McGinty’s Bar and Restaurant

Basic Information:

Location: 1557 Dickson Ave, Scranton, PA, 18509
Phone Number: ( 57) 096-18255
Wing Night: Monday
Wing Night Price: 40 cents
Wing Flavors:

Mild, Hot and Nuclear

Links: Facebook
Notes:

Wing To Get: Hot

  • McGinty’s

    Overall Rating: 45

    Lynch Serniak

    Lynch's Rating: 16 out of 50

    Environment: 4

    When we first posted The 2015 NEPA Wing Tournament, a lot of people were up in arms because we did not include McGinty’s in the list. So, that means we had to check it out. I’ve heard of McGinty’s before. It’s been suggested in the past, but usually with a follow-up sentence of, “You might be better to get take out.” It does have quite the reputation, but The Wing Men are a brave group, so we dined in. Besides, to enjoy the wing night price, it must be dine-in only. We parked our car and walked right up to the front door. It was locked. We questioned whether we were at the right place or there at the right time, but there had to be a reason cars filled the parking lot. We made our way around to the back where the dining room door was luckily open. No one was in the dining room, so we walked through to the bar. This is where the action was. People were at the bar placing their wing orders, others were playing pool, and a couple were shooting some darts. It was hopping. As we ordered our wings, we heard a knock on the front door and the bartender asked, “Alright, who locked the door again?” Well, that explains that. It is a cash only establishment with an ATM. They make you pay for all your stuff up front. We ordered our wings and drinks, and paid for the drinks right then and there. When the wings came out, they took the money right then and got our change. It was definitely an interesting system that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I’m not sure why McGinty’s has such a bad reputation because we have a fine enough time. It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure.


    Wing Size: 3

    A 40 cent wing night ain’t bad at all, but a lot of the wings I got were quite tiny. They do have a nice crispiness to them. Also, I was told their wings are fresh, not frozen, so maybe that explains the size. I did get one or two bigger wings, but the majority were smaller than I like.


    Wing Flavors: 1

    I hope you’re a fan of your regular Buffalo wing here, because that’s all you’re going to get. I will say that with such a small selection, it makes choosing a lot easier. Some people will argue if you do a wing sauce well, why have all the bells and whistles. Personally, I like the variety, so only seeing a Buffalo sauce on the menu was a bit of a let down. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can always go for the Nuclear.


    Wing Taste (x2): 4

    As you can probably guess, I ordered 20 Hot. When they came out, the vinegar of the sauce hit me right in the face. I like that feeling in the nose that hits you so hard you have to cough. The wings were drenched in sauce, which I am also a fan of. It is a dark red sauce with a bit of a thickness to it. You definitely get that vinegary, slightly salty taste as you eat them. It almost seemed as though it had a spaghetti-like flavor to it, like there was tomato paste thrown into the mix, too. Personally, I’m not crazy about this type of sauce, but I feel like I’m in the minority here. The level of spice is nice for the Hot. Honestly, I don’t get what all the hype is about, I thought the wings were average, but taste is subjective. I know a lot of people love McGinty’s wings, so they must be doing something right that I’m not getting. Go there and be your own judge.

    Serniak's Rating: 29 out of 50

    Environment: 8

    Mcginty’s is an interesting place because it has the look and feel of a throwback, corner bar from the 80’s, where you’d expect to find an older more grizzled crowd but the exact opposite were there. Instead, it was a younger, very lively crowd that brought an energy that had the Genese draft beer screaming for a break. Like I said, there’s a real throwback feel to the place. Perhaps part of that is that you could smoke in the bar area. I don’t smoke, but personally, I’m perfectly fine with people doing it in a bar. Something about a bar should be a place where a person can do whatever they want, within reason. There is a seprate wing of the place with just tables that is nonsmoking, so don’t think Mcginty’s isn’t understanding. There is a sweet purple felted pool table along with darts, if you’re down for games. Another cool thing about the seating is that they have 3 tables all lined up next to each other. So you may be sitting with the people who you came with, but right next to you may be some complete strangers tying one on. Either way, it’s going to be interesting. From what we could tell, you have to order everything you want up at the bar itself. Our waitress/bartender was cool and poured some fine Genny and lager. Then when your food comes out it’s brought by a person I feel is the cook and you pay him right there. Never had that happen before, but it was nice just being able to leave when you were done.


    Wing Size: 7

    The size of the wings at McGinty’s reminded me of the size of other places like Kelly’s or Jason’s. They weren’t overly big but they were cooked thoroughly and had a nice crispiness to them, which the masses prefer. Of course, it was their wing night and the price was 40cents each, so that’s fine. I got 20 and I felt like 5 more really would have put me at a level of fullness that would have been just right. Lesson learned.


    Wing Flavors: 2

    Not much to choose from here. They had mild, hot and nuclear. A couple simple, traditional flavors would be great. Like your honey mustard, bbq, butter garlic, hot ranch would really be nice to see.


    Wing Taste (x2): 6

    The thing with a place that has a small amount of flavors is that even if that one or two flavors I get are real good, in good conscious, I can’t give a stellar score. It wouldn’t be fair to places that have many flavors. But I got 20 of the hot wings and they were pretty good. The sauce was a think passionate sauce that had heat. I also thought they had a sweetness to them, maybe brown sugar? I don’t know something else was going on there that really brought the flavor all together. Also, and this was nice to see, at McGinty’s, they really pile on the sauce. I love when places don’t skimp on the essentials.