Benders Sports Pub – West Bend WI

A few months ago I took a new job in West Bend, WI, about 45 minutes to an hour from my house. It’s quite a commute but the job has been worth it. One thing I love about working or living in a new area is trying out all the local restaurants and bars. I’ve found a couple little gems out here and a couple places that were so-so. Obviously my main goal was to find a good wing place. There’s a Buffalo Wild Wings just about 5 min away, but I go to the one down the road from my house enough. I wanted to find a local joint that impressed me. I asked a few co-workers if they had any hints and no one really had any ideas. One day while out doing a photoshoot for work I drove past Benders Sports Pub and thought it kind of looked like the type of place that might take wings serious. But it wasn’t until I was thumbing through a local coupon magazine that I decided I really needed to go. I’ve mentioned in past articles that there are clues that an establishment takes wings serious and Benders ad had a big one. Their phone number is 262-306-WING. Bingo. Last week I finally stopped in for lunch to try’em out.

The atmosphere is typical “Sports Bar” fair. Countless TVs, glossy wood tables, and staff wearing stripped Ref shirts. I sat at the bar, ordered a Coke (much rather have a beer, but I was working), and grabbed a menu. First off lets take a look at the sauces. The menu says they have Award Winning Garlic, Asian, Bangkok Peanut,  BBQ, Buffalo, Kickin Garlic, Teriyaki Sesame, and Thai Chili. That is a good amount of sauces to have at a local place. It’s probably the most I’ve seen outside of a chain. Now is the prices: 5 for $7.99, 10 for $12.49, 15 for $15.49, 20 for 20.49, 25 for 23.99. Last they have a combo for $14.99 you get 12 wings and you get to choose 4 different sauces. I LOVE that idea. The part I didn’t love was the price. 12 wings for $15 is pretty pricey. Damn pricey actually. Especially since I was just there for lunch and I typically only eat 6 wings for a lunch portion. Alas, I couldn’t resist the temptation of trying 4 different sauces in one order. After getting the bartenders recommendations I ended up ordering, Award Winning Garlic, Kicking Garlic, Buffalo, and Thai  Chili.

The wait was typical. The wings came out in a round deep dish with 3-4 wings of each flavor in little groups around a center dish that had celery. The first thing that hit my nose was the wonderful smell from the Award Winning Garlic. The Buffalo and Asian looked and smelled like you would expect them too.  Let me talk about each flavor individually.

First up is the Award Winning Garlic. The name really says it all. After you have wings at so many places  you really see a lot of the same flavors and Garlic flavored wings are a common one. These are not common tasting though. The garlic flavor is intense, but not so powerful that you are overwhelmed and feel like you are gnawing on a head of raw garlic. The sauce itself consists of yummy creamy butter and the wings are generously sprinkled with fresh parmesan cheese. They almost have an Italian flavor to them. Very unique, very crispy, and very delicious. This was easily the stand-out in the group.

Next up is the Kickin Garlic. These seemed to be the regular Garlic wings with a Buffalo style sauce mixed in. I wouldn’t call them “kickin” because of the heat but rather because of the tang from the vinegar in the sauce. What I liked about these wings is you can see all kinds of fresh peppers chopped up in the sauce which gave the sauce a nice texture and a nice fresh tase. I’d put this as my second favorite.

The Thai-Chili were just OK. The sauce was what you come to expect from an Asian sauce, sweet, sticky and in this case a somewhat odd flavor. These were just the most bland out of the bunch. The sauce didn’t make the wing soggy though so that was a definite plus.

Last, and unfortunately least are the Buffalo. Traditional Buffalo wings are still my over-all favorite type of wing so I had to order these. I don’t know what the hell went so wrong here, but these wings were spongy and soggy kind of like the wings at the Hairy Lemon that I proclaimed to be the worst wings I ever had. The might not have been that bad, but they weren’t far off. The rest of the wings all had a unique flavor, even the bland Thai-Chili, and all were nice and crispy, but not these. These seem like they came from a different kitchen all together. The sauce, while I’m sure it wasn’t out of a bottle, sure tasted like it came right from the grocery store. BLAH!

Over-all Benders is on the 50 yard line with me. The Garlic, and Kickin Garlic are unique flavors that will definitely bring me back, but the Thai-Chili and Buffalo left a lot to be desired. The prices I feel are on the pricey side for a Pub. My bill with just 12 wings and a soda was $18. That’s a lot for lunch. Regardless the Garlic wings are enough for me to want to bring the whole gang back and give them another try with a few extra sets of taste buds.