Written by Roberta Biros
I was privileged to attend the 2009 (2nd Annual) Wing Cookoff in Sharon on Thursday night. I say privileged as it was a great evening for ALL of those that attended. I was glad to see that there was a HUGE crowd that came out to offer their support to the United Way of Mercer County. It was great fun . . . a fantastic opportunity to try the best wings in the area . . . and all for a worthy cause.
My husband and I were sure to try as many wings as we could stand. There were too many to choose from, but we managed to get a sampling from each of the local establishments that were represented. We had a few personal favorites as follows:
- Under the category of best HOT wings, our hands-down favorites were the “Hot Gino” wings from Our Gang’s Lounge. Mmmmmmm . . . tasty and HOT. A great combination. These wings won our votes and the votes of a majority of those in attendance as they were selected as the winner of the HOT category.
- Under the category of SIGNATURE wings, my personal favorite wings were Sheila’s Hot Garlic wings offered by Bohica Bar and Grill. Bohica was another winner for the evening.
- Under the category of CREATIVE wings, I fell in love with the Dago Red wings offered by Laddie’s Sky Club. Laddie’s Sky Club was another winner in the judging.
- Lastly, under the category of BBQ wings, my personal favorites were those offered by Pizza by Marchelloni’s. Although they were beaten out by Quaker Steak in this category, I liked the dark sweet sauce on Marchelloni’s version (and it had nothing to do with the repeated “bribe attempts” made by Marchelloni’s with repeated coupon offers).
The official WING KING for 2009? Our Gang’s Lounge walked away with the title, and it was well deserved.
The night was great from start to finish. I even had an opportunity to sprinkle the evening with a little politics.
First, I had the pleasure of taking a few minutes to speak with Lynn Saternow of The Herald. I haven’t had an opportunity to speak with Lynn since he published his opinion “Who in their right mind would vote for Roberta Biros for county treasurer?” [read HERE], and I thought it would be fun to bring up the topic with him personally. We laughed about it, and we shared a good chuckle or two.
Second, I had a chance to talk with State Representative Mark Longietti (D-7th) at the event as well. Rep. Longietti came to support the cause, and he was kind enough to take a few minutes to speak with me regarding matters in Harrisburg. According to Representative Longietti, he will be heading out to Harrisburg on Sunday for a MARATHON SESSION in the House. It is the intention for legislators to stay in Harrisburg until the 2009-2010 State Budget is finalized. As per Rep. Longietti, “We will stay until it’s finished. We’ll be there on weekends too. I don’t know how long it will be, but I could be out there for a month if necessary.” Representative Longietti commented that the process may be long and drawn out because both sides seem to have dug in for a long battle. Rep. Longietti and I agree that the final budget will probably end up somewhere in the middle of the two versions with some level of cost cutting paired with some sort of tax increase, but the final version is probably several weeks away. My husband and I reminded Representative Longietti that we were counting on him to look out for our best interests in Harrisburg.
In Closing
It was a fulfilling evening the whole way around. We had a great time, we had some great conversation, and we sampled some of the best wings in the business. What more could you ask?
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Mercer County Conservatives 