Best Buffalo Wings

quote:

Originally posted by Dearhawke

The question still stands. How to make them really really hot and still taste good. The answer is not use Franks hot sauce and put your favorite hot sauce to taste. My question is specificately what additional hot sauce that also tastes good? I am not good at experimenting and besides, the wheel does not need to be reinvented. There are some good recipes out there, I just have to find them. I wonder what some of the wing places use. By the way, Frank's makes their standard hot sauce and also a buffalo wing sauce. It looks like the buffalo sauce may already have the butter in it but other than that very similar ingredients.

A link to lots of recipes:

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blpoul38.htm

Cathy

As for cooking them, TURKEY FRYER ONLY!!!

quote:

Originally posted by DEFCON Creator

As for cooking them, TURKEY FRYER ONLY!!!

Says who? -pb

Me. Considering the following we've created in the past 2 years with our public events at many restaurants/bars in the tri-state area, and the numerous national awards we've collected, perhaps my insight is correct and well-founded. To each his own.

quote:

Originally posted by DEFCON Creator

yadda,yadda,yadda..... "To each his own."

That's much better. -pb

quote:

Originally posted by DEFCON Creator

Me. Considering the following we've created in the past 2 years with our public events at many restaurants/bars in the tri-state area, and the numerous national awards we've collected, perhaps my insight is correct and well-founded. To each his own.

I've been using a combination of baking and broiling for YEARS. I am knownst among my friends as the person who will be bringing the best wings on earth. In my method, the sauce gets inside the chicken wing. Softening it a bit, making it more moist and easier to pull off the bone while still remaining cristy. IMO (and the O of some others) throwing them in a fryer and then tossing hem in sauce is the cheap, fast and less appealing method. My method, however, would not be good for a restaurant, because it takes a little more time.

I just got back from Buffalo and I have to hand it to the Anchor Bar over Duff's. The Duff's wings were to soggy, not enoungh crispiness. The Anchor Bar could have used a bit more sauce, but they were still awesome.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader
[

I've been using a combination of baking and broiling for YEARS. I am knownst among my friends as the person who will be bringing the best wings on earth. In my method, the sauce gets inside the chicken wing. Softening it a bit, making it more moist and easier to pull off the bone while still remaining cristy. IMO (and the O of some others) throwing them in a fryer and then tossing hem in sauce is the cheap, fast and less appealing method. My method, however, would not be good for a restaurant, because it takes a little more time.

And if you just 'throw them in a fryer' for the entire cooking process, yeah, it's simple. I don't. After 4-5 minutes I take them out, stab them each once with a 2-pronged fork, so as to allow a bit of the oil into the meat causing separation of skin and meat before the skin reseals itself, leaving the skin ultra-crispy and the meat throughly juicy (not unlike a Peking-Duck method", and then leave them in until desired crispiness. When you are serving hundreds of pounds of these things out of multiple turkey fryers, believe me it is time consuming to take the extra step, but as has been tasted by all those who have attended our gigs, there are no complaints.

quote:

Originally posted by DEFCON Creator

[quoteAnd if you just 'throw them in a fryer' for the entire cooking process, yeah, it's simple. I don't. After 4-5 minutes I take them out, stab them each once with a 2-pronged fork, so as to allow a bit of the oil into the meat causing separation of skin and meat before the skin reseals itself, leaving the skin ultra-crispy and the meat throughly juicy (not unlike a Peking-Duck method", and then leave them in until desired crispiness. When you are serving hundreds of pounds of these things out of multiple turkey fryers, believe me it is time consuming to take the extra step, but as has been tasted by all those who have attended our gigs, there are no complaints.

that's called a greasy wing. When you bake, the sauce gets inside, thus making it juicy without being greasy. The broiling makes it crispy.
I'm sure there are no complaints with your system. I'd expect fried wings when at a restaurant or a large wing event. I wouldn't complain if I had your wings at your event. I told you I do want to try your sauce when you come closer to DC (MD maybe?) But you won't convince me that frying is better than my method - because I've had the harshest Buffalo natives and self prescribed critics rate my wings among the best they've had.

quote:

Originally posted by Dearhawke

The question still stands. How to make them really really hot and still taste good. The answer is not use Franks hot sauce and put your favorite hot sauce to taste. My question is specificately what additional hot sauce that also tastes good? I am not good at experimenting and besides, the wheel does not need to be reinvented. There are some good recipes out there, I just have to find them. I wonder what some of the wing places use. By the way, Frank's makes their standard hot sauce and also a buffalo wing sauce. It looks like the buffalo sauce may already have the butter in it but other than that very similar ingredients.

dearhawke, a good friend of mine when visiting will always mix up a big batch of wings, and we both like them lip-burning, forehead-sweating, eye-tearing hot. the only thing she adds to her sauce (in addition to the frank's and butter) is a relatively small amount of celery seed (in the seasoning aisle). i never knew that celery seed had such a kick to it, but i find the taste much better than when we've just added hot sauces.

"that's called a greasy wing."

Scorereader, believe it or not, they aren't greasy in the least ( I HATE greasy/goopy wings). We use canola oil, which for one doesn't flavor the wing in the least, so as to compliment the sauce, and from the amount of oil that gets into the wing (in about a nanosecond) after the "stabbing", it's miniscule at best. For personal taste, I enjoy the sauce being only on the outside of the appendage. Like I said, we'll be hitting MD & DE, I do believe some time in June/July, so you'll get a chance to try them out. Very curious what your opinion will be. If you want, just shoot me an e-mail so I can put you on the list and I'll send out an e-mail to you when exactly the event will be.

booboobirdie
Sure can't see how celery seed would make wings hotter. Haven't tried it though. Maybe I will. Franks sauce by itself is not hot enough for me. (Note: Making it hot is easy, making it hot and taste like the wings you get at Wings To Go is not easy.) I want it very hot but I also want it to taste like a wing place.

DEFCON Creator
I live in Delaware at the beach. I would be interested in your wing event in the summer. jddukes@comcast.net
Where would you be thinking of hitting MD & DE?

MD may be 2 events, Marco of Marco's Sauces has invited me to his gourmet shop for one of our infamous Defcon Days, and the other I do believe will be in Ocean City. There is a large speedboat festival going on, and we know a few of the rescue divers that will be attending/working it, they stated we would have a ball. Hey, it's all about the fun! As for DE, we're working on the specifics...

I can personally recommend DEFCON sauces. I just recently purchased a set of their sauces (3, 2 and 1) and plan on making tons of wings this weekend. I sampled them last night (the pour it in a spoon and swig it method) and they taste really good! I probably should have taken a smaller swig of the of Defcon 1...HOT...but oh soooooo yummy! I am sure they will taste even better once my wings are slathered with it! I can't even imagine the ZERO they make!

Thanks for the good words Surreal. The ZERO is just plain nasty. It's our own habanero extract, and really shouldn't be used straight on anything. Unlike most extracts, that use a ketone extraction method, leaving behind a mettalic almost bitter taste, we do ours by hand using only natural ingredients. The next ZERO release will be around March/April. It takes us about 4 months and 200-300+ pounds of orange habaneros to harvest enough of the primodial evil for a release. Kind of a labor of love.

I would love to hear your review after you done the wings. Watch out for the #1, it's a real creeper! LOL!

OK....just had to reply to let DEFCON know that his sauce is awesome!! I can't put my finger on it but there is something that is sooooo addicting about it. I swear you must put nicotine or something in there because I couldn't eat enough of it! FYI...I fried them with your method of peircing the skin with a two prong fork and it worked out great. Crispy on the outside...nice and moist (not greasy) on the inside! My wife ate the DEFCON 3 and that was about as hot as she could take! I love the DEFCON 2 and made a couple batches...one with just 2 and a batch with a little 1 mixed in....PERFECT heat level.

I definately have to order up some more sauce for the Superbowl party we are throwing! GOOD STUFF!!!

Glad you liked them, thanks for the good words. There are a couple "Ancient Chinese Secrets" in the ingredients

Hopefully, one of these days, you'll be able to make one of our "Defcon Day" events. Nothing like free wings for an entire afternoon.

Looking forward to making your Superbowl party a hit, at least wingwise.

I lived in the Utica, NY area for about 7 years and have been in NJ for almost 15. I have returned to Utica to visit friends at least twice a year since moving to NJ.

While I lived in Utica wings were a religion that I did not understand. Dinner twice a week was supposed to be pizza & wings w/blue cheese & celery. (I have noticed that this discussion does not talk much about the blue cheese & celery which I think are a major part of the wings experience.)

Every time I visit Utica we go out for wings at least twice during the visit. After eating wings at many restaurants around Utica for many years I finally started to like them a few years ago.

Our usual place for wings is Knuckleheads in Westmoreland, NY. "Knucks" serves an extra crispy wing that we like. They also have about 6 different sauces. We tend to get the medium and the "everything". And we always get blue cheese and celery.

After nagging my friends for several years, I finally convinced them to drive to Buffalo one Sunday last summer to try the wings at the Anchor Bar. We did a direct comparison between Knucklehead's medium and hot sauces and Anchor's medium and hot. Both were ordered as extra crispy. We ate at Knuck's on Saturday and Anchor on Sunday.

We found the Anchor was almost identical to Knuckleheads. The wings at Anchor are a little larger and cost $3 a dozen more. Both wings were crispy and had good flavor. Knuckleheads had better blue cheese and was more generous with the portion of celery.

It finally settled my question of whether or not Anchor Bar had the best wings. They are good, but an inspired restaurant can make them as good as Anchor can.

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

Just as a side note. If anyone is in the area and wants to taste the best d*mn wings in the country, come join the Defcon Crew at Toro Loco in South Orange, NJ. FREE wings all afternoon, wing-eating competitions (perhaps even a Deathmatch), Jose Cuervo girls, tons of raffles, etc.

Hey FREE wings and playoff football, doesn't get much better than that!

OK Defcon - I am interested. How about a time and date?

Great! Sunday, January 14th, from 1pm until around 5 or 6pm.

Looking forward to a review!

quote:

Originally posted by MicahHibler

Am I missing something? Did I miss the post? I have yet to see anyone mention Quaker Steak on this website. They have my favorite wings, and I think most of their locations have an all you can eat wing buffet on Tuesday nights. You should check them out if they are in your local areas. www.quakersteak.com

I thought I'd posted awhile back about quaker steak and lube, but I can't find the post if I did. I agree tho, it is a very unique place with the best food of any kind there is. We have to travel 2 hours to get there, but its where we do lunch each and every time we DO manage to be in the area.

Man, yesterday was insane! I'd like to thank all who attended. I am so friggin' tired right now, but somehow arrived at work. This Defcon Day was definitely the largest on record. Considering the place was at maximum capacity for a good part of the day was nothing short of awesome.

We had a Deathmatch winner, who's words to me after finishing were, "You should be locked up for that sh*t!" was great.
I was a little upset that the owner got breaded wings (breaded, YUCK!), I NEVER use breaded wings, "naked" is best, as it accentuates the sauce and doesn't get all goopy and nasty. But all in all I don't think people minded that much, as the chaos within the place was electric. The NJ Devil mascot did a great job as well, and it was hilarious when he backed away from the #2 match when the girl was about to blow chow! Great stuff!

I trust all that attended had a good time, hey $2 beers all day is pretty good. As was witnessed, these events are becoming drastically larger, hence the reason we're doing more of them. Perhaps those that weren't able to attend (that includes you Huv) will be able to make it to the next one on the 27th in Westborough, Massachusetts (details to follow).

Well, gonna go grab my 3rd Mountain Dew right now, my eyelids are getting heavy...

Thanks again everyone, it was a great time!

Sure wish I could have made the event DC. I saw the pics of the event over on HSB. My mouth was watering just "seeing" your wing sauce!

It was definitely a lot of fun! Where are you located, perhaps we are rolling into a town near you...

Killing time at work and found this topic.

Born and raised in Philadelphia, now living in Maple Shade, NJ...

My top five:

1: Wing King - Moorestown, NJ
2: Sports Cafe - State College, PA
3: Coach's Bar and Grille - Philadelphia, PA
4: Valerio's - Albrightsville, PA
5: Reale's - Philadelphia, PA

When I make my own, I stick to the purist route for the most part. Frank's Red Hot, butter, Tabasco... but I also try to add a third hot sauce, usually something I find in the cupboard, and also some black pepper. I cook the wings (fresh, never frozen) well-done in the deep fryer, and then shake them up in the sauce.

The wing sauce also works great with my T-ASH Fries... fresh cut potatoes deep fried twice, sprinkled with Kosher salt, and then baked in the oven with anywhere from one to four different cheeses.

Hi,
I'm orginally from NY but live in Georgia. Anyone know any good wings restaurant down here?

Although I have never been to the Anchor Bar, I would put my vote in for Quaker Steak and Lube. I used to frequent the one in Sharon, PA, but there are several locations now. Their golden garlic wings were amazing; my friends were partial to the Louisianna Lickers. I did appreciate the humor of having to sign a waiver before they gave you the atomic wings. The atmosphere was good, as well..

Folks,

New to the forum, just looking for a good wing place in northern NJ, but I have to tell you, if you're in central Jersey, you gotta try Chicken Galore in Woodbridge. WOW. Best wings I've ever had, and I love my wings.

It's a counter only, no seating, all takeout. But maaaaaaaaaaaan is it good.

Anyway, if anyone knows a really good wings place, please let me know. Thanks!

Rank
NAME
LOCATION
RECOMMENDATION



1 Wild Wings Café - Charleston, South Carolina Any

2 Mosquito Grill - Doylestown, PA
Garlic Parmesan

3 Duffs Buffalo, NY Hot

Tony

Three restaurants in Buffalo, New York, are sending about 125 dozen chicken wings to Baghdad in time for Sunday's game between the Carolina Panthers and the New England Patriots.

quote:

Originally posted by anselmo1

I have lived in the WNY area all my life and I will rate the top wing places to go in WNY:

1. Brennan's Bowery Bar-----Clarence, NY---Huge wings and excellent
2. Duff's-------------------Amherst, NY
3. Elmo's-------------------Getzville, NY--excellent cajun wings
4. Anchor Bar---------------Buffalo, NY

I went to the Anchor Bar back in 1967 when they use to serve up big bowl's of them on the bar for free. The free wings would entice the bar crowd to drink more. Back then, chicken wings were often thrown away as scrap meat. Eventually, they started selling them at the Anchor Bar 10 wings for $1.00 or 20 wings for $1.75. Boy, how times have changed.

I have to say, I went off this guy's recommendation, and I was sorely disappointed. Brennan's wings are decidedly mediocre and very small in size, opposite to what this poster had claimed. There are plenty of other places that offer better wings than Brennan's.

I would like to add to the list, Kelly's Korner, a small neighborhood bar on Delaware in between Hertel and Kenmore. Their wings are big, nice and cripsy on the outside, nice and meaty on the inside, and they make their own hot sauce out of fresh ingredients. I even think they throw in some paprika.

quote:

Originally posted by tbelk

The best wings in Buffalo, and perhaps the cosmos are often overlooked, and can be had at Gabriel's Gate on Allen Street in Buffalo-HUGE, juicy and with excellent sauce, they beat anyone, anywhere, hands down !!!!

Good, but definitely not the best. Second fiddle to anchor bar.

quote:

Originally posted by FoodDude

I've tried the wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY. They were all right, I guess. But I've found that the best wings were actualy north of Buffalo in Niagara Falls, NY where they seem to serve up jumbo, Schwartzenegger size wings. One such place was Frenchy's, the first place I ever tried authentic "Buffalo-style" wings. They were deep-fried and coated with that familiar hot sauce. I tried two bowls of fifteen. One had medium and the other hot sauce. Thirty of these monsters are definetly a meal unto themselves. Medium combines the perfect balance of heat and taste, while the hot sauce will definitely make you sweat buckets. Frenchy's is located just off the main downtown route of Niagara Falls, NY and is a family run family restaurant (no booze) that has a plain white and blue decorum. If you're starving for something while you wait, you can grab a pizza square. They're saucy and cheesy and will tied you over. Sammy's is a more popular, sports themed gathering place (booze) that is located near the baseball stadium and which also serves up some pretty good jumbo sized wings. Maybe they should call these jumbo sized portions "Niagara Falls Chicken Wings".

Unless you a professional competitive eater, I doubt that those wings were that big if you could eat thirty in one sitting. The ones at Duff's, ten are a meal. Me and two of my friends ordered a bucket foolishly, we are all big guys ( over 200 lbs) who can eat, and we couldn't even finish 30 between the three of us.

quote:

Originally posted by anselmo1

The Anchor Bar is where everyone from out of town frequents for "Wings". Us local residents know all the best spots such as:
1. Brennan's Bowery Bar---Clarence, NY
2. Duff's-----------------Amherst, NY
3. Elmoes-----------------Getzville, NY

All three of the above put the Anchor Bar to shame. The Anchor bar utilizes very small wings and is living off of its reputation as the inventor of "Wings". Everyone here never refers to them as Buffalo Wings but simply as "WINGS". You know the out of towners when they ask for Buffalo Wings.

Brennan's puts no one to shame unless you want overpriced and tiny. Duff's is the one most preferred by locals over the Anchor Bar. I have no experience with Elmoes.

When I went to Buffalo last year on my wing trip, I preferred the Anchor Bar to Duff's, but there were things that both could learn from the other.

For instance, Duff's sauce was better but the wing itself was a little too large and somewhat soggy. The Anchor Bar wings were perfectly cooked and a good size but the sauce was lacking.

The best wings I ever had in all my travels were in Reading, PA at a place called The Peanut Bar. Absolutely perfect in all considerations.

Peanut bar eh? Try the swordfish next time you are there - not bad.
As far as wings in that area try Basin Street in Kutztown, PA they have a great Monday night all you can eat special... And only if Wild Wings was still in the Reading Airport....

Tony

I know all too well about the power of Basin Street wings... I was a cook there for two years in college. I used to to eat an average of 40 wings on wing night when I was behind the fryer. Excellent!

As for Wing Wing Cafe in the Reading Airport... An incredible place for wings in the early to mid 90s. The quality went south in the late 90s and then it eventually folded. I had some of the best wings of my life there, and some of the worst. An interesting dicotomy as far as wings joints go.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but... Is there any new blood on this forum that has a really good, really hot wing sauce recipe? Hmmmm ????

quote:

Originally posted by Dearhawke

I hate to beat a dead horse, but... Is there any new blood on this forum that has a really good, really hot wing sauce recipe? Hmmmm ????

Here's one. Grilling makes them really good; Frank's makes it really hot. Low grade of difficulty, but perhaps too old blood for your taste. pb

http://www.franksredhot.com/recipe/franks/recipevideos/grilledbuffalochickenwings.html?

I just do not think Frank's is hot. There is a place in Dover, DE called Wings To Go. It is a chain I think. But at this one location the hottest sauce is called homicide. If you get the 10 wing dinner, by the time you get to the 10th wing, you have to really try to eat it without touching your lips. Yes,Yes,Yes... The sauce is tasty and I can still enjoy the chicken for those of you who think once it gets a little hot you can't taste anything or enjoy the chicken anymore. Does anyone out there enjoy really hot wings and have a recipe for them?

Try a new twist: Smoked Wings

Simmer wings in water for 45 minutes until tender (include celery,onion and carrots for a great stock)

Toss wings in your favorite sauce

Smoke at low heat with hard wood for 1-2 hours turning once.

The taste great, fall off the bone, and are low fat.

quote:

Originally posted by Dearhawke

I just do not think Frank's is hot. There is a place in Dover, DE called Wings To Go. It is a chain I think. But at this one location the hottest sauce is called homicide. If you get the 10 wing dinner, by the time you get to the 10th wing, you have to really try to eat it without touching your lips. Yes,Yes,Yes... The sauce is tasty and I can still enjoy the chicken for those of you who think once it gets a little hot you can't taste anything or enjoy the chicken anymore. Does anyone out there enjoy really hot wings and have a recipe for them?

Use above Frank's recipe and add Blair's 3A.M. hot sauce until your pain level has reached that nervanic state you are seeking. Available here - http://www.insanechicken.com/hot_sauce.html

If this doesn't get you off, you're a sick puppy. I guess you could try the pure stuff, but it sure sounds pricy...and you don't get much of it for the money. Check it out...also a Blair's offering. pb

I had Quaker State wings in Erie, PA a couple of nights ago and they were awful. They had a decor of all kinds of neat old cars including Corvettes and Thunderbirds and they were covered with dust. Somebody has forgot about their business.

Hooters in my area still has the best wings by far.

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

quote:

Originally posted by WingWatch

I know all too well about the power of Basin Street wings... I was a cook there for two years in college. I used to to eat an average of 40 wings on wing night when I was behind the fryer. Excellent!

As for Wing Wing Cafe in the Reading Airport... An incredible place for wings in the early to mid 90s. The quality went south in the late 90s and then it eventually folded. I had some of the best wings of my life there, and some of the worst. An interesting dicotomy as far as wings joints go.

If you were a cook at Basin in the mid to late 90's then you owe me about three years I took off my life there every Monday.... What a shame what happened to WIld WIng but another did open in SOuth Caroilna and some Eatingteam members went down and said it was just as good as they remembered!!!!!

Tony

quote:

Originally posted by Sundancer7

I had Quaker State wings in Erie, PA a couple of nights ago and they were awful.
Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

My good lord Paul!

If you had wings seasoned with this stuff


It must have been awful!

I think you mean Quaker Steak!

Sundancer-
I'm not a fan of Quaker Steak, either. The original location in Sharon, Pa. is still quite good, but I have never ate good wings in any of their other locations. But, people around here love 'em.

There is a Wild Wings in Ephrata Pa that is only takeout,but I think the wings are the same as what used to be at the Reading airport.

Sweet Jesus! If that is true expect a birthday card form me! i will be on my way there next sunday then...

Tony

The best wings that I have ever had (and I've had a ton of wings) were at The Cafe Hot Wing in Marietta, Ga. Serious stuff!

If you are travelling through the area take the time to hit this joint. They are on Roswell Rd about a half mile north of Rte41. It's near the "Big Chicken".

I lived in Marietta years ago when they started as a little place on the square. They had to move because of the crowds waiting to get in.

Be warned...their hottest wings will scorch your brainstem.
The teriyaki wings are great for those that want to avoid the heat.

If you are a serious wing nut and eat there you may be looking up real estate agents to move there after eating at Cafe Hot Wing.

My two favorite wing places are Wingers (on Rt 68 in Bellefontaine, OH you can't miss it) and Cluck-U Chicken (on High St near OSU in Columbus, OH). Both of them serve MEATY (I emphasize that because who wants those tiny wings a lot of places try passing off?), spicy wings in a variety of sauces from almost no heat to heat that makes you feel like your face is melting. Both of them also have pretty good sandwiches and burgers for those who don't like wings (but I don't trust those folks, do you? lol).

Ricky's in Hollywood, Fl is known for their wings. They bottle their own hot sauce, too.

We use to grind up dried Thai peppers (dark deep redish color) and then add them to bottled Frank's Hot Sauce. We'd cook the mixture for an hour to heighten the strength. But, even that was not hot enough for some of our customers! I'm thinking the only way to really get the sauce unbearably hot is to use ground Habeneros?

Hello:

Although I'm not a native upstate New Yorker, I went to college in Upstate NY. I did not eat my first wing until 1987. After finishing college, I left NY and lived throughout the country (Illinois, Texas, NJ) and never quite found the same quality of wings as in Upstate NY. I've tried loads of places throughout the years, and here is my own personal favorite list:

1) Anchor Bar, Buffalo NY. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I had my first taste of the original wing. And it was probably the best wings I've ever had in my life, period. Meaty, crispy, served hot with generous portion of blue cheese sauce. The wings are absolutely fabulous here. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Hands down, one of the best places on the planet for wings.

2) Scubber's Hot Wings, Latham NY. 590 New Loudon Road, Latham NY 12110. This was the place that I visited nearly every weekend while in college. The wings are offered in several different sauces. The "medium" is hot enough for most people. "hot" is extremely hot, and they even have "atomic" which I don't recommend. The wings are fried individually upon order, and served up fresh and hot. After frying up the wings, they put them into a plastic tub and put the sauce onto it and then shake everything up to make sure its evenly coated. Most restaurants will simply just pour the sauce on top. Now a few words about the sauce at Scubbers. I was always fascinated how the sauce at Scubbers would "stick" to the wing. If you just use plain RedHot sauce, its simply too watery and just falls off the wing without sticking. Without breading the wing, they do something to the sauce to make it thicker. My guess is that they add a bit of corn starch or oatmeal to the sauce to thicken it up a little. This makes the wing crispy, yet light and fantastic! Only bad part about this place is that they're closed on Sundays (which s^cks for football season). Simply one of the best places for wings around.

3) Donkey Cafe. 602 Grace St, Scranton PA. One of my friends who went to school in Scranton introduced me to this place about a year ago. I've been back 3 times since then and am more impressed each time I go. The place is a dump. One half of the place is a bar, and the other half is a restaurant. It gets very smoky inside. The wings are not that meaty (as compared to Scubbers or Anchor), but fried crispy and served in a wonderful sauce.

I've tried loads of places throughout the country which claim to have good wings, but I just find them to be downright mediocre. Here is a list of my wings which are "average": Cluck-U, Hooters, BW3, Chili's, Bennigans, Peabodys (Saratoga NY),

wowzer2-
Really nice first post and welcome to Roadfood!

quote:

Originally posted by wowzer2

Hello:

Although I'm not a native upstate New Yorker, I went to college in Upstate NY. I did not eat my first wing until 1987. After finishing college, I left NY and lived throughout the country (Illinois, Texas, NJ) and never quite found the same quality of wings as in Upstate NY. I've tried loads of places throughout the years, and here is my own personal favorite list:

1) Anchor Bar, Buffalo NY. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I had my first taste of the original wing. And it was probably the best wings I've ever had in my life, period. Meaty, crispy, served hot with generous portion of blue cheese sauce. The wings are absolutely fabulous here. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Hands down, one of the best places on the planet for wings.

2) Scubber's Hot Wings, Latham NY. 590 New Loudon Road, Latham NY 12110. This was the place that I visited nearly every weekend while in college. The wings are offered in several different sauces. The "medium" is hot enough for most people. "hot" is extremely hot, and they even have "atomic" which I don't recommend. The wings are fried individually upon order, and served up fresh and hot. After frying up the wings, they put them into a plastic tub and put the sauce onto it and then shake everything up to make sure its evenly coated. Most restaurants will simply just pour the sauce on top. Now a few words about the sauce at Scubbers. I was always fascinated how the sauce at Scubbers would "stick" to the wing. If you just use plain RedHot sauce, its simply too watery and just falls off the wing without sticking. Without breading the wing, they do something to the sauce to make it thicker. My guess is that they add a bit of corn starch or oatmeal to the sauce to thicken it up a little. This makes the wing crispy, yet light and fantastic! Only bad part about this place is that they're closed on Sundays (which s^cks for football season). Simply one of the best places for wings around.

3) Donkey Cafe. 602 Grace St, Scranton PA. One of my friends who went to school in Scranton introduced me to this place about a year ago. I've been back 3 times since then and am more impressed each time I go. The place is a dump. One half of the place is a bar, and the other half is a restaurant. It gets very smoky inside. The wings are not that meaty (as compared to Scubbers or Anchor), but fried crispy and served in a wonderful sauce.

I've tried loads of places throughout the country which claim to have good wings, but I just find them to be downright mediocre. Here is a list of my wings which are "average": Cluck-U, Hooters, BW3, Chili's, Bennigans, Peabodys (Saratoga NY),

Wowzer2, nice, informative post. I grew up near Scranton. Next time I visit I'm going to have to search out the Donkey Cafe.

I've never been to Buffalo unfortunately as I consider wings my favorite food. As a fan of the pathetic Dolphins, my dislike of the Bills has kept me away. I'll have to make a trip up there for a Fins/Bills game. In New York City, the best wings were at a place called Entourage on the Upper East Side. The name has changed but it's still a sports bar. My receipt actually said Entourage on it last time I was there even though that's not the name. On the West Side theres a bar called Blondie's that has fantastic wings. Both of these places are among the best wings I've had.

On an interesting note, when I was in high school near Princeton, New Jersey, a place called Chuck's Spring Street Cafe made the best wings. It was sold to one of the infamous Menendez brothers 4 months after they killed their parents. I believe it's still there but I have no idea if their wings are still good.

I've been to a ton of wing joints over the years and have eaten what has to be a ton myself. I live in Hoboken, NJ and there are quite a few spots here that have great wings. I'll list them in order to my ranking as follows:

1. Rogo's
2. Stinky Sullivan's
3. Black Bear
4. Liberty Bar

These are just a few of the spots but if you're in the area, I'd def start at Rogo's as they have solid hot wings and real good teryaki.

Stinky's bakes them after they're fried for an awesome taste that I haven't had since in Buffalo.

Black Bear's are solid and their wing night on Tuesdays is awesome, pitcher of beer and about 30 wings for $12.95.

Liberty uses Sirachi chili sauce which is amazing and they mix it in pretty damn well.

For other places around, I found a site Thewingmasters.com that is pretty bad ass that you can find wing places all around the US that other people rate and review. Definitely worth checkin out.

Location: Milford CT

1. Porkys - Shelton, CT
Delicious wings. Just flat out awesome. Good sizes and portions. Sauce is great, you can get it hot(regular) or hot(as hot as it comes) which is what I do. The chef said he'd make my friend and I cry, which he didn't, but he did get a new member of the Porkys fan club.
2. BWW - Having never enjoyed buffalo wild wings before I moved to CT, this place is great. A restaurant with lots of different wing styles and flavors at decent prices? With about 40 t.v.'s? Sign me up
3. Archie Moores - Milford, CT
Very good wings. Happy hour = free wings, which is always nice. As far as being the best in CT...see #1.

710 Grille in San Pedro, California has some of the greatest Hot Wings you'll ever taste. Amazing!!

quote:

Originally posted by wowzer2

Hello:

Although I'm not a native upstate New Yorker, I went to college in Upstate NY. I did not eat my first wing until 1987. After finishing college, I left NY and lived throughout the country (Illinois, Texas, NJ) and never quite found the same quality of wings as in Upstate NY. I've tried loads of places throughout the years, and here is my own personal favorite list:

1) Anchor Bar, Buffalo NY. It wasn't until about 2 years ago that I had my first taste of the original wing. And it was probably the best wings I've ever had in my life, period. Meaty, crispy, served hot with generous portion of blue cheese sauce. The wings are absolutely fabulous here. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. Hands down, one of the best places on the planet for wings.

2) Scubber's Hot Wings, Latham NY. 590 New Loudon Road, Latham NY 12110. This was the place that I visited nearly every weekend while in college. The wings are offered in several different sauces. The "medium" is hot enough for most people. "hot" is extremely hot, and they even have "atomic" which I don't recommend. The wings are fried individually upon order, and served up fresh and hot. After frying up the wings, they put them into a plastic tub and put the sauce onto it and then shake everything up to make sure its evenly coated. Most restaurants will simply just pour the sauce on top. Now a few words about the sauce at Scubbers. I was always fascinated how the sauce at Scubbers would "stick" to the wing. If you just use plain RedHot sauce, its simply too watery and just falls off the wing without sticking. Without breading the wing, they do something to the sauce to make it thicker. My guess is that they add a bit of corn starch or oatmeal to the sauce to thicken it up a little. This makes the wing crispy, yet light and fantastic! Only bad part about this place is that they're closed on Sundays (which s^cks for football season). Simply one of the best places for wings around.

3) Donkey Cafe. 602 Grace St, Scranton PA. One of my friends who went to school in Scranton introduced me to this place about a year ago. I've been back 3 times since then and am more impressed each time I go. The place is a dump. One half of the place is a bar, and the other half is a restaurant. It gets very smoky inside. The wings are not that meaty (as compared to Scubbers or Anchor), but fried crispy and served in a wonderful sauce.

I've tried loads of places throughout the country which claim to have good wings, but I just find them to be downright mediocre. Here is a list of my wings which are "average": Cluck-U, Hooters, BW3, Chili's, Bennigans, Peabodys (Saratoga NY),

I go to scubbers all the time, one of the best wings ever. (I eat wings probably twice a week, mmmmm. I'm addicted to hot sauce.) Their sauce is simply DELISH!!! You are correct about the sauce, it sticks to the wing almost paste like, but not. I never seen such a thing, and its crispy and great. I tried their hottest sauce and it was great, nice heat and I could handle it, but I would never get it again because I felt the sauce makes it way through my entire body destroying everything that it came across. Pure lava at the end, I literally cried on the toilet and I decided to give up hot sauce forever, but that didn't last long, haha. The wing itself is normal size, not too big not too small. 20 wings are a meal for the normal wing eater.

Dislikes: Not open on sunday, price(almost $8 for 10 wings, ouch), they sell wings by the 10's(boo). I always go back for more. I use to buy their sauce, but $10 for 9 oz was getting too much for me.

We probably went to the same college that is located down the road from the school.

Also, there is a pizza joint called Manor House in Rensselaer NY, I think they could beat out scubbers wings. From what I heard, 2 former chefs run the place and the one guy loves hot sauce. They make their own sauce and its probably the best sauce I've tasted, (sorry defcon). They have mild, med., hot and TNT. I tried their TNT and it was just heat and no taste. Their "hot" has the perfect balance of heat and flavor (the best). I just love how you can see the spices in the sauce, delish. Also, their boneless wings are breaded crispy wonderness.

Both places are equal in greatness, but Manor House gives you wings by the dozen and their 12 wings are a meal and they cheaper compared to Scubbers.

I've been reading this thread for about 6 months now, and since someone brought up scubbers I had to reply.

drewsbu-
Welcome to Roadfood! It sounds like you know your way around some hot wings, so I hope you stick around and continue contributing to this thread and others.