This week, the Wingsday crew took on “The Winner’s Circle,” which is a nice little sports bar on South Florida Avenue. I’ll let the reviewers give you their take before I give you mine:

“I was left numb after tasting 9 distinct chicken wing flavors in one lunch this week. I could not even muster up the words to review them until Thursday. To generalize a bit, I thought all the chicken wings were a bit soggy but overall good quality and value. The breading absorbed lots of the wing sauce leaving all candidates feeling a tad pasty. The sweet tea was undrinkable here. Antifreeze would have quenched thirst better. For the sake of brevity, I’m going to employ 5 word reviews for each flavor sampled:

Hot - medium heat hint of sweetness
Bourbon - very sweet would eat again
Taco - best of show meaty goodness
Roasted garlic - super strength garlic birth control
Parmesan - fork and knife Italian meal
Chippy - chipotle soul sweet heat delicious
Vegas - lemon lime tequila unexpected surpriseCajun - pass, not your mamma’s jambalaya
Caribbean jerk - Simon & Garfunkel reminiscent, Scarborough Fair  

”
–Steve

“I’ve been to Winners Circle a few times but never ordered any food so I wasn’t sure what to expect. They’ve also recently relocated which was a good move because the new place seems quite a bit larger and cleaner. You can order 20 wings form $9.95 which is one of the best deals we’ve run across. Since the price was right and we were all in the mood for variety we ordered a total of 100 wings in 9 different flavors. Here’s a break down of how I rated each wing:
Hot (2.5 out of 5 stars) – This wing had a sweet taste but was very deceiving. Once you actually swallowed it left a burning sensation in your mouth that was intriguing. After about 4 consecutive hot wings you start to sweat and look for your favorite beverage. I wasn’t super impressed with the overall flavor so they ranked a little lower on my list.
Parmesan (4 out of 5 stars) – Wings had marinara sauce with some parmesan cheese. They tasted a lot like chicken parmesan and were quite tasty.
Vegas (1.5 out of 5 stars) – Wings were described as having a citrus flavor and seemed to have a hint of lime. Most of the group raved about how good these were, however I wasn’t impressed they tasted a little stale to me.
Taco (3.5 out 5 stars) – Wings had taco seasoning on them and tasted pretty good.
Chippy (Chipolte)/Cajun/Caribbean Jerk (2 out of 5 stars) – For me all these wings tasted like they were doused with a bunch of different grill mate seasonings (a little overboard) and I didn’t really get anything from them. Some of them tasted OK but none of them stuck out for me as tasting good.
Bourbon (2 out of 5 stars) - I was expecting something like you get from a Chinese restaurant just in a chicken wing. I was disappointed as I thought the flavor of these wings was somewhat sour and didn’t taste anything like what I expected.
Roasted Garlic (4 out of 5 stars) – We had a choice to go with Garlic or Roasted Garlic and we all decided that the Roasted Garlic sounded much more appetizing.

The wings certainly had enough garlic on them and they tasted really good.All of the wings were cooked well and they were probably medium in size. 40 to 50 minutes must have passed between the time that we ordered and when the wings started coming out to the table, which seems a little long. When I take the wings, service, and overall atmosphere into consideration I give the whole experience 3.75 out 5 stars.”
–Shawn

“Winner’s Circle is another place I’ve been to a few times before, but without such a discerning tongue. The easiest way to ramble through the cornucopia of flavors we sampled is to just go one at a time:
Hot: Halfway decent. More of a “sweet” hot than the traditional “vinegar” hot… but personally I don’t prefer hot/sweet. These’ll sneak up on ya… the hot takes about 45 seconds to hit. 3 Stars.
Roasted Garlic: Overdone. Unfortunately for my wife, I’m still belching garlic, hours later, after only two wings. Tasty, but too heavy on the minced garlic. 2 Stars.
Taco: Holy Frijoles! These tasted more like warm ground beef than chicken — very delicious. All it needed was some cheese and sour cream. A must-try wing for the curious! 4.5 Stars.
Vegas: Very tasty, but wing-to-wing, the flavor varied a bit to me. There’s a citrusy undertone… well, it was an undertone on the first Vegas I tried… and an overtone on the second. I think the latter wing was covered in more sauce, sitting at the bottom of the pile. Either way, not a bad wing. 4 Stars
Jerk: The key to this wing was the fresh Rosemary that was sprinkled on the wing. Tasted like biting into a fresh herb garden — delicious, different than traditional “jerk” recipes, but packs a ton of good flavor. 4.25 Stars.
Parmesan: Again, a must-try for the person who must try everything. Red marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese… on a wing! The Winggods have smiled upon me with this one. 4.5 Stars
Cajun: Typical. Spicy. Tasty, but nothing to write home about. You can find these wings in dozens of bars. 2.5 Stars.
Chippy: (Chipotle) Not my cup of tea. Probably the worst wing I’ve had in a while. -1 Star.
Bourbon: Again, not for me. I love whiskey… but not in my food. 1.5 Stars.Overall, the place was friendly and inviting, with lots of TVs adorning the walls and plenty o’ darts. The waitress seemed somewhat disinterested in us, and the food took quite a while to appear. However, for the money, the wait was worth it. Some of the least expensive wings we’ve seen. The wings themselves were somewhat tiny and a bit over-breaded, but the sheer quantity of flavors available makes this a must-visit… However, I wouldn’t say they’re in the Winner’s Circle, by any means.”
–Scott

“I graced good old Winners Circle with my presence once or twice back in my college days, but hadn’t been to their new location located within the Dixie Land area of Lakeland. I must say that I was happily surprised when I walked in. Cleanliness that the old Winners would have never had. ::side bar:: I use to take my wife to this same exact building when it was a little Italian restaurant for lobster ravioli. ::end side bar:: Anywho, I sit down with my friends (I’m the last one there as usual) and find out that we all ordered 20 wings, split into 2 flavors of 10 wings. Now right here, at any other establishment, I would have freaked out about the cost of 20 wings, but I was promptly informed that 20 wings was only 10 bucks. WOW! What a super deal!

We are now waiting. And waiting some more. We talked a bit, continued to wait. Finally, after a gut wrenching half hour the first set of wings arrives. Over the course of maybe 5 minutes all our platters of wings arrive and we begin our duty. Remember that word right there. Duty. I decided to go round robin on today’s event. I started with the Vegas wings. How delicious. The Vegas wings had a nice hint of citrus to them, almost like a tequila lime or something. Right from the start I was impressed. This was a very good wing. Next, I moved around the circle to Taco wings. I kid you not, these things smelled like tacos, and even tasted more like beef than chicken. Scary thing was that once again this piece of chickeny goodness was delectable. Ok, 3rd was “chippy,” which to a normal person was chipotle. These were ok. They had a nice flavor to them, and just enough kick for a good spice factor. Then garlic, bourbon, and cajun. Don’t kiss your wife aftereating garlic…although very good flavor, cajun was just ok, and I wasn’t a fan of the bourbon. They tasted like I was eating them out of a Jack Daniels bottle.

The hot wings were something to write home about. They were very good. They were also just like Jerry. They snuck right up on you. Initially they were sweet, and no matter how long the meat was in your mouth it was sweet. as soon as you swallowed, however, pull the fire hose out ’cause these things scorched. They were good but not as good as the hot wings from Kau Kau Koner. I also was able to partake in the jerk wing. It had a nice level of heat, along with some herbs and island flavorings. Lastly was the parmesean wing. This was very much like eating chicken parmesean at an Italian joint. With the grated cheese and marinara sauce, I half expected these to be served with side order of angel hair pasta.

I won’t comment this week on the weight staff. (my mom always said that if you don’t have something nice, don’t say anything at all) All in all I would seriously recommend this place for a good order of wings. Is it the best in town? It’s hard to say. I guess we’ll just have to keep atit next week.”
–Mike

To summarize, the “niche” wings (taco, parmesan, jerk) were so far to the ‘nth degree on the flavor scale that they became too much; I equated it to eating jelly belly gourmet jelly beans: the taco tasted like a ground beef taco. If I want a ground beef taco, why on earth would I order wings? The prices were excellent, and the quality of the food was good, if the service was a bit slow. I’d say I’d go to Winner’s Circle again; however, if I wanted wings, I’d go to Beef’s or Decisions . . .

See you next Wingsday!

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This weeks adventure took us to downtown Lakeland, home to Palace Pizza and the Black and Brew and Harry’s. It’s a neat environment, clean and walker-friendly, and that’s where we found, The Gym. I’ve probably been past it a hundred times and never noticed it. Actually, maybe I did notice it and thought it was a gym. I’m not that smart. Anyway, the Gym is a sports bar, with plenty of TV’s and excellent viewing angles for watching (in this case) the tip-off of the NCAA Basketball Tournament. On to the reviews:

“I have been to The Gym many times, but never for wings. First of all I love the atmosphere. Its a very clean, t.v. infested sports bar. The staff is always pleasant and fun to just chat around with. The Gym is owned by Molly McHugh’s, and is located directly across from it in downtown Lakeland. I ordered 10 hot wings, which the waitress told us weren’t hot enough. She was brutally honest, but very accurate. The wings themselves were alright. They had a good flavor, consisting of more sweetness than heat. I was definitely disappointed in the size of
the wing, but its hard to find a good sized wing once you’ve been to Decisions. I’d give them 2 stars out of 5 and I’d definitely go back…but probably not solely for wing consumption.”
–Mike

“The Gym in downtown Lakeland provided decent wings in an excellent environment. The service was relaxed and slow but very friendly and honest. The chicken wings were not hot at all here. I sampled the blackened wings as well as the hot wings. We watched the tip off of the NCAA basketball tournament on several of the TVs that surround the room, including two big screens in the front. They offer sidewalk dinning — great for people watching in Lakeland’s bustling downtown. The blackened wings were quite good. They reminded me of grandma’s home-style fried chicken. They may have even used some Old Bay seasoning on them. The standard hot wings were nothing to write about. I’d surely go back, but probably stick with the blackened wings, and avoid the sweet tea and curly fries. As with all downtown eats, good luck with parking on weekdays at lunchtime.”
–Steve

“I’ve been a semi-regular at The Gym since my college days. I started coming here when I “outgrew” the Kau’s life and wanted to just relax and have a drink, rather than get swarmed by 1,382 intoxicated college freshmen.

Many a night I’ve dined on their loaded fries while watching a game and enjoying a brew, but until today I had never sampled their wings.

Let me start with the things that were better than average: Cleanliness of the establishment. TV-to-table ratio. Openness and ample seating. Attentive, friendly, TRUTHFUL waitstaff.

The waitress was dead-honest… steering us clear of the opened 2-liter bottles of Nestea they pawned off as “sweet tea” in your glass and warning us about the mildness of the “hot” wings. Points for that. Those are really all the great things I can say about today’s experience.

I ordered 10 “Blackened” wings, and sampled a few of the “hot” wings. Neither were truly up to my ever-rising standards. The “Blackened” wings (Yes, I just lifted my hands from the keyboard to use air quotes) were not really blackened at all… merely a dry-rub concoction of possibly Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, Old Bay, and Garlic Powder. Again, I stress these wings weren’t black at all – they were whiter than a Welshman. They tasted a staggering “OK” on my personal scale. However, they were served piping hot and they were very crispy.

The again-air-quoted “Hot” wings were… not. Mike pointed out a slightly sweet taste to them, and I couldn’t agree more. These were probably the mildest hot wings to date. With the sauce, they were noticeably soggier than the dry-rub blackened wings. The caliber of the wings coupled with the small size of the chicken and the high prices for “add ons” ($3.00 for fries?!) left a somewhat bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, the dining experience itself was pleasant… but the food was par at best.

At least the celery and bleu cheese comes free here.”
–Scottie

All in all, we agreed that this was a decent sports bar, worthy of watching a game. But, as a wing establishment, the Gym leaves a lot to be desired!

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Due to circumstances beyond our control (read: my daughters Easter party at school), Wingsday has been postponed until today.  I apologize for screwing with your calendars.  Stay tuned for our review of another Lakeland landmark!

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