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205 Waterford St. in Edinboro used to be the home of the Copper Coin Tavern. It now is Fat Willie’s Wing House. With “wing house” in the name, I figured this place had to be good. Amanda and I got to Fat Willie’s around 6:30 last night. The dining room wasn’t overly crowded so we had our choice of tables. The only server seemed to be the bartender, Sable. It took a few minutes, but she found her way to our table with some menus. I looked over the 37 wing flavor choices they offered while our drink order was being filled. I asked Sable for some recommendations and which flavors were the most popular. The four flavors I ended up ordering were Buffalo Parmesan, Hawaiian BBQ, Thai Chili, and Hot Sweet & Sassy.
The wings were delivered by someone I assume to be the manager by how he was interacting with everyone else in the restaurant. I would have asked, but he had his cell phone pinned to his shoulder so I didn’t have the chance. The first wing I tried was the Buffalo Parmesan. The thing I noticed right off the bat was the use of shredded cheese instead of the typical grated cheese. These wings were a little on the plain side. The shredded cheese didn’t add much flavor to the buffalo sauce. It melted a little too much and therefore also didn’t add anything to the texture like grated parm does. The sauce itself was tasty, but it wasn’t anything more than a regular buffalo sauce. The wings were cooked through, but the skins were still soft so they weren’t as good as they could have been.
I moved on to the Hawaiian BBQ. Instead of a typical BBQ flavor, it was sweeter teriyaki type sauce. In this sauce, I could really taste the sweetness of some pineapple juice mixed with soy sauce, ginger and garlic. These wings were crispy and really absorbed all of the flavors. I was expecting a sweet BBQ sauce, but the Asian-style wing I received was a treat. This was one of my favorites.
I stayed in the Asian realm and tried the Thai Chili. The sauce was a transparent red and filled with pieces of chilies and pepper flakes. This sauce was similar to the Hawaiian BBQ, but didn’t have the soy sauce. It started with a sweet flavor almost similar to duck sauce, but finished with a strong Thai pepper burn. I love heat that doesn’t ruin flavor and this sauce was spot on for that. The garlic and ginger went perfect with the pepper and this was my overall favorite.
Finally was the Hot Sweet & Sassy. Sable told me that Sweet & Sassy were one of her favorites, but I decided to make them a little bit hotter by mixing in the house hot sauce. At first bite, I was slightly disappointed. All I could taste was Cattleman’s Gold BBQ sauce. Again, I like that sauce, but there isn’t much that can be done to change it up. I asked the manager for a small cup of the Sweet & Sassy sauce without the added hot sauce just so I could compare. I’m not sure what sauce was served to me on the wings, but what I got on the side was very different. The side of sauce was a similar color, but was filled with a bunch of herbs and spices. Though it tasted slightly of Cattleman’s gold, the spices really transformed it into something new. The wings I got were okay, but I wish they had all the spices like the other.
At 65-cents a wing, they are a little on the pricey side in comparison to some other places. A side of ranch dressing is 75-cents and a side of bleu cheese is 90-cents. With wings that expensive, I would expect to get a side of dressing with my order at no charge. Thank you to Sable for the recommendations. I’m not sure if the price of the wings are worth the gas to drive from Erie to Edinboro, but if you are already in the area, it might be a good location for you to stop.
Next week will be my Wings Round 2 review. Come back to vote on my next food category as well.
Until next time,
Andrew – Beard vs. Food
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