DC Grill - More Effin Wings

A friend got the FEAR yesterday and outright refused to take a short trip into NoVA and try a steak and cheese from Mario's, which help explains why the chicken wings at another DC hotel bar were made to slip on the open-back patient gown and subject themselves to an ass-puckering invasive examination.

What a douche!

Anyway, a silver-lining in the otherwise dark and swollen storm cloud raining down economic misfortune on...uh...I mean one of the good things that has come about as a result of these trying economic times in DC is the Hotel Bar Happy Hour prices concept. It has been put into practice in no less than three hotels within short walking distance of the home office.

Pool Bar at the Washington Plaza hotel has drink and appetizer specials, as does 14K in the Crowne Plaza Hotel and DC Grill, which is housed on the second floor of the Four Points Sheraton.

With perhaps the exception of 14K, not many locals are hip to this respite from the ordinary price-gouging techniques employed in the hospitality business. During the headier days of the recent past, any idea of discounting food and booze would've been met with Vincent Price-inspired cackling and a dismissive wave from the managing class stationed in these second-tier inns.

Which brings me back to the wing thing. Pool Bar wings have already been reviewed here. Last night was DC Grill's turn to have their take on the American bar food classic examined.

DC Grill's wings rank higher than those that were sampled at Pool Bar. It's a good, but not great wing. They are grilled for a short time before being served, for a nice charred taste and crispy consistency - definitely a point booster in my book. Also they're of decent size and supplied a healthy amount of flesh.

The wings were accompanied by neat and ample piles of celery and carrots, straddling either side of a small cup of blue cheese dressing. Often it's the case that celery is an afterthought, where usually no more than three sections from the worst part of the stalk are thrown on the plate. And carrots are not the default. Not so at DC Grill. Yeah, the wings are the star of the show, but they always benefit from having a solid supporting cast.

Now we come to the point of the review where we have to discuss the (relative) downside. For DC Grill's wings it's the sauce. Not that the sauce was bad, quite the contrary. Sauce was tasty, yet not for the extreme among us that live for a suicidal heat factor. There just wasn't enough of it. Maybe the point was to leave us wanting more. Success.

Next time a side of extra sauce will be in order.