity in the area. They also allow you to place orders in any amount, which is definitely a plus in my book.

  
  Wing Flavors: 8
  

  At first glance, the flavor options on the menu seem decent enough, but you won’t see anything too crazy. What really bumps up the score here though is that they allow mixing of any flavors, which really increases your options. Plus, they do have some flavors outside the menu, such as a Jesus Wet Sauce, which is similar to the unique blend of flavors of the Jesus Dry Rub with a saucier base. You can also inquire about a Diablo sauce, which is apparently a really amped up version of their hot with a base of Habanero, and the Jimmy sauce, which is another unique blend.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 9
  

  They do offer a good amount of dry rub sauces on the menu, but opted for all their wet sauces. In general, they are not afraid to really smother the wings in their sauce, which I am a huge fan of. The regular hot is a solid buffalo sauce, orange in color, and great in flavor. In my opinion, it was the right spice level for a Hot sauce, while being very manageable. You can’t go wrong with this Hot. I also got the Spicy Ranch Cajun. This also had another great orange color to it that I gravitate towards. While you can see the Cajun seasoning throughout, more of the spicy ranch came through. I personally would have liked a bit more of that Cajun spice, but the flavor was still very enjoyable. I opted for the Jesus Wet Sauce while Serniak ordered the Jesus Dry rub, which comes with the wet sauce on the side. This orange based sauce had a great peppery spice mix that I couldn;t quite put my finger on. Either way, I enjoyed them. Between the wet and dry rub, I do recommend getting the dry rub with the sauce on the side. While it is a little difference, it brings out that pepper flavor much better on the dry rub. The owner threw in some wings with the Jimmy sauce for us. It was another orange sauce base. Again, no complaints from me on that. They were definitely a spicier sauce. At first bite, you are hit with a high heat flavor. I was concerned this would be too much, but as you power through, it somehow mellows out. It is similar to the Hot with a bit more peppery heat. This may be too spicy for some, but I also really liked this wing in the end. Just be prepared to dab your head with a napkin if you eat all five because you may be sweating. Finally, the owner let us try some Diablo sauce with some fries. It’s a habanero base sauce. The owner let us know he cut it with some regular Hot to make it more manageable. I’m happy he did because while these definitely brought the heat, I was able to enjoy that Habanero flavor. With all these extra wings and sauces, we were wondering if the owner knew we were there to review the wings, but like I said before, I honestly think the owner is just really proud of his sauces and wants to share them with more people. Overall, every sauce we had was great and there’s not one I recommend over another.

  Serniak's Rating: 43 out of 50

  Environment: 10
  

  The wing world in the greater NEPA area, especially south of where the Rail Riders try to play ball when it’s not raining, which is never, have seen a newish player to game of wing-slinging. That place is called Finn’s Cafe 99.

  Believe it or not, the NEPA Wingmen aren’t the only wing review game in town. On Facebook, there is a group called the NEPA Chicken Wing Bulletin that you need to be a part of. The folks running that page care deeply about everything wings in NEPA, and the work they put into it is very impressive.

  Over the last few months, Finn’s Cafe 99 has been posted about too many times to count. They also won the Wyoming Valley WING Madness this year back in early April. Since then, Finn’s Cafe 99 has star treatment, and by star treatment, I mean that everyone is heading out to Wilkes Barre to hopefully F around so that they can Find out.

  How do I know this? Because the owner, Jimmy, told us while he sat us and cleaned our table. “Ever since we won that wing contest, it’s been nuts.” That’s a quote from the head man at Finn’s Cafe 99.

  Let’s talk about Jimmy. This guy is awesome. As soon as we walked into the place, which was wildly packed to the brim with folks, Jimmy was ping-ponging himself all over the bar, seating people, instructing others, cleaning tables, running food out, juggling chainsaws, and painting a mural. For the folks watching the Finals, he was Alex Caruso out there, meaning he was everywhere at all times.

  Besides his obvious work ethic, Jimmy was such a sweetheart. He talked with us as if he had known us for years. How many owners flat-out say, “our wings aren’t the best, but they’re very good. You’ll like them.” Salt of the Earth doesn’t do Jimmy justice. More like Salt of the Galaxy. That’s fairer.

  Our server was also very nice, worked hard, and had a wonderful personality. She explained everything to us in detail. One thing she did was bring me another beer when all she did was see that my glass was empty. She didn’t even ask, and I’m good with that. I mean, what kind of person gets annoyed by getting another beer?

  So, how about the actual place? It’s not the biggest place in the world. It has a wrap-around bar, and I’d say about a dozen tables around that. There are plenty of TVs to take in a sporting event if that’s your thing.

  The word vibes gets thrown around a lot these days. But let me tell you, the vibes of Finn’s Cafe 99 were off the charts. Everyone was not just in a good mood but a great mood. It felt like a bar outside of Fenway Park. Everyone was rowing in the same direction, just enjoying the evening and the splendid wings. I told Lynch that it felt like R-Bar back in their Alden days. Not to say that the R-Bar doesn’t have great energy today, it absolutely does, but Finn’s Cafe 99 has that young person’s grit and will to be the best that you can only have when you’re climbing the mountain.

  It’s like that scene in Rocky 3 when Apollo brings Rocky to where he trained when he was younger. Apollo and Rocky are looking at all the younger guys busting their ass training and Apollo says to Rocky “You see that look in their eye? You had it and you won. Eye of the Tiger.” From what I saw last night, Finn’s Cafe 99, Jimmy, and the rest of the crew he has there have the Eye of the Tiger.

  
  Wing Size: 9
  

  Monday isn’t just wing night. It is also pizza night. So figure that into your calculus when you decide that you’re going to Finn’s Cafe 99. But, Finn’s no fool and understands striking while that iron is white hot(they very well may have had this setup for years, I have no idea) and has another wing night which is on Wednesdays.

  On wing night, you can get any amount you’d like.

  The wings are above average in size, which gives them a very good MPB, that’s meat per bite if you’re new around here. And for 70 cents a wing, in today’s climate, that’s excellent.

   

  
  Wing Flavors: 8
  

  12 flavors or possibly 13 or 14 is what you can get at Finn’s Cafe 99. They have all the classics, but also have some unique ones, such as honey chipotle and spicy ranch.

  Potentially the most sought-after flavor is the Jesus dry and wet sauces. No, this isn’t an homage to Jesus from The Big Lebowski. This flavor is pronounced Hey-Zeus. There is a dry version and there is a wet sauce version, and let me tell you(foreshadowing), they are both excellent.

  You can also combine flavors. So, for all you mad scientists out there, get crazy out there.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 8
  

  First off, the wings were cooked very well. There was very good crisp on all the wings, and each wing was drenched in sauce.

  Starting off with the red garlic, which is their take on a hot garlic, it was quite good. There was a solid amount of garlic, and I even think there was more of a sweetness to the “hot” portion of the wing. I actually could have used more heat, which is something I’m pretty sure you can ask for. Next time I’ll certainly do that. But they were quite good.

  Next was the spicy ranch. These wings had such a terrific color to them. This would be their rendition of a hot ranch, and everything was present and accounted for. Like the red garlic, next time I will ask to go to the next level in terms of heat. But like the red garlic, the spicy ranch delivered and was very flavorful.

  Moving on to the honey chipotle. These were fantastic. The sweetness was there, but it was the smokiness of the chipotle that was enchanting. I almost want to go on the record and say this sauce had a Thai-ish flavor to it. Maybe I’m way off on that. What I’m not way off on is that you need to get these.

  Finally, the Jesus dry with a side of Jesus wet. Make sure, if you go this route, you try the Jesus dry as itself without dipping for at least one or two. The dry rub is very tasty with savory seasonings throughout. I asked our server about them, and she said she didn’t know what the seasoning was. I loved that. Keep it a secret from everyone. The wet Jesus(don’t think I’ll ever have another opportunity to write that) was loaded with spice but nothing unbearable. Parlaying it with the dry is a choice everyone has to make. Tons of flavor.

  WRITER’S NOTE- Next time, I’m definitely getting the Jesus wet sauce and ranch. That’s the play.

  We’re not done because Jimmy asked us if we wanted to try the “Jimmy” sauce. Of course, we obliged. I think it’s important to let you know that it’s not like we announced ourselves as who we were to anything like that. We have a little thing called integrity, and I’m almost 100% certain he didn’t know what we’re all about. Jimmy, being the nicest guy in the world that he very well may be, can’t help but want to make folks happy.

  As for the sauce, it was very good. It was like a sweet and spicy sauce. To me, they were a little bit spicier than the hot ones. The Jimmy sauce isn’t on the menu, but I imagine if you asked for it, you could get it.

  We’re still not done because Jimmy asked us if we wanted to try the Diablo sauce. Naturally, we accepted, and he brought a side of the Diablo with fries. The Diablo was a habanero that brought the heat. It wasn’t an upfront of heat it was more like a sucker punch when you turn your back type of heat. Very flavorful. This is one, he said, if you ask, you can order for sure.