The Basics:
Name: Fourth-N-Long
Where: 8911 W National Ave, West Allis
MKE Wings Crew Present: Frank, Amber, Jeremy, Ross, Molly
Review Date: January 21, 2023
Wing Special (as of review date): None
The Review:
For being 'Milwaukee' Wings, we certainly spend a lot of time in West Allis, but who can blame us, there are a ton of great wing options here! For this review we find ourselves at Fourth-N-Long, a bar I knew originally as Magoo's until it changed names quite a few years ago. I'd been here a few times since the name change, but had not visited since they renovated the place in the past year or so, so I was excited to check out the place as well as the wings. As part of the remodel I believe they added some new outdoor seating, but as it was January that was off the menu, but thankfully the wings were not. There is no wing special that I am aware of, but the normal menu price is 6 wings for $7 (1 sauce) or 12 for $14 (2 sauces), which is more or less the prices I'm seeing for wings in 2023. *As always, prices/availability of menu items/prices and/or specials are subject to change at the sole discretion of the bar without the knowledge of Milwaukeewings.com and may not be updated accordingly.*
The wings themselves are nicely sized, not overly giant, but I would say they were above average. Some, but not all, of the flavors seem to spend a bit of time on the grill after the fryer as evident by the slight charring present on the wing. This was a really nice touch on some of the sauces as it gave them a nice boost of caramelized flavor. Wings were also served with your choice of ranch or bleu cheese dressing, and I don't often comment on the dips much as I sparingly use them, both options were fantastic.
Lots of sauce/rubs to choose from: Butter Garlic Parmesan, Sweet Baby Ray's Hickory, Teriyaki, Traditional Buffalo, Caribbean Jerk, Thai Chili, Frank's Buffalo, Sweet Red Chili, Carolina Gold, Louisiana Hot, Sriracha, Mango Habanero, Frank's Red Hot, Tabasco, Sweet Teriyaki Heat, Spicy BBQ, Jacks, Jack Ass, Tough Guy, Spicy Butter Garlic Parmesan, Frank's X-Hot, Dumb Ass, and Cajun Heat (Dry Rub).
Looking at that list, it's a bit....confusing? How does Frank's Buffalo differ from Traditional Buffalo? Frank's Buffalo vs. Frank's Red Hot? Tabasco, just straight Tabasco? I would have loved to ask these questions, but the place as simply packed and I didn't want to bog down the staff. While some of these sauces didn't interest me as they seemed a bit redundant, there are quite a few unique ones, and that's what we focused on with our order:
Butter Garlic Parm: Rich, buttery, tons of parmesan cheese. An indulgent, rich flavor for sure!
Traditional Buffalo: what you'd expect here, but you don't mess with the classics, a nice buttery, tangy hot sauce delivers that characteristic Buffalo flavor.
Thai Chili: good balance of sweet and savory, not much if any heat. A good option for anyone looking for a wing inspired by Asian flavors
Carolina Gold: a favorite for many of us tonight, this mustard based BBQ sauce was smoky with a slightly tangy heat behind it. I think mustard based BBQ sauces are underrated and we should see more of them, this one is a winner!
Sweet Teriyaki Heat: I remember this flavor back in the Magoo's days, I loved this sauce then, and I still love it now. Often Teriyaki sauces are just too sweet and sugary for my tastes, but while this sauce has some sweet notes, overall I'd say it's more savory with a good amount of heat behind it too. This is probably one of the only places I know of where a Teriyaki sauce is one of my go-to flavors, it's just a really great combination and balance of flavors, top notch.
Spicy BBQ: Surprisingly spicy! Granted, it's right in the name of it, so I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised. Much like the Teriyaki, I think I liked this one as it wasn't overly sweet, a nice smoky BBQ with a good punch of heat, this may have been the second hottest sauce I had that night.
Tough Guy: I probably first had this flavor circa 2009 and it was one of my favorites. 14 years later and it is still one of my favorites. If I had to compile a "Best Wing Flavors" list (something I should really do) this would certainly be on there. Super flavorful with a bit of a citrus like brightness to it and a great amount of heat, this is just a great balance of heat and flavor, truly one of my favorites!
Spicy Butter Garlic Parmesan: much like it's non-spicy cousin on the menu, this one is super rich and buttery and just loaded with parmesan cheese. But was also really dang spicy! Something you don't see often in a garlic parm sauce, so this one is a fun twist for sure.
Cajun Heat Dry Rub: good Cajun dry rub with a bit of a citrus-like brightness to it.
The MKE Wings Crew's Favorites:
Frank: Tough Guy & Sweet Teriyaki Heat
Amber: Butter Garlic Parmesan
Jeremy: Carolina Gold
Ross: Spicy BBQ Molly: Carolina Gold
Conclusion:
Every one of us absolutely loved the wings. The flavors were distinct while delivering the flavor you were looking for and left us all wanting more. My only real critique is the clear up some of the confusing and somewhat redundant options on the menu! But Fourth-N-Long is yet another killer wing joint in the Milwaukee area, and specifically West Allis. The are a deserving recipient of the Milwaukee Wings Hall of Fame Badge for sure!
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