Growing up in the North Park section of Wheeling, I drove by Generations, and the Swing Club before it, multiple days on a daily basis.
I’ve attended concerts there, class reunions, small parties, and even had my fair share of adult beverages a time or two.
I also delivery food for Door Dash on occasion for extra spending cash, so I’ve been to Generations multiple times to pick up food for delivery. The food admittedly always smelled good.
But until recently, at the ripe old(ish) age of 41, I’d never eaten there—not even some pub food or wings while watching a football game.
That changed recently when I decided to finally take the plunge and swing by the old Swing Club for some lunch.
Let me first say it’s always a good sign when you see the owner, in this case Mike Duplaga, greeting customers at the host booth and directing them to their seats. Maybe they were shorthanded, or maybe he likes adding that personal touch to make sure things run smoothly.
Regardless of the reason that day, when the owner takes his time to get down in the trenches with the staff, it shows he cares about his customers and his people.
After he seated us, we scanned the menu to decide what to order. In fairness, I had a good idea what I wanted to try, this time, since I found a number of items on the Generations menu that looked tasty.
The Food
I decided to go with just an appetizer this time. I was hungry, but not too hungry. I was definitely eyeing multiple flavors of wings. So, when I return, I’ll be sure to do so with an empty stomach and “hangry” status settling in.
An order of spicey fries caught my eye so I decided to give it a shot. The beer-battered fries are topped with cheddar and mozzarella cheese, bits of applewood smoked bacon, and Cajun seasoning.
It was an ample helping of all ingredients and it certainly hit the spot. In all honesty, I could have used a little more kick out of the Cajun, but it definitely had a ring of spice to it and the fries were quite tasty. It’s my fault for putting Tony Chacheres Creole Seasoning on nearly everything. Some people do that with Frank’s. For me, it’s Tony’s.
She was in the same boast as I was. Multiple menu items intrigued her, but she wasn’t super hungry either. So, she opted the chicken fingers and fries. Forgive the photography on that photo. The flash was a bit wonky, so the lighting wasn’t the best. Believe me, her dish looked just as tasty as mine. She agreed. The chicken was A-1 quality, and she loves beer battered fries and they went down quickly.
We’ll certainly be making a return trip. Generations has a nice combination of all of your pub favorites, some with its own unique spin, in addition to some more quality food options you might not normally expect from a pub.
But that’s why it’s called Generations Restaurant and Pub, and not just Generations Pub. They do serve up restaurant-quality food. It’s just done so in a relaxed atmosphere. That’s the best of both worlds I say.
For more information, visit the above-linked web page or stop by Generations’ Facebook page.
