Whiskey Business

87 Wood Street
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702
(570) 829-4567
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This gem of NEPA may not be around for long, judging by the FOR SALE signs out front. But if you get the chance, get in while the getting is good. The wings are incredible, and the smoking not too bad (at least when I was there).

Creepy guy hiding in the mirrored specials wall.

The interior is one giant snaking bar (and snacking), with plenty of room to sidle up. I am sincerely disappointed that this place isn't closer to Philly. It's everything a dive bar should strive to be.

I decided to order a pepperoni and banana-pepper pie, because the bartender told me she loved the pizza. It was thick crust, with a puffy dough, but was surprisingly tasty. The greasy pepperoni and spicy peppers definitely helped build out the flavor.

The cheese wasn't completely mozzarella, it was some kind of blend that added a bit of sharpness. I don't know if it was prov or cheddar, but it was tasty.

The wings were the real star, however. I got an order of half honey hot, half chipotle ranch. They were perfectly rendered, and stayed impossibly crispy even though they were coated in a generous amount of sauce. The honey hot had just enough sweetness, and a well measured dose of heat. Why is it so hard for other places to get this right?

The chipotle ranch were next level delicious though. It was like a ranch gravy boat spilled into a hot pepper plant that was aflame. The perfect combination of cooling ranch, spicy chipotle, and perfectly cooked wings. I hope if they do sell, they don't change a thing.

McDonald's Shakin' Flavor Fries

Limited Time Only
Philadelphia Region

You may have seen the commercials by now, or maybe you haven't, in which case, I'll just tell you about it.

McDonald's has launched a new product in only 3 of their US test markets and Philadelphia is one of them. Along with St. Louis and Sacramento, we have the joy of trying out their newest fad-food: Shakin' Flavor Fries. Now when they say "Philadelphia," they actually mean a huge geographic region that goes as far south as Dover, DE and all the way up through Bucks County. Point is, if you're not in the city to try 'em out, do not fear, they've got the suburbs covered.

The concept is finally making its way to us after nearly 10 years - the chain introduced "Shake Shake" (fries) to their Hong Kong audience in 2005 and they've since spread to menus throughout China, India and Australia. Needless to say, we're way behind the times on this one. And yes, I was invited by the regional PR firm to give them a try...

The idea is that you can order your good old-fashioned regular fries or you can say you want to try one of their 3 new flavors: spicy buffalo, zesty ranch or garlic parmesan. Of course I had to try them all.

You get your flavor pack and an additional bag for which you do the shaking. The idea is to provide a "fun and interactive taste experience." But honestly, that just sounds like additional work for me. Work that I maayyyy be willing to to do...

They encourage you to add as much or as little of the flavor pack as you want. My test run was on the medium size fry, so I was going to err on the side of caution with my flavoring.

Commence shaking! (or "do the shake" as they say.)

They also say "Shake up your tastebuds," which is exactly what these finely ground, little clingy powders do.

They are definitely flava' full. I was a big fan of the buffalo; I only used about 1/3 of the packet and got a very thorough coverage with very little powder. The other two flavors weren't bad either and with the classic McDonald's fries coming hot out of the fryer, there's no problem with getting an even distribution.

I think everyone in Philadelphia, if given the opportunity, deserves to give them a try and even though I didn't have to pay for the extra flavor, I think it's worth the minimal up-charge to shake up your day. See what I did there?

They're only available through the month of August, so go try them and let me know what you think. You can also try to win some free sh*t if you're on Twitter: #shakinphilly. With that, I'm going to end the Shakin' Flavor Fries story with one last tip - if/when you don't use all of your flavor packet, I suggest taking it home and using the rest on some popcorn for a flavor-blasted late-night snack.

Now, since I was there, I figured it was the perfect opportunity to also try their new Clubhouse Burger. Marketed to the people who are interested in the finer things, this one boasts, "thick-cut Applewood smoked bacon, caramelized grilled onions, white cheddar*, crisp leaf lettuce and fresh tomato, all lovingly layered on a quarter pound** of 100% pure beef, then topped with Big Mac special sauce. Served on our artisan roll."

Drum roll, please...
It was all right.
That said, I'll stick with my usual Big Mac order next time.

They'll never stop trying to expand their reach, but at the end of the day, it's hard to do any better than the well loved classics.

*pasteurized process
** weight before cooking 4 oz. (113.4 grams)