2011 Wing Tournament: Downtown Results

And here we go... the Downtown bracket kicks off the 2011 Pulled Into Syracuse Wing Tournament. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que will take on J Ryan's Pub, followed by Bull & Bear Pub vs. Syracuse Suds Factory. Winner of the Downtown bracket advances to the Final Four and will take on the winner of the Northside / Eastwood bracket. To see a list of all qualifying teams, how each neighborhood bracket looks, and tournament rules, click here for the initial post. Here's how the Downtown bracket ended up...

Downtown Opening Round: Game 1
(1) Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's "Wango Tango" wings: 4
(4) J Ryan's "Hot" wings: 0

As a 4 seed facing a 1 seed, J Ryan's wings (pictures on the right) put up a good fight against Dino's heavily favored Wango Tango variety (pictured left). A zero in the score shouldn't imply that J Ryan's were bad by any means. They were delicious and fared surprisingly well. They were just no match for Dino's smokey, spicy, and sauce slathered chicken wings. J Ryan's were above average in most aspects despite the sauce having had no indication of Frank Red Hot (which may have been blanketed a bottled brand). Regardless, they still had that great Buffalo-style flavor. If you love crispy wings, look no where other than J Ryan's as these were the crispiest I've ever had. But Dino pulled out the stops with an amazing skin that was slightly charred and had enough crispness to balance the chewiness, a lingering heat that makes you want to eat more, and some of the most tender chicken wing meat ever.

Untraditional, yes. But for perfectly crispy and smokey wings, Dino doesn't mess around.

Winner: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

***

Downtown Opening Round: Game 2
(3) Syracuse Suds Factory's "Fiery" wings: 5
(2) Bull & Bear Pub's "Hot" wings: 2

Somewhat of an under-matched 2 and 3 seed match-up pitted Bull & Bear's hot wings (pictured left) against Suds' Fiery ones (pictured right). For what it's worth, J Ryan's probably could've beat either contestant, but alas, this is what happens in a single-elimination tournament. Since Bull & Bear's wings were advertised as "Award Winning!", some serious competition was expected, but they were certainly the weakest among the Downtown seeds as there was almost little to no Buffalo flavor, or any flavor, going on. Its generally small wings were topped with sliced pickled jalapenos, which were a nice touch and added some much needed heat that was nonexistent otherwise. I'd consider Bull & Bear's wings slightly below average bar wings in most aspects as they picked up a few points where Suds could not. Despite being served on the cold side and a sauce that could've been a notch hotter, Suds Factory's Fiery wings did well. It's jumbo-style sized wings had an excellent skin that was not overly crispy and was perfect on my account. There was a slightly odd flavor to the sauce that was lingering, leading me to believe that it may have been a less than higher-end bottled brand. Suds' main downfall however, was that the meat was incredibly dry; which had it not, and had the sauce had a little more kick, they certainly could've been considered excellent wings.

Overall, Suds' fared better and could probably even do really well in other cities that aren't in Upstate NY.

Winner: Syracuse Suds Factory

***

Downtown Second Round: Championship Game
(1) Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's "Wango Tango" wings: 6
(3) Syracuse Suds Factory's "Fiery" wings: 1

Despite the lopsided score, Suds' are decent wings. But with dry meat, a slightly odd flavor, and blue cheese that was tangy but a bit watery, it never really stood a chance against any 1 seed and its great skin just wasn't enough to overcome Dino's perfectly balanced wings. Dinosaur indeed brought its "A" game: covered in a spicy and smokey barbecue sauce, with a lingering heat that makes you want to eat more in each bite, and a good blue cheese that doesn't cloud its wings.

If my entirely cleaned plate of with Wango Tango wing bones soon thereafter wasn't any indication, these are delicious.

Winner and champion of the Downtown bracket: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

***

Stay tuned for the remaining 3 brackets, the Final Four, and Pulled Into Syracuse's 2011 Wing Tournament Champion which will be crowned later this month. Also, I'll add an actual bracket sheet at some point before the Final Four.

Review: Bull & Bear Pub

Name: Bull & Bear Pub
Address: 125 E Water St, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: Downtown (Hanover Square)
Website: www.bullandbearpub.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Traditional, yet mildly upscale Pub Food
Restaurant Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30 AM to 9 PM, Saturday 4PM to 9 PM
Bar Hours: Monday-Friday 11:30 AM to 2 AM, Saturday 4 PM to 2 AM
Alcohol: Full Bar
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Takes Reservations: Yes
Music: Live Music on Friday and Saturday Nights, Karaoke on Wednesday and Thursday Nights

Opened in 2002, Bull & Bear Pub is situated in the heart of Syracuse's historic Hanover Square district. The interior is inviting and done over in a sort of rustic, funky, and hip style - from the creatively done and purposely aged "Bull & Bear" wall painting to the dark, rich wood at the bar, tables, and booths. Seating varies from stools up at the bar area, tables scattered over the center floor, to booths up against the large windows that overlook Hanover Square. There's also outdoor seating (weather permitting). Bull & Bear Pub also features weekly events such as a Talent Showcase on Tuesdays at 9:30 PM, Karaoke on Wednesdays at 9:30 PM, 80's Fusion Karaoke Dance Party on Thursday nights and live music on Friday and Saturday nights.

The beer selection is good, with mostly New York and New England regional beers. They also have a few wines available as well. Drink specials include a "Midnight Madness" from Midnight to 1 AM on Monday to Thursday with $1.95 on all domestic bottles and well drinks. And the "50 Cent Happy Hour" runs on Monday to Friday from 4 PM to 7 PM with all domestic bottles and well drinks buy one get the next for 50 cents.

The menu contains a nice variety of your tradition bar food like burgers, wings, and wraps, but most are done with a slight twist: such as the Summer Chicken Burger (with a teriyaki glaze, pineapple and provolone) and the Rochester Wrap (with chicken, asiago cheese, ranch, lettuce and tomato in a jalapeno wrap). It's a great selection of food and you will most likely be able to find something new and interesting if this is your first time or your fifth.

Bull & Bear also features a "Take Away Menu" with specific items to-go (call for details) and also has an all-you-can-eat soup and salad special at lunch for $7.99.

Anyway, the order...

Coke: $2
The Hanover: $8.75
w/ Side of Sweet Potato Fries: $0.85
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $14

Pictured above is The Hanover (a grilled panini with shredded turkey, mozzarella cheese, coleslaw and Russian dressing on the side) with Sweet Potato Fries and garnished with a pickle slice.

Um, OK. If you put something on the menu that is not only named after the neighborhood your restaurant is in, but also has the phrase "trust us, it's GOOD!" immediately after the menu item, it better damn well be amazing. This was not. Really, the flavors just didn't work together at all and I think one of the main culprits may have been the coleslaw - it was bland, dry, and really didn't provide anything. It was essentially like eating wilted, plain cabbage. The melted mozzarella cheese was good (nice and stringy) and turkey was mildly juicy, but all of that combined with pressed rye bread made it a confusing combinations of tastes. It was such an odd mix of flavors that eventually became incredibly unappetizing. Also, although it was sweet and tangy, I have no idea why they insisted on putting the Russian dressing on the side. Something felt awkward about dunking my sandwich after every bite. If you're trying to make your restaurant more classy by putting condiments in small, metallic serving dishes, having your customers dunk their paninis is not the right way to go about it. Not only that, but I ran out of dressing about half way through the meal because the panini was so dry. In hindsight, it didn't really matter because I didn't even finish the rest of it. Booooo.

The sweet potato fries were OK. The giant grains of salt all over them were a bit much, but I thought the actual fries were decent none the less. Sweet and crispy. I really didn't like the maple butter mixture at all and had to make the jump to squeeze-bottle ketchup after only a few attempts at it. It was way too heavy and buttery for me. (Not to mention, I had already been overwhelmed by the amount of strange combinations and flavors at this point in the meal: turkey, Russian dressing, sweet potato, coleslaw, cheese, rye, butter, syrup, etc...). I mean, I get the whole "sweet potato and butter" combination, but it was just a bit much for me. An accompaniment of a light, raspberry vinaigrette instead of a condensed, maple butter mix would have done the trick here, I think. But oh well.

Service was a bit slow too. This was during lunch service - which should really be one of the more efficient times in moving people in and out. By the time I finished eating, most of the lunch crowd had already left, so I didn't really understand the long wait for the check at the end of the meal.

A few other notes...

The bathroom here is co-ed.

They offer catering. Call for details.

When bands are playing it can get loud and become difficult to carry on a normal conversation.

And yes, they have dart boards.

Overall, I'd say that Bull & Bear equates to casual dining, but leaning slightly towards the higher-end side of pub food (whatever that means). The food that I had in particular was not good, but they get points in my book for a superb location, a good, clean atmosphere, and decent food selection. For right now, I'd say that Bull & Bear seems like a much better place to get your drink on and enjoy some live, local music than it is as a legit restaurant. The other patrons that were there on my visit seemed to be eating burgers, so maybe I'll try one of those next time - though I'm not sure how soon that will be.

My rating of Bull & Bear Pub: