Drover's Inn

Drover's Inn
1001 Washington Pike
Wellsburg, West Virginia 26070
(304) 737-0188
http://droversinn.net/

Drover’s Inn.  Ah, Drover’s.  Quite a reputation around the area to say the least.  Their slogan sums that up.  “If you haven’t tried our wings then you don’t know what you’ve been missing.”  So, how do they rate under review?

Well, the wings themselves were about as close to perfect as you can get.  They are consistently large and crispy.  This time was no exception.  I ordered a large order which is a measured 2 lbs.  You may get anywhere from 14-18 wings in a large order.  A small order is a measured 1 lb., which ends up at about 7-9 “jumbo” sized wings.  The menu says “jumbo” wings and Drover’s certainly backs up that claim.  The wings were large.  They were perfectly crispy on the outside while still retaining the juicy goodness on the inside.  They also served a nice mixture of wings and drums.   Whatever they’re doing…they’re doing it right.  Even the wings at the bottom of the pile were crispy after sitting in the extra sauce.

Basement Tavern

What about the sauce?  Well, the menu lists a small selection of sauces, but it’s more than adequate for my tastes and my review. Mild, Medium, Hot, Suicidal, Atomic, Hurt-Me, Honey BBQ, Buffalo Garlic, and Sweet & Hot Oriental are all available.  That’s my kinda list.  6 levels of heat offered from the standard hot sauce line-up.  And 3 more choices for those who like something other than buffalo style sauces.  You can also get “Cajun” flavoring added to any sauce.  For this trip, I tried the next-to-the-hottest, ATOMIC.  This sauce has great buffalo flavor and really brings the heat at the same time.  It could have been a shade hotter for my tastes, so maybe next time…HURT ME.  But again…the flavor is not lost or sacrificed to the heat.  And the sauce is very unique.  I’m pretty sure the sauce must be homemade from scratch.  I can’t seem to narrow it down to a base sauce.  Is it Frank’s Red Hot? Nope.  Is it Tabasco?  Not at all.  Like I said, very unique.

Main Floor Dining Room

For the price you can’t go wrong.  The small order is only $5.75 and a larger order is $9.99.  The option to add celery and your choice of dressing is available, unfortunately at an additional charge (ranch or bleu cheese).  As a side, I recommend the Hot Pepper Cheese balls.  I hear that the seasoned fries are very popular.  There are many other choices available from the deep fryer! To my knowledge they don’t have a “wing night” or any promotional specials along those lines.  But they don’t need to.

Let me sum up my review by saying…“If you haven’t tried Drover’s wings then you don’t know what you’ve been missing.”  The slogan is true…which you have to appreciate nowadays.  Drover’s is living up to their promise.  If you haven’t tried their wings…you must.  And if you have already tried Drover’s wings…then you don’t need me to tell you how great they are, do you?

Bottom line?  Go. Go now!  Get some wings! I don’t know if it gets much better than this.  Authentic, HUGE, bone-in, no breading, deep fried, crispy from start to finish.

WINGS – 9/10 

SAUCE – 9/10

VALUE – 8.5/10

XFACTOR ++ (atmosphere, delicious sides and desserts)

OVERALL WING RATING – 9.5/10