Hooters - Union, NJ

After getting our car from Planet Honda last weekend, we decided to look around for a place to eat dinner. We really didn't expect the whole process of getting a car to take THAT long, so by than, we were famished! It's the first time we were ever in that part of Route 22 and we didn't really know what restaurants are out there. We were pretty excited (for different reasons, I guess :P) when we saw a Hooters opposite our dealership. I loveeee the wings at Hooters and Kevin (so he claims, he always says that it's all about the wings and nothing else) does too. Since it's been a while since we went to a Hooters ( I believe the last Hooters we went to was the one in Clarke Quay, Singapore about 4 years ago), we decided to go check it out.
The exterior of this Hooters doesn't really look like a Hooters at all. Usually, the decor of Hooters would shout fun and would make you want to go in. This Hooters is a little bit different. It looked so plain on the outside, it reminded me of an auto parts shop! :P Also, there is a 7 eleven sharing the same shop lot with them. How weird. The interior decor however looked like all the other Hooters out there. The only weird thing was that it was almost empty! There were only a few creepy looking guys (who kept staring at the girls) and two couples in that whole large place. You would think that it would be packed during dinner on a Saturday night. Granted it was pretty early for dinner, but still...
Another thing I noticed about this Hooters is that the Hooter girls don't look like Hooter girls. We all know that Hooter girls are usually pretty hot looking and have certain errm...assets? The girls working here looked like any other girl, working in any of the local bars. Putting looks aside, they also looked unmotivated and downright bored. Now, that's pretty bad, since Hooters is known for their fun and energetic atmosphere. Thank goodness we were only there for the wings, so it didn't really bother me much. :P
Our waitress took our drinks order and left us to look at the menu. We ordered a soda each ($2.99). Look at the guy in the background. That's what it looked like throughout the restaurant. Single guys sitting alone or in pairs, just eating their food or ogling (nothing much to ogle at anyways) at the girls. There is just this depressing overall feel to the whole place. Definitely don't feel like a Hooters at all.
Ahhhhh the main attraction. This was the whole reason why we came to Hooters. The wings! We have always loved to wings at Hooters, they are just so mmmm mmmm good! There are 8 different sauces to choose from and you can get the wings either breaded or naked (unbreaded). Of course, if you are feeling rich, you can always get the Gourmet Chicken Wing Dinner. For $50 bucks, you get 20 wings and a bottle of Korbel champagne! :P
Kevin ordered the 10 piece wings with BBQ sauce ($8.49) and I got the 10 piece wings with Samurai (Teriyaki style) sauce ($8.49). We both got our wings 'naked'. Hmmm, somehow that sentence didn't come out right..LOL! Anywaysss, the million dollar question. Was the wings as good as we remembered them to be? Simple and short answer - NO. Not only were the wings pretty small, they were a little bit overcooked too. Kevin said his BBQ sauce was 'just alright' but my Samurai sauce wasn't really the greatest at all. It tasted weird and wayyy wayy wayyy too sweet. I do not know if the low quality of wings served is just confined to this particular branch or the standard of wings have generally gone down in all Hooters nationwide. Either ways, the wings were not as great as we remembered them to be. Definitely not worth the $8.49 for 10 pieces.
On the other hand, the Onion Rings ($4.99) that we ordered to share was really good. I would say that it was the saving grace of our meal! Really yummy and crispy. I am not so sure that type of sauce it comes with, but the sauce tasted great too! Overall, we were pretty bummed due to the 'wings letdowns'. Also, the atmosphere in this particular branch is just terrible. Maybe it's just a bad day for this restaurant, who knows. Oh well, I am guessing we won't be returning to this branch anytime in the near future. The good thing that came out from all this is, Kevin can now not use the line " Oh, I want to go to Hooters for the awesome wings. It's all about the wings and nothing else". We all know that the wings are not that great anymore...so what now? :P

Hooters - Union, NJ
2319 US Highway 22 Ctr
Union, NJ 07083-8535
Tel: (908) 964-5317
Web: http://www.hooters.com/