Backdraft Sports Bar & Grill

Basic Information:

• Backdraft’s First Visit
  Overall Rating: 65

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 34 out of 50

  Environment: 8
  

  We’ve been on a streak lately of going to places that are far away from Scranton. I mean, it wasn’t like Backdraft was on the moon, but it was certainly outside our usual radius. The place is in the middle of nowhere and just pops up out of the woods. In fact, on the way there, I was a bit afraid we were going the wrong way. Perhaps us city folk ain’t used to the country life. Either way, once we found the place, we knew we were at the right place. The sign, which is very reminiscent of a 80s design, was on full display. Plus it’s a big building with a huge parking lot. The place itself is quite large inside, with a pool table and a nice stage area for bands. It was very well lit, with wood paneling from top to bottom. I can see this place doing really good business in the area. Based on what I saw, it may be the only place in the area. Our waitress was very nice and super friendly. It wasn’t busy by any means and we had no issues placing an order and getting our wings. One little thing I wasn’t a fan of was that they don’t allow you to split your order. You need to get tens. They do allow you to get the wings plain and get all the sauce on the side. It’s nice, but can’t you just toss 5 wings with the sauce and put them in a basket. Honestly, they are losing money on the deal because we ended up having a ton of sauce left over that they probably just ended up tossing. It was also interesting that Serniak and I ordered the same exact amount of wings and the same drink, but my bill came out a bit more. I wasn’t furious or anything, just curious. Regardless, I still had a great experience there. Oh, and the best part, she put Wheel of Fortune on for us, so we housed some wings while housing some Wheel. It was fantastic.

  
  Wing Size: 6
  

  Backdraft serves their wings for 50 cents on wing night. The wings weren’t anything to write home about, but they were decently sized. I took a bunch down in my visit, more than my usual. I attribute this to me getting my swell on right beforehand.

  
  Wing Flavors: 10
  

  Here’s another place that doesn’t skimp on flavor options. I mean, just look at that list! One flavor that was on the menu when we went, but it seemed they were taking it off soon, was the Spicy Blood Orange Glaze. It was a super unique flavor I’ve never seen before and wanted to try. Unfortunately, they were out. Luckily though, they have lots of other flavors to choose from, so you will not be let down.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 5
  

  We got a bunch of wing flavors on the side since they wouldn’t split the orders. When they came out, they were a bit mixed up, but we did eventually figure it out. The Teriyaki were exactly what you’d expect. You won’t be surprised by this one with that usual saltiness that come through in a Teriyaki sauce. Ranchero, which you probably could guess, was a mix of Ranch and hot sauce. In the sauce container we got it in, they were separated, as though they just put in some hot sauce and then the ranch on top. After mixing to get the true taste, these wings were quite tasty. You’re probably tired of hearing it, but it’s really hard to mess up a Hot Ranch wing. The Hot 3 Cheese Italian was the Hot sauce mixed with some Parmesan, Pecorino, and Asiago, and finally some Italian dressing tossed in. I have to say, I love those cheese mixed in there. In my sauce, the Italian dressing kind of overpowered the other flavors. I also tried the Hot 3 Cheese Garlic. I preferred this one as that garlic added a nice zing to the flavor without being overpowering. I also got the Sweet Thai Chili since they no longer have the Spicy Blood Orange Glaze. Again, this is another traditional wing flavor you’ve probably seen before. It had that thick, sticky, sweet sauce, but seemed to be lacking that spice I was hoping for. The Backdraft Rub (Dry Rub) was a pleasant surprise. It reminded me a lot of a rub you’d put on a steak as you’re just about to grill it. There was also a slight sweetness in the background that I believe was brown sugar. The dry rub was awesome! Again, it was difficult to really get it on the wing though since it was served in a container on the side. I really wish I could have tossed it with the wings to really get it covered.

  Serniak's Rating: 31 out of 50

  Environment: 7
  

  Backdrafts is a nice place nestled up in Lake Ariel. The place has a real tough vibe to it. That’s not a negative thing, I just feel that everyone in there could probably beat me down. The place has 2 sections to it. The bar area is very large, with a lot of space equipped with many tables. Then there is a dining area on the other side that has a lot of seating. We sat at the bar and our server was personable, courteous and talkative with us. There are several tvs, so catching a game is certainly in the cards. They also have a pool table with purple felt. That’s just a pretty cool thing that you normally don’t ever see. I will say that the place had an underwhelming feeling to it. Like there was a lack of energy. I’m not looking for fireworks going off or anything like that but it just seemed that everyone besides our server was down.

  
  Wing Size: 7
  

  50 cents for a wing night is pretty much your norm these days and that’s what you get here. They’re also decently sized, so you get your money’s worth.

  
  Wing Flavors: 9
  

  Backdrafts really does a nice job with giving you options for wing flavors. They have your classics but then they have some originals that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Flavors such as blood orange, 3 cheese Italian, citrus pepper and golden bbq really give the customer a chance to experience a wide range of taste.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 4
  

  This place, taste wise just didn’t do it for me. Another thing I never like that happened was that to split up the wing flavors, they put all the flavors on the side to be dipped into. I’ll never understand why some places do this, when there are several places that don’t do it like that and are applauded for it. Just take the extra 3 minutes or less and toss the wings in sauce. I got hot 3 cheese garlic, backdraft dry rub, chili garlic and citrus pepper. The hot 3 cheese garlic was tasty. It had a mix of 3 different cheeses including asiago. Those cheeses mixed with their hot sauce and topped with garlic really combined to be a flavorful creation. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad wing that included cheese. Their backdraft dry rub, which I had to sprinkle on them by hand, reminded me of a Cajun seasoning. Besides the awkwardness of putting the rub on by hand for every wing, they were good. Chili garlic was a swing and a mess in my opinion. It looked like burnt grill shards and it even looked like that. I never came across wing sauce that was black, but this sauce was that. Lastly, the best wing I had was the citrus pepper. They had the nice pepper seasoning mixed with many hints of lime. It wasn’t over the top with either flavor, it was balanced well.