The Y Knot Pub & Eatery in Elmhurst is the type of place you go when to hang out and have a great time with your friends. The outdoor patio is fantastic for warmer weather with plenty of dining tables and a large bar. They even have a sand volleyball court and an area for horseshoes. You definitely won’t find that anywhere else in the area. Due to just missing the last days of warm weather, we decided to sit inside. They have an impressive indoor section, too. There’s a big dining area for family eating and a nice-sized bar room. We sat at the bar on this visit and had very good service. Our orders were taken promptly and we were checked on constantly. I always have a great time at Y Knot and I’m sure you will too. I just wish we planned out visit a bit better so we could have played volleyball while we waited for our wings.
The size of the wings at Y Knot is slightly above average for your typical wing joint. Normally priced at $7.49 for 10 wings, you can catch yourself a deal with 50 cents a wing by going on Thursday, which is their wing night. You can place orders of 5 on wing night to get a larger variety of flavors.
The Y Knot added new flavors to their rotation, knocking them up a few points in my book. In fact, these new flavors aren’t officially on the menu yet. I’m not sure if they are experimenting with new things or they just haven’t had time to print out new menus, but I more than welcome the increased options. On top of the usual offerings of Mild, Hot, BBQ and others, The Y Knot now offers some unique choices like Erie, Sledge Hammer, and Lemon Pepper.
I got a mixed bag of old and new wing sauces with my order. The 2012 House sauce is what you’d expect from a traditional buffalo wing. It’s a classic wing sauce with a slight spice without being overwhelming. I ordered the Hot Garlic Parm, but was served just Garlic Parm. They were creamier looking wings with chunks of garlic and herbs mixed in the sauce. It is a milder sauce with good flavor. Teriyaki is one of my favorite sauces on a wing, so I was excited to see how The Y Knot pulls it off. The Y Knot makes a stickier Teriyaki sauce with a sweeter taste. I wish it had a bit more of that saltiness that you find in many Teriyaki sauces. When a wing sauce is given a cool name like Sledge Hammer, expect me to order it every time. It was described to us as a Sweet and Spicy wing (Hammer is a milder version). It was slightly sweet with a strong, peppery taste to it. It also had a hint of smokiness that really added to the overall flavor. The Sledge Hammer was fantastic! It was the best wing I ordered that night.
The Y-Knot is the pride of Elmhurst. Everyone who lives in that area knows about, goes there and thoroughly enjoys their time from what I’m told. I think that’s because you can get so many different experiences there. You can sit up at the bar and watch a game, or you and your friends can hit the juke box and play pool. Also, in the summer months, you can eat on their big patio area and play volley ball and horseshoes, which is way awesome. The service was fine from everyone that dealt with us. They helped with explaining their new sauces in a pleasant manor.
I feel like they were much larger than I remember them being. I think I say this because I left full. Even at 50 cents a wing, which I know is around the average for wing night prices, I still felt like I got my fill.
Kudos to the Y-KNot for adding new flavors. I think that’s a really progressive and fun thing to do. They have their standards, which are hot, Cajun, southwestern, sweet chili and 2012 house sauce, but then they added ones called Erie, hammer, sledge hammer and lemon pepper dry rub. Any time a place adds new choices to wings, I always get pretty amped about it, which isn’t weird at all.
This time around, I only got 15 wings instead of my usual 20. Leave me alone about it. Anyways, I got the sledge hammer which is their extra hot sauce mixed in with some sweetness. I really liked it. It brought sufficient heat and had that sweet taste balance, just like it was advertised. Now, the lemon pepper dry rub was very intriguing to me because I’m a sucker for dry rubs because they are rarer. But this flavor had the makeup of being a classic but surprisingly it did something that I usually don’t encounter. It had too much lemon seasoning and was overwhelming. If they just pumped the brakes a little bit on the lemon it would have been stellar. Finally, I got the Erie, which is their mild sauce mixed with Italian seasonings. Not a real complex flavor, but I really enjoyed it. The buttery mild sauce aided by seasonings such as oregano, basil, thyme and rosemary really made this my wing to get on this trip.
