We’ve finally made our return to the Thirsty Elephant. I remember really enjoying their wings in our first pass and was looking forward to a revisit. Located along Wyoming Ave in Scranton, Thirsty Elephant has been open a couple years now, establishing itself as a solid bar in the area. We arrived early in the evening and it seemed like they were still getting set-up for the night as it was dimly lit when we first entered. Thankfully, they did brighten up the place, but that may have coincided when they started to really pump the music. Man, maybe I am getting too old, but the music was so loud it made it difficult to have a conversation, which was an interesting vibe for 6 PM on a Thursday. The place features a big square bar upon entering, a good number of sit down tables, and a big open area next to the bar, which I assumed was for live music and dancing. It’s also an Eagles bar based on a number of banners and signs around the place, so if you’re looking for an Eagles hangout, give this place a try. It also has a large pool table area and some cornhole boards for outdoor activities when the weather permits. Our orders were taken pretty quick, but I think due to separate checks, there was a long wait between the first order arriving and another person’s batch. Serniak is a true gentleman, so he waited until everyone had food, but his wings were cold as a result.
Thirsty Elephant offers two wing nights during the week: Tuesday and Thursday. And at 80 cents a wing, it’s not too bad of an offer. You definitely get a good sized wing for the price, while also being well cooked with plenty of crisp. I’m also a fan that you can group in orders of 6 in case you’re into more variety.
Thirsty Elephant offers a good mix of flavors, including some new flavors since our last visit. If you’re a classic person, they’ve got you covered with Mild, Hot, Garlic Parmesan, and the like. For those who are more adventurous, they have some interesting options like Ginger Teriyaki, Garbage (a mix of a number of sauces), and Thai Chili Crisp, which is a mayo based sauced.
I was excited to kick things off with Creamy Buffalo, but they were out during our visit unfortunately. As a resulted, I opted for the traditional Hot, and I’m happy I did because it is a really solid Hot sauce. It’s a thinner, red sauce, which is not usually my favorite type of hot, but it had a really good, peppery flavor with the right amount of spice. It’s a great offering for those who want to stick to your usuals. I also ordered Thai Chili Crisp. I’m becoming a huge fan of putting chili crisp on everything at home, so was excited to give this sauce a try. I thought it was interesting they when the mayo route with these, and pairing that with chili crisp gave it more of a boom boom sauce sort of flavor with a slightly sneaky spice. They were enjoyable; I just wish there was more sauce on the wings. The Signature sauce is spicy garlic ranch, which was a white, creamy sauce. This was another sneakily spicy wing, but was well balanced as to not be overwhelming. The ranch was slightly subdued on these wings, but that may be because these wings were also a bit lacking in sauce. I wonder if dunking these bad boys in more sauce would have brought out more of the overall intended flavor.
A return trip to The Thirsty Elephant was in order, so we made it happen. Located on Wyoming Ave in Scranton, The Thirsty Elephant has been going strong for a little more than three years now. When we first were here years ago, I didn’t know what to expect. I was, however, pleasantly surprised by how nice our experience there was.
Parking could be a little tricky but here at NEPA Wingmen we think you’ll figure it out.
Inside, you’ll see that the place has just about everything every well-to-do-bar needs to be successful. It has TVs to watch the games, it has pool table, darts, an area to sport your dance moves when the mood strikes, and the place is very clean.
We got there around when they were opening, so things were not popping off, but you can just tell that as the evening progresses that it starts to get active.
Our server was very attentive to us as we sat at the bar coming by frequently to check on us.
I wrote in the first review we did of The Thirsty Elephant that biggest vibe I get about the place is that it is a perfect to go after a day of work. I still stand by this. It just gives that Cheers feel to it.
I don’t know how and I will tell you that I am the worst person to ask about the finances of bars and how much stuff bars and restaurnats buy cost, but wings are 80 cents a wing on wing night, which is Thursday and also Tuesday according to Facebook.
It’s relevant to bring up because when we were here in 2022, wings were a dollar a wing. My people are telling me that’s a 20% decrease in price. I think that’s something in 2025.
And the wings are a very good size with an excellent MPB ratio(that’s meat per bites for you normies). Get your regualr amount and you want walk away feeling unfilfilled.
13 flavors is the amount you can get at The Thirsty Elephant. You can get all the standard ones that any self-respecting wing joing has but they also have some unique ones such as Sahara Gold, Thai Chili Crisp, and Garbage. I kind of wonder if they were influenced by the Peanut Bar with that last one.
They also do a wing flavor of the week which is rotated out. This week was spicy garlic ranch.
Like the first time we were here, these wings were wondeful.
First off, though they are large they are equipped with solid crisp. Another note is that all the wings were thoroughly sauced.
Orders come in 6s so we got 24.
The hot garlic parm were as advertised. Honestly, besides of the wall flavors, hot garlic parm might be go-to wing choice where ever I’m at. They had sufficent heat paired with a good amount of garlic and the creaminess of the parm cheese is perfect accent to both those flavors. I wouldn’t even mind if they cranked the heat up on them a bit more.
Next were the Sahara Gold. I love names like these. I go for them all the time. Cool adjectives for sauces get me hooked becuase who knows how they’re going to be? It’s a liek mystery box but it’s a wing sauce. The Sahara Gold didnt’ dissapoint. They were a bit lighter in flavor comapred to the hot garlic parm, but still was enjoybable. I think there ight have been a honey mustard twang going on with them because there was a sweetness going on there.
We went with a dry rub of the Old Bay. I like Old Bay and they give you a good amount of it so it taste very good. If you like Old Bay or want to feel like you’re in Fish Tales in Ocean City, get these wings.
Finally, we got those Garbage wings. Garbage wings, if you are uninitiated, are combination of a bunch of their flavors into one ultimate flavor. Which flavors are pooled together, I cannot say with certainty. But, it was an excellent concoction that I highly recommend. I feel there was vinegary twang to the Garbage wings that just delivered on every bite.
