Moontower, which is very much a reference to the movie Dazed and Confused, is a newer bar in the Archbald area. Since, it’s so new, it is a very clean place. It has a nice larger bar and plenty of areas for seating. When we got there around 7:00, we were the only two people there besides the bartender. He seemed liked a nice guy and was very friendly and helpful. Since we were the only two, we had no issues with placing our order and getting it pretty quickly. The walls have a bunch of posters from various movies. For example, there was a pretty cool Boondock Saints poster, which I am a fan of, so that doesn’t hurt the environment. One thing I was not a fan of was the wing night. This was the only place I’ve been where the wing night is only valid with the purchase of a drink. Now I don’t know if it would have been allowed if we didn’t get a beer, but it was clearly stated on the board. In addition, the drink we got, which was a nice Susquehanna Brewing Company Pumpkin Ale (I highly recommend this for anyone who likes a pumpkin beer with more spice like clover and cinnamon) cost $4.50. That’s very high for an SBC beer. Also, you can order place in multiples of ten. I was unable to get my safe order of 15.
When we ordered our wings, the bartender was saying that he would be impressed if we would could take them down as they were jumbo wings. I hate when people say they have jumbo wings because you have this high expectation and they all end up being the same anyway. These wings were pretty large, I won’t deny that, but they were not the largest I have seen around.
Moontower has your usual assortment of wings with the addition of a couple unique flavors. I am always a fan of seeing Cajun on the menu, and I am an even bigger fan of Teriyaki.
I ordered Hot, Hot Garlic, Dry Rub Cajun, and BBQ Teriyaki. I was a fan of their Hot and Hot Garlic. The base Hot sauce had a great hot wing sauce flavor. Some places are either too salty or too vinegary, but these wings had a good balance of flavor to enjoy. I was let down by the Dry Rub Cajun. I feel like I’m always let down by Cajun, whether it is a dry rub or a wet sauce. A good dry rub is difficult to pull off, too. The dry rub Cajun at Moontower were a miss. The flavor wasn’t very strong and a bit lacking in the Cajun taste I enjoy. The BBQ Teriyaki were very enjoyable. I am a huge fan of Teriyaki, but not such a big fan of BBQ, so I was a bit skeptical on these. Luckily, the Teriyaki flavor was more prominent in the wing. Additionally, I think the BBQ sauce helped the sauce thicken up a bit, and maybe that was its main purpose. These wings worked and I enjoyed them a lot.
The Moontower, formerly the Starlight Lounge, is a refurbished establishment that looks nothing like its predecessor. It is very clean and has plenty of seating. It has a sports bar feel to it but it also caters to the kind of crowd who likes to unwind on a weekend. When we got there, there was nobody else there because I think they just sort of opened for the evening. Our bartender was a nice guy and he let us know about how the wings are. Service was timely and swift but not to any point where I felt rushed.
The wings are real big here and our bartender explained us this fact before we ordered. They aren’t wing-for-wing the biggest I have ever had, Diskins and Heil’s takes that honor, but they are large enough to make you full in a hurry. The reason they only get a 6 is not because they are 50 cents a wing, which I understand. There aren’t many wing places that are even 40 cents on wing night. The reason is because you have to order a beverage to get the wing night price. I feel that is a requirement that need not be. This is the only place where I have come across that operates like this.
Only a few flavors to choose from and some standbys are not included. The Moontower has mild, hot, mild garlic, hot farlic, bbq teriyaki and Cajun. No plain BBQ or honey mustard, which is unusual.
Overall, the wings at the Moontower were pretty good. I ordered hot, hot garlic, BBQ teriyaki and Cajun. The hot were not what I thought they would be and it was a delight. They reminded me of the Town Tavern hot wings where they put a lot of pepper and spices that you can visibly see but these had more sauce to them compared to the Town Tavern. They were very good. The hot garlic wings were excellent as well. The garlic added quite a flavor burst that was so enjoyable. The BBQ teriyaki were solid as well. I like plain teriyaki wings but I really enjoyed the adding of the BBQ flavor to them make a little bit sweeter. Lastly, I had the Cajun and they were a dry rub. Unfortunately, the Cajun wings were not that great. There wasn’t much taste to them even with the dry rub seasonings. They were pretty much plain. But the rest of the wings made up for it.
