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| - This is another love letter, this time to the Cheers of Arizona. This is a REAL neighborhood bar and has a small-town type of allure. Yeah, the regulars get preferential treatment... that's part of the down-home experience you get here. You'll have a great time from your first visit if you understand the atmosphere. You want the "Regular experience"? Wanna be AZ Norm? Fit in, have fun, you'll build cred and feel appreciated in no time. Be warned, pretentious douchbags and high-maintenance princesses need not apply. Come on in and feel at home, the food is uncomplicated greatness.
Woodshed II is where I had my first Buffalo-style chicken wings*... back in the late '80s. Damn they were good. And they are just as DAMN GOOD now! As Ash P recently said: "Sunday or Monday, buy an order of wings, get half an order free! Their wings are amazing, ranch is homemade..." The Sunday-Monday deal has been in place since my first visit, almost 30 years ago. The Woodshed II is the place to be during Football season.
Everything is reasonably priced, especially the alcohol. The burgers have tremendous flavor. The fries have a tasty seasoning. If you are looking for a casual pub experience on a budget, this is your place.
* I realized during the composition of this review that my first Buffalo-style wings came from J. Munchy & Co. on the North side on Southern across from Fiesta Mall. Darcie and I definitely developed an interest in wings at Muncy's. But the Woodshed II blew Muncy's tame wings out of the water soon after, such that I nearly forgot some history.
The review ends here with: Go to the Woodshed II; get some wings and beer; thank me later.
Now I'm going to regale you with my fondest memory of the Woodshed II. Back in '91 or '92, I got a call from my brother-in-law. "I need to talk." He'd been the blackhole of emotional need since he'd decided to get divorced 18 months prior. No details, but he forced a situation immediately began to regret.
So, as the extended family consiglieri, I was being called to duty, yet again, so close to the previous request only a couple days prior. Ai yi yi, patience Dale. To be fair, the statute of limitations for teary-eyed whininess over poor relationship decisions is 12 months... no longer. He'd been wearing on the whole family for quite some time. Was gonna bring him a rubber band, so he could wrap it around his head and snap out of it.
So, we met at the Woodshed II and grabbed a table by the grill. We ordered wings and a pitcher of beer, cuz that's what you do. When the wings came, Bro-in-L requested some Tabasco. Strangely, the server brought the Tabasco in a ¾ filled ramekin. Maybe they only had one Tabasco bottle available at the time. Not sure. But unbeknownst to me, this random food service decision setup the final critical-mass domino in one of the most satisfying series of events in my life. It was like I could see things unfolding 10 seconds before they actually began to happen.
I remarked: "That's a whole lotta Tabasco." Bro-in-L's clinically unchecked oneupmanship effervesced to the surface with: "I could drink that." I began taking inventory of the situation as I said: "You could drink that? All of that Tabasco?" Bro-in-L's glass was down to less than 1/2 cm of beer... if that.
"Yeah!" he said, eyes blazing with practiced smugness. The pitcher had about ¾ mug of beer left in it.
I drank the rest of my beer and said: "If you drink that whole ramekin of tabasco, the bill is on me."
His face lit up. "Really?"
"Really. I will pay the bill."
Bro-in-L looked down at the Tabasco, took a deep getting-in-the-zone breath. He reached for the ramekin and looked me in the eye. Another slow deep breath.
Down it went as I was pouring the remaining beer into my glass.
He looked up at me triumphantly. Tick, tick, tick. I set the pitcher down. He took notice of his empty beer glass and the pitcher returning, also empty, to the table. I began drinking my beer, as the beads on his forehead began to run together. His ears grew crimson. His jar worked, opening and closing.
I paid the bill getting to know our server. Bro-in-L spent a lot of time in the restroom.
Truly, whenever I remember this glorious day it gives my day a boost. It's a regular story at holiday dinners.
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