REVIEW: Hard Times Chicken Wings

Yesterday, Saturday, was a long day.

A friend of mine is learning how to drive, so we hit the road in her car. We rolled down the windows, let the wind whip our hair around our faces and rode off toward the horizon.

Pretty soon we were in LaPlata.

We missed our turn onto Berry Road on the return trip, so we hooked a U-turn on Crain Highway and drove back.

At the corner of Crain and Berry, our “trusty steed” became fairly well acquainted with a curb and we were jolted hard.

My back ached. My friend was upset. Our faithful ride had thrown a shoe—so we waited for AAA to check out a flat tire and a bent rim.

Clearly these hard times called for … Hard Times Café.

Yeah, it’s just outside Hyattsville, but since their chili is so yummy, and since they serve comfort food, we decided to stop in for the grilled wings.

Most wings are deep fried, so I was anxious to see how these would be.

I ordered the honey BBQ version (You can also order chili lime, honey mustard or Texas hot sauce variety). They were served with bleu cheese dressing and celery, and I ordered the Hard Times ale.

What I remember best from this meal is the beer. Really, it was great beer (a bit tangy at first with a cool, quenching finish), but it was what stuck out to me because these wings really weren’t.

I got about 10 large wings slathered with a mix of barbecue sauce and honey.

It was a showdown.

The sauce was very sticky—almost gooey—and it was a lot more barbecue than honey. I could have easily made these wings at home.

It was cool to see the grill marks on each side of the wing, but I didn’t notice any taste difference for them having been over an open flame.

I’m glad for the brew, though. It definitely made this rough day go down a lot smoother.