Rolling hills surrounding beautiful academic grounds. Used bookstores, outdoor concerts, intelligence and bacchanal around every corner. Over the years, Charlottesville has nearly developed into the perfect college town. The evolution, however, is not complete. Any self-respecting Division I state school needs a good sports bar, a haven that surrounds the individual with spectacle and fills her with all things fried. Wild Wing Cafe admittedly represents a higher order on the evolutionary chain, but, dreadfully, we are still not walking erect. Several watering holes in Charlottesville serve good food, but they have all lacked the milieu expected from a respectable sports bar. Wild Wing has the atmosphere but falls short on the fare.
Lodged in the recently renovated historic Amtrak station, Wild Wing offers two floors of indoor dining and houses a large rooftop deck for those wishing to dine outside. As trains pull into the station, engineers and freight operators will detrain long enough to check the score of the game and then embark again for their next destination. The building provides a wonderful arena for the cafe, and the bar upstairs is very large. The Wild Wing menu is impressive, a smorgasbord of wings, ribs, burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads and more. They offer 28 various marinades which can be used to flavor any entree at the diner's discretion.
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The appetizers are relatively standard, but they come in healthy portions. If you cannot choose from the wide variety of starters, order the Super Snacker Sampler ($9.95) and get five appetizers and three different sauces. The onion rings are quite good, as are the Buffalo Chips, homemade fried potato chips, lightly salted and very crisp. The Southwest ranch sauce complements these old standards very well. Served with marinara sauce, the Mighty Mozzarella Sticks are also tasty. Described as "sort of a fritter gone wild," the Hot Shots are the one daring inclusion on this dish. A breaded sausage and cheese pastry that melts in your mouth if not in your hand, the Hot Shots are spicy but well worth the risk. The only pitfall in the sampler is the fried mushrooms, which are too big, too wet and not cooked well enough.
The titles of Wild Wing dishes all brim with extreme confidence. Under the heading of "sensational salads," one finds the Terrific Thai Chicken Salad ($6.99). Once the salad is on the table, however, finding the lettuce may not be so easy. An abundance of crunchy sesame noodles and heavily toasted almonds top this ready-made salad. The portion is large, but who really cares?
Salads and appetizers aside, if a wing joint wants to prove itself, the test is in the title dish, and Wild Wing is just plain average. While the wings provide a fair amount of meat, they were too short on the sauce. The restaurant prides itself on its signature marinades, but they were unfortunately difficult to detect. The traditional wings were a little too dry, but the chicken feathers, boneless white meat skewered with several choices of sauce, were unbearably arid. All this is a shame, because what sauce one can taste is actually quite delicious.
Scanning the list of marinades, one sees something for everyone, from the only mediocre Thai peanut to the Old Yeller mustard sauce.
The Gold Rush is a spicy twist on the customary honey barbecue. For those who want traditional hot wing sauce, Wild Wings offers the full range of kick.
The China Syndrome was quite hot even for us, purveyors of all foods painful, and the restaurant offers two hotter varieties.
Merely ask your server about the Braveheart and you are likely to receive a verbal warning about the potential discomfort that one may experience if not truly brave at heart.
The Wild Wing Chocolate Thing layers ice cream, chocolate and whipped cream with two relatively uninspiring brownies.
It would be good for someone who is trying to get as much chocolate into his system as quickly as possible, but otherwise this dessert is nothing to write home about.
Perhaps the greatest thing going for Wild Wings is its infinitely popular bucket of beer, an iced down pail of five bottled brews available in a variety of brands ($10 for domestic, $13 for import). Whether sitting in the hot sun or crowded with friends around the television inside, many people can be seen nursing a bucket on any given evening.
This happening addition to a previously run-down train depot has attracted a good deal of attention through word of mouth and a wonderful radio marketing campaign. All the hype is not totally undeserved.
At Wild Wing Cafe, the big screens may be in place, the service is willing and friendly, but the kitchen must step it up a notch if the restaurant is to become more than just a sports bar hangout.
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