No More Holiday Cookies

My parents have this tradition. Around the holidays, we’d always make cookies and drive around to family, friends, and neighbors to deliver them. I hated it. I was little and bored and tired of being dragged from house to house.

But guess what! Now, I want to do the very same thing! I want to take cookies to all my friends and wish them “Happy Holidays.” I want those 5 minutes at each house to catch up with everyone I care about before I dive back into the world ‘o crazy that is this time of year.

There’s just one small problem…my baking skills are very much lacking. I already did the cookie baking thing this year. I forgot the sugar in one batch. (I still don’t know how I did that!!) I messed up the dough in another. I even ruined a box of brownie mix. (High altitude instructions haunt me.)

It’s time to change my approach. I’ve decided I’m taking Winger’s Original Amazing Sauce to my friends.

First, I don’t have to bake with it. Trust me, I’m much better at making chicken (or ordering it!) than I am with cookies. Plus, there are all sorts of things to put it on! Winger’s uses it on burgers, meatloaf, ribs, and pulled pork. It’s even good to dip your fries into.

Cookies may be tradition, but I’d rather go with something amazing. 

Holiday Giving: The Winger's Edition

I always finish my meals. Strike that, I almost always finish my meals. I will admit that, every now and then, I encounter a meal way too big for just me. When that happens, I try to control my eating urges and take part of that meal home. But the food doesn't always reheat well, and I start to feel guilty. Visions of my grandma float through my head telling me I have to finish everything because there are starving people in the world. It gets messy. What do you do when that's doubled, tripled, or quadrupled?

We here at Winger's donate. That's exactly what we did last night.

We were catering a holiday party in Downtown Salt Lake City, UT when it became apparent we were going to have a ton of food left over. (A ton's probably an exaggeration, but let's go with it.) There was so much food that we fed everyone at the party, the venue staff, and ourselves with plenty to spare.

The Winger's Catering Team at last night's party.

That's when our executives made a couple phone calls to see if anyone could take the food. Enter The Road Home, a Utah organization assisting families and individuals who are homeless. We were thrilled they answered our call at 8:30 PM and even more thrilled to donate the rest of the meal to them. A couple hundred chicken wings should never go to waste.

We'd like to thank The Road Home for accepting our spur-of-the-moment donation. 

Roadtest Approved

We hosted a training in our office last week. The beginning of the training particularly caught my attention.

“How many of you watch Game of Thrones,” said Eric Slaymaker, President of Winger Bros. Management and Winger’s Franchising, Inc.

Granted, just about anything that begins with Game of Thrones (GoT) can grab my attention these days, but I needed to hear where he was going with this!

Basically, it all boils down to this idea of adaption. In GoT, you adapt or you die (or you adapt and die, but let’s not get into any major analysis here). Now, things may not be quite that drastic in the world ‘o Winger’s, but it’s a pretty good lesson, one that we’ve been trying to take to heart for a while.

There’s a big difference between the adaption on GoT and us though. We’re trying to grow and change with purpose, not just because we’re forced to, so we’ve developed this thing we like to call “the Roadtest.”

Whenever we come up with a new idea, we put it to the Roadtest to see how it fits into our particular vision for Winger’s. We ask ourselves, "Does this match what we want to do? Does it help us provide the kind of delectable comfort food and energized atmosphere we strive for?"

For example, you should start seeing new lunch menus popping up in our stores. We've been working on this lunch menu for weeks, from recipe development to menu design and food tastings (my personal favorite).

Here's a picture from one of our  item tastings for the Lunch Menu. It's a delicious way to spend the afternoon.

I can’t wait to see what you think of our take on the American Club or hear what your favorite part of the Peppercorn Turkey Wrap is. I’m excited to see our kitchens stretch their creativity with the Dang Good Daily Sandwich. Whether you're enjoying the Mahi-Mahi Salad or can't get enough of the Endless Sticky Finger Lunch, we're sure you'll agree, it's a good day to be Roadtest approved.

Twinkies for Heros

My dad has a favorite joke whenever we're in public near a family with small kids. Inevitably, the kid will do something silly, the parents will blush, and we'll all laugh. Then, it’s my dad’s cue to say something like, “enjoy it while you can,” or “just wait till you’re not the hero anymore,” and he’ll roll his eyes at me. Seriously, I've seen this particular bit over and over again since I was a teenager.

And the funny story is, he’s never stopped being my hero. He’s always been there to guide, protect, and ask how my car’s running, and for that, I’m grateful. He’s a special man, and he deserves a special Father’s Day.

This may not be the most flattering photo of my dad and I, but it perfectly encapsulates our relationship. 

I know it’s cheesy coming from me, but if he were coming into town, I would take him to Winger’s for Father’s Day. He could get wings, my mom could get salad, and we could all get a craft beer. That’s not even counting the free Fried Twinkies. All day Saturday, June 14 and Sunday, June 15, Winger’s is giving free Fried Twinkies to dads who come in with their families to celebrate.

In case you need any more convincing, drool over this photo of Fried Twinkies for a second.

Now, I have to admit, I’m not really a restaurant dessert person. I usually eat too much and end up feeling full to the point of bursting, but Fried Twinkies are worth saving part of your meal for. They are melt-in-your-mouth decadent with a wonderfully complimentary strawberry topping. They’re perfectly indulgent, which is exactly what a dessert should be.

If I could want anything for my dad this Father’s Day, it would be that he has good food, great beer, and to know that he’s still a hero. The Twinkie tops everything off.

Ode to Sticky Finger Salad

For a place named Winger’s, it makes sense that they like chicken. Don’t get me wrong, they’re also fans of beef and pork and fish. They have a soft spot for vegetarians and vegans too. Chicken just takes them back to their roots. Whether it’s bathed in Original Amazing Sauce or is freshly hand-breaded, they can’t get enough of it.

Apparently, y’all agree. Sticky Fingers and Wings are some of the highest-selling house specialties. Winger's loves these classic meals so much that they keep trying to think of new ways to use them. Hence, the Sticky Finger Salad!

Picture, if you will, delectable Sticky Fingers on a bed of fresh, crisp lettuce surrounded by shredded cheese, tomatoes, and craisins. They like to top it off with our Homemade Ranch for an extra bit of deliciousness. This dish brings together your taste buds and their creativity to form an awesome summer meal.

In fact, summertime is when I find my inner salad person. It’s hot; I want something cool but tasty. Thank goodness I can have my Sticky Fingers on top of it. (Double dipping much?)

That’s why Winger’s has this whole Sticky Finger Salad for $7.99 promotion going around. They noticed summer is when a lot of us tend to turn into salad people, so why not make it easier for us to have our Sticky Fingers and eat them too?

I’m looking forward to a month of this delicious promotion! It runs until June 29th to give everyone a little time to find their inner summer salad.

Bring on the Breakfast

What is more comfortable than a Saturday morning breakfast? I remember back in the day, sitting cross-legged in front of the TV watching Saturday morning cartoons while my mom made pancakes or waffles or eggs. I loved it all. In fact, I had one of those uncommon childhoods where I rarely had cereal or toast. My mom was the breakfast queen, and ever since then, breakfast food means comfort food.

A lot of people at Winger’s Roadhouse feel that way. Breakfast is a wake-up call. It’s preparation before you have to be in action. And it comes in so many tastes! Whether you’re in the mood for a little sweet or savory, it’s got your back.

A few of the delightful breakfast entrees that await you at select
Winger's Roadhouses and W Diner.

We feel so passionate about breakfast and its awesome-ness that we started introducing it to our stores about a year ago. Now, the tastiness that is our breakfast hasn’t quite made it to every location, but it is pretty widespread! You can order our special Ricotta Pancakes at 10 locations. (Tip: Ask your server about why we use ricotta. It’s crazy tasty and makes a weird amount of sense!)

Specifically, you can grab the morning grub all day everyday at the Winger’s Roadhouses in

Kaysville just launched breakfast in its store.
Check out the spread!

• St. George
•  Cedar City
• Orem
•  Kaysville
• West Jordan
• Pocatello
• Rexburg
• Elko
• Winnemucca

That’s not even counting our W Diner in Spanish Fork, which is built all around our beautiful breakfast, or our West Valley location, which has a killer weekend brunch.

In fact, as I continue this breakfast food love-fest, I’d just like to add a special note about how much I adore brunch, and our West Valley location’s brunch is right up there with the best. They’ve got the whole shebang, our famous wings and our tempting waffles join the breakfast race every Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.

I do have to admit that we don’t have the best breakfast quite yet. I guess we’ll just have to settle for 2nd best for a little longer while as we catch up to our moms and grandmas! 

New Additions

Winger’s is a family. It started with two brothers in the 1993, and it’s stayed a family affair ever since. Did you know almost everyone in Winger’s management is either actual family or has been involved so long they feel like family? It makes for a great group of people!

One of our hopes is that our close-knit community bleeds into our stores. We want you to be able to feel the communal vibes where your family meets our family. That’s why we grow. We love that experience.

Celebrating 21 years in the business means we've finally come "of age." As it turns out, so have some of our stores. Over the last year, we closed a few older locations where the leases were up, or where they just wore out. However, not everything closed permanently. One of these older stores was worth a face lift! Add our Spanish Fork, UT location to your list of gossip!

Botox? Silicone? Nope, a completely new concept. Welcome to W Diner! It's home to Utah's 2nd best breakfast. (#1 has got to be at your grandma's!)

It's open for your breakfast pleasure Mon.-Sat. at 7:00 AM and Sun. at 8:00 AM. Don’t worry, you can still order all your Winger’s favorites, like the ever tempting Sticky Fingers, but now, it’s paired with a killer breakfast. We highly recommend you try our delicious Boysenberry Jam Waffle…or our incredible Coconut Turtle Pancakes…or our savory Trash Hash…Honestly, you can’t go wrong!

And the atmosphere holds up its end of the bargain. It’s a light, retro-chic feel with some great rustic wood paneling. (Whoever thought rustic wood paneling would be this exciting?...But seriously, it’s pretty cool.)

But that's not all! Our family is continuing to grow. In fact, we're growing west. (Manifest destiny can be a little pushy with all that "go west young man," stuff!) Welcome to Winger's Roadhouse- Winnemucca, NV!

Coupled with a casino and pool table in the Wingers Bar, our new Winnemucca (named for the Paiute leader One Moccasin who was "The Giver of Spiritual Gifts") store has been open for one week. The new store is serving up it's own spiritual gifts as Amazing Wings, Roadhouse Burgers, Melba's Meatloaf, etc. And don't forget dessert! Cookie Zookie or Deep Fried Twinkies anyone?

We’ve received a warm welcoming from the Winnemucca community, and we’ve been working like crazy to show our appreciation. After an official ribbon cutting on Monday, June 19, we’re thrilled to be a part of this community for years to come.

Whether we’re sharing our love of classic rock or our most comfortable foods, we’re thrilled that our family is growing. If we haven’t already, maybe we’ll even grow in your direction. (Cough...mini-Vegas fan club who's popped up on Facebook....cough...cough)

Like W Diner and Winger's Roadhouse- Winnemucca, NV on Facebook for more information.