Buffalo Wild Wings
| Address: | 8 Ionia Ave NW, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA |
| Phone: | +1 616-454-9464 |
| Site: | buffalowildwings.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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Tyler Groenendal
Dusk. The city streets of downtown Grand Rapids darken and are filled with all the hustle and bustle one would expect from a Monday evening in March (not very much.) As the evening progresses, I am called by my never-ending quest towards onion ring perfection. Thanks to the suggestion of regular Sola Cepa reader Kyle Hanby, Buffalo Wild Wings had been on my hit-list for some time. That Monday night, the rings and I finally met. Presentation and Appearance: 4/5 The plating and presentation of these onion rings is nothing revolutionary. Heaped into a mass and sitting atop some paper in a basket, theyre not breaking any new ground. Thats not a bad thing. I appreciate a restaurant thats willing to stick with what works rather than pointlessly concoct crazy new plating designs for the sake of being different. Its fitting and it works. The appearance of the onion rings themselves is similar. Nothing groundbreaking, theyre in a general pub style. Irregularly sized and somewhat loosely breaded and battered. This means there are a few hobs and gnarls on the otherwise smooth surface of the onion rings themselves, but this does make them a bit more interesting to look at. Otherwise, theyre fairly consistent in color and covering. Taste: 1.5/5 I dont even know where to begin. Ill start with picking one up. Immediately, my fingers become coated in a thin layer of grease, which covers the whole of the onion ring. They almost seem to glisten in the dim interior of Buffalo Wild Wings. The coating is at least a little seasoned, but I didnt get a lot of flavor from it. Frankly, if it werent for the shape and name, I dont think I would have known these were onion rings. The actual onion interior was cut extremely thin, and they somehow managed to sap all of the onion flavor out of it. This was mostly a circle of greasy, crispy bread that kind of smelled like an onion. For all the faults of the onion ring itself, the grease DID make the food taste better (which I think is the entire point of grease,) and the accompanying zesty dipping sauce (which the menu calls Southwestern Ranch) was outstanding. However, the greasy crispy bread that kind of smelled like an onion (aka the Buffalo Wild Wings onion rings) merely served as a vehicle for the delicious sauce. Texture: 3.5/5 Though the taste was severely lacking, these onion rings (aka the greasy crispy bread that kind of smelled like an onion) had a satisfying crunch on consumption. The firmness was nearly perfect. Not so hard and overcooked as to be difficult to bite through, but firm enough to substantially hold its own shape. The onion itself, however, lacks any texture whatsoever. Possibly because theres basically no onion at all. Value: 2.5/5 For the price (a little over $5), you get a decent sized starter/side basket of onion rings. They go will with their trademark wings, but leave something to be desired on their own. Ive docked this category a bit simply because the onion taste is not there. Largely tasteless, the greasy crispy bread is at the very least filling, and would probably be a bit better with a beer or two. Total: 11.5/20
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Rachael Wilkerson
The day of my visit was when Buffalo Wild Wings was doing their buy one small order of boneless wings, get one free. This being a fantastic deal and the location of the restaurant, I understood it would be busy. I expected a high wait time. When I put my name on the list, the hostess, Malachi, explained it would be a 45-1 hour wait. I said this would be fine and asked to make sure the location was participating in the BOGO deal. He stated that they were. I waited patiently with party. After waiting about 40 minutes, those of waiting were told the restaurant had ran out of boneless wings... A wing restaurant running out of wings? Unheard of. When I asked the hostess if the deal would apply to traditional wings, he said no. The hostess was very apologetic and sincere. This doing was not his fault. It was the restaurants fault for not ensuring to stock enough wings to supply their event. Hosting an event such as the BOGO event at BDubs is going to attract customers... account for it. If you are running low on an essential product like boneless wings, it wouldnt have been hard to simply inform those who were waiting. Why werent the people who had already put their names in compensated for their time? Why did the restaurant not do BOGO traditional wings instead? I am in disbelief of the unpreparedness of this restaurant and the lack of accommodation they gave their guests who patiently waited to give their business money just to get let down. Very disappointed.
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Nicole Briggs
Well first, we had to wait 20 minutes to be seated in a half empty restaurant, there were only 5 of us so putting tables together wasnt an excuse. Next, we wait another 10 min before a server comes to take our order. We are seated right next to all the arcade games. No. Wtf. Meanwhile there are 5 heathen children running around while their parents are IN A DIFFERENT ROOM. Sorry, but at some point management should let the parents know other people are trying to enjoy lunch and to keep the monsters with them. Its not a playground. We get our drinks, the server took our order and didnt see her after that. Empty drinks, no one working. Another employee brings our food. Still no server to refill drinks. She finally makes her way to our table to get refills. You know what? No. Were leaving. Pay our tab and head out. One of us forgot a bag. Call later to see if its still there. Told it was. Call back next day, its not there. Must be magic. It disappeared. Meanwhile were told 3 different stories from 3 different calls. (Including we dont throw stuff away like that) Needless to say it was gone and Ill never go back again. We were having a girls day and would have stayed and drank awhile but it was impossible to enjoy.
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John Kelley
Work experience at any restaurant Ive had in quite some time. We waited for over an hour to seat (disclaimer, it was a buy one get one wings night so wait to be expected). While waiting, nearly everyone who left had boxes upon boxes of takeout all being wings so the deal was not regulated whatsoever. After waiting 45 minutes we were informed that they were out of wings entirely. They then informed us that no other deal of any sort was being offered to compensate. We decided to wait as we had already waited quite some time only to be told after seating that the wait time for food was over an hour. We were told this by a waitress who will remain unnamed and looked as if she hated her job, and honestly I do not blame her. I can tell that this entire mixup was due to poor management. Left soon after seating.
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atl one
The staff is great but the manager and assist. manager were rude. I came to this location after calling ahead to ensure my alma maters football game would be carried. I came and spent over $40. They continued to change the channel on the television directly in front of me saying it was the tv they used to test what was on a channel. I called ahead, spent over $40, and you disrespect your customer with a short response and short tone of "uh, well this is the tv I use to test with..."....uh, well Ill take my business elsewhere next game day.
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Jenny Benedict
OH MY GOODNESS, What a Wonderful Burger, it was too big (perfect) too greasy(perfect) too EVERYTHING (PERFECT)lol.Employees were friendly and warm like you were a friend and they were always spot on when it comes to taking your order and giving the right thanks. Unfortunately the second time wasnt as good as the first time.My first Burger had TWO hairs in then the waitress left us for so long that I had to go get me and my Bestie more ice.The best things about my visit this time was spending time with my friend AND the second Burger.
