5 TV Shows That NEED Another Season

1:  LODGE 49

(AMC / streaming now on Hulu) - 20 episodes

No contest here - by far and away this is #1 for needing to continue.  I actually never even heard of this show until two weeks ago when Hulu randomly put it in my suggested shows to watch (the second season of 10 episodes recently finished airing on AMC and all eps are now available on Hulu).

Season 1 was just crazy.  For a while I couldn't even figure out who was the main cast.  And the story itself was awesome.  The end of the first season (starting with episode 8) got a little drama heavy and the weirdness went away.  But the season recovered and ended good and season 2 kicked in full blown strange and stayed that way - and that's where this show shines.

Pay attention to every character that shows up - even the ones there briefly.  That's one of the things that I love about this show is random characters keep returning when you least expect it.  And the guest stars you want to see more of, you do.

Even if it doesn't get a 3rd season, the 20 episodes are a perfect story beginning to end.  But if enough people watch on Hulu, fingers crossed a miracle will happen and maybe they'll pick it up for more seasons.

2:  HYPERDRIVE

(Netflix) - 10 episodes

Remember ABC's Wipeout?  That's pretty much what this is, but with cars.

I figured I'd watch one episode just to see what it was then move on.  But ended up flying through all ten episodes.

The stars of this show are not the players or the hosts - it's the track and the location.  Whoa did they do an amazing job making this look larger than life.  The lights, the size of the stunts, even the very real danger.  Yup, danger.  And it happened.  And the cool thing was the show not only admitted it happened, but also showed it, and admitted to the mistake by changing things around after it happened.

But back to the track.  It's like a racing video game in night mode - but real.  The show was filmed at the mostly now unused Eastman Kodak Park in Rochester, NY.  The abandoned buildings, tunnels, and large amounts of unused emptiness push the ambiance over the top.  And with the cool lighting package, it looks like Tron come to life.

From what I hear, people surrounding the industrial park were not happy when the show filmed.  It was done at night and the cars were crazy loud.  But I hope they have to make that sacrifice again because I want to see what stunts the producers would come up with for season 2!

There were some negatives - too many hosts (the interviewer was good, but three hosts was too many), I was disappointed with who won (not even hinting how I feel about the contestants so no spoilers), and I would've preferred to see more of the full races instead of just highlights.

But overall, I want more Hyperdrive!

3:  PEOPLE OF EARTH

(TBS) - 20 episodes

It's been a little while since this was on the air, but I still don't understand how it disappeared so suddenly.

I'm all about shows that aren't normal.  And this absolutely falls into that category.  The spaceship stuff was by far my favorite.  I saw a mention somewhere online that it was very Office-like and those spaceship scenes were exactly that at times - The Office with aliens.

Everything on Earth was good too and I loved every character in the group.  The storyline got a little weird in season 2 but it was a weird show so all good.

Here's the most confusing part though - and it's nothing to do with the show's plot but the show itself.  TBS had renewed the show for season 3.  All the episodes were written.  Then TBS changed their mind and cancelled it.

If all the episodes are written just sitting there waiting to be filmed, I don't get why this show hasn't shown up on Netflix or Hulu.  If those original 20 episodes were to get enough views, there's already a 3rd season ready to go.  And I want to know what happens next!

Even a book version of those scripts would be nice!  But an actual 3rd season would be better.  Let's hope the episodes become more available streaming-wise soon.

4:  SUNNYSIDE

(NBC / Hulu) - 11 episodes

I'm going to miss The Good Place so much!  But this would've filled that hole.  Crazy characters, sometimes completely insane storylines and an awesome cast that could pull off anything.

My favorite storylines were the ones that could never be pulled off on a normal sitcom (the fake business set-up in episode 4 a perfect example). 

I love that after NBC cancelled the show, the remaining episodes still continued online.  And every single week, I watched the new one.

And I'd continue to do that if more are made.

5:  THE CIRCLE

(Netflix) - 12 episodes

I just watched the final episode of season 1.  A good first season and a really cool concept of awarding the prize to the best social media influencer in a closed circle setting.

Even the thought of social media influencers annoys me.  Who are these people and why does anyone care about them?  I don't.  But this show had fun with that.  Yup, there were some that catfished - every reality show's got to have villains and they definitely filled that spot here.  

If the show were to continue, I'd hope to see all the contestants start at the same time.  And maybe less restrictions for them.  I get the impression they were only allowed to communicate with each other at very limited times and with very strict guidelines.  Those limits should be removed entirely.  Same goes with status updates and such - it just seemed like the rules were way too rigid.

It did keep my interest the full 12 episodes though and I liked how 4 episodes were released each Wednesday.  A tweaked second season would be cool to see.  Or a return of the awesome & perfect old Fox Reality Channel show Solitary, which this kinda reminded me in a tiny way (but that's a whole different post).

Top 40 Wings of Buffalo 2019

This is a constantly changing list.  Cooks change and then so do the wings.

If it's on this list (even the lower spots), the wings are good!  If it's not on here, either I wasn't a fan of the wings or I just haven't been yet.  I tend to gravitate more towards dive bars and smaller bars when I want wings - not pizza places or restaurants that focus solely on wings.  That's why some places are missing from the list.

Everywhere on here is based on medium, extra crispy wings.  Yeah, some places I have other favorite sauces but I always gotta compare with the standard.

Not all of these places were visited with the MNW group.  About that - MNW is basically a Monday hangout with friends.  For me it's just for fun and not about social media attention.  Although yeah, I'll write about it on this page because I always read the other top wing lists and wanted to share mine.  And it's nice to give credit to the places that have incredible wings.  If only three people read this, that's fine.  I felt the same way when I was on the radio.  I knew having the stars of Mr. Belvedere or The Mole on-air wouldn't be ratings gold but I had fun with it and hoped there was a few others like me that would agree.

So here's my current favorite places...

1:  Dwyers (North Tonawanda) - Still the best wing and wing sauces around.  Chili Lime my favorite.

2:  Grill At The Dome (Tonawanda) - They're #1 for me when it comes to extra crispy wings & the taste is perfect.

3:  MT Pockets (Buffalo) - Another great extra crispy wing with amazing flavor.  Cash only though so watch out for that.  My biggest issue here is trying to keep myself from ordering the incredible Italian Sausage too because then I end up leaving way too full lol.

4:  Kelly's Korner (Buffalo) - Their wings are incredible.  Consistency has been an issue lately but even on a bad day, it's a top 10 wing.

5:  Manor Lanes (Tonawanda - Grand Island Blvd location) - I've been working my way through their wing flavors and so far every one of the sauces has been perfect.  The plain southern fried wing (not actually on the menu) is still my favorite although their medium wing is top notch!

6:  Klimek's Tavern (North Tonawanda) - A tiny bar, cash only and rarely mentioned but whoa the wings are good!  Cooked perfect and the crispiness was done exactly right.


7:  Judi's Lounge (Niagara Falls, NY) - A bunch of people recommended this on a recent online post and they were all right because this place is amazing.  Every wing sauce I've tried so far was good and the wings were cooked perfect.

8:  Adolf's (Buffalo) - I only went here to meet up with friends and ended up being totally surprised by the wings.  So, so good. 

9:  Gene's Junkyard (Tonawanda) - I just love the wings here and it's a cool hangout place.

10:  Nine Eleven Tavern (Buffalo) - They live up to their reputation of having great wings.

(And the rest - not in an exact order, although the wings towards the top are some of my more favorite ones)...

11:  Elmo's (Getzville)
12:  Bada Bing (Buffalo)
13:  Dalmatia Hotel (Buffalo)
14:  DBGB's (Buffalo)
15:  Wingnutz (Buffalo)
16:  Duff's (Amherst)
17:  Gabriel's Gate (Buffalo)
18:  Hot Mama's Canteen (Buffalo)
19:  Union Pub (Buffalo)
20:  Say Cheese Pizza Co. / Comic Book Cafe (Grand Island)
21:  Stadium Dome (Tonawanda)
22:  Brownie's (North Tonawanda)
23:  Grover's (East Amherst)
24:  Lenox Grill (Buffalo)
25:  GFY (Tonawanda)
26:  Crazy Jakes (Tonawanda)
27:  Brunner's Tavern (Buffalo)
28:  Mitchell's Tavern (Tonawanda) 
29:  Ryan's (North Tonawanda)
30:  Odie's (Tonawanda)
31:  Swannie House (Buffalo)
32:  Vinny's (West Seneca / Cheektowaga)
33:  North End (Buffalo)
34:  Route 78 Street Bar (Depew)
35:  Buffalo Roadhouse (Tonawanda)
36:  Mallwitz's Island Lanes (Grand Island)
37:  Bogie's Bar (Buffalo)
38:  Amherst Pizza & Ale House (Getzville)
39:  Swiston's Beef & Keg (Tonawanda)
40:  Sports City Pizza Pub (Buffalo)

MNW Wingsmas 2019

It's two Mondays shy of a full year of the Monday Night Wing Crew and December 20th was Wingsmas this year.  Shawn, Starr, Gerber, Katie, John & Samer (in order).

Each of us (minus Samer who came straight from a hockey game) created our own wing sauce to be rated by the group.  Every one of these is an original creation.

The winner, decided by popular vote, received the Golden Wing!  No, you can't see it, it's just that special (tbh I never got the picture - but I know it'll pop up online somewhere because I think Shawn has it).

The most shocking part of all of this - all five wing sauces were perfect in their own way.  I really thought there'd be one that was inedible but that didn't happen.

Thanks to Gerber for hosting and thanks to My Tomato Pie for the excellent plain wings to help make this easy to get right to the sauces.

Here's the five wings...

GERBER:  Fireball

Yup, that's the entire concept.  Eat too many, you'll get drunk.  But whoa it packed a punch.  I'm not a fan of super hot wings or cinnamon but this was good.  One or two was all I could do - it was sooooo hot.  The best part is we all thought Gerber would phone it in and just use Wingnutz sauce, but nope - he came up with this on his own.  Well, with the help of Fireball.

  

JOHN:  Applesauce Medium

A basic medium sauce but mixed with 2/3 a bottle of applesauce.  It was super sweet (without any extra sugar added) which amplified the butter, but also had an aftertaste heat kick.  Not too intense a kick, but enough to surprise you when done.  It was my first time making a wing sauce.  I definitely want to try making just regular medium now to see what that's like.

KATIE:  Asian Fusion

(no one could nail it down entirely, but that was my take)

Whoa I had trouble figuring this one out - it had so many flavors to it and each one was good.  Right away when it was cold I knew this was going to be amazing - I wanted to eat it just like that by the spoonful.  Heated up, incredible on a wing.  Every bite, I thought it was something else - and liked it brand new every time.

SHAWN:  Classic Medium

A lot of times there's trouble with medium sauces - sometimes they're too mild, sometimes the heat is too much after five or so wings.  This may have been the perfect medium / hot wing sauce.  It definitely wasn't anywhere near mild, but it had more of a heat punch than a usual medium - not so much that you couldn't eat wing after wing though.  Ten of these would be so good.  My only mistake was drowning them in too much sauce (I learned tonight I like wings not too saucy otherwise it's a mess - on me).  I've heard about this wing sauce for a while now.  Shawn had a very limited time to make it (almost reality competition style) and still it not only lived up to the hype, but exceeded it.  Other medium wing sauces pale to this one.

STARR:  Alfredo

Starr took a huge swing with this insanely offbeat wing flavor.  And nailed it.  That huge risk and payoff is what gave her the 2019 Wingsmas Golden Wing.  The wing was so messy and it looked different than all our other sauces, but the taste was just shockingly good.  Who knew alfredo and wings mixed so well?  Starr did.  Long after the wings and even the fries were gone, I kept dipping chips in this sauce (and Shawn's too).  If this was at Wingsfest, I guarantee the crowd would take notice.  Draw attention with the crazy looking sauce then stun them all with a taste - done perfectly - that you'd never expect on a wing.

 

Overall, a successful first year and an amazing collection of new wing flavors.  I already know two future wing flavor ideas for our next get-together (Starr & I have already decided).  As for Katie, Shawn, Gerber & Samer, can't wait to see what they come up with!

Denver!

My first trip to Colorado and with this state, I'm down to 11 more to visit (RI, DE, AL, MS, LA, AR, KS, MT, ID, AK & HI).

My favorite cities are the ones where it's easy to walk around at night - and Denver definitely falls into that category.  Plus there's so much to do walking distance from the heart of downtown.

The trip started with a connection in Philly so had to try a Geno's Cheesesteak (with whiz & onions).  Was so good but maybe not the best choice to have the whole thing sitting in my stomach moments before a 4-hour flight lol.

One of the first things I did in Denver was walk around to some of the retro arcades they have.  Stop one was 1-Up on Colfax but on the way saw this.

Of course I had to see if this claim was true.  It was a good burger, but then realized I have no way of knowing if it's the best in Denver since it was the only burger I had there so far.  But I'd definitely return.

Now I had energy for this!

There's three 1-Ups in Denver.  As it turns out, I went to the best one first.  It had room after room after room of classic arcade games and pinball - and most games were just 25-cents each (pinball was 50 cents).

The two games most of my money went to - Super Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros. pinball.  A game of Super Pac-Man can last 15-20 minutes for me.  Pinball I'm not as good at but this one I liked a lot.  I'm more a fan of pinball when the flippers aren't too far apart so the balls don't just shoot down right away - this one gives lots of chances for the ball to return to play so made it more fun.

Went to 1-Up Lodo next.  Also a fun arcade but nowhere near as extensive as the Colfax one.  That didn't stop me from spending an hour or so there.  Same deal as the other one - no admission charge, most video games were 25-cents and pinball mostly 50-cents.

Just an overall cool place again - complete with this lol.

Next up - Denver's Christmas Market.  It was huge with a beer tent, so many booths with food & crafts and whatever that is walking around.

There was even a booth with German steins.  Aw that Oktoberfest one looks amazing (and was extremely well made).  I'll be going to Munich for that in September, but didn't want to be carrying this around the rest of the night so had to pass.

I had originally hoped to go to Denver in the fall, but maybe the winter holidays was the better time as the whole city was decorated.  I mean look how cool everything is.  Every street you went down and everywhere you looked was decorated equally as nice.

Headed back to the hotel for the main reason for the trip.  Most nights in Buffalo, instead of watching TV, I'll play GTA on PS4.  It's usually a group of us including me & Shawn (in Buffalo) & George (in Denver, who I've only met on the game).  It was time for the three of us to hang in real life.

Once Shawn arrived in Denver, we all met up at a random nearby bar (and then a couple others).  This set the tone for what was going to be an epic weekend.  George and his wife Susan were so much fun to hang with - equally as nice and cool as I expected (their kids - who we'd meet up with the next day - also a blast to hang with).

 

Friday (day 2) started with a walk around the downtown area.  Me & Shawn had a list of things we most wanted to do & Biker Jim's was first up after some pic stops.

Biker Jim's is a little like Griffon Gastropub - but with hot dogs.  The reason I wanted to stop here - the rattlesnake & pheasant hot dog!  Yes, both in one hot dog.  Surprisingly, it was good.  I still prefer regular hot dogs, but this was a nice change.  They also had ostrich, elk & wild boar but those I'll try on a future visit since one was more than enough - didn't want to fill up at just one place.

After that, it was a lot of walking around (and driving since some places were a little further away).  Apparently Denver is home to the original Chipotle location so we did that, some other random stuff, and walked by this bear like 4 times as we made our way to the next food stop - Buckhorn Exchange.  And this is where my #1 favorite food in Denver happened.

I was kinda nervous to try Rocky Mountain Oysters.  They're bull testicles.  Yeah.  I thought they'd be round and disgustingly soggy, but nope.  They were deep fried, sliced and served with a marinara sauce.  If we had time, I would have ordered more they were so good.  Tasted like deep fried slices of any meat.

After that, we went to get a good spot at the Denver Parade of Lights.  When we booked the trip, we had no idea this was going on.  Lucky coincidence as this was cool.  Me, Shawn, George & his family all watched from the main grandstand.

It was $25 to sit there, but we were at the start of the parade and had great seats.  Other areas of the parade route were darker so had a better view of the lighted floats but this spot had a backdrop like no other!

The parade lasted an hour then the night ended with a stop at one of Denver's many diners - Sam's 3.  After an omelette and biscuits & gravy, it was time for a little sleep before our Rocky Mountain hike the next morning.

So this was a last minute addition to the trip.  Rocky Mountain National Park is about 2 hours from downtown Denver and Emerald Lake Trail is one of the most popular hikes in the park.  AllTrails says it's best used from April - November.  It was just a few days into December, so why not!  It's 1.8 miles there and another 1.8 back.

Was surprised to see so many people already there at 9:30a.  At the trail head, everyone was getting ready putting on their snowshoes or skis.  Me and Shawn came prepared with......just hiking boots lol. The trail itself goes by 3 lakes - Nymph, Dream and then Emerald Lake.

Every time we stopped for a picture was more amazing than the last one.  Here's Nymph Lake and some other views as we headed up.

Denver (and def the Rockies) are high altitude.  I've always heard you'll feel it and get winded easier when walking around the city.  I never experienced that - until this hike.  Within the first half-mile, I was breathing heavy.  And then a little later my legs started getting super tired.  Hit us both but wasn't enough to stop much aside from getting pics.  The snow was kinda deep off the trail and the trail itself was sometimes tough to figure out.  While it wasn't too busy, we were relieved people were there so we could figure out where to go.

Dream Lake was mostly iced over and even had some nice snow trails over the top to walk on.  At first we thought this was the end, but then found the trail continued way off on the other side.

After another strenuous stretch up some big inclines, we made it to Emerald Lake - and only took a little under an hour to get there!

The views - just awesome!  I've experienced some pretty cool things & places with my buddy Shawn - this one is definitely near the top.  (Side note - it's so nice to have a friend who also loves to do random things and travel.  And we both do trips the same way - get as much done as you can.  When on a vaca like this, there's no time for sitting around at the hotel or sleeping 8 hours - you gotta make the most of every second.)

The hike back (and down) was obviously easier lol.  And of course lots of picture stops because everything was pic worthy.  I would totally be down to try this hike in the fall or summer too but I think winter would be the time with the best views.  I mean when I think Rocky Mountains, I think snow and iced covered lakes - and that's exactly what we got.  Oh yeah, and cold - there was lots of that as the wind whipped around during our lake crossings.  But whoa this was such a great start to the day.

Boulder was on the ride back to Denver, so stopped at the Pearl Street Mall and met up again with George and his wife (who I gotta say again to her, thank you for taking pics).

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They had a Volcom store, so that was a must.  And another arcade - Press Play.  This is where the Mortal Kombat battle was fought.  I was crushed almost instantly but Shawn & George's battle was more even (Shawn killed us both though).  It was a nice smaller arcade and I'd absolutely return someday.

As we left Boulder, we had to stop by this iconic house used on Mork & Mindy!  It still looks almost exactly like it did on the show.

Then back to Denver and supper at the Green Russell Smoke House.  I had gone too long without wings, so had to try them here.  They were ok, but nothing can ever compare to the best wings on the planet - and those can only be found in Buffalo of course.  The sliders there however were amazing.

Next stop was the Ramble Hotel & Bar.  Ok here's a story for you.  We walk up to the place and there's a line of really well dressed people trying to get in.  Right to the front of the line we go and give the phrase we were told to say.  We were then instantly escorted inside (yeah people in line were glaring at us a bit lol) and then told to go up some random staircase to the top floor bar where we then hung out on a rooftop balcony area with a small group.  The power of Shawn - even in another city!

After a while there, it was back to 1-Up Colfax for some arcade fun.  Susan headed onto a back patio I didn't even know existed (there's so many random rooms off of other rooms here with more games) and found a huge Jenga game.  Some amazing competition happened the rest of the night lol.

The next morning was definitely bittersweet.  That was one of the fastest weekends of my life and I was so sad it was coming to an end.  The combination of places, food, fun & most important to me the greatest of friends made for an incredible weekend.  The final stop was Lodo's Bar & Grill - a Bills backer bar Shawn wanted to watch the game at.

It was so strange watching the game in a bar filled with Bills fans & Bills menu specials but in the heart of Denver.  Of course we had to get wings.  They were ok, but again not Buffalo great.

Another Lodo's highlight was a mini-reunion with our friend Shannon who we both worked with in Buffalo years ago.  Happy she's there because I plan a return visit and now got a bunch of fun people to hang with.

So definitely long weekend success!  While I'd like to see Denver during warmer months, I really enjoyed being there for the holiday season.

If you do plan a trip around that time, try to be there when the Parade of Lights happens.  And absolutely make time for a Rocky Mountain hike.

While Los Angeles is still my favorite city to visit, Denver has launched up to #2 (Savannah, Seattle & Budapest round out the top 5 - but a return to Munich could change some of that next year).