Wild, Wicked Wings and More

Aces Fire Grille is owned by Tom Housteau who previously had Aces Wild Wings in the Boardman Plaza. If you loved the wings there, you will absolutely love the wings here. The restaurant has expanded not only in the size of the dining room and bar area, but the menu as well and according to Housteau, he's working on adding more items.

The dining room is to the right and is quite big and roomy. Hardwood floors, tables and booths well spaced allow for plenty of comfortable dining. The bar area is to the left which also has a few tables for dining. I get the feeling that by day it's a great place to grab a sandwich or early dinner with the family, but it's also a great place to meet up with friends for a night of good food and fun.

AS for the food, Tom said he would give me a good variety to try but seemed most proud of his wings. I told him I like things hot so he said he'd bring me some of the Top Fuel Wings. A patron at the bar was giving me the nod of approval. I asked if they're hot and he continued nodding with a grin. I couldn't wait.

As I settled into a comfy booth, Ariana, my server for the day, brought me a cold iced tea and we talked about what she thought Tom would be sending out. She told me that "people love our wings." With over a dozen flavors to choose from, I asked her for her favorite. She immediately said, "the Cajun Ranch". Then I asked her about the Top Fuel. She'd never tried them but she said this about the past customers who've ordered them. "They come six to an order and most people can't get past number four!" With much anticipation, I was delighted as I was served six different flavors of wings all "double bowled for the bones", Tom added. BBQ, Cajun, Teriyaki, Raspberry BBQ, Hot Garlic, and the fiery Top Fuel. Where should I begin. Eenie, meenie, miney, moe. I grabbed a BBQ. The first thing I noticed is that these wings are fried which I love. I love when the skin gets crispy and has all that flavor sealed in. The BBQ sauce is just the way I like it. Thick and sweet and a little spicy. They're covered with sauce and after finishing my first one I now understand why every table has a roll of paper towels on it. One wing down, two towels in. Next up, Hot Garlic. It's a good red hot wing with a hint of garlic. The wings are crispy outside, juicy inside and they're big. Two wings in and my nose is runnin'. I'm loving these wings. I'm strategically eating these wings by saving the Top Fuel for last. I don't want to kill my taste buds. I move on to the Teriyaki. Great Asian flavors. You can taste the soy sauce with a little smokey, sweet taste. The Raspberry BBQ may be my favorite. I was quite surprised. It's got that great BBQ base from the original BBQ but you get a hint of raspberry as soon as they hit your lips. I always love barbecue flavors but this one was so different that I immediately fell in love. Maybe I was just glad to sweeten up my mouth getting ready for the much anticipated Top Fuel. Here goes. My first bite. Yes, they're hot. Nothing over the top right away but by the time I finished it, every square inch of my mouth, my tongue, my lips even the outside of my mouth was feeling a nice warm tingle that got hotter and hotter. I even called over Ariana to join me. If I had to do it, I felt she should too. In the end, we both thought they were great. The heat did wear off. Could I eat six of them? I definitely would be up for the challenge.

If you like nachos, you'll be happy with Aces Wild Nachos. You get a mountain of crispy chips, topped with chili, grilled or buffalo chicken, lots of cheese, fresh lettuce, tomatoes, onions and a handful of jalapeno peppers. I had them with the grilled chicken and they are yummy. A huge platter, plenty for everyone at the table.

Aces has some great sandwiches as well as Quesadillas. Seasoned grilled chicken, shredded lettuce, cheese, onion and tomato are sandwiched between two big tortillas and grilled. Served with salsa and sour cream, it's packed with chicken in every bite and full of flavor. You can even order this one as an appetizer. It's cut in four so it's perfect for sharing.

You'll have your choice of burgers and sandwiches at Aces and you can't go wrong. The Ace Burger is a perfectly grilled, seasoned burger topped with provolone and grilled onions on a nice soft, toasted bun. All burgers and sandwiches are served with a large portion of fresh cut fries that are really good. The Reuben is stacked with corned beef, swiss cheese, kraut and thousand island dressing then grilled to perfection on marble rye. I loved the Philly Cheese Steak. A delicious fresh hoagie roll filled with chopped steak, grilled peppers and onions all topped with two slices of cheese. Served with those fries, my favorite sandwich here.

For a bigger appetite and a bigger meal, go with the Jumbo Fried Haddock Dinner. They're not kidding when they say Jumbo. They don't have a plate big enough to hold this fish. Batter dipped and fried to a golden brown on the outside and inside, a light, flakey fish. It's served with fries and either cole slaw or mac and cheese. I had the cole slaw and I highly recommend it.

I ended up finding myself going back to the wings. Again and again. I just couldn't get enough. Housteau stopped back to see what I thought of everything. I told him I loved the wings especially because they're fried and especially the Raspberry BBQ. He said, "frying is the only way to go. The wing sauces and flavors are all made by me. They're my recipe and no one else knows them." "We have specials on Monday and Wednesday when wings are just 35 cents each." His favorite wing? "Cajun". Seems to be a popular choice.

Aces Fire Grille just opened in June and are just settling into this big space. Tom hopes to soon add more entree items to the menu like BBQ Ribs. My thought is, with that delicious barbecue sauce, there's no doubt they'll be a hit.

So if you loved Aces Wild Wings you can still get them. Just down the road towards Poland, the wings are wild and wicked, and just as good, if not better, than ever.