ABC Wing Reviews: Tim’s Cafe in Altoona

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After three stops in Tyrone area, the ABC wing guys hit the road to visit the quaint Tim’s Cafe in Altoona for our next wing review.

We judged one variety of Tim’s 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), Bryce (B), and Christian (C) got the “Mild” wing sauce.

Presentation

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

Tim’s kept it classy in the presentation category. The wings came out on a large dinnerware plate and the extra sauce came plentifully in a dinnerware bowl. Additionally, our order of wings came with a complimentary platter of celery, carrots, and a choice of ranch or bleu cheese.

A- 8/10     B- 8/10     C- 8/10

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.

Tim’s Cafe had the best wing quality of any establishment we’ve reviewed. The wings had a crispy crunchy skin yet still pertained juicy thick meat. Almost every wing had a plentiful amount of meat on the bone and little fat. There was only one dud for all three of us, which helped elevate the score. The only hinderance withholding these wings from a coveted perfect score was each wing had an unsatisfactory coating of salt. At first, the wings tasted great and only had a hint of salt. As we dove deeper into the pile, the wings tasted more and more like a salt lick.

A- 9/10     B- 8/10     C- 9/10

Sauce

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

While Tim’s Cafe might not have a wide selection of sauces, the sauce they do offer is  quite tasty. Tim’s only offers three flavors of buffalo sauce: mild, hot, and hottest. However, they do offer a unique delivery of sauce. The customer can choose the have the sauce baked in with the wing or tossed onto the wing. We elected to have the sauce baked in and a bowl on the side for dipping purposes. Now onto the sauce itself, Tim’s “mild” sauce was thick and had a buttery consistency. This functioned nicely as a dipping sauce.  The sauce had a classic flavor of buffalo and a tint of heat. Overall nothing to complain about but also nothing special.

 A- 7/10     B- 7/10     C- 8/10

Hospitality

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

The wait for the wings was approximately 25 minutes. While this might seem like a long time to go without wings, our celery and carrot platter arrived midway through our wait to tide us over.  Additionally, we never had to wait for a refill and each refill was free. Overall Tim’s showed good service during our review.

A- 7/10     B- 7/10     C- 7/10

Final Score

In conclusion, Tim’s does not offer a large variety of sauces, but they offer a well-crafted buffalo sauce with a unique delivery. This paired with their superb wing quality makes for a solid wing experience.

A – 7.5/10    B – 7.75/10    C – 8/10

While Tim’s put up a good fight, following our fourth review Spruce Creek Tavern still reigns supreme as wing champion.

Thus, after four stops, our rankings are as follows:

  1.  Spruce Creek Tavern
  2.  Tim’s Cafe
  3.  Mac’s Market
  4.  The Bullpen

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

Now onto the sauce itself, Tim’s “mild” sauce was thicc and had a buttery consistency. This functioned nicely as a dipping sauce.

— ABC