Nibbles: El Dorado
Holly Tonini
Holly Tonini
The bar at El Dorado features six beers on tap.
Holly Tonini
Holly Tonini
Ashley Creighton, El Dorado’s bar manager with owner Todd Klinger.
If you’re in search of delicious chicken wings – and who’s not in the mood for great wings? – it would be worth taking a trip to El Dorado Bar on Route 837 in Monongahela.
“It’s what we’re known for,” says co-owner Todd Klinger. “The people who come in here usually come in for wings.”
For the past five years, the establishment has earned Best Wings in the Valley honors.
Customers can choose from traditional and boneless wings with about 15 sauces or seasonings, including Cajun ranch, Carolina gold, sweet buffalo and a seasonal ghost sauce.
The bar’s two cooks also whip up a variety of soul-satisfying sandwiches and bar-style dishes – baked Italian hoagie, gyro, fried bologna, grilled cheese sandwich and Eldo fries – while three bartenders serve up cold beer from six taps, along with mixed drinks.
The bar has “been around forever,” says Klinger, but the name has not changed since George Popp, the great-grandfather of Klinger’s first partner, Chris Popp, opened it decades ago.
“I don’t know if they named it after the car the El Dorado, or the Lost City of Gold, but it had a maritime décor for the longest time,” Klinger says. “This area around here is called ‘El Dora,’ and there used to be an El Dora park, so that might make sense.”
Holly Tonini
Holly Tonini
The dining room at El Dorado boasts high-top tables and big screen televisions.
About five years ago, Klinger and his current partner, Dale Scagline, completed a major interior renovation project and replaced the nautical theme with a rustic decor featuring wood ceilings and walls, handcrafted Amish tables and stools, several televisions and a 100-inch projector screen on which patrons can watch Pittsburgh Steelers, Penguins and Pirates games.
“It looks much better on the inside than the outside,” Klinger says. “We wanted it to look more like a home.”
A Ringgold High School graduate, Klinger had never intended to own a bar. “I went to school for radiology and did MRIs for 10 years, and the thought never, ever crossed my mind,” says Klinger, who was getting married and expecting a child when Chris Popp suggested purchasing the bar. “But I just took a chance and everything has worked out very well. We have a nice group of regulars, and this is just a nice place to come and relax and enjoy yourself.”
El Dorado is located at 1109 PA-837 in Monongahela. For more information, call 724-823-0075 or visit www.facebook.com/ElDoradoBar.