The Rainbow 2: Electric Boogaloo

David Cooper and I love wings.

That is not news.

We also like beer.

Surprise!

We ate wings.
We drank beer.
I drank too many and couldn't write anything.
He is responsible.
He wrote this.
He took the pictures.
He is a beast.
His website is...
davidcooperphoto.com

The Rainbow 2: Electric Boogaloo

It should come as no surprise that The Newk’s crew are a hungry bunch. An army marches on it’s stomachs; we goof off in much the same way. As the writing staff decided to spend the evening playing championship trivia games and making deck hockey plans, it fell upon me, the staff photographer, to write tonight’s piece about our return to The Rainbow in Freeport. Someone has to work around here.

Yes, we’ve reviewed The Rainbow before. So what?

No, we’re not biased. Well, we are a little. The owners are totally super awesome people and stuff. Shop locally, always.

Yes, The Rainbow still has fabulous wings.

No, it’s not a gay bar.

It’s here that I apologize in advance for my pictures. The word photography comes from the root Greek meaning “writing with light.” The problem is that The Rainbow is a dark, dark place. Not that that’s a bad thing, it’s just that no light means no photos. Ronnie James Dio (god rest his tiny little soul) had this place in mind when he wrote his masterpiece Rainbow in the Dark. If the photos seem a bit sketchy, you can blame my laziness. I didn’t want to drag lights in and disturb the other patrons. Plus, I was really hungry. Do you know how hard it is to have a plate full of delicious food in front of you and not be allowed to eat it because some jerky photographer has to get pictures? It’s hard, I tell ya.

On to the task at hand. Simply put, The Rainbow has awesome wings. One day long ago a crack appeared in the sky and the hand of God descended, delivering the recipe to some of the most magically delicious wings you’ve ever tasted. You’ve been living an empty, meaningless life if your wing experiences consist only of manufactured corporate wings from Quaker Steak or some other chain restaurant. You deserve better than that. Really, you do. These wings are a perfect blend of salt and seasoning with just enough spice to make them out of this world. If you want some more heat, just get some of their signature hot sauce on the side. The Rainbow sauce is just as good, minus the heat.

In addition to the wings, we decided to order from the special list on the board by the door. Always, always try the special. They’re called ‘special’ for a reason, and we weren’t disappointed. A basket of mini tacos magically appeared, and magically disappeared just as quickly. These deep fried bites are little bits of pure joy and love and happiness. If I ate deep fried tacos every day I’d probably die a horrible, bloated, completely satisfied death, but there are rare times when deep fried mini tacos are not only right but necessary for survival.

On the side we got an order of Rainbow Nachos, an enormous platter of chips drowning in cheese and chicken. Another rule of thumb: If a place names a dish after itself, you know it has to be good. I had no idea what Rainbow Nachos were when I ordered them, but I said ‘yes’ without hesitation. They didn’t let us down.

A big thanks and a tip of the hat to Tina for such wonderful service, and also to the dudes from the tattoo parlor around the corner for playing a bunch of Misfits songs on the jukebox. Wings and Misfits are two great tastes that go great together.

Would you, Constant Reader, like to see more restaurant reviews? Do you own a restaurant? Send your recommendations to thenewkblog@gmail.com and remember that we are easily bribed with food. We don’t let journalistic ethics get in the way of a tasty meal.

Wingapalooza 2009 (Stop #4)

It's Monday.

And we didn't post a random picture.

Why not?

Because Wingapalooza is back, baby!

It's been a while since our last wing adventure.

Valentine's Restaurant and Lounge in Springdale,
was worth the wait.

David Cooper fell in love with the place, as soon as he
noticed they had Guinness Stout on tap.

He ordered up a pint, and waited for my timely arrival.
(I sometimes show up places purposely late, as to make
myself seem more important than I actually am.)

I parked around back, and made my way to the bar area, where I
met up with DC and two other wing experts...Dave and Mark.

With frosty beverages in hand, we marched into the
(non-smoking/kid friendly) dining area.

Russ, the owner, stopped by and said hello to us.

He happily answered a few of our questions, and made
a couple quality food recommendations.

First up, the star of the show...
The Seasoned Breaded Wings w/ Valentine's House Sauce

These full wings are lightly breaded, and seasoned to perfection.

Just enough crunch, and just enough juice.
(Cooked wonderfully by Jake. Well done, sir.)

The Valentine's sauce is something to behold.
The flavor of the wing when dipped into this pink nectar,
is heaven in Springdale.

When all is said and done.
If you order only one thing, these wings should be it.

You can also drench them in either ranch, or a spicy hot sauce.
If you so choose.


And if you live on the edge, Valentine's offers hot wings.

I, am afraid of hot stuff.
(Honestly, I consider myself "hot stuff," so I avoid things that
try to steal my thunder.)

But the others in our party aren't afraid of a little heat.
These bad boys stopped one wingman in his tracks.

I won't embarrass him, by naming him on the internet.
But, I will say his name rhymes with "rave."

Here is an actual quote from the review email he sent me:

"Hot Wings: Too hot for me. I'm a sissy."

I assume he thinks we didn't notice his lips turn red,
and his hands grasping for his drink.

They also offer a Buffalo style wing which we tried as well.
Very tasty, with a little less heat than these.

We suggest sampling them all, and find one that's
right for you.

A great night to do that is Monday (tonight).
Which is wing night at Valentine's.

You can try all varieties for only 75 cents a wing.
They also have Yuengling specials going as well, if you
need something to help wash them down.

~
If you've been following Wingapalooza, you know that we
like to try other goodies these place have to offer.

One thing was a must...the hand-tossed pizza, made with
Fazio's pizza dough.

We actually got a sneak peak at Russ working his magic in the kitchen.
Check out the airtime he's getting there.
That's levitation, Holmes.

When this round delight made it's way from the oven to
our table, we could hardly resist diving in before David
snapped even one picture. (Luckily, David does great things, even when he's rushed.)

Nom nom nom.

That pie was tasty.

Get one.


We finished up eating, and headed out to the bar for a few
more beers.
(We are firm believers that beer helps the digestion process.)

We started admiring all the of the cool metal workings that lined the
walls of Valentine's, and learned that a local metal shop made them.

So we'd like to give some propers to
Metal Shop Designs, in Springdale.

Serioulsy, check out this mirror that's by the bar.
Tight.

~
So there you have it, kids.
Stop #4 was a good one.

If you ever find yourself near Springdale, in need of
a drink or some food. Here is the info:

Valentine's Restaurant and Lounge
1101 Pittsburgh St.
Springdale, Pa. 15144
724.274.9500
Open Monday - Saturday 3:30 pm to 2:00 am

Specials and Events:

-Wing Night Mondays-
75 cent wings and Yuengling specials

-Karaoke Thursdays-
Corona bottles $2.00


Special Thanks:

Dave and Mark - it was nice sharing a table with you both.
David Cooper - Amazing work, as always.
davidcooperphoto.com
Jake the wing cook - Awesome job.
The bartender (name unknown) - Great service!
Russ - Great place, good food, nice form.

Wingapalooza 2009 (Stop #3)

The third stop of Wingapalooza 2009 turned out to be a tasty and educational one.

We sampled many dishes.
Most importantly the wings.

And we learned many things.
Like how good the chicken wings are.

Shall we begin?

3rd stop: Stella's Restaurant in the Parnassus section of New Kensington

I entered Stella's a few minutes past my coordinated arrival time with David "DSDC" Cooper.

He didn't seem to mind, as he had found a seat at the bar, and was already
enjoying what seemed to be a cold beverage of some sort.

Never one to promote drinking alone, I asked for whatever David was drinking.

And let me tell you, that was the right move.

This really is a great time of year for a beer drinker, as what soon arrived in front
of me tasted like Autumn in a tall glass.

Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale.

On tap.

A beautiful start, to what turned out to be a great evening.

The lovely woman that served us our drinks, turned out to be Stacy, the owner.

We discussed the intentions of our trip, and she couldn't have been nicer.

Same could be said for some of the patrons at the bar.
They overheard our conversation, and immediately starting listing all the menu
items that we just "had to try."

Even though we came for the wings...

We are a website of the people.
And the people had spoken.

We were introduced to our server, Debbie.
Debbie was top-notch.
Believe what we tell you.

David and I started spouting off all types of things we wanted to taste.
To be honest, we sounded like we had just spent a week in the woods, eating only
questionably edible berries and twigs.

Wings!
Pizza!
Pasta!
Soup!
Nachos!

First up.
What we came for...

The wings.

They come breaded or naked (for you kinky types).
We of course tried both.

Although both lightly dusted in seasoning, and very delicious...

We preferred the breaded.

The breading is light and flavorful, while the chicken inside is moist and tender.

They offer many selections of sauces for dipping:
Hot Sauce, Ranch, Honey Mustard, Buffalo and Stella's Sauce.

Oh, Stella's Sauce.
Or as we call it, "Chicken Wing Nectar."

Here is a picture of the breaded wings, accompanied by said sauces and a beer.

(Hold me)


And in this next shot, DSDC captures everything right in the world.

Take notice of the crunchy, seasoned and golden exterior of those wings.
That picture is David Cooper's Sistine Chapel.


To those of you that suggested Stella's, we thank you sincerely.

Onward we go.

Turns out, Stella's has been serving homemade foods since 2002.
And we have been eating since the 1970's.

There was lots of time to make up for.

We opted to try the Wedding Soup.
(I say "we," but once it got there...it was pretty much "me.")

It's true. David Cooper did not receive one bite of this culinary masterwork.
But I did allow him to take a picture of it.
I know...I'm a sweetie.

Seriously though, we eat wedding soup by the gallon, and this one is top 3 for sure.

Next, we went with a bar patron suggestion, and ordered a D&M style pizza with
sausage and green peppers.

And they knew what they were talking about.
The thin crust, the yummy sauce and the cheese blend all added up to a plate
full of pizza love.

Our special thanks to pizza chef Nick.
You do good work, fine sir.

Where are we?

On our 7th course already?

This next dish will make your eyes glisten, and your tummy grumble.

We give to you...

Grilled Chicken & Spinach

The chicken. The mushrooms. The tomatoes. The spinach. The butter herb pasta.
We're in love.

Honestly, I would do dirty things to that dish.
Luckily for everyone involved, there were people around, and I'm a bit shy.


And here is the hidden gem.

The homemade nacho chips and cheese.

Don't think for a second we are fooling around here.
Eat these, and thank us with gifts when you finish.

These has me shouting "Ariba, ariba!"
As the only Spanish I have retained in my life, I learned from watching Speedy Gonzalez.
Please forgive me, Senorita Matyas.

After gathering our leftovers and enjoying a few more Pumpkin Spice Ales.
We set forth to find our conveniently parked motor vehicles.

Now listen up people.
And listen good.

There are tons of places to park when you want to eat at Stella's.
Seriously.

You can park across the street, in the back, or in the huge lot marked "Stella's Parking"
right next to the building they share with the gym.

This place really has it all.

Great food.
A well stocked bar.
Wonderful service.
Homemade foods (gnocchi, lasagna, meatballs, etc)
Steeler game buffets.
Ample parking.
Super clean atmosphere.

Hell, they even deliver and offer catering services.


~
Stella's Restaurant
400 Freeport Street
New Kensington, Pa. 15068
724.339.0456

Hours:
Wed, Thurs, and Fri 11am - 9pm
Saturday 2pm - 9pm
Also open 1 hour before any Steeler game (Sundays or Mondays)

~
Photos and tasting by David Cooper
www.davidcooperphoto.com

The guy does it all.
Call him today for all your photographic needs.

Wingapalooza 2009 (Stop #2)

After many suggestions on where the next stop on our quest
for winged treasures, we decided on...

The Rainbow in Freeport.

And we are happy we did.

Let me just tell you, as David "DSDC" Cooper and I strolled into this quaint
little establishment nestled between Buffalo Creek and the Allegheny River, we
knew with our noses that a splendid and tasty evening awaited us.

Seriously, we were ready to throw down.

But first things first.

We met up with a couple friends who we asked to join us, and lucky for us,
they introduced us to the owner Phyllis.

She and her husband Jim have owned The Rainbow for 11 years, and have
been serving their scrumptious seasoned wings the entire time.

Granted we have never been to Phyllis and Jim's home, but we couldn't imagine feeling
any more welcome than she made us feel this evening.

Now, we've been told that wing night at the Rainbow is on Saturday, starting
at 5pm and ending when the wings run out. Which we hear could happen
quite early, depending on the crowd that given night.

So if you finish reading this, and decide you'd like to try out some of their best selling
whole seasoned wings for the super-special price of $0.45 each,
jump on your steed and ride.

Ride hard, and ride fast.

Because if DSDC and I beat you there, you might have to wait for the next Saturday.

That's a promise.

Actually, you can get these wings 6 days a week (closed on Sundays), as well as
many other tummy pleasing options. They open at 11 am, and the kitchen closes
usually around 9 or 10 pm (the bar is open until 2 am).

Let's get down to the grub already, shall we?

They offer 2 styles of chicken wings...

The popular seasoned, and the sauce laden buffalo wings.

Can you guess which ones we ordered?

If you said both, we have a bingo.


Seeing as we had a couple minutes before our food arrived, and the fact that they
serve cold beer at The Rainbow, who are we to not order up a couple chilly ones?
We're not rude.
How thirsty did we just make you?


The wings got there lickity-split, and we dove right in to the seasoned (shown with a
side of Rainbow Sauce). And let me tell you what. These things were everything and
more than we expected.Cooked perfectly, with a nice crisp outside, and an ultra juicy inside. We didn't really need
the dipping sauce. But it was such a perfect compliment, that we dunked each bite as
if we were mad at the table below.

They are everything a seasoned wing should be.


We moved on to the buffalo wings, without even taking a breath. Okay, I need to just stop here for a second.

Look at that picture.
Seriously, go back and look at it again.

Do I even need to write anything about these wings?

That picture alone should have you lacing up your New Balance shoes and jumping
into your fuel efficient Hyundai Accent, and twittering about it as you drive so your
friends can meet you there.

They were good, very good.
Was there actually any question about that after looking at them?


Our dinner friends ordered up some of the Rainbow Fries,
and these things were outstanding.

David Cooper said it best when he emailed me...

"The Rainbow fries were cheesy, gooey, messy goodness that were
nothing but love in a basket...with bacon."

I think that pretty much sums them up perfectly.


Another dinner mate had a fresh grilled chicken salad that sounded very crisp
and delectable.
We were not offered a bite of this culinary masterpiece, but we did notice that not
one word left his mouth as he ate it, so we assume it tasted as good as it looked.


The table was emptied in record time, proving that all of our readers that
suggested this place, couldn't have been more on point.

It was time to head out, but not before we had another beer.
You know, to help the digestion process.


Thanks:
Phyllis, the bartender, and also the cook. Great job everyone.
To everyone that told us to go there.
To our dinner friends, J and T.
Once again to www.davidcooperphoto.com.
And to all the chickens that gave their lives so we could eat them with sauces.

Info:
The Rainbow
323 Second St. Freeport Pa.
724.295.0130
Free fries on Tuesday and Thursday with any sandwich purchase from 6-9.
Bud and Bud Light specials during Penguin games.

Wingapalooza 2009 (Stop #1)

A few weeks back, we received an email asking about where we liked
to eat chicken wings in the area.

Instead of just blurting them out as we normally would, we took the time and came
up with maybe the greatest idea ever.

Better than the telephone.
Better than electricity.
Better than smut on DVD.

Yes, it's that good.

We decided to ask you, the reader, what place serves your favorite c-wing.

The response was overwhelming.
(You can read about it here.)

And thank goodness for that, as we now have more reasons to head out and
eat those deep-fried treats from flavor heaven.

All aboard!

First stop: Phillippi's Family Dining and Pizzeria in Natrona Heights

After a much debate, and a little bloodshed, the tasting team was finalized.

It consisted of me (the person writing this), the always fabulous
David "Super Duper" Cooper ("DSDC" as he's known around here), and the third
member was my wife (who doesn't eat wings).

Now many of you may ask, "why take a non-wing eater to a wing eating event?"

We actually have 3 reasons for that...

1. We needed someone to sample other menu items.
2. Someone without "wing fingers" had to take notes for us.
3. I hate sleeping on the couch.

There you have it, three perfectly valid reasons.
Happy?

This past Monday we showed up right in the heart of the dinner wing rush.

See, Phillippi's has wings specials every Monday (all day), and that is no secret
around these parts. People are well aware of the great wings and deals they have.
And they show up for them by the bus load.

They were nice enough to offer us a great spot right near the window.

We couldn't have asked for a better place, as you will soon be able to tell by the
photos that were snapped by DSDC.

We jumped right to the wing section of the menu...

So many different choices, it was going to be hard to decide what to order.

I prefer my wings dipped in a tasty sauce, but am willing to try just about anything.
Unless it's crazy hot, then I tell David to try those ones.
(He's a brave and honorable man.)

But after speaking to Kim and Belinda, we found out that their regular seasoned wings
are the most popular, with the brand new breaded style coming in a close second.

Now being equipped with knowledge, we could make our educated selections.

We in turn ordered a couple of every wing they offered.

How smart are we?

As we patiently awaited our wings to cook (done so to perfection by wing chef Brian,
our new best friend), we sampled the famous Birdville Pie.
We now understand why the 65 year old recipe has never been modified.

As we finished our last bite of the Birdville, our wings made their much anticipated arrival.
(Belinda must be quite strong, as those wings must have weighed a ton.)

There they were, all laid out in front of us...
Seasoned Wings
Breaded Wings
Buffalo Style Wings:
Garliquin Romance
Peachburgh Express
Sweet BBQ
General Tso's
Afterburner
and Too Fargin' Hot

(All wings with special Monday pricing of only 50 or 60 cents each.)
This is for full on jumbo wings, people!

It was a wingtopia.

Here are a couple wing pics.

The popular seasoned wings...

The new breaded wings...
And my personal favorite of the group, the General Tso wings...
Wing sauce, ranch dressing and beer driblets covered our hands
like a Jackson Pollock painting.

We gave each other a high-five (in our minds), as the physical act of doing so
may have joined our sticky, yet delicious mitts together for eternity.

It turns out that David was unable to choose a definitive favorite.
Which is not surprising, as each and every wing we sampled was a taste explosion to
our palate. We surely made a great first choice of stops for Wingapalooza 2009!

But we're not done yet!

The third and most beautiful member of our team decided to make a go of the
Mini Angus Burgers, served on pretzel buns. She also ordered the Baby Bird's Nest.
Which is a fabulous dish of fries, topped with 3 shredded cheeses and smoked bacon.

What was that sound?

Oh, it must have been your stomach.

That wraps up the food portion of this write-up.
The wings were great (even the hot ones that scare me), the atmosphere was
fun, and the great service topped it all off.

We couldn't have been happier.

Oh yeah, we have one more David Cooper picture to show off.
It's a pic of the Baby Bird's Nest.

But first, we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight what DC has done for this
posting. So I tried to copy one of his photos, using only the crafty lens of my trusty
blackberry digital camera.

David's Picture (www.davidcooperphoto.com)...

My blackberry attempt...

I know which one makes me hungrier.


---
Article Facts and Info:
Phillippi's Family Dining and Pizzeria
2105 Freeport Rd. Natrona Heights
724.226.3505
Kitchen open daily until midnight (10pm on Sundays).
Breakfast served daily (We will surely check that out).
Yuenglings are also on special on Mondays.
"Free Topping Tuesdays" gets you up to 3 toppings free on any pie.

Thanks:
Kim, Belinda, Lynette, and wing chef Brian.


You can see all of David's photos here.
http://www.davidcooperphoto.com/theNEWK/PhillippisWings/


Bonus Fact:
We used the word "fabulous" twice in this article.