We return from a short break to travel a bit outside of Tyrone to Al’s Tavern located on 29th street in Altoona. We judged their wings based on four categories: presentation, wing quality, sauce, and hospitality in order to grant an overall score on our patented wing-o-meter.

For this review, Andrew (A) and Bryce (B) both ordered a dozen “Hot Garlic” wings while Christian (C) got “Teriyaki”.

A dozen wings from Al’s cost approximately $11.95

Presentation

For this category, we based our ratings on how the wings looked before we began to chow down.

The presentation for Al’s Tavern was quite good. Our wings came out on a white dinnerware platter with almost wing covered in steamy sauce. It was evident that the sauce was poured over the wings after being plated. Additionally, each plate of wings came with a glass platter of celery and carrots with a small container of bleu cheese/ranch to boot, overall very fancy.

A- 8/10     B- 7/10     C- 8/10

Related Stories

ABC Wing Reviews: Tim's Cafe in Altoona

ABC Wing Reviews: Spruce Creek Tavern

ABC Wing Reviews: Macs Market / Gridiron

ABC Wing Reviews: The Bullpen

Wing Quality

For this category, the wings will receive a rating based on the overall quality, juiciness, and the bone to meat ratio of the chicken itself.

The wing quality at Al’s was one of their best aspects. These wings were very crispy and for being soaked in sauce weren’t soggy at all. I was obvious the wings were freshly cooked and had juicy meet. These wings also were good size, they only had a few duds but they also had a few huge ones.

The reason for C’s low score was because of the size of the wings. There was no huge wings and they were all around the same size, but they were pretty small. Other than that, the wing quality could be compared to the Spruce Creek Tavern’s wings.

A- 9/10     B- 8/10     C- 7.5/10

Sauce

The sauce category is about, you guessed it, the SAUCE, we judge this category on flavor, consistency, and coverage.

A & B- The alarm one Hot Garlic wings weren’t something to sweep under the rug. Although this sauce had a generic buffalo sauce, it was complimented with chunks of garlic scattered throughout. These wings were also swimming in sauce but didn’t make the wing soggy. All in all I’d recommend the sauce, they did have some heat to them but nothing some ranch or bleu cheese couldn’t fix.

C- The teriyaki wings were a pleasant surprise but are not for everyone. There was a ton of sauce sitting on the plate so I was able to get the wing completely lathered. The sweet and tangy sauce tasted very similar to normal teriyaki, but there was a sweet tinge to this sauce. Also, the sauce was thick enough to cling to the wings.

 A- 8/10     B- 7/10     C- 7/10

Hospitality

This category reflects upon our overall experience at the restaurant taking into account: wait time, service, and friendliness.

The hospitality was pretty good we sat down and we had to sit a little bit before a waiter came to our table but when she did come the waiter was nice and answered some of the questions we had.  The wings came out in a quick twenty minutes and our drinks were refilled without being asked. This was definitely a friendly environment and had good service all around.

A- 8/10     B- 8/10     C- 8/10

Final Score

To conclude these wings were all in all very good but they just lacked in the sauce department compared to the Spruce Creek Tavern. But an additional not about Al’s would be that we got a side order of  “Al’s Fries” and they were extremely good. They were some of the best fries we had ever had, but unfortunately, since they were extra and didn’t come with the wings they didn’t influence the score.

This was definitely close competition to the Spruce Creek Tavern but after looking at the scores Al’s comes in second.

A – 8.25/10    B – 7.5/10    C – 7.6/10

The Tavern’s grip on the wing crown remains unchallenged.

After six reviews our list stands as follows (click the link to read each review):

1.  Spruce Creek Tavern
2. Al’s Tavern
3.  Tim’s Cafe
4.  Chill N Grill
5.  Mac’s Market
6.  The Bullpen
7.  Port Hotel

We are always looking for new spots to try, so tell us where you would like us to go next in the comments.