Windsor Inn

Basic Information:

• Windsor Inn - 12/04/16
  Overall Rating: 62

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 31 out of 50

  Environment: 7
  

  Many readers have wondered why The Windsor Inn is one of the few places we have never been to in NEPA. The answer is very easy – we generally only go to wing places on wing night. Is that because we are cheap? Well, partially, but we also like to set a standard and stick to it. Personally, I think if you want to be considered a wing place, you should at least have a wing night. Anyway, with new owners came a wing night for The Windsor Inn. When we found that out, we figured it was about time we made a visit. As a young lad from Lakeland School District, I had my fair share of wings from the Windsor in the past. It has been quite a while since I last visited, but the inside has remained much the same. You enter into the bar area complete with a large, square bar with plenty of TVs to catch your favorite game. To the right of the bar is well-lit, sit-down dining room with plenty of seats to enjoy a meal. Our server was friendly enough and the food arrived relatively quickly, so no complaints there. Honestly, not much has really changed since I was a youth and visited the Windsor, which is more than OK in my book.

  
  Wing Size: 7
  

  When talking about the Windsor with other wing enthusiasts, the small size of the wings became a common complaint. Well, that is no longer the case. These wings are much larger than I remember. On Sunday, which is their wing night, The Windsor Inn charges 60 cents a wing from 6 PM to 10 PM. You can also get wings in order of 5, which I am always a fan of. While they are not the biggest wings you will ever come across, it is a definite improvement over what I have seen in the past.

  
  Wing Flavors: 5
  

  The Windsor Inn has also improved in the types of flavors they offer. While many of the flavors are pretty basic, I’m happy to see they stepped it up a bit with some creative offerings such as Sriracha Ranch and Thai Chili. I think it was also a smart decision to leave those original Hot flavors on the menu to appeal to the long-time fans of the Windsor.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 6
  

  I decided to amp it up a bit for my wing order by ordering the Xtra Hot as opposed to the usual Hot that you traditionally see me chowing down on. I was happy with my choice. The Xtra Hot had a pretty good flavor up front with a nice kick of spice on the back end. I would even consider ordering the Super Hot on my next visit to see how much heat it can bring to the table. The Thai Chili left a little to be desired. It was your usual sticky, sweet sauce with a tiny hint if heat from the Chili. I feel like most restaurants, including Windsor, just order this sauce in bulk and serve as is. I think it’s a good base that you can modify to really make it stand out. Perhaps adjust it by adding some more heat to really make it a delicious sauce. The final wing I ordered was the Sriracha Ranch, which was probably my favorite out of the bunch. It had a great ranch flavor with a mellow spice from the sriracha. It was well-balanced and delicious. Overall, I think Windsor is smart to stick with the original flavors, but I think they have room to grow and to really spread their wings with these unique offerings.

  Serniak's Rating: 31 out of 50

  Environment: 7
  

  Finally, Sern has come back to near his home. I know The Rock does that slightly better than me but since the Windsor in Jermyn is the closest place that I will go to for wings I figured I couldn’t let the opportunity to impersonate the Great One slip by. Anyways, the Wingmen finally got to try the 2nd greatest wings in all of space and time according to a contest where they placed 2nd in I think in the 70s. I always thought it was weird that a place with such well graded wings never had a wing night. Maybe it was the kind of thing where the management never wanted to serve them at anything not full price? Who knows? I’m just a guy who believes that if you have a flagship item that you should give the people an opportunity to enjoy them a bit cheaper than usual. Might not be a popular opinion but remember this is coming from a guy who’s never ran a restaurant. Haven’t been inside the Windsor in many years and man it was different. Much more bright an extra restroom and just a more updated look and feel to it. The place is equipped with a large bar on side and tables and chair area on the other. Definitely a place you could bring the family after an evening at the skating rink. Our server was pleasant and helped us with everything we needed. One thing I don’t think they have anymore is the arcade room, which if you think about it, are really becoming a thing of the past. So if you’re looking to play Mortal Kombat and ski ball, sorry.

  
  Wing Size: 4
  

  Big friggin wings. That’s what you’ll get here. Really yuge. But the reason for the rating of a 4 is because they’re 60 cents each. That easily puts them 10-15 cents higher than the norm of about 45-50 cents each. Are we talking life changing money? Probably not. But it’s a high number. Also, their wing night is on Sundays, which is neat and different but it’s only from 6-10. Just seems like a real small window of time to experience a places wing night. But if you think about it, they aren’t advertising a wing day. So I guess I kind of have to respect the exactness of their decision.

  
  Wing Flavors: 6
  

  I think the last time I was at the Windsor there were only hot and mild sauces to choose from. I don’t mind if you fact check me on that. Today, they’re up to 13 sauces. It’s a solid number of wings but besides the sriracha ranch and Thai chili, everything else is a play off their hot and mild sauces. Such as hot, hot garlic, xtra hot, super hot garlic, mild, mild garlic. You’ll find that they have BBQ and butter and garlic. I’m pleased that there are more sauces from I remember, but I’m a guy who desires different styles and creative approaches.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 7
  

  I got my standard 20 because that’s what I do. First of I got their classic hot. It was fine. It tasted like hot sauce from the valley. A real deep butter based sauce. In hindsight, I should’ve gotten the next level in hotness because the plain hot didn’t have as much as heat as I could have gone for. Next, I had the butter garlic. Big fan of these. A very generous portion of garlic was distributed throughout the wings. Amazes me when I get butter and garlic from places and there isn’t garlic everywhere. Thanks Windsor. 3rdly, i got the Thai Chili. Another very solid entry. They had good spices throughout and even had a sweetness that really accented the heat. Lastly, and what I thought were the wings to get, the sriracha ranch. I’m not saying I’m an unpaid spokesman for the sriracha revolution but I’m also not saying I’m not either. This sauce had the major heat you get with a sriracha sauce but when you add the cooling agent that is ranch you really have a dynamite sauce on your hands.