Waldo’s

Basic Information:

• Waldo’s 3rd Visit
  Overall Rating: 85

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 41 out of 50

  Environment: 8
  

  We decided it was time to make another trip to Waldo’s since our last visit over three years ago. Our decision was made very easy by the fact that we heard they had redid the menu, added plenty of new flavors, and build an outdoor patio area. I drive by Waldo’s quite a bit since I’m always on Green Ridge Street of Scranton, but I somehow never noticed the new patio, most likely due to the fact that it is mostly fenced in with a small gate to enter. I entered through the patio gate and immediately thought it was fantastic. There is a covered outside bar area with some tables for dining around it. There are also plenty of tables not covered if you want the full outdoor experience. It looks like there are some heaters for those colder nights, but we went on a warm day so there was no need for that. Looking at the covered dining area, I am going to guess that they will put up some type of wall and bring the heaters into the enclosure to create an awesome outdoor/indoor place for hanging out. They have about 6 drafts on tap outside. We went during a Victory Tap takeover and got to enjoy some delicious brews while dining outdoors. They did provide table service outdoors, and all the wings we ordered came out pretty fast. My quick peek inside revealed that not much has changed on the interior. If you’re a fan of the old Waldo’s, you have the option to hang out inside, but personally, I highly recommend the outdoor dining.

  
  Wing Size: 8
  

  When compared to other places, Waldo’s wings were definitely below average. When compared to prices of other wing places though, Waldo’s excelled. On their wing night, which they feature on both Monday and Thursday, they offer wings for only 40 cents a piece. A price like that is very hard to find this day and age. On top of that, Waldo’s allows you to place an order in any amount you want. I’m traditional, so I stuck to my normal 5, but if you wanted to go crazy, you can probably get 3 or 4 of some flavors. Don’t go too crazy and order 1 of every flavor though. People would start claiming you’re a psychopath.

  
  Wing Flavors: 9
  

  Waldo’s offers a good base of a large variety of flavors containing a mix of the classics and some that are more unique. If you want your classic Mild or Butter Garlic, they’ve got you covered. Want to try a wing that’s a little crazier like Taco or Porketta? Waldo’s should be able to help you out. What really pushed them over the top for me was the note on their menu that states you can combine any flavors. That opens up (as Aladdin would say) a whole new world. They may even have some secret sauces that aren’t on the menu, so be sure to ask and you may be in for a little treat.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 8
  

  I decided to amp up my usual Hot order by trying the X-Hot. In the past, any time I ordered the step up, I was always surprised at how tame the flavor actually was. Well, let me tell you, these bad boys were super spicy. It was a darker, red sauce full of peppery spiciness. Don’t get me wrong though, they had a ton of flavor that I enjoy quite a bit. Waldo’s didn’t sacrifice flavor just for the sake of heat here. Let me warn you though, it’s not for the faint of heart. I’d almost be concerned for anyone who wanted to try the next step up, Waldo’s Death Sauce. The Hot Cajun Bleu was a flavor thought up in the mind of yours truly. For the most part, it captured the essence of the combination. It had a great Cajun taste to it along with a spicy backbone of the hot sauce. I only got the slightest hint of bleu cheese on this one though. I wish there was a bit more because it would have mellowed out the heat and Cajun spice a bit, which I think would have been a fantastic flavor. Finally, the Caesar Parm is a classic combination that’s hard for me not to order. I love both flavors and Waldo’s does a really good job of combining them for the perfect balance of Caesar and Parmesan cheese. I ordered these with the mild sauce and I’m happy I did because it allowed the Caesar Parm flavor to come through with just the tiniest hint of hot sauce.

  Serniak's Rating: 44 out of 50

  Environment: 9
  

  It’s not his place, it’s not her place and it’s not even your place. It’s R-Place. And that’s exactly where we went. Not to be confused with the R-Bar, R-place is it’s own separate entity. I remember when I saw the place if businesses were all going to start to follow this idea of sticking the letter R in front of their business name. Imagine the possibilities with me. R-Gas Station, R-Hospital, R-Funeral Home. Endless possibilities. As for R-Place, the place we went for wings, the place is enormous. It has a dining hall that leads into a bar that leads to an outside area. They also have maybe the biggest parking lot of all time. Breathtaking pavement. We sat in the bar area and let me tell you, a cleaner bar would be hard to find. Place was spotless. Pretty sure R-Place has only been around for half a year or so but still, the place pristine. The bar itself had a beautiful wooden top to it. They had a few quality brews on tap but don’t expecting a crazy selection of craft brew. The place had a pool table and a good amount of seating in the bar area. Our server was a very nice lady and she was diligent with us. If you’re looking for a place to get nuts at I suggest trying somewhere else. But if you’re looking to relax in a calming atmosphere this is the place for you.

  
  Wing Size: 10
  

  The trend continues where another place is seemingly feeling the effects of higher wing prices. The wings on R-Place’s wing night is 60 cents. That’s something like 4 places in a row where where wing prices were 60 cents. I know that’s what the market is dictating but I’m just not ready to accept 60 cents as the new 50 cents. I’m close though. As for their size, they were in the middle of big and small, right in the middle. I think you could get your typical order and feel satisfied. One thing to note was the presentation of the wings. They were served to us in individual silver bowls. They looked amazing. Even the color of each wing had a distinct sharpness to them. They really popped.

  
  Wing Flavors: 9
  

  There are 10 flavors to choose from on the menu and they have a flavor of the week that is not located on the menu and instead is on the wall. The flavors are JandJ Spicy, classic mild buffalo, classic hot buffalo, honey mild, BBQ, honey BBQ, Beez Kneez(honey garlic), Asian Blazin(sweet chili, teriyaki), garlic parm /herb butter and OMG Hot. The featured off menu flavor was sweet jalapeno. They have some cool names for some of their flavors that I’m always a sucker for. In fact their entire menu is loaded with cool and interesting names for their food. I wish they would get ranch involved in their flavor lineup. Ranch is a can’t miss with just about any other flavor.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 8
  

  I got the JanJ Spicy, Asian Blazin, Bees Knees and Sweet Jalapeno. Let’s start with the Asian Blazin. They had what you want in an Asian sauce. Had some heat, had some spice and had that saltiness that you expect from Chinese food. Nothing overpowered the other. More of a thicker sauce compared to what you get with just a teriyaki sauce. Next we have the JanJ Spicy. Not sure who JanJ is. Perhaps they’re paying homage to the fallen J and J security who were the henchmen of Triple H. Gotta be that. This sauce was spicy but not wildly spicy, just right. You knew it was there but it didn’t take over your tastebuds. It was a very flavorful sauce. To me, it was like their house hot sauce kicked up a notch. Continuing on I went of menu and had the sweet jalapeno. Didn’t hate this sauce, but I was left wanting more. I figured with actual jalapeno on the wing it would have much more kick. They didn’t. It was much more sweet, which is fine but I was hoping there would of been a more give and take between sweet and spicy. Oh well. Lastly, and the best that I had there were the Beez Kneez. I was a bit skeptical of just a honey and garlic combo but man they were excellent. The honey and sweetness were there but it was garlic that took the lead here. It was prominent throughout each bite. I there were some added herbs in there as well that played a nice role. I typically don’t get excited about honey but I’m glad I went against my grain and got them because they were the truth.

  
  
• Waldo’s Podcast - 01/21/16

  It’s been quite a while since we’ve been to Waldo’s. In fact, it’s been close to three years. Well, don’t you worry, because we decided to check it out again. And, lucky you, we recorded a podcast of our visit. Scroll down a little to listen!

  Waldo’s is a nice-sized bar located right along Green Ridge Street. They provide plenty of wing flavors and even feature a Shuffle Board if you’re into that sort of thing. Order the Hot Ranch if you want to enjoy a truly delicious wing.

  To read about our first visit to Waldo’s, head on over to the Waldo’s Review Page. We have our written review there as well as our recently recorded Wingcast.

  
  

  

  Waldo’s - 01/21/16

• Waldo’s First Visit
  Overall Rating: 56

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 26 out of 50

  Environment: 3
  

  Waldo’s is a pretty small bar located near the bottom of Green Ridge Street. It is a very missable building with a sign of a walrus over the door. I always thought it was a townie bar, but I was surprised by the crowd once I entered. There were plenty of people who could be described as townies, but there was also a younger crowd there. It was surprisingly crowded, too. The bar does allow smoking, which the patrons were taking full advantage of. My clothes reeked of cigarette smoke the next day. It took quite a while for the food to come out, and the waitress said our drink orders can only be placed at the bar. We only wanted water, which is provided in water bottles. I hate when places don’t give you tap water and charge you for the water. Between the outrageous amounts of smoke and the many inconveniences of service, Waldo’s wasn’t exactly the best place to eat wings.

  
  Wing Size: 8
  

  These wings were slightly above average, but at $0.30 a wing, they are the cheapest around. You will be filled up without spending a pretty penny.

  
  Wing Flavors: 7
  

  There was a decent selection of flavors. A lot of the flavors I have seen before, but they had a whole menagerie of wing choices.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 4
  

  I ordered the Hot, Hot Ranch, and Hot Honey Garlic. I was underwhelmed by the flavors I ordered. The Hot was very spicy, but didn’t hold much flavor. That buttery taste that I love from a wing was absent. It was just a salty hot flavor. The Hot Ranch were decent. The Ranch added a good flavor to the Hot sauce. The Hot Honey Garlic were lacking the Honey part. The Hot and Garlic were pretty dominant, but I didn’t get a sweet honey taste. I was looking forward to it, but I was let down. I also tried the Captain Morgan. It could have done with a bit more sauce, but it was actually pretty tasty. It’s more along the lines of a sweet sauce, but I can go for those once in a while.

  Serniak's Rating: 30 out of 50

  Environment: 5
  

  The atmosphere at Waldo’s was average. It wasn’t bad but it also wasn’t great. Just a typical bar/restaurant. The service was a bit shaky. Our waitress wasn’t very friendly and when are food came she just kind of heaved them on our table and didn’t say anything. Getting a beer at Waldo’s wouldn’t be a bad idea but don’t expect to do more than drink.

  
  Wing Size: 7
  

  The size of the wings weren’t that bad. They weren’t tiny by any means and they were also 30 cents, the cheapest that the Wing Men have come across.

  
  Wing Flavors: 6
  

  There were about 15 flavors. There weren’t anything that was off the wall or interesting. All standard flavors with a few others that I’ve had before but not at a ton of places.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 6
  

  Like the environment, the taste was just alright and averageish. I got hot, butter and garlic hot ranch and Captain Morgan. The hot were solid but the butter and garlic used minced garlic instead of fresh garlic , which I prefer. The Captain Morgan were some kind of bbq sauce but were very weak in flavor. The hot ranch is the wing to get here. They were a good blend of the 2 flavors.