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• The atmosphere is about as relaxed as it gets.
• Warped Wing has 20 beers on tap as well as a selection of ciders from Columbus’ Mad Moon Ciders, as well as wines, frozen cocktails and specialty sodas for those not wishing to imbibe.
• It’s family friendly, with board games and pinball begging for your participation.
• Their tagline is “Share a Pint, Make a Friend” — and doesn’t that sound like a nice thing to do?
• The menu is simple, straightforward and to the point, with several hearty options.
• With a new change in their food program over the summer, it’s a good time to check it out if you haven’t had a chance yet.
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Erin O’Neill, Warped Wing’s general manager of retail operations and culinary director, started working for the brewery in June, helping to bring the operation in house under a new name — Warped Wing Grill. O’Neill created the updated menu featuring “elevated bar food” that launched in July.
He may be new to Warped Wing, but O’Neill, a self-described “restaurant lifer,” has been working in restaurants for almost 30 years.
“I have worked in a restaurant since I was 16 years old. By the early ’90s I was working restaurants full-time,” he said. “I learned a lot working for TGIFridays back then, getting the opportunity to open five stores for them as a trainer around the country and opening the first American casual sit-down restaurant in Moscow, Russia, in ‘95.
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“My sister and I opened the Dugout Deli in downtown Dayton in June 2003 and also ran the Flying Dog food stand in Riverscape for around six years. I then went to work for Tavern Restaurant Group at the Pub. I was there for about three years and then at Dewey’s Pizza for eight years.”
In his new role, O’Neill is focused on using quality ingredients and cooking food from scratch as often as possible.
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“Food is the biggest social bridge we have, in my opinion. In every society people gather to eat and share good times with family and friends. Usually with a beer as well. I have a love and passion for feeding people,” O’Neill said. “I love our menu, from the taco to the sliders. From the wings to the chunks. I truly feel like it is a culmination of all the different styles of food I have cooked in my life. I can flex my creative muscle in a professional setting like I have never been able to do.”
The daily specials, which typically run between $10 and $12, range from smoked pulled-pork sandwiches in a homemade barbecue sauce to gumbo to stir fry to a smoked bologna sandwich. As the weather has gotten colder O’Neill has started offering a daily homemade soup special.
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The new menu’s most popular item is the bison bacon burger ($11), made with pan-cooked bacon that is then frozen and ground and mixed in to the ground bison. The wings and chunks are $9 for 10 bone-in chicken wings and $7.50 for regular chunks. The hand-cut breast meat pieces are brined in buttermilk and then tossed in seasoned flour, fried and tossed in your choice of handmade sauces — then steamed in beer, cooled and flash-fried to stay crispy.
For those who can’t get enough heat in their life, O’Neill and the kitchen staff will gladly accommodate.
“We are not scared to add a little heat to an item, and we like to take a classic and make it a little Warped. The guys in the kitchen at Warped Wing Grill are a bunch of spiceheads, and there are always rare and exciting hot sauces back in the kitchen. Fellow hot-food aficionados please tell the kitchen if you like it really hot,” O’Neill said happily.
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The new year will bring plenty of exciting changes for O’Neill and his team.
On Dec. 23, Warped Wing Grill expanded to serving food on Mondays and in April it will launch a lunch menu with grilled deli sandwiches and wraps — some of which O’Neill served at the Dugout Deli way back when — as well as a variety of salads and scratch-made sides.
Warped Wing's Springboro location continues to move forward with plans to be open in June. The restaurant there will focus on smoked meats and homemade sides. And O'Neill is planning a ticketed beer dinner on Feb. 10 with Dewberry 1850 — more details will released soon. O'Neill says he is hoping to schedule future collaboration meals with other local chefs throughout the year.
HOW TO GO
What: Warped Wing Brewery
Where: 26 Wyandot St., Dayton
More information: 937-222-7003 or warpedwing.com
SHARE A PINT MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Since opening in January 2014, Warped Wing has partnered with local non-profit charities to donate $1 from every pint sold in the taproom on each Tuesday back to the selected non-profit that week. If you are looking to keep dollars local and help others Tuesdays is a good day to plan a visit.
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