The Hot Take
“While I wouldn’t call it a wing joint, they definitely put effort into making a noteworthy plate.”
I was off on a nerdcore night. MC Chris, MC Lars, and Mega Ran (AKA Random) were performing at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, and as an indoor kid, it’s one of the things that will always draw me to the outdoors. It was a super rainy day in New York, and of course I forgot my umbrella, so by the time I arrived I was soaking wet. I walked into the bar to find that I was literally the second customer of the evening. Though it had been short notice, this week I popped in to wreview…
Mulholland’s
312 Grand St (Williamsburg)
This week I was joined by the illustrious and indomitable… myself. I flew solo on this journey, which for budget reasons reduced this to a two sauce instead of a three sauce wreview.
The Venue
Mulholland’s lands somewhere between a neighborhood bar and on old Irish pub. It’s got a long wooden bar, several tables around the walls, and a great-looking but on this day basically inaccessible patio. Though I failed to grab a picture of the menu here, it described embracing a relatively rowdy crowd. Through my conversations with the bartender throughout the evening and the small batches of patrons that came and left while I was there, it seems to be a pretty accurate description, and I could see the place being filled with a mostly young neighborhood crowd.
The Menu
I would call the menu here a “premium” bar menu. Not that anything is overtly expensive, which it isn’t, but that it seems to want to dress up typical bar food in a slightly gourmet manner. They serve any number of fried foods, burgers, and sandwiches, but do their best to keep the offerings unique enough to distinguish themselves. Those interested can check out the menu here, but there is a fairly good chance the menu may differ on your visit, as it seems they may upgrade and change it on a regular basis.
The PPW here isn’t terrible. $1.17 for their regular order (6), and $1.00 for the double (12). For a place that flirts with gourmet, the price is pretty fair.
What We I Ordered
This night I was back to Brooklyn lager. I’m a huge fan of local brews, and while it doesn’t fill the void left by Red Oak (one of my favorites from NC,) it is a damn good beer.
For wings, I ordered the Scorching Death, and what I will refer to only as the General Tso’s, despite it having a longer name on the menu (again, I did a bad job on some of the photo documentation here.)
The Presentation
It may have been because I was the only non-takeout guest here, but the presentation was above and beyond. Wings were served on round-cornered square plates on top of a bed of leaf lettuce, any messiness wiped off. The Scorching Death were served with celery and blue cheese, but the General Tso’s was served with some crunchy chow mein noodles, duck sauce, and spicy mustard. Honestly, for understanding the difference between the wing flavors and complementing them appropriately, and for the immaculate service, an unprecedented 5/5 presentation is in order.
The Sauces
General Tso’s:
If you’re a messy boy, this sauce is for you. While being a bit sloppy and sticky, it does stand out. A lot of other places serve teriyaki wings but at Mulholland’s, the General Tso’s are similar enough that if teriyaki was your goal this hits the spot. It does have just enough of a chili heat that it does the flavor a favor. While the sauce texture intimates a sweet stickiness, there is a enough soy, ginger, and garlic to prevent the it from becoming a sugary mess. A delicious take on the traditional Asian wing (alongside some dabs of duck sauce) sends this sauce right into a tasty and a little bit spicy 4/5.
Scorching Death:
I was told by the bartender here that the Scorching Death was relatively mild, and it was true. This is not to say they’re without heat, these good good wings pack a nice hot punch. I pulled my stopwatch and found the heat to peak out in less than a minute, but boy does it linger on your tongue for a while, not abating for amost another three minutes. I did get a few heat hiccups on these, but unlike most of the other hot wings I’ve tried, instead of taking a bite and riding the rollercoaster, I found these tasty enough to just eat up the whole wing and see how it went. My heat tolerance has been fairly well documented at this point, and that said, I’d be happy to order these again and again. Mulholland’s has put the focus on having a tasty heat rather than a braggadocious one, and I can’t help but *hic* giving the Scorching Death a 4/5.
Yes, I only tried two of the available sauces here. That said, it’s hard not to see that they care about the taste here. If you couldn’t guess already, an overall 4/5 is in order for this category.
The Wing
According to the internet menus posted for Mullholand’s, the wings are seasoned, baked, and then fried. I’m not sure at which point the sauce is applied, but it seems to be the exact moment it’s necessary. The result is a wing that has all the juices sealed in tightly and comes out just right. They’re huge, too. After four wings I was already full, and ended up passing the rest on to a few guys who had just sat down. I wish they had some crunch to them, or maybe a little more elasticity in the skin, but otherwise the wings themselves are fantastic, baking and frying their way into a 4/5.
The Hot Take
Mulholland’s has it going on for real. The bartender was friendly and helpful, and the wings were superb. I don’t make it out to Williamsburg very often, but this place is worth the trip and I would recommend you stop in if you find yourself in the neighborhood. While I wouldn’t call it a wing joint, they definitely put effort into making a noteworthy plate. It’s places like this that are the reason half points exist, because it really only falls a little bit short of a perfect score. But this is a zone of certainty, so the Hot Take for Mulholland’s is a 4/5.
Additional Info
I’m sorry I’m a few hours late. After I finish up writing this I’m heading out today, November 12, to go to Wingsgiving at Mudville 9 at about 3 o’ clock, and if you’re reading this in time you’re welcome to join me. It’s been a tough week you guys, and I think we could all use a little friendship and charity in our lives. While the Weekly Wing Wreview is about wings and not about politics, Ryan Alexander is a human man and has thoughts and opinions and a heart, so if anybody reading this needs to talk, or just needs someone to listen, you can contact him through any of the email or social media links below. It’s important to remember that we are a community, and when we work together it makes us all stronger. See you next week.
As always, the Weekly Wing Wreview and MaxFun.nyc are not affiliated with Maximum Fun or its associated products or brands. But we’re pretty big fans.