Posted by I finally had the opportunity to check out Kettle Black’s Staten Island location now that indoor dining is open again in NYC, and thankfully it didn’t disappoint.
For years, I’ve visited the Bay Ridge location for wings with unique flavors that I would grow to crave on a regular basis.
I’ve known about the Staten location for some time, but I just didn’t get the chance to try it until now. I had some reservations based on the business attempting to scale itself and I feared that the overall quality of the wings I love so much would not be the same.
When we arrived I was taken back by how big it was compared to the Brooklyn location. They also have a large outdoor dining area right on Forest Ave.
The inside is decorated the same as the Bay Ridge one with sports jerseys, posters and memorabilia. They also have seemingly identical menus.
I was thankful to see that all of my favorite wing flavors were available here.
For my first visit, I decided to play it safe and order all of my favorite wing flavors with the exception of the Thai Chili.
Now, for those of you who have never been to Kettle Black, I strongly recommend this place if you’re a wing lover. They have a unique take on flavors that you just won’t get at chain places or smaller restaurants.
I’m a big fan of their Jamo flavor which is favorited by many frequenters that I know. This is a must order when visiting Kettle. Also, if you like a traditional buffalo sauce I strongly recommend trying their Ragin’ Cajun. It tastes like regular buffalo sauce mixed with a little bit of Old Bay Seasoning to give it some extra flavor. This by far my favorite wing in there.
The Jameson is in the vain of a traditional barbecue flavor, but has its own unique taste that includes its namesake.
I also really enjoy the dry rub Fitzpatrick. There’s nothing like eating a few Ragin’ Cajun’s, and dipping a dry Fitzpatrick in the leftover sauce for an added kick.
On this visit we went with the Jamo, Ragin’ Cajun, and the Thai Chili. I have to admit that we weren’t crazy about the Thai. It seemed to have a tomato base and wasn’t spicy at all. We thought it would be like a sweet thai chili wing with that type of sauce, but Kettle has its own take which just wasn’t for us.
However, the Jamo and Ragin’ were on point. It made me happy to know that I did not have to pay a toll to snag some of my favorite wings. And what’s also great is that the Staten Island location has the same Wednesday night wing special as the Brooklyn one so anyone can enjoy 69 cent wings.
The Staten Island location also has a lot of big screen TVs for sports lovers. We were there on the night of the NFL draft so it was understandably packed. I had asked them to play the NY Ranger hockey game on one TV and some of the meathead football fans were offended because they wanted the draft on all 9 TVs in the dining room. Oh well.
The service was good and Kettle has a nice beer on tap selection with a menu that offers a variety of items besides just wings.
One other issue I had with the Staten Island location was that they did not bring celery and carrots out with the wings and charged me $1.00 for them after I requested them. Also, I could tell that they weren’t too fresh. The Brooklyn location used to bring it all out together and the celery stalks and carrots were nice and thick making for a hearty after wing snack. They definitely lost points there.
Overall, Kettle Black Staten Island was a good experience and I strongly recommend the joint for wing lovers, or anyone trying to catch a game and eat delicious food.
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