Order wings at a sports bar and you brace for the grease. You know the feeling: the basket going translucent, the walk to the car where you quietly regret the whole thing. At Rivalries, which opened this month at 510 E Ocean Ave in downtown Boynton Beach, that part does not happen. The entire kitchen runs oil-free. The wings are air-fried, they still come out crackly, and you can finish a 20 piece and go play a round in the arcade instead of going home to lie down.

It is about 20 minutes up Federal from Boca, steps from the waterfront, and it is the rare sports bar you can bring a real appetite to. Here is what to know before you go.

What to Order

Start with the wings, because they are the whole point. The menu calls them the Lord of the Wings and they come air-fried in 10 or 20 piece, traditional or boneless, in eight flavors: peach bourbon, Jamaican jerk, mango habanero, garlic parmesan, sweet teriyaki, Korean BBQ, traditional hot, and mild. The crust crackles, the inside stays juicy, and none of it sits on you afterward. If someone at the table is skipping meat, the buffalo cauliflower gets the same air-fried crunch in the same classic buffalo sauce.

Get the Championship Nachos down at the same time. It is a mountain of crispy tortilla chips under melted queso with black beans, jalapenos, fresh salsa, and sour cream, and you can add chicken. Sticks and Pucks is the other opener worth ordering: two freshly baked soft pretzel sticks and 10 salted pretzel bites with dipping sauces. The Bucket of Balls is Italian meatballs simmered for hours in whatever sauce they are running that day, and it comes in a small or large.

For the main event, the Double Header is a grilled double-patty smash burger on a potato roll with secret pub sauce, lettuce, onions, and pickles. The pressed sandwiches are worth a look too. The Gladiator Press stacks salami, mortadella, capicola, provolone, mozzarella, roasted red peppers, arugula, and basil pesto on ciabatta. The Heavy Hitter does chicken breast, mozzarella and provolone, basil pesto aioli, arugula, and sun-dried tomatoes. The Havana Heat is mojo pork, smoked ham, Swiss, pickle planks, and yellow mustard on a hoagie roll. If you want the sleeper, it is the Apple and Brie Full Court Press, which is exactly as good as it sounds.

If you want something lighter, the salads are real ones. The Mediterranean MVP comes with chickpeas, feta, kalamata olives, and a lemon-herb vinaigrette, and the All-Star Caesar and the Field of Greens house salad are both there. Add tater tots regardless. Rivalries does not post prices online yet, so call ahead if you are budgeting the night.

The Room

The space is built for a game. Screens run wall to wall with every major sports package, so pro, college, and international are all on: NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, college football and hoops, MLS, EPL, Champions League, and UFC fight nights. Whatever you follow, someone will find the channel for you.

The two things that make it different from the rest of the strip are behind and beside the screens. There is a full video arcade in the back, a mix of old-school cabinets and modern hits, which turns halftime into its own event and makes the place work for a family night. And there is a stage with a rotating lineup of local South Florida bands, so a Friday here can turn into a three-hour thing you did not plan on.

The Insider Move

Go on a Wednesday. Happy hour runs 3 to 6 every day with $3 drafts and $5 glasses of wine, but Wednesday is the only night a pitcher or a bucket gets you a free order of wings, which is the whole reason to be there. Get in before 3 and you will still have a real table when the room fills.

The best trick is the phone: call (561) 345-1834 before you head over and tell them what game you want, and they will put it on a screen for you. Park in the City Hall public lot at 129 E Ocean Ave and walk the last couple of blocks. Hours have been running Monday through Thursday 2PM to midnight and Friday through Sunday 11AM to midnight, though they are still settling in, so a quick call confirms before you drive up.

Rivalries cut the ribbon on July 17 with the Boynton Beach CRA, so it is new enough that a Tuesday night is still an easy walk-in. That will not last through football season.

Subscribe to The 561 Scoop for the new spots worth knowing about across the 561, every Sunday.