I guess I'll blame it on living out of a suitcase for the previous two weeks but yesterday I found myself with a major Jones to get out and about. Recalling a previous post inquiring about "Rooties" we decided to give it a try. So I loaded up my designated driver and headed down the road with the intention of enjoying some wings, watching a little football and getting nice and recreationally buzzed. Mission accomplished.
Located on Westport road Rooties occupies a large building that previously housed a place called "Hoops" (you can see the faded signage on the building). Walking into Rooties you are greeted by a dated, yet somehow very comfortable decor, much of which appears to have survived from previous operators. The place was about a third full (mainly couples, a few large groups, everyone sporting some kind of team colors) and the hostess/server/bartender invited us to sit at any open table and to let her know if we wanted to watch a particular game on a particular TV, that she would be happy to change the channel. There were plenty of comfortable seating options from high tops to booths, some of the later with their own little 14 inch screens. Rooties is owned/operated by a Buffalo NY expat who fancies himself as the Wing King, which is kind of like waving a red flag in front of my face. Best wings ever ? I'll be the judge of that. Choosing a high top in the bar area we placed an order for wings ("all drummies, extra wet") and nachos along with a pitcher of fizzy water to wash 'em down. It should be noted that the beer list at Rooties is pretty much limited to "kids beer" (which is fine with me on this kind of occasion), and about that the closest thing to a craft beer was Stella Artois. The special of the day was $5 picthers or $8 bucks of domestic beer.
While we waited for or order to arrive I glanced at a number of orders as they came out of the kitchen. The wraps looked to be pretty pedestrian and the fries appeared to be straight out of a bag. The burgers were large, well dressed and looked very appealing. In short your typical sports bar fare, maybe kicked up a half a notch. Our order arrived (along with a second pitcher of Bud) and the Nachos were...well Nachos. Nothing too over the top but quite tasty none the less. The wings were another story. Folks like our ol' buddy Phil may know their way around French duck feet (or whatever the hell it was)...Me ? I know buffalo wings and these wings ROCKED. Large, meaty and well done with out being the least bit dry and a sauce that screams "Buffalo NY". It seems everyone who enjoys wings has there own little pet wing joint, most of which I've tried, and I've got to say that Rooties ranks right up there at the top of THAT food chain...These wings are the REAL deal.
As one might imagine, with the owner being from Buffalo, Rooties is a "Buffalo Bills" bar and that was well evidenced by the crowd that started to trickle in an hour or so prior to the 4pm kick-off. According to the server the place goes through quite a transition when the Bills are on. When we were there a bit after 2pm the crowd was relatively thin (20-25 people) but things were showing signs of breaking wild as the kickoff for the Bills game approached. All in all I'd give Rooties a pretty good review...The wings are for sure over the top and well worth the trip. My only knock on the place would be the TV's, most of which appeared to have survived at least one previous owner. Most are old "tube" sets and are definitely not high def. MOF several of them are just outright old fashioned grainy. Bottom line if you want some great wings, or if you know any Buffalo Bill fans looking for like minded people this is the place to go. BTW, just as an aside, I would not describe Rooties as particularly "kid friendly". I'm sure they wouldn't turn you and the little curtain crawlers away at the door but the bottom line is that this is a sports bar and the possibility of a few "F-bombs" flying over the course of the day is pretty well assured.
can't wait to try this place, especially the grilled ones!!