Buffalo Joe's - Clark St. — Restaurant in Evanston Township

Buffalo Joe's is one of the best tasting fried wings places North of Chicago. The food has been consistently good for the last 8 years. They have 2 locations but I think this one is the better tasting and convient location. There have been points where I was eating here several times a week. I continue to eat there despite the well known downsides.

First, they are cash only and because of that there is always at least one person, and as many as 7 men sitting on the steps next door, asking for spare change. At first I would give them some change until they started commenting on my date, cat calling, or comment on my relationship thinking that would somehow encourage me to give them money. It's as toxic and as uncomfortable as you can expect from a group of guys hanging out and trying to get your attention.

Once you get inside, you meet a staff that is food first, customer relationship second, and building maintenance third. In fairness, this place is always busy. There is always a line that is moving very fast. I've seen the staff deal with tons of people quickly in a constant and unending flow... Some of them are drunk, rude, scammers, and many that may have just been hollered at by a group of guys 30 seconds prior. I can understand that dealing with ugly people constantly, all day, every day, in a hot, fast paced atmosphere could make you jaded. I've seen many conversations turn dark quickly. It's never happened to me but I think that the accuracy and quality of your order is impacted by your first interaction and unwritten rules. i.e order a double order suicide wings, question why it only comes with one sauce, ask about the cost of a second, ask about the ATM fee, and a request a free glass of water; instead you get mild wings. Order suicide and a bottle of water, get suicide. Ya... It's a thing, it's not right, it's not how to run a business, and it seems totally arbitrary/petty unless you sit for 30 minutes and hear the same heated conversation a few times.

How to have a positive experience: Come in, know what you want, order it quickly, ask for a bottle of water and/or RC cola, get your cash from the ATM, wait for your food, pay quickly, eat, chat with your friends, use a moist towelette, exit, then go right as you leave, and finally wash your hands at home.

How to have a negative experience: Take you time ordering, discuss the cost of extra dipping sauce, ask for a free glass of water, mention any comments from social media, don't listen for your name, dig around for your money at the register, not have enough cash to pay, ask if they accept credit cards, mention the ATM fee, forget towelettes at the register, use the men's room, and the go left when you exit. I've seen first hand or experienced each of these unwritten mistakes and it didn't go amazing.

Despite the downsides and weirdness, I...

Worst and most disgusting customer service here. Before I get to what they did wrong to me let me tell you what they were doing wrong to everyone. The guy behind the counter taking orders was chewing tobacco and spitting it in a cup. One of the girls had super long hair and did not have a hat, hairnet nothing. And she was chewing gum. None of them had gloves on while handling food and they were extremely unorganized. Now for what they did to me. Me and my husband came here for a late night dinner before heading off to see a late movie. We ordered and I was trying to enjoy myself so I didnt complain about any of the things I mentioned above. We waited for about 15 mintues to hear my name being called. The womenbehind the counter said "Mira" so I asked before touvhing the food. "Do you mean A!mira?" She noddedand repeated my name back to me. I looked down at the plate and saw that my baked potato was there and my husband didn't say anything about the order so i picked it up and took it to the cashier. This is where things got weird. She only gave us one small drink. One that neither of us ordered and when she told us the totle we were extremely confused. Out of nowhere a women comes up from behind us and says "thats my food." Instead of handling this in a professional manner and just remaking the food the women who repeated my name back at me preceded to yell at me saying "I said Mira not amira are you deaf?" And then I continue d on to say "that's why I asked you if u ment to say Amira. I did not get my name wrong cause I know my own Damn name." My husband cut in at this point knowing that I was going to blow up at the whole estiblishment. They literally ruined my whole night and I will not ever be returning. Oh! And I didnt receive any apologizes from anyone there for how I was treated. Just a lot of strangers saying that was not appropriate behavior for a business to handle...

We've been going there couple times we've also been going to the one in Howard many timesfor over 20 or more yrs but this here is different,one can have the same taste of chicken in a much safer environment n neighborhood,the best that we keep coming back for is the crinkle cut fries actually...oh so good! it's the best,it's well seasoned,best pair with either ranch or sharp cheddar cheese dip, they also give u a lot for $3 ...the quantity versus price is actually in favor with the customers...also chicken wings are just something to crave for,I've read comments about its size that is skinny n just bones???didn't ppl realize that the more skinny the chicken is esp the wings....fyi to everyone!!!the more it's HEALTHY!!!that means for the info of everyone they do not buy chicken that is injected with antibiotic, bec it is in the wings where farms inject their chicken with all those killer carcinogenic Synthetic meds Including antibiotics!ye all should be thankful n not complain!, the more the bigger the chicken is, long as it's not labeled organic ,the more it's loaded with killer antibiotics injected in the wings!their chicken sz is close to organic chicken,like me and my husband the more skinnier the chicken is that's the one we choose buying...also staff r friendly and sometimes they even give u extra sauce,the only issue is the restaurant seems too old school ,the framing has no updates like those are still picture frames u see in the 70s ,can at least the owner try to improve the restaurant's appearance?other wise,all in all,we r always happy to dine there,the price vs quantity is just fair n reaonable!they also open late til ten,only other issue is no choice of desserts they should have sold some desserts like choc cake cheese cake ice cream and other sweety sweets they can think of I'm sure ppl will...