Benny’s has been opening up locations across the NEPA scene. Since we haven’t made it to any of these new locations, we figured it was about time to visit Benny’s of Greenridge. For those familiar with Morgan’z, you’ll already know what to expect at this Benny’s location because they took over the location. Whenever we visit, it’s difficult to now sit outside since it is large and partially covered. So, that’s exactly what we did. For those who prefer an indoor dining experience, there is plenty of seating inside including a decently large bar area. In my opinion, the outside is where it is at. There’s a large square bar out there with plenty of TVs for entertainment, lots of tables with umbrellas, and even tables in a covered patio section that looks like it can be closed off and heated. It wasn’t very busy outside on our visit, so service was quick and the wings didn’t take very long to come out. They do not split wing orders for their wing night unless you’re OK with naked wings with sauce on the side. We are not, so we ended up coordinating sauces to enjoy more flavors.
Normally $13.95 for 10 wings, you can get their wing special on Thursday at $7.50 for 10 wings. Like I said above, they don’t allow splitting of sauces so you can’t get two different flavors in your order of 10 unless you want sauce on the side and want to pay extra for the sauce. This is the second place in a row that took this strategy, so I hope it’s not a sign of the times to come because I love variety and my wings covered in sauce. While the price is very reasonable on their wing night, the wings are a bit on the smaller side. I typically use the 16-20 range of wings for my gauge. If I can take down the full 20, they are average to slight below average, which was the case here.
I was torn between 9 and 10 for this rating. They certainly offer a lot of flavors at Benny’s. You can find over 40 different options, including a good variety of dry rubs and a homemade BBQ sauce called Benny’s Glaze. The reason this falls in the 9 camp for me as opposed to the 10 camp is because the while there are a lot of options, there weren’t too many that were really outside the box. Don’t get me wrong, there are some interesting flavors like Cider Glaze, Volcano Style, and Applewood Dry rub, but there were none that wowed me.
The wings as a whole were really well cooked with the right amount of meat to crisp ratio. For a lot of their wing mixes, instead of mixing the sauce together and then mixing with the wings, they tended to coat the wings in a hot sauce base and then drizzle the secondary flavor over it. For example, we ordered the Hot Caesar. These had that really good hot sauce base with the Caesar sauce drizzled over top. You still got that Hot Caesar combo, but I gravitated to the sauce once it started mixing in the bottom of the basket. Overall, they were a well balanced wing with a great flavor, so it was still a solid option. On the other hand, the Sesame Teriyaki was a single sauce wing. The sauce was thick, sticky, and brown, which is expected for Teriyaki. It had a great salt flavor with a slight sweetness. I did enjoy there’s wings quite a bit.
In the wild world of the wing game, some establishments get really ambitious. Some of them say to themselves; You know what, we need to expand.” That is what Benny’s said to themselves and made it their reality.
Benny’s started in Peckville and over the last few years has been as reliable as a wing joint and restaurant/bar you can find. It’s a place where most folks in this area and even in other areas know about Benny’s and what they offer.
Now they have branched out to not just Greenridge St. in Scranton but they also have another location in Clarks Summitt that I think is more of a takeout type of place.
The Greenridge location is formerly where Morganz was. The setup still gives off that Morganz vibe. The large indoor area is flanked by the large outdoor area that is equipped with TVs and another bar.
We sat outside because the weather was cooperating. Not many of these days left so I suggest y’all take advantage of them.
Our server was on point and always made sure we were never parched.
I understand when a place blossoms to another location the feeling could be that quality will won’t be as good as the original. That is not the case with Benny’s of Greenridge(I really want to call it Benny’s on Greenridge) but I digress. Greenridge St. needed a taste of the valley and Benny’s delivers.
Are there bigger wings out there? There sure are. But I’ve mentioned this more in recent reviews and maybe it’s because I’m getting older but I simply don’t prefer a ginormous-sized wing. Yes, if you give me a wing the size of Detroit I will devour it and be very happy. Wings are wings and I will eat all the wings. But at this stage in my life, I’d rather a medium-sized wing that has a better chance of being crispier.
It’s science. If a wing is a bit smaller it has a better chance to be crispier.
The wings at all the Benny’s locations including the Greenridge location are medium-sized wings so let’s not act like they’re miniature or anything like that.
Thursday is wing night and the special is 7.50 for 10 but if you want to split the sauces so you can have more flavors, you have to get the sauce on the side. We just did Kramer’s Grill where we had sauce on the side and I didn’t feel like working for dinner so we just went with 40 wings between the two of us and got four sauces.
If you need to order an extra order to feel fulfilled, I won’t get in the way of that.
This is an easy 10. Benny’s on of Greenridge, and all the Benny’s locations have the same menu unless the Clarks Summitt version doesn’t. That means you can have 43 different flavors of wings regardless of what Benny’s you enter.
Not only that but you will be able to get some unique flavors as well such as Benny’s bacon brown sugar, Benny’s sweet cajun, volcano style, and several dry rubs. Yes, Benny’s knows the value of a name and puts their name in front of many sauces. Power moves only.
We split the wings so Lynch and I will be reviewing all 4 flavors we got. Also, and I know I already mentioned this, the wings are very well crisped up.
First, we have the sesame teriyaki. This is a classic rendition of a teriyaki sauce. This flavor doesn’t pull any punches. It delivers exactly what you want. It has the stickiness you crave along with the tangy saltiness you desire.
Next was the hot Caesar. Again, these were as advertised. There was a good balance between Benny’s Hot and Caesars. A creaminess along with the heat made for a productive sauce.
After that was the Benny’s hot BBQ honey mustard. Yes, there is a lot going on in this sauce. Yes, it was very good. The BBQ was fully there and the honey mustard was drizzled over them. It made for an impressive showing.
Finally, was Benny’s sweet cajun. These were the bell of the ball for me. The cajuness wasn’t overpowering but the spice of cajun was well represented. The sweetness brought this sauce together. I don’t know what they use to make it sweet but they have just enough of it in this sauce.
