This was my first time at Penalty Box, and I was certainly not disappointed. For some reason, I thought the place was more of a townie bar, but I did not get that vibe while I was there. The place had an extremely long bar that stretched through most of the establishment. There was plenty of open space along with a pool table, a couple dart boards and other things to keep you busy. The tables were set up in three long rows, with about 16 seats at each. They reminded me of viking tables. Our server was nice and amiable. She would throw around a couple jokes and was always attentive. We are scholarly gentleman, and we only eat when everyone has been served their food. They had a nice system set up so we all received the same wing at the same time, so we didn’t have to wait for anyone. Also, every flavor we received came in an individual basket, with the flavor written on the corner, so there was no guess work involved. It was a nice touch that made the experience that much more enjoyable. The only thing that brought this down to a 10 was that people were allowed to smoke in the restaurant\bar.
If it weren’t for the wing size, this place would have been one of the best places around. At $0.50 a wing, it is one of the highest wing prices around. On top of that, the wings were only average sized by wing standards. There were plenty of scrawny ones thrown in the mix too.
The Penalty Box did not have the largest selection of flavors, but the flavors they did have were diverse and unique enough in their own right. They had a bunch of flavors that you couldn’t find anywhere else.
These wings were phenomenal. There wasn’t a single one I tried that was subpar. I ordered the Hot, Jalepeno Ranch, and the Thai Sweet pepper. The Hot reminded me a lot of Town Tavern’s in the sense that they were a hot sauce with an interesting spice. That set them apart from other hots that I have tried. The Jalepeno Ranch was the least favorite of all my flavors, but they were still tasty. My only complaint with these wings was that while they had a great Ranch taste, it could have used a bit of that jalepeno spiciness, which wasn’t there. The Thai Sweet pepper was unlike anything I had before from a wing place. It was a very thin, sweet sauce with what appeared to be red pepper flakes mixed in. These are highly recommended. I also tried the house sauce, which would be considered a traditional hot for most places. But even their house sauce was amazing. It was very simple, but had a wholesome, buttery taste. Out of the Jalepeno Ranch and Chipotle Ranch, The Chipotle Ranch is the way to go. It is a perfect mixture of the Ranch flavor and Chipotle. The Italian was much different than what I was expecting. I thought it was simply going to be Italian seasoning on a wing, but it was closer to a garlic parmesan wing.
This place felt like a good time. People were laughing and were just in a good mood. If you wanted to watch a game of any kind, this place would be a nice choice with all of the flat screens hung on the walls. Billiards and darts were also an option. Our waitress was personable and joked around with us knowing we would appreciate that. This place also did the little things well. Things such as writing what each flavor was on each basket and bringing out a basket for all of us at the same time are things I really enjoyed and thought was convenient. The Penalty Box is a establishment that allows smoking, so if that bothers you, you’ve been warned.
At 50 cents a wing on wing night you would expect a monster sized wing but that is not what you will get. They aren’t tiny but don’t be surprised if at the end you want a bit more.
There weren’t 35 different flavors but the one’s they did have were unique in that I haven’t seem a few of them before. Flavors such as chipotle ranch and jalapeno ranch, Italian and Thai sweet chili really got my engine going.
The Penalty Box really impressed me with how many of their flavors I loved. The chipotle and jalapeño ranch wings were original and loaded with flavor. The Italian wings, as there called, had a seasoned creamy taste that made you wonder what was in there. Also, the regular hot wings had a distinct flavor that I really enjoyed.
