Jubilee Restaurant

Basic Information:

• Our Very First Time to Jubilee Restaurant - 05/27/18
  Overall Rating: 65

  Lynch Serniak

  Lynch's Rating: 31 out of 50

  Environment: 6
  

  I have mixed emotions about Jubilee Restaurant as there are a number of things they do very well while other things during our visit dragged their score down. We took the 30 minute drive to Pocono Pines to try out Jubilee based on a number of recommendations. They only serve wings on Thursday and Sunday, so we figured we’d take advantage of the long Memorial Day weekend and enjoy a rare Sunday wing night. The place is pretty massive, with a big dining area, a sizeable bar section with a covered patio off the side. Unfortunately, it was rainy and a bit on the colder side, so the patio was not really being utilized. This may explain why the bar was completely filled up and there was a wait for a table. It was odd though because as we walked through the dining section to put in our names, we passed about 5 open tables. It looked as though only 3 groups were waiting, so it baffled me how we still had to wait 10 minutes for a table. Once we sat down, it was a while before we saw our waitress for our order. It didn’t take long for the wings to arrive. I like the way they present the wings stacked in a sort of plate holder. I do wish they labeled the wings in some way as it was a struggle at times to tell which were which. Outside of the quick wing order, we rarely saw our waitress. Maybe they were short staffed due to the holiday or maybe they were being overworked due to the holiday crowd in the Poconos, but it seemed like a number of tables were waiting on their checks for a bit. Finally, when it was time to go pay, which you do at the front desk, there was another line as we waited for someone to come to the hostess stand to ring people out. I think if we went on a slower day or on a nicer day where we could have used the patio, the experience would have been much different. The place does seem like a really awesome place to hang out, and it will definitely be worth the trip for another visit in the future to see how they fare.

  
  Wing Size: 6
  

  Jubilee Restaurant doesn’t have a traditional wing night like most other places, where they offer their wings at a discounted rated. Instead, Jubilee only serves wings on Thursday and Sunday. If you go any other night, you’re out of luck for wings. The wings are offered in orders of a dozen, ranging from $7.95 to $8.50. This averages out to roughly 70 cents a wing. I don’t believe you can split orders to try six of one flavor and six of another, but they do have packaged deals that allow you to sample a number of different sauces. This ranges anywhere from 2 dozen (4 flavors) up to 4 dozen (8 flavors). This doesn’t really reduce the price of the order, but it does give you the option to try more flavors. Unfortunately, the packaged deals are pre-defined, so you’re limited to the flavors they give you in each. If you have a big enough group and decide to get the 4 dozen, you’ll get sample close to every flavor on the menu. The wings themselves were pretty decently sizes. I would definitely categorize as above average.

  
  Wing Flavors: 7
  

  Jubilee offers a modest amount of wing flavors with some interesting options that you may not find at a traditional wing joint. They have your classic Buffalo sauces ranging from mild to hot. They also offer a couple varieties of BBQ if you’re into that sort of thing. They also have some Asian inspired sauces like Thai Peanut and Shanghai. Oh, and they offer a Honey Dill wing, which I don’t believe I’ve seen anywhere else before. While it’s not a huge selection, you get a decent variety in sauces to choose from.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 6
  

  We ordered the Super Sampler and received 8 different sauces to sample. As I mentioned before, you don’t get to choose the 8 sauces, which was a bit of a letdown because there were other sauces on the menu that I wanted to try. Also, in my opinion, there were too many BBQ sauces in the sampler. In fact, they all blended together and it was hard to tell which BBQ sauce I was having. The one I believe was the Honey BBQ had a slight sweetness with a definite BBQ twang flavor. I would say it’s pretty much what you’d expect with a traditional BBQ sauce. The Hot were among my favorite that I tried. The flavor won’t blow you away, but it was a well-executed, traditional Buffalo wing sauce with a hit of cayenne pepper heat that I enjoyed. The Thai Peanut was a bit of a letdown. While the peanut flavor definitely came through, the Thai spice was lacking. I would consider these more like Peanut Butter wings than a Thai Peanut. Finally, I tried the Thai Sweet Chili. If you ever had this wing before anywhere else, you’ll get the same thing at Jubilee. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s a thicker, sticky sauce with a good amount of sweetness balanced by a hint of spice.

  Serniak's Rating: 34 out of 50

  Environment: 7
  

  

  The last time I had a wing in the Poconos was two years ago at a wing festival where Lynch and I were honorary wing judges. Some place had some sort of wing with ghost pepper extract, the kind that no reasonable person would ever want to have. But, because I’m a professional credible wing connoisseur, I devoured the whole thing. Needless to say, this decision started a war between me and my body that ended in a summit meeting in which my bodies’s nuclear arsenal didn’t disarm. So heading to the Jubilee in the Poconos brought a certain amount of dread that I pushed through because I’m a gamer.

  Yes, Jubilee Restaurant in the Poconos is where we went on a Sunday, which is their wing night. I feel like you can’t tell from the outside of the place, but the place is enormous on the inside. It seemed like there were anywhere from 15-165 rooms in all. Old people can get in a serious walk in like they do at the mall if they just walked around inside the Jubilee. Jubilee Restaurant has a big bar area and a few large dining areas perfect for folks bringing their families. The bar area had the kind of scene conducive for taking in a sporting match. Our server was fine and did her job well. Overall, the place had a regular restaurant feel to it with no real surprises besides that they hand out moist towelettes after we had our wings. I was assuming there would be some sort of Shrine to the X-Men character Jubilee but sadly I have to report that I didn’t find one but I’m sure there’s one there, somewhere.

  
  Wing Size: 7
  

  The Jubilee has a bit of a different ordering process when it comes to their wings. They have a wing sampler, jumbo wing sampler and the super wing sampler. We of course got the super wing sampler because we’re a couple of super guys. Didn’t like that one? Well, we’ll keep working on it. The super wing sampler consists of 48 wings and you get to choose 8 different wing flavors for $33.75. That comes out to somewhere between 60-65 cents a wing. Not what you want to hear but just the reality of wing prices in America. The wings themselves were large and meaty. I’m rather sure you’ll all get good and full from ordering the super wing sampler. Taking down 20 of these wings is mild accomplishment.

  
  Wing Flavors: 6
  

  

  You get 13 wing flavors to choose from at the Jubilee. You get mild,medium,hot, garlic Buffalo, Tennessee Whiskey BBQ, Kickin BBQ, Honey Dill, Thai Peanut, Mango Habanero, Shanghai, Honey BBQ, Thai Sweet Chili and Atomic. There’s a decent spectrum of flavors here but to much repetition of BBQ sauces. Personally, I’m at the point in my life where I can only have so much BBQ sauce and I’m just over it. Nothing to do with ranch, blue cheese, honey mustard or Sriracha. These few condiments are must have in the wing world mainly because the majority of people like those flavors and you already have them in your kitchen.

  
  Wing Taste (x2): 7
  

  

  The presentation of the wings was impressive. They came on a 3 tiered carry-all apparatus(I’m sure there’s a more logical, smaller name for it, just look at the picture down below). It looked like the type of presentation Julius Caesar would of had before the Senate and his good buddy Brutus didn’t take him out and turn on him. Caesar would of loved wings. One thing that the presentation lacked was any way of determining which wings were which. We got them and even after we tried them all, we still were debating which BBQs were which. I’ve seen some places put little flags in wings with writing on them to show what they are. Definitely could of used something like that on this evening. We got 8 flavors, so I’ll be covering 4 of them and Lynch will do the other half. First, the Tennessee whiskey bbq wings were a solid BBQ. They had a nice smokiness to them due to the whiskey in them. I wonder how many you’d have to eat to feel intoxicated. Now think about how many Andre the Giant would have to eat to feel intoxicated. That’s right, your mind is now in a blender. Next, we have the Shanghai. These were very unique. Not sure I ever had a flavor like this. There’s ginger, soy sauce, garlic and chili pepper infused here so it’s a real fiesta of different flavors coming together. You taste the saltiness and sweetness from the soy sauce and ginger but then there’s just enough kick from the chili pepper that just makes you feel befuddled trying to figure out what’s going on. Then we have Kickin BBQ, which is their regular BBQ with spice and heat added. They were good and as advertised. Flavorful, but again, I can only go for so much BBQ and I just need to move on. Nothing wrong with this sauce, just so much BBQ. Lastly, we have the honey dill. Now, I’m on all the records of being anti-dill and I still am. But this wing sauce had me pondering a change in my ideology. Like I’m sure it says in the books of Jubilee; man must question their own understandings of the plain of their own existence. I’m rather sure it says that in there. Anyways, the wing itself is covered in garlic and lemon but has a creamy dill sauce to dip in on the side. It’s legit, do that. The dill sauce is wonderful and I’m anti-dill. The citrus from the lemon mixed with the cool dill is the unexpected duo you never knew you needed.