FORT LEE, NEW JERSEY
Just across the George Washington Bridge across from the Whiteman Park Plaza in Fort Lee, New Jersey, NEW YORK WING FACTORY gained high praise since opening, January ’14. The red-bricked roadhouse sportsbar serves as a unique gastropub featuring battered and double-fried Factory Wings and impressive Korean-styled dishes alongside a light Americana menu and some of the finest quickly-rotated draught and bottled beers in the area.
Rustic wood fixtures, exposed pipes, hanging fans and spotlights fill the large one-room open space with TV’s at every angle. The rustic hardwood bar (with 20-plus seats) stationed alongside the back wall gets served by the open kitchen near the entrance and two blackboards list the bottled selections (including several limited edition elixirs such as Brooklyn Hand & Seal Bourbon Barleywine, Bruery Rueuze Oak-barreled Lambic and Lagunitas Gnarlywine).
On my initial two-hour March ’15 weekday visit, several dining tables fill up in the mid-afternoon while the bar meshes local businessmen with serious beer geeks. Wings, pizzas, tacos, burgers and salads top the Americana items. Korean fare includes Kimchi Kroquetas (rice-balled mozzarella with marina and scallions) and the delicious Pickle Jar (jalapeno-radish-carrot-tomatillo). I grab a half-dozen hickory barbecue wings while the guys nearby chew on hotter versions (Jalapeno BBQ, Salt & Pepper and Angry).
A few previously untried Belgian-styled Stone ‘Stochasticity’ brews get quaffed alongside the sweet wings. Stone Quadrotriticale brought treacle rye breading to raw-honeyed dried fruiting while Stone Hibiscusicity pushed the envelope with its floral hibiscus tea likeness overriding the sour-doughed lemony hop spritz.
On second visit during April ’15 at noon, several post-grunge artists (Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Offspring) play in the background while I munch on Salt & Pepper Wings and down a few previously untried IPA’s (Angry Erik Hop-N-Awe/ 902 Heaven Hell or Hoboken) and saisons (Ommegang Calypso Hennepin/ Bolero Snort Tabull) alongside a witbier (Free Will Mango Wheat), cream ale (Carton Pumpkin Scobeyville Wood) and mocha ale (Boulevard Chocolate Ale).