Buffalo Wild Wings – Grill & Bar

50633 Valley Frontage Rd
St. Clairsville, OH 43950 
(740) 695-2800
Is Buffalo Wild Wings the largest national wing franchise?  I’m not sure.  A quick google search yielded a lot of info on franchises…but nothing that answered my question.  It doesn’t matter anyway.  The point is that Buffalo Wild Wings seems to be the largest national wing franchise.  They are constantly expanding, building new restaurants, and their publicly traded stock has gone through the roof in the last year.  If you spend even just a little bit of time online reading about hot, chicken, or buffalo wings…you eventually arrive at someone raving and recommending Buffalo Wild Wings.  You’ll also see stories about people who don’t live near one wishing that they did.  And you’ll hear tales of people road-tripping far from home just to try Buffalo Wild Wings.  Well, I've finally got around to reviewing the big wing chain that's practically in my backyard. 

But I’m biased.  Here in the Ohio Valley we’ve had Buffalo Wild Wings nearby for more than 10 years!  And even though I haven’t had their wings in quite a long time…I’d estimate that they still are the wings I’ve had the most.  In college…late 90s/early 2000s…we were there each and every single Tuesday night for wing night.  Back then they were 25 cents each! Then, following college, we were there each and every Friday night to kick off our drinking for the weekend.  

So you see…these wings are old news to me.  They’re not new.  They’re not flashy.  I have not fallen victim to the massive advertising campaign that’s been sweeping commercial breaks during sporting events for the last few years.  I know them.  They know me.  

45 cents per wing...still a good deal.
Although I’m not a professional writer, reviewer or eater…I do think that I can act professionally and put my biases aside for the sake of a good review.  (From here on, “Buffalo Wild Wings” will be referred to as BW3s…cuz I’m tired of writing it out.  More on the abbreviation to come.)

So, we headed to BW3s on a Tuesday night.  Wing Night!  They used to be 25 cents.  Then 30. The very quickly 35, 40 and 45 cents.  That’s where they stand today.  But that’s not really a fault of BW3s…they’re pretty much in line with other wing night prices.  

One nice thing is that the waitress will bring you as many wings as you want…at the same time.  (Other all-you-can-eat wing nights will limit how many wings you can order one time…think unlimited shrimp at a seafood place)  You must order a minimum of 5 wings.  Again, no problem.  Who in the hell would want one, two, three, or four wings anyway?  With that in mind, I ordered 5 Hot, 5 Wild, and 5 Parmesan Garlic.  15 wings for less than 7 bucks.  Lookin’ good so far. 

Wild
Parmesan Garlic
Hot









When the wings arrived they were absolutely, straight-out-of-the fryer, steaming hot.  They looked good and smelled even better.  Each flavor was served separately in its own paper boat.  And each flavor had just the right amount of sauce coating each wing.  BW3s sauces are typically thick and creamy.  They really stick the wings.  Each sauce has its own unique flavor. The Parmesan Garlic was extra creamy and full of flavor.  It’s my favorite non-buffalo style sauce.  Even Hot and Wild represent very distinct steps on the Scoville Scale.  And that’s something that I really appreciate. 

I like places that have many options available in levels of heat for traditional buffalo style sauces.  Hot here is a true hot.  It brings heat and flavor and might be too much for most people.  There’s a mild and medium available for those buffalo seekers who don’t want to sweat.  The next step up in buffalo style sauces is the Wild sauce.  And it really warms you up.  Your eyes might water and your cheeks might sweat a little bit…but Wild remains tasty and is never a burden or an unwelcome challenge.  For the brave, (only once for me) there’s the Blazin’ sauce.  And the Blazin’ challenge exists for bragging rights if you’re into punishing yourself for no good reason. 
14 sauces in the lineup.  Plus dry rubs and special, limited time, sauces.

The size of each wing, drums and flappers, were all very large.  No complaints there!

Regular Prices in St. Clairsville, OH
There’s a lot of upside here and only one real drawback tonight.  Just as I remember from my many, many years spent gnashing wings at BW3s, the wings completely lose their crispiness after a short time.  They started out hot and crispy…but I’m not a beast and I like to actually enjoy myself as I eat…so it takes more than a few minutes to eat 15 wings.  By the end, they’ve gotten a little soggy.  It’s a drawback…but not a deal breaker.  The wings were meaty and not fatty…which was a saving grace once the crispiness was gone. 

BOTTOM LINE:  Very, very good.  The big chain got it right!  The wings at BW3s were soooo much better than I remember.  I stopped getting them years ago because they got smaller, more expensive and the overall quality had dropped.  That was 100% not the case tonight.  Tonight, I had large, meaty, hot, (mostly) crispy delicious wings.  Let’s hope tonight’s successful wing night represents the same tasty experience you’ll have at BW3s.


NOTE:  Buffalo Wild Wings used to be called “Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck”.  That’s where the third “W” comes from in the abbreviation “BW3s.”  I guess, maybe, I’ll always call it that.  And you’ll find lots of others still calling ‘em BW3s.  In addition, I call ‘em “B-dubs” when vocalizing it.   I also see lots of people online calling it “BWW”

Buffalo Wild Wings on Urbanspoon

58 comments:

  1. the geezer8:56 PM

    8.5 for BW-3? WTF

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    1. Anonymous4:41 PM

      When I went to Buffalo Wild Wings my friend lost her retainer and they mad us look for it in 3 trash cans. They just rolled their eyes and said "whatever". I give them a rate of 000000!!!!

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    2. Anonymous5:31 PM

      Thats funny the same thing happened to me, but they were very nice and found it for me themselves.

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    3. Anonymous5:47 PM

      Yeah I really don't think it's fair to rate a corporation based on your experience with staff at just one store... Rating food should always be about the food.

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    4. 1) The staff should not have to search for something your friend lost. She should keep track of her property--have a case and put the retainer in a purse or pocket. No one likes a retainer on the table. Sounds like your friend was the rude one.
      2) You should not complain about the restaurant when your friend was the incompetent one? Complain about her.
      3) Be thankful the staff allowed you look through the trash. Some companies don't allow customers to rummage in their trash.

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    5. Anonymous5:28 PM

      1. Is there a reason you have a question mark at the end of the first sentence of your second point???????

      2. Have you ever priced a retainer?

      3. It seams to me that the irritation came form the dismissive attitude. The rolling of the eyes and the whatever comment. As far as the staff not having to search for something the friend lost. I believe that greatly depends on who lost the retainer. Did the friend go to the restroom and return to find a clean table with a missing retainer. Did one of the trash cans with the retainer, get full, sacked up, and taken the dumpster. Or did it get knocked off the table by the friend, kicked about, and currently hiding in a corner. Too many unanswered questions in the two sentence comment to place blame. Just my take. If time permitted, I would have done every thing I could have to help find it.

      4. The service at any restaurant chains location can span form great to terrible and every where in between. The evaluation of BWW as a whole should be the sum total of all the comments and reviews. The above mentioned is but one them. It should be taken into account and added to the sum total.

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  2. @geezer. On that particular night bw3s earned an 8.5. I don't write reviews based on past experiences.

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  3. BDub's sauces are great but the chicken was average. You really thought the wings were meaty? Either way, keep up the good work.. loved the review.

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    1. There was a time just a couple of years ago that I stopped getting wings at Bdubs because they were so small. The wings were shrinking and prices were soaring. But on my last couple of trips...and particularly on this review...the wings were very good. Yep, pretty meaty.

      Thanks for the props! I'll be checking out your site too.

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  4. Anonymous11:52 AM

    The last time we visited Buffalo Wild Wings in Traverse City,MI they lost power right after we ordered lunch. So we had to eat inthe dark and no TV's!!!!! I thought that we may get compensated for this inconvienance but we didn't. Not Happy. b212g714@charter.net

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  5. My kids love Buffalo wings especially when they are grilled, that’s why we decided to buy additional charcoal grills. The next time that we’ll have an outdoor picnic, we’ll definitely try this Parmesan garlic recipe!

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    1. Anonymous12:17 PM

      Are you retarded?

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    2. Anonymous3:47 PM

      that's mean

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  6. Anonymous9:05 PM

    Asian Zing for the win!

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  7. Anonymous9:20 PM

    The service sucks and I will never go again...

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  8. Anonymous8:38 PM

    This is an anti 2nd amendment company, BOYCOTT!!!!

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    1. Anonymous12:18 PM

      Why do you feel the need to bring a pistol into B dubs?

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    2. I'm relieved that you will be eating wings elsewhere, Steve!!!

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  9. Steve W11:22 AM

    Do not enter. I have a Carry Conceal because it is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights that I have the right to be armed and if Buffalo Wild Wings does not respect the Bill of Rights written by our Founding Fathers, then I have no respect for them as a business.

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    1. toystory2wasok3:00 PM

      You're an idiot.

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    2. Anonymous10:24 AM

      Oh good grief. You're there to eat wings, not defend the nation from an oppresive government. Just leave your penis extension at home.

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    3. Jesus - Fuck this cunt

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  10. Anonymous7:20 PM

    Terrible wings and service. Never again.

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  11. Anonymous12:52 PM

    You gunslingers make me laugh. The fact that BWW won't allow weapons in their franchises is all the more reason for me to go there. I'm a big fan of being able to eat next to others not playing cowboy or detective.

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  12. Anonymous9:16 PM

    April 27th 2014 09:14pm. We just felt buffalo wings and I love it. My first time and definitely won't be the last one. Great service salad and wings. Thank you!!!

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  13. Anonymous11:54 PM

    The food was okay, I'll give it that, but the service tonight was TERRIBLE. We did have a huge group, maybe about 20 people, but in our entire experience we were there for 3 hours! and most of it was waiting. We waited for about an hour at least to just get seated, and then we waited for God knows how long for food and drinks. The hottest wings were really spicy, which is what I like about it, but if you taste the sauce, it just tastes bad. The really good part of the night was when we got recognized for what we were celebrating. They assumed it was a birthday, but my friend and I were celebrating having just gotten our black belts, and they made an announcement just like it was a birthday. They even gave us hats that said sauce boss. If it weren't for the wait, this would've been a perfect experience.

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    1. Anonymous1:44 PM

      I call BS on that. Bdubs doesn't do anything for birthdays. Are you kidding? Do you see the type who work there? They don't want to do stupid birthday crap.

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    2. Anonymous5:54 PM

      You had 20 people. Yeah it's going to take a minute to find 20 seats and a server with the time to take care of them. Sounds to me like you're just another entitled consumer that hasn't ever worked in the food industry.

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    3. Anonymous3:04 PM

      Hey IDIOT!! YOU HAD TWENTY PEOPLE!! What a Moron!! Go to your house or somewhere else...most of these places are meant for Parties of Five or less...What a Dork!! And who the F**k cares about your stupid 'Black Belts'??? Lmfaorotftipmp......

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  14. Anonymous12:21 PM

    I stopped going to B Dubs for the exact same reaons, the cheap wing night was getting more expensive and the size of the wings was going down, down, down. You have inspired me to give them another try, but I'm not getting my hopes up these will be any good. Thanks for the post!

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  15. Sure. Give em another try. Theyre still not 'The best'. But they don't feel like an insulting rip off like they did for a while. I wish you luck.

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    1. Anonymous12:59 PM

      Thanks. I just remembered the other reason I stopped going there, and I would like your opinion on this. BDubs would charge you for ranch or blue cheese sauce. Like $.25 for a small cup. To me that is nickle and diming the customer. If you order wings you should get a container of sauce to dip, gratis, and it really rubbed me the wrong way they would charge you for some ranch. That was the other reason why I stopped going there, I forgot to mention that in my first comment. What is your feeling about charging for ranch or blue cheese when you order wings?

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    2. I agree with you. Its total BS to charge extra. An order should include 5 or 6 celery pieces and your choice of ranch or bleu. Its not jusy BDubs though...many places charge extra nowadays. Someplaces even get sneaky about it. Te waitress will ask you with the tone and implication that its included. Only to see it on your bill later. I, personally don't eat the ranch or bleu cheese...and often tell them that I dont want it even when it is included.

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  16. Anonymous7:36 PM

    THis is for BWW overall, not the noted site.
    Site is ok, service is good (depends on the server).
    FOOD IS HORRIBLE.
    Your frozen chicken wings- 0 Stars. Small tastless, sauces hide this some, but alot of the sauces are generic and gross.
    Chicken boneless - Over breaded and poor quality.
    It is clear your corporate model to squeeze out every profit dollar is taking a hit on quality, while seriously over charging for poor frozen foods.

    Salads -small and sometimes old lettuce.
    Hamburgers - Good, sad to see a "wing" place do a burger better than their wings...
    Pizza - ok. 5 on 10 scale.
    potato wedges, small portions.

    ADD - Sweet potato fries.

    Overall, your forced pricing from corporate all in the name of maximizing profits is sad. It driving food sales down.

    LISTEN TO YOUR CUSTOMERS and surveys.

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    1. Anonymous2:21 PM

      Send your menu suggestions to corporate... And we do not freeze our wings

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  17. Anonymous11:28 PM

    Showed up for the first time and we waited for 30 minutes on a thursday night and i couldnt believe how many waiters waitress there were. We never got served not even a drink, not even so much a simple face to say welcome. What a dump! I will not even think of returning to this nasty ass place.

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    1. Anonymous1:10 PM

      asssssssss holeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

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  18. Anonymous1:09 PM

    wooooooooooo

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  19. Anonymous8:28 PM

    I took my dad for his birthday on opening night in Silverdale, wa. I showed up early because its suppose to be first come first serve. I was told that the wait would be 1 hour and 15 minutes. I had arrived at 5pm and thought that it would be perfect. Everyone else were to arrive by 6:30pm. @ 7:30 I spoke with the hostess for the third time and explained that my dad was diabetic and we had been waiting for two hours. She was rude and said if we didn't have 11 people to seat or we didn't want to sit together that they might be able to seat use. After waiting 2 and a half hours. I asked to speak to the manager. He finally sat us at separate tables with the promise that when the other one opened that we could be joined together. He then offered to pay for one appetizer for each table and a round of drinks. This was fine until the waitresses were very confused and we ended up having three different ones. The table opened and they were getting ready to sit and more people I stood up and had to push the tables together so we could join the other half of our party when the bill came they took one appetizer off our bill and that was it for the inconvenience I will never eat at Buffalo Wild Wings again they were very inconsiderate and rude on somebody's birthday and did not care that we had been waiting for two and a half hours

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  20. Anonymous1:57 PM

    When ordering wings and you decide to take the 12 blazing wings in 6 minutes challenge to be a champion in the "Hall of Flame", from experience, I advise not to. After eating that, not only will you burn almost to death, but you will have the worst shits in your entire life that will burn your asshole. Buffalo Wild Wings: where every man is a champion. But even champions get diarrhea.

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    1. Anonymous12:59 AM

      LMAO! That was too funny, but not a fan of this overpriced place! Gave it 2 tries!The wings taste horrible & they're supposed to be a wing joint? NOPE !Not to mention both times I was there, the service was extremely bad.. I couldn't even get my tea refilled! Then the waitress wants to come to the table w/ the check, acting so sweet, after being no where to be found & not very pleasant the whole time! Save it.. Too Late!

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  21. Anonymous8:26 PM

    First and last Food was horrible! My salad was nothing more than back bone of lettuce and the chicken wasn't cooked, the nachos had no topping to them, the few that there was, my husband orders chicken and he said it was horrible! It went intothe garbage. $30 in the garbage.

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  22. Anonymous10:39 AM

    I GOT A BIG DICK MMM YEAH

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  23. This was absolutely the worst restaurant experience I have ever had. First let me start with when my boyfriend and I arrived, we were sitting next to an extremely loud party of nearly 20 boys, mind you the place was nearly empty and there were plenty of empty booths. Now my boyfriend and I are sitting there and watching the waiters go to other tables and there were 2 hostesses just standing there. It was not until my boyfriend went up to the hostess to ask for a waiter, that we actually got a waiter. We waited 10 minutes for a waiter and had we not asked for one we would probably still be sitting there. Also, our food took nearly 30 minutes, it was only 2 baskets of fries and 20 wings. Another issue was the fact that our waiter never came back to our table or any where near our side of the restaurant, it really seems as if he purposely avoided us and I never got a refill or the napkins that I requested. I did tell the general manager, Ryan, about my awful experience and all he could say was "oh... sorry about that". All in all if I could give my experience a negative rating, I would. I will not be back to this Buffalo Wild Wings, ever.

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    1. Anonymous3:12 PM

      Wow...A Black person eating Chicken...now THERE is a Shocker....and oh yeah...complaining about everything too...Let me guess...did Whitey cause all of your problems?? Did Whitey not treat you right? Did Whitey not have Watermelon on the menu too? Lmfao...Now shut your yap, go outside, close your eyes and play "Hide and go F**K yourself"!!!!

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    2. All the other complaints and just because this person happens to be black you went total racist ass on her? You are the problem not her.

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  24. This rant by Anonymous is so uncalled for. Andrea's comment focused on her experience and specific things which are legitimate problems. She did not make a personal attack. Andrea never mentioned race. Anonymous is the only one who brought that up which says more about Anon's problems than it does about Andrea.

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    1. I agree with you 100%! Everyone else was able to make complaints about their experience, but she was slammed just for being black. SMH

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  25. I've eaten at Bdubs in several cities across the nation, even had big parties and small groups. I have never had a bad experience. Love their wings, and love the prices!!

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  26. Careful this place can rip you off. They freaking charge you 60 cents for ranch and blue cheese, yes I'm not kidding and that is just the tip of the ice-berg. The servers are trained for this and are too smart enough to trick and ask you "What would you like - Ranch or blue cheese" and you'd think oh it's complimentary But no sir it isn't. They're even smart enough to put the receipt in your bag when you take out your order so you won't really look at the charges on the receipt. Man, the things these guys do to rip off the customers. Plus the Servers will also over charge you for items which are actually on Happy Hours & when I asked her why am I being overcharged she made a load of crap and said - oh this is a newly added dish to the menu n bla bla. Ok but why is it on the Happy Hours Menu then ? Just Dumb excuses ! The Food isn't necessarily bad but yes just be careful when you order stuff, pay attention to the price and your check when you're paying. Make no mistake so as not to get over-charged for Ridiculous things which should be complimentary. Watch out !

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  27. Worst food worst service and worst atmosphere ever this is definitely the McDonalds of Bars. Stay away!!!

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  28. Worst food worst service and worst atmosphere ever this is definitely the McDonalds of Bars. Stay away!!!

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  29. This is the second and last time I will eat here. I had a burger both times and the the bun was absolutely the worst I've ever had. They're dry and literally crumble while trying to eat it. Do they use OLD buns? Hamburger was dry and tasteless too. Not worth the $100 tab for 5 people.

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  30. I ordered a burger - looked like it was a frozen patty. Flavorless and nasty. Gross. Please is a shit shack. Also, since it appears that only racist dicks go there.. I will avoid at all costs. #BWWBlackLivesMatter #GunsNotNeeded #JimCroweIsOver

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  31. As a server( not at bww) an wing lover I have a tip for all whole love extra crispy wings. Ask for the sauce on the side. You see the wings come out the fryer crispy but the longer they sit in the sauce they get soggy. As the post says his wings start crispy but he likes to eat slowly an then they get soggy. Wings are like cereal if you take too long your cereal gets soggy bc the liquid from the milk has time to really soak in. Same with wings. So I get plain wings with a side of sauce an an extra bowl. I then baste a couple at a time. So if I wanna break to talk with my friends I dont worry about my wings getting sauce logged hence soggy wings.

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  32. Btw I have not got to go to a bbw yet. But I am looking forward to trying em

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  33. Anonymous9:45 AM

    My company likes to go to BWW a lot to eat. I absolutely hate this place. Food is way over processed. Burgers are the worst. I wasn't even sure if it was real meat I was eating. You know a place is worst than you thought when the overly processed salsa isn't even good. How can you mess up salsa? It was this nasty syrupy salsa. It must have been the cheapest they could ever buy. I have no idea why people like this place.

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