Lunching at Geaghan’s in Bangor two days in one week was a rare treat. On our way home from our camp in the north woods, we enjoyed early dinner, then two days later, on our way to a week’s stay in Lubec, we had lunch there.

While Portland grabs the headlines for foodies nationwide, Bangor’s our kind of place, with savvy civic leaders, a great waterfront on the Penobscot River, awesome events like the American Folk Festival and the Harvest Festival, a new Convention Center – and the fabulous Geaghan’s Pub at 570 Main St.

We rarely drive by Geaghan’s, no matter where we are headed in northern and eastern Maine. Their Boneless Buffalo Wings have become famous. They actually aren’t wings at all. They’re chicken tenders served with a choice of sauces (honey BBQ, honey mustard, or three levels of buffalo wing sauce). Seems like about 70 percent of Geaghan’s takeout orders are boneless wings. And they sold 50,000 pounds of Boneless Buffalo Wings last year!

Just as we can’t seem to drive by Geaghan’s, we can’t seem to have a meal there without an order of the wings. Linda had them for the dinner, and I had them for the lunch. We both love the wild sauce. Linda says it’s because I’m a wild guy. Of course. Wild is the medium heat buffalo wing sauce.

The wings come with celery sticks and a tasty blue cheese sauce, and fries – the sweet potato fries being our favorite. I’d written down a description, “rounded with holes,” which got a laugh from Linda, who explained they are waffle-cut fries.

Before deciding on the wings, I’d flirted with the idea of ordering Crowley’s Black Irish Steak Melt, a grilled steak with crumbled bleu cheese, crisp bacon, grilled onion and melted cheddar cheese in their fresh baked white bread.”

The flirtation came to nothing after Linda exclaimed, “That would be very bad for you.” So much for being the wild guy.

For the dinner, Linda loved the Chicken Spinach Melt. It includes their artichoke/spinach warm dip (the same as their appetizer), and the chicken in the sandwich is the boneless wings. So she didn’t really drift too far from our very favorite meal here.

For the dinner, I’d enjoyed one of my other favorites here, the Classic Reuben. It’s really good.

With both meals, I had a glass of my favorite Geaghan’s micro-brew, the Smiling Irish Bastard.

Linda, who likes her beers on the light side, took one sip and grimaced. Well, a grimace is very close to a smile, isn’t it? And is that why they call it the Smiling Irish Bastard?

I don’t know, but this brew is particularly popular. After expanding their beer brewing capacity in the Bangor location as much as possible, the Geaghan brothers purchased a large industrial building in Brewer last year and began making lots of beer for sale in markets around the state, including Hannafords and Shaws. They intend to expand their selections but have been right out straight, so far, producing the Smiling Irish Bastard. Yes, more people are now smiling, all over Maine, including me. Actually, I usually grab a growler of it whenever we’re in the restaurant.

We’ll be back here for the wonderful folk festival next weekend, another chance to eat at Geaghan’s, and I really want to get there sometime for their Irish music sessions, scheduled every second Sunday of the month starting at 5 p.m.

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