Buffalo Wild Wings Bar & Grill - Champaign, IL Review

First Impressions

My family, including my mom, was out on a shopping adventure today and decided to give Buffalo Wild Wings a try.  We had heard good things from friends, but had never been there ourselves.  The first impression is of a rowdy place with a LOT to look at.  Big screen and not so big screen TVs everywhere.  There was soccer, pro football, college girls basketball and a monster truck rally battling for attention.  In short, it looked like a place to go to have fun. 

The Nitty Gritty

We were seated at a fair sized 4 top table with menus in the center.  The chairs were comfy and the booths looked nice, as well.  We ordered our drinks, skipped on appetizers and settled down to wade through the menu choices. 

The menu isn't really large, but there seems to be a lot going on with it.  There is a great selection of appetizers, wings, sandwiches, soups, salads and other assorted goodies.  All the main courses look like they are finger food, and there is a good variety.  For the health concious there are naked chicken tenders (non-breaded) and grilled chicken.  There are also some good looking salads.  If you aren't concerned with your figure, there are ribs, burgers, chicken sandwiches, wings, tenders, and a bevy of appetizers.

In the end, one of us chose an appetizer sampler, one chose a burger, one a grilled chicken, and me some naked tenders with assorted sauces.  The sauces are where I had issues deciding.  I didn't count, but there were probably 12-15 choices of sauce from mild to hot.  I choose one from the mild side (garlic parmesan), one from the middle (an Asian sauce) and one from the hot side (Wild).  I was thrilled with all three sauces and I want to go back and try others.

The only issues I could pinpoint were that there were only sides with the actual "combo" meals, so my husband and I ordered a basket of buffalo chips (hand cut, fried potatoes) to go with ours.  They were very good, but it would seem like they would accompany more than the combo meals.  The other issue was the smoking section, which was the bar, was far too open to the rest of the dining room.

Everyone tried a little of everyone elses food and the everything was excellent.  The nachos were good and topped well, the mozzerella sticks were something to behold (try them!) and the burgers were juicy and flavorful.  There wasn't anything I wouldn't have eaten again, and the four of us ate for under $50.00.

We were too full for dessert, but there were some great looking choices on the menu.

 My Final Opinion

We are planning on going again.  The only drawback was that the smoking section (the bar) was too open to the rest of the resturant and we could smell the smoke.  That is why I didn't give 5 stars.  The food, service, and prices were all excellent and I wouldn't hesitate to go back.  Keep in mind, this is a very sporty bar and grill.  It is loud and there is a LOT happening with all the TVs, but it is a fun and interesting place to eat.