Wing Review: Braun's Power House

The Basics:

Name: Braun's Power House

Where: 7100 W National Ave, West Allis

MKE Wings Crew Present: Frank, Amber, Ross, Molly, Jeremy

Review Date: May 25, 2022

Wing Special (as of review date): $0.75 Wednesdays, Dine-in, 2 drink minimum (or $0.50 boneless)

The Review:

While Buffalo, NY gets the credit for inventing the Buffalo Wing, I'm not convinced that West Allis, WI is not the actual center of the chicken wing universe. Limanski's, TomKen's, Paulie's, and several other great wing joints are all within a few miles of each other, perhaps you could call them wing power houses? Terrible jokes aside, for this review, we decided to venture away from our familiar Stallis wing joints to somewhere we've never been, Bruan's Power House. Early indicators looked promising, but can The Power House hold it's own against it's fellow West Allis wing heavyweights?

Just a table full of wings

It has certainly been a while since our last review. First 2020 stopped our renewed momentum with Covid. Then, in 2021 when we tried to get back into the swing of things, wing prices skyrocketed again slowing us down. Now it's 2022, Covid is still around and wing prices are still high, but we figured it was time for wings and beer again, so here we are again, back at it!

Braun's Power House is one of about 10,000 corner bars in West Allis. Okay, that's probably a bit of an exaggeration, but I don't think my count is too far off. Relatively small and cozy on the inside without a tremendous amount of seating, there is an outdoor patio that we did not venture to due to rain on the day we were here. Braun's also may have the largest TV/Square foot ratio I've seen, you seriously cannot be in a bad spot if you're trying to catch a game on the TV. They're also a third shift bar opening at 7am most days of the week, just in case you ever need a beer and an omelet to start your day! Braun's Power House also operates a shuttle for Brewers games, making it a great spot to get a bite and a beer before heading out to the game.

On to the wings! Lots of flavor options here:

Sauces: Hottest: El Fuego

Hot: Spicy Buffalo, Spicy BBQ

Medium: Buffalo, Bourbon Sriracha, GI Joe, Jamaican Jerk, Sriracha, Sweet Chili Mild: BBQ, Bourbon, Honey Garlic, Garlic Parm

Dry Rubs: Lemon Peper, Parm Garlic, Buttered Cajun, Sriracha, Caribbean Jerk

As of the date of this review a $10 will get your 6 wings and a side, $15 will get you 12 wings and a side. While a tad pricy, that's just the cost of wings in 2022, and the inclusion of a side rounds out the order well. On Wednesdays, you can take part in $0.75 wings with a two drink minimum, minimum of 5 wings per flavor. There is also a boneless option available on the menu and part of the Wednesday special. Given the current prices of wings out there, Braun's Power House is offering a nice value. As always, prices/availability of menu items/prices and/or specials are subject to change at the sole discretion of the bar and this review may not be updated to reflect any pricing changes.

We were at Braun's Powerhouse on a Wednesday, so we were happy to partake in the $0.75 wing specials. Our group of five order a whopping 90 wings! 18 wings each, split across 3 flavors each. The wings were about average size, not huge, but not tiny. For my tastes, they were pretty much perfect size. Nobody wants a puny wing, but I often do not care for the "jumbo" wings you'll sometimes find, sure they're meaty, but something about the sauce to chicken ratio often feels off on those wings. Not the case at Braun's, the wings were nicely sized, and fried to a perfect crispiness.

While we didn't manage to get every flavor of wings, we certainly made a sizeable dent. My personal order was six each of Spicy Buffalo, Jamaican Jerk, and Buttered Cajun. However, through some trading and swapping with the crew, I was able to try: Bourbon Sriracha, GI Joe, Sweet Chili, Lemon Pepper, and Garlic Parm. Thoughts and notes on each:

Spicy Buffalo

Spicy Buffalo: Despite this one being the only sauce I got from the "hot" section of the menu; I don't think it was the spiciest sauce I had, more on that later. A very vinegar forward hot sauce, I'm not sure I'd call it a true Buffalo sauce as it lacked that buttery balance that offers some viscosity to the sauce as it was a bit thin. Nevertheless, I really did enjoy the flavor and heat of this one.

Jamaican Jerk

Jamaican Jerk: While this one is listed in the "medium" category, I thought this one was the spiciest sauce I had. It wasn't an upfront "in your face" spicy, but the heat lingered and built up over time. A touch sweet, lots of savory and spicy with the warm spice notes you expect in a Jerk seasoning, this one was a winner for me. In my years of wing adventures, I find Jerk to be a very hit or miss flavor for me, but this one was a hit, and I'd get it again.

Buttered Cajun

Buttered Cajun Dry Rub: A sweet velveting texture from the butter balanced out by the savory Cajun flavors. Not really any heat on this one, but tasty nonetheless. One or two of my wings were a bit light on the Cajun which made them a bit lackluster, but I thoroughly enjoyed the ones with a healthier dose of the Cajun.

Bourbon: For me, this one just very sweet, kind of a kin to that bourbon chicken at that place in the mall. This one was not for me, just a bit too sweet for my tastes, but if you like a sweeter sauce, you may want to check this one out.

Bourbon Sriracha

Bourbon Sriracha: While the plain bourbon sauce was a bit too sweet for my tastes, this bourbon sriracha sauce was a good alternative. Really not much heat here from the sriracha, but the addition of the sriracha added a savory element that balanced out the sweetness of the bourbon sauce making this a tasty sauce that I'd try again.

Sweet Chili: This was my surprise sauce of the day. In past experiences with sauces of this name, I normally find them way too sweet for my tastes. And this sauce was indeed sweet, but with a sour tanginess to balance it with just a touch of heat. I liked this one much to my surprise.

GI Joe

GI Joe: This was by far the most unique sauce at Braun's Power House, and among the most unique sauces I've ever seen, I can't recall one quite like this. This flavor is a bit tough to describe, my initial reaction was to call it an "earthy BBQ" sauce. A little bit sweet, little bit spicy, and a whole lot of savory is really the best way I can describe this one. It's quite similar to a Mexican mole sauce. If you want to try something unique, definitely give this one a go.

Garlic Parmesan: Oddly, I have a hard time placing this one, and perhaps it was only due to me trying one of these wings. It was buttery, savory, and I liked the taste.. but I really didn't taste garlic or parmesan. Maybe it was the lone sample, or maybe a previous wing had my taste buds out whack. I liked it, others in the crew really liked it, so if you like a garlic parm wing, give this one a go. Also worth noting, this was the Garlic Parmesan sauce, not the parmesan garlic dry rub.

Lemon Pepper

Lemon Pepper Dry Rub: Another one where I only sampled a single wing. For me, the black pepper was forward flavor, with a nice lemony citrus flavor following afterwards to balance it out. Others who had this one felt it was more balanced. Amber, our lemon pepper wing expect really liked this one, so, if lemon pepper is your thing, certainly give this one a go.

Caribbean Jerk Dry Rub: one word to describe this one, tangy. Tangy, almost a bit sour with some savory notes behind it. Not bad, but I much preferred the Jamaican Jerk sauce to this Caribbean Jerk Dry Rub.

Wing Crew's favorite wing of the night:

Jeremy - Sweet Chili

Frank - Hot Buffalo

Ross - GI Joe

Amber - Lemon Pepper

Molly - Parm Garlic Sauce

Conclusion

As I said at the start of this review, West Alis has a plethora of amazing wing options. After our review the Bruan's Power House, there is yet another option for some great wings in the area. Reasonable prices, tons of flavors, and some dang tasty wings make Braun's Power House a Milwaukee Wings Certified Wing Joint! Definitely may need to take their shuttle into a Brewers game on a Wednesday!

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