Operation Chicken Wing- Stop Eight, the final cluckdown; O’Neill’s

This is it, the last stop on our epic journey through the wonderful world of wings in the Witch City. Our final choice was O’Neill’s Irish Pub on Washington Street. Their wing appetizer is $7.99 and is available in buffalo (mild, hot, or inferno) with blue cheese dressing, Asian (sweet teriyaki) with a ginger-red pepper aioli, BBQ, Honey BBQ (both with ranch dressing), or plain.
One of our crew ordered them plain, with a side of all the sauces. Because that’s just how the man rolls, go big or go home.


Presentation earned an 8.41
This was the prettiest plate we had. No sloppy sauce, neatly cut carrots and celery, fresh greens, and an orange slice. We were all delighted at this apps appearance.
All the plates had a very nice aroma wafting up from them and the wings looked great.

Preparation also rated an 8.41
Very well cooked, and not fatty at all. No pink spots. No overdone areas. The wings are seasoned and baked, then deep fried, which seems to give them crisp skin and moist meat without being greasy. Then they’re tossed with your choice of sauce.

Meat Taste & Texture got a 8.66
No fatty bits or gristle. Taste was meaty and moist, and easily came off the bone. Very good even sans sauce.

Sauce earned an 7.41
Lots of sauce choices here. The buffalo was ordered both hot and inferno. They were tasty, but not quite as hot as we expected. Good flavor, just not quite enough heat. The blue cheese dressing was average. The honey BBQ was given a 10 by the person who ordered them. Two of us also ordered the Asian style. They are a sweet teriyaki and good on their own, though they come with a ginger red pepper aioli that was called “outstanding” by two of our reviewers, and got a thumbs up from all. The plain wings are also very tasty all by themselves. Dipped in the array of sauces available they’re even better. All the sauces were good, with the aioli the star of the table.

Overall Experience earned a 8.12
I have admittedly not been here for a loooong time. I shall have to rectify that. Service was friendly and surprisingly quick. The atmosphere is traditional Irish pub but open and inviting. Very comfy and easy to relax and converse. One of our group said he rarely thinks of O’Neill’s as a food place, but that has changed. Big beer list, nice menu, and of course live Irish music on the weekends. Worth a visit if you haven’t been in a while.

Total Score for O’Neill’s was a 41.04, a very respectable score.

And that’s all she wrote! At least until the next round of foodstuffs. Which, judging by our experience this time around, should prove pretty tasty.

If you are interested in joining us on our totally unprofessional, unpaid, opinionated, and slightly raucous tour of Salem’s victual offerings, email palfray10@gmail.com .