I’ll be honest. Eat at Jumbo’s is not the sleekest title. I’ve never been enticed by an oversized wing, and felt very validated when Logan agreed with me last night. Big wings are weird. They seem fattier. They are never as crisp. They are like the school lunch of wings- they can only reach a certain quality and always seem microwaved. SO, it was to my relief to find out that Jumbo’s was more about a surplus of options, than a surplus of drumstick. 

The internet regards Jumbo’s as # 3 in Boston. So, it was that title (and a house party) that drew us out to Somerville. Once we got there a few things stuck out. 1) No alcohol (.5 point deduction) 2) Friendly and helpful counter staff 3) Clean your ketchup  bottles! 4) Miley was playing. Yes. 5) SO! MANY! WING! FLAVORS! I thought I misread when it said “pterodactyl” (definitely don’t have that one in NYC…it’s teriyaki meets bbq). 

Milicent and I started looking at our options. We have found our groove. I order classic hot, she picks a less traditional wing, and we order one side,  both as a pallet cleanser and something to be indicative of non-wing options and their quality.  So, in addition to hot wings we went WILD and got an extra flavor with the entire meal resulting in: 1 order hot, 1 hot garlic, 1 garlic parmesan, and an order of poutine. If you’re serving poutine, we’re gonna order it, and it better be good. Don’t put a soufflé on the menu if you can’t make a soufflé, same thang.

EAT AT JUMBO’S: 6.5

THE GOOD: HELL YEAH, we asked for them crispy and we got them crispy. Good crisp, good sized wing, pretty decent sauces. It was a bit difficult to discern that was hot and what was garlic hot, but they were both great sauces so no harm done. As for the poutine, it was divine.

THE BAD: Beer and wings are in an exclusive relationship, it is not right to keep them apart. As stated above, Jumbo’s was docked a half point for this. Sometimes a Coke rules, but on a Saturday night, no thanks.  Also, it was not that these wings were bad, they just were not AMAZING. They had all the right moves…sauce, crisp, heat, but something was lost. I think it was the meat quality. They had probably been fried twice and lost their magic the second time through. Millicent was a big fan of them, however, so let the record show her support.

NEXT UP: SIDE BAR,  but first some exercise and reflection, and other human activity