This week I reached out for a plate of Grilled Caribbean Wings, part of the new island-inspired summer menu at T.G.I. Friday's, with 900 restaurants in 47 states. You know the weekend's just starting at Friday's.

Sorry, Hawaii, Montana and Wyoming. You still can have summer, but you have to skip directly from Thursday to Saturday. No Friday's for you.

Friday's has introduced 14 new dishes and eight new drinks — most of them lethally spiked with Captain Morgan's Original Spiced Rum — on its Caribbean summer menu. I had a bite of everything and, mon, they're different and fantastic.

For starters, let's stick with the Grilled Caribbean Wings.

Here's the blueprint: eight wing pieces (four drums and four flappers) slathered with Captain Morgan's Original Spiced Rum sauce, served on skewers with pineapple pico de gallo. They're $8.99, serves two or three (but really one). I asked Friday's for the nutritional information, but they wrote back "not available."

Every joint has wings, so what's so special about Friday's Caribbean Wings? Well, a whole bunch is special. They are not your ordinary breaded and deep-fried calorie monsters. Friday's bakes its wings first, then absolutely douses them with Captain Morgan's sauce — and then fire-grills them. They come out juicy and charred and smoky with the distinct flavor of Captain Morgan's, but none of the alcohol pop. They are messy; ask for extra napkins when you order them, so you don't have to use the same napkin two, three times.

These aren't portioned and frozen back at the home office. The wings are cooked and sauced in each Friday's restaurant. That's makes a difference, a huge difference. Frozen is for the birds once you're in a restaurant with tablecloths and silverware.

Captain Morgan's likes to say that there's a little Captain in all of us. After I took one look at the Caribbean Wings, there was a lot of Captain in me. I didn't share. Eight is enough … for just me. Get your own.

The best thing about these wings is what they're not. They're not Buffalo, not Honey Barbecue, not Teriyaki and not Thermal Nuclear World War 5. They don't blow your brains out, burn your throat or sweet-talk you in a sugar rush. The Captain Morgan's sauce is a blend of island spicy and tropical fruity, with enough zing to keep you coming back for that second skewer. And without all that breading and deep-fried grease, seconds are no problem.

This is one appetizer that doesn't ruin you for dinner.

This isn't the first time that Friday's has joined forces with liquor to create a sauce. In 1997, Friday's paired with Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey to create a potent sauce that is still on the Friday's menu. Now the Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum sauce should keep Friday's spinning with unique flavors on its meat and poultry dishes.

These sauces are so striking, I may need a designated driver after downing a platter of ribs and chicken — not because I'm tipsy, but because I can't fit behind the steering wheel. Friday's ribs are that fat good.

Other dishes on Friday's Caribbean menu include: Rockin' Reggae Ribs, Tropical Splash Salad, a Caribbean Conga Line Chicken Sandwich and Sirloin & Jerked Chicken Jumbo Shrimp Combo.

Here's a dessert that will get your motor running to Friday's — the Island Breeze Sundae.

It's a big scoop of vanilla ice cream, sweetened won-ton crisps, topped with pineapple, mango and strawberries, a drenching of caramel sauce, all covered with whipped cream.