Markie D's Now Hoagies & Wings ...

[PaulF]

Drove past the old Markie D's location and they've put up new signs announcing "Hoagies and "Wings" and a website www.gotwings.com

Did about 30 seconds of research (slow Internet connection) and now know that Hoagies and Wings is a mini-chain and that gotwings.com is an affiliated delivery service.

There was a help wanted sign out in addition to the corporate signage on the building.

The web site says:

"Started in late 2004 by a Harvard Law grad and two Le Cordon Bleu Culinary grads, Hoagies & Wings provides gourmet fast service food always made fresh to order."

That's all I know ...

BTW - It looks like it's Hoagies & Wings, but it might also be Hoagies and Wings.

(This is on Washington Boulevard, just east of Sepulveda, if you don't know Markie D's -- the defunct Philly cheesesteak place.)

[QualityMart]

I don't really like wings (from anywhere), but don't forget the other 50% of the name -- Hoagies! Their hoagies are awesome. The chicken hoagie is a perfect concoction of slightly spiced/teriyaki chicken with melted cheese.

[nosh]

I just called the La Cienega branch. They say the new location on Washington might open as soon as this coming Monday, Nov. 19.

[ghozimoto]

the wings are not that great, soggy, too much sauce and they don't fry them enough, so they tend to be fatty.

[PaulF]

That was what the negative review I came across said ... soggy and fatty ...

[jimmyodonnell]

In my opinion, this is a perfect report of H&W wings.

People like their wings in different styles (much like BBQ), so that's not to say folks shouldn't try them once for themselves . . . but I've given multiple tries at the original Venice Bl location before deciding that H&W wings aren't for me even though I've had much worse.

SMITTY'S sounds like something I should try!

[Jwsel]

I don't think the wings are that bad, though I admit that I prefer wings with a lot of sauce to dry wings. I've tried the ones from the branches on Venice and the one in Sherman Oaks. What I don't like about their wings is that in the attempt to increase the spiciness, they forgot that wings should have flavor too. I'm usually pretty good with spice, but the extra spicy wings at Hoagies & Wings are just a lot of pain, with little flavor. Sometimes even the "hot" are ridiculously spicy, but without much flavor. I really miss Rubin's Red Hots for wings -- those had a good combination of flavor and heat.

The other gripe I have about Hoagies and Wings may only be an issue with Sherman Oaks. I tend to get takeout or delivery, and they always seem to forget some part of the order.

[CulverJack]

Folks - I've not yet had wings from H&W, though I bet it's in my near future. BUT - you can (and I do) always ask for your wings to be well done. That means they fry them longer, more fat gets rendered, and they come out much more crisp so they handle the saucing better. This is an easy thing to fix if you like the flavors and the quality of the meat (which are both not so easy to fix if they are wrong...). I've done this for years, try it.

[nosh]

This is very welcome news. I have been a longtime customer of the original(?) Hoagies and Wings further east (Venice near Hauser) and while I like their food, I really appreciate their customer service, even though that location is more a shack with small patio. If someone stops in who was familiar with the former Markie D's, I hope but I certainly don't think that the two guys who manned the grill and kept up the place made the transition -- they really went above and beyond. (When I had a half cheesesteak left over from a gorge, they didn't just shovel it into a box, they rewrapped it for me to take home, fries as well.) Also, for Markie D's fans -- the "cheesesteak" at Hoagies and Wings is good and tasty, but it is more a hoagie, with lettuce and tomato rather than oozing peppers, meat, cheese...

[PaulF]

Does Hoagies & Wings on Venice occupy what was once the original Uncle Darrow's?

UD's is now on Lincoln near Washington, but they had one in that Venice/Hauser neighborhood originally, though maybe it was Washington and Hauser, I can't remember.

[Jase]

I'm thinking, I'm going to like living in the area. Couple of different bars to walk to, grab some wings, it's all good!

I wonder if I can delude myself that a mango lassi at the Indian place after drinks and H&W will mean I didn't eat too unhealthy for the day.

[Dommy]

HOLY COW!! I've been avoiding them for years (Dommy+Wings= Gorgefest!), now they'll be within reasonable biking distance...

--Dommy!

[PaulF]

Even worse news ... they deliver ...

You can have a gorgefest without getting dressed.

"Just leave the wings on the porch and go. There's an envelope full of money taped to the door."

[PaulF]

By the way, D, someone other than I should try the wings at Smitty's.

I like them a lot, my wife loves them.

They aren't saucy wings, they are dry. Not dry chicken inside, I mean, they don't smear your hands when you eat them. And they have nice hot sauce for dipping -- which will smear your hands a little.

There's good fried fish and collard greens there, too.

I mention it because if you can bike to H&W, you can bike to Smitty's.

The place is popular, but not on Chowhound. Why I care, I don't know. Really, I don't. I just like typing on message boards and saying stuff, I guess.

[NAspy]

We get takeout from Smitty's. I agree -- very good, but not much coverage on the board. I wonder if it's because now that it's Korean owned/operated, people don't think it's "authentic." My youngest daughter loves their fried fish and the rest of us like the chicken.

[PaulF]

I love the fact that their fried food is completely non-greasy.

The place does good business, it's just not in with the in crowd.

I've always thought it's because it's not in the "hotter" part of Culver City. That strip mall where Culver hits Venice is sort of dead (though there is a nice head shop there ... speaking of which, I wonder if the board mods would delete a thread on on the not about food board if the subject was "herbal appetizers ... I'm not starting it, so we'll never find out).

I dunno. Some good places just never reach the attention of the 'hounds. Or maybe it's just not great enough. I like it a lot, the wife loves it, you think it's very good and the place always has people in it. But it just hasn't caught on.

Oh well ... as long as they stay open, it's cool with me.

[Norm Man]

PaulF, have you tried the Fried Chicken at Smitty's? And if you have, how was it? Thanks in advance.

[PaulF]

I have and I like it.

Keep in mind, though, that fried chicken is not my favorite food. I do eat it, but I am not on a quest for it.

In truth, their fried chicken is not that different than the wings. I know nothing about cooking, but it's chicken that's not super coated -- like Kentucky Fried Chicken is (if I recall correctly -- I probably have not had KFC in 20 years.) It's lightly breaded or coated or whatever it is. And crispy, but not super batter crispy.

What I like about it is the chicken manages to be juicy, without being greasy. I think the flavor is that of good, moist chicken. It's not super seasoned or super spiced.

I dunno how to describe it.

Let's put it this way:

Smitty's is a small, mom and pop place with pretty good to very good food, depending on what you order or what you like. It's cheap. They have a big menu. They fry their fish and chicken and shrimp, but they don't kill you with grease.

It's basic. It's worth trying if you are in the 'hood. Because it's cheap, if you don't dig it, you haven't lost that much.

I might even like the place more because there is no hype. It's just a joint if you're nearby. They do good business, but there is no line. No matter when you go, the lady (the wife?) is always at the counter and the man (the husband?) is always cooking. It's sort of funny to eat what's basically southern cooking -- fried fish, chicken and wings plus fries, collard greens (which I always get because I like collard greens), mac and cheese -- prepared by what I assume is a Korean guy. Maybe he's Chinese, I'm not sure and mean no offense if I got it wrong.

But I have no pride in my posts, I just like what I like and hope others do, too. But YMMV ... just give it a try.

[PaulF]

A cursory glance of Hoagies & Wings reviews are generally positive, though not glowing, with at least one mild dissent thrown in.

Couldn't find a thread just on H&W, but they get mentioned in a few other threads.

[footballfoodie]

I had a HORRIBLE experience there recently. We ordered delivery from this location and it took them almost 2 hours to get it to us. When we complained we were told they were short on cooks and wouldn't give us any sort of discount. When the food came it was all ice cold and totally gross. We ordered 4 kinds of wings and only the regular buffalo were at all edible. Everything else was really gross, as were the hoagies, which were really dry and tasteless. They also got several parts of the order incorrect. I'll never be going back.