Full disclosure, we have been trying to come here ever since what we now refer to as the “Great St. Patrick’s Day Cuyahoga Falls Bar Crawl Debacle,” in which we walked the entire length of Front Street and only enjoyed one alcoholic beverage, got yelled at for taking our to-go cups into another establishment, faced an insane line at every place we attempted to enter (including this one) and then shuttled back to the site of our initial drink purchase with a group of people who may have been returning to the retirement home after dropping us off because it was the only place where we could actually get a drink.

Anyway.

We had been hearing great things from several different people about Boss but had to wait for the place to get slightly less busy before we could attempt a visit. And for the PTSD of St. Pats to wear off apparently.

The set up here is interesting. Rather than smaller tables for each group it’s more like big picnic tables that lend toward a communal dining experience. Think food hall meets cafeteria but with alcohol kind of vibe. But the size and amount of seating options make some of the dive bars we’ve been to seem like luxurious open floor plan loft spaces in comparison. And it didn’t help that the rain outside tonight meant the patio – which more than doubles the seating options for this place – was off the table. 

Note that you have to go up to order your food and drinks, then can go grab a table with your drinks while you wait to be called to pick up your food after it’s ready. And since it takes about 15-20 minutes for the orders to come up, be prepared to go get back in line for another drink before your food is ready. And there’s only one line no matter what you’re ordering, so it gets rather busy.

We might recommend a separate ordering line for food and drinks, but we’ll just add that to our mighty list of changes we would make if we ran the world and call it a day.

The three of us ended up at a larger square table in the corner meant for either a bigger group or to be shared amongst several small parties. A smaller table did open up that we could’ve moved to before our food arrived but we opted to stay. We’re friendly like that.

So the menu here is pretty limited. I mean let’s just say the name of the place is pretty accurate. So if you don’t like chicken – in one form or another – or beer/drinks – in one form or another – well, this may not be the place for you and you really can’t fault anyone but yourself for not realizing that.

That being said, for our non-meat eaters out there they do provide the same chicken options as vegan options too. So there’s that. 

The drinks are all craft beers options from local breweries, along with hard ciders and other gluten free options. 

I lucked out and got a hard tea from Hoppy Dude Brewery on draft. Because if we can’t be there on a Wednesday night then at least we can have the drinks right?

Shane – who has sworn off beer for what he says is forever but let’s be honest is at least for this week anyway – got a grape lime seltzer from Great Lakes Brewery.

Ted got a stout called Murder Ballad from Noble Beast. Which comes with a bonus short story on the can. How cute.

For meals I went with the “Tupac,” which is two chicken tenders and comes with a side and a sauce. I chose the Gold, which was the lowest on the heat scale.

I tried to get the sweet potato as my side, but as luck would have it they seemed to be fresh out of them this evening. Color me surprised.

The guy taking orders suggested Brussels sprouts if I wanted a lighter fare – which was my honest intention – but in the meantime the queso Mac and cheese caught my eye and so I switched from light to about the heaviest thing possible. Cool.

Shane got the four pack, which is four pieces of chicken, two sauces and one side. In a move that should surprise no one, Shane asked which side would give him the most for your money, then landed on the loaded fries. For sauces he got the lemon dill ranch and then “nuthin but the G-parm.”

Side note, if you haven’t picked up on it yet they are definitely on par these with these themed meal names.

Hey, remember how much Shane loves garlic? Well, keep that in mind when you read this next sentence: he said his garlic parm sauce was “too much garlic.” He claimed it would be sweating out of his pores for days.

We’ve broken him, folks. Finally. 

Ted got the hot chicken sandwich and a pound of wings. Which he admitted after ordering *may* been too much food.

His order came out first and either we were just super hungry or it smelled really, really good.

He said the wings were good but not the best he’s ever had. He got the jalepeno buffalo dipping sauce which he said wasn’t quite hot enough. It was the middle of the list and he would probably bump up to the tropical habenero the next time. 

They do offer a dry rub called burn your face off and I think there might be a date coming up at some point for him to try that.  

Overall if you want chicken this is a great option. We met a guy at our communal table who was picking up takeout who said this was a staple on his family’s weekly menu. And I think that’s likely where I would keep it – at the take out level. Because let’s face it the in-restaurant option doesn’t lend much more to the experience – with the smaller space and no servers, this is kind of like a bump up from going to a fast food place but with alcohol. If we’re going to spend time hanging out at a place we’d rather have a full service experience, but that’s just us. I think our new friend has the right idea with his have a drink while you wait then go home to eat philosophy.

Picked by: Ted