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Benchwarmers
On the Commons
Prices: $5-$10
Posted on: 12/12/99
Who's afraid of sports bars? We are! But fortunately our friends aren't, thereby opening the door to worlds into which we might otherwise lack the self-actualization to approach. Fear is probably the wrong word ... to put it another way, the idea of a small gang of predominantly men bowing before a large and glowing alter to other men's athleticism isn't high on our fantasy totem pole, nor is it very appetizing. Having said that, the scene at Benchwarmers (the name does not exactly inspire ambition) is quite a bit milder than our nightmare scene. It's basically a sports-leaning pub.
And we've eaten in pubs before, no problem. Plus, our backs were to the television sets. The menu at Benchwarmers does ring the anticipation bells, as it covers a wide variety of pub munchem's, from little fried bits of this or that vegetable to fried chunks of this or that meat, plus beer. This is not a complaint. Strangely, though, the beer was discounted for the feat of walking up to the bar and ordering it oneself, rather than have the waitress do what we thought was her (or his) job. Perhaps there is an additional savings if you bring your own glass.
Our opening munchem gambit -- the ever popular blooming onion -- was the best part of the meal. Although difficult to disassemble, the inner onion was addictive and sweet, and we all hacked and picked away at it throughout and probably even after the main dishes were eaten.
Benchwarmer's menu touts another pub staple, the wing de la chicken. In fact, they proclaimed their own as among the best in town. Let us pause for a moment here and say briefly and quietly that we know wings. We have probably (vegans avert your eyes) eaten the little arms off some poor chickens in nearly every city in northeastern North America. And let us be clear that Buffalo, and hence Buffalo-style,is ground zero, the indisputable Wing Standard. With that in mind, we have to score Benchwarmer's wings a solid "average". For: large and meaty. Scrawny wings are a turnoff (a maxim that extends beyond mere poultry). Against: over-fried, probably not true pressure fried, overly polite sauce that didn't adhere well enough. In the current standings, Napoli's on East State St. are the best wings we've tried in town.
Our nutritious outing was rounded out with a chicken spiedie sub. Spiedies hail from the otherwise uninteresting Binghamton/Endicott region and consist essentially of deeply marinated chunks of chicken, pork, or beef. Spiedie marinades range from traditional Greek influences (heavy on the oregano and olive oil) to garlic sauces to, of course, Buffalo wing sauce. If you're unlucky to have to stop the car in the Binghamton area, try a spiedie sub ... a pretty good fast food alternative. Unlike wings, however, spiedies have not really caught on very far outside of Binghamton. To prove that point, Ithaca itself is not very for from Binghamton and yet only two or three places even include spiedie-related items on their menu. Given that build-up, we'd have to say that Benchwarmer's spiedie's don't quite make the cut, being under-marinated and over-cooked. The chicken chunks were on the dry side, which is anything but what a spiedie chunk should feel like.
The onion was the standout at Benchwarmers, which is unfortunate as their variety and prices are both attractive. A notch or two of improvement would make this sports pub more worthy of -- dare we say it -- a rematch. Ouch.
Read another opinion by Chris Sidle
