Wing lore says that some time in the mid 1960s a small bar in Buffalo, N.Y., decided that, instead of dumping its chicken wings in the trash, it would douse them in peppery sauce and put them on the bar for patrons. Since then, they've become one of America's favorite sloppy delights, served everywhere from rundown saloons to sports bars to finer restaurants.
In the decades hence, they've come to be known simply as "wings," with Buffalo wings representing but one in a myriad of styles that include boneless, Oriental, atomic, sweet-and-sour and countless other individual recipes.
We decided to put wings to the test for this year's food issue. Twelve Weekly Planet editorial staffers convened in the company conference room to taste nine of the Bay area's more high-profile wing brands. We rated each on a 1-10 scale and asked for written comments. We insisted that the ratings sheets come back greasy and stained, and all but one did.
We ordered each restaurant's standard wings, medium. We also resorted to a little trickery, microwaving frozen, barbecue-flavor wings from TGI Friday's.
Some of our panelists politely nibbled half a wing and moved on to the next; others devoured all nine and then had a few more for dessert. Some of our testers were dainty; others had orange sauce dripping onto their chests. At least one tester was a diehard wing devotee; another professed to not caring for them much at all. The rest of us fell somewhere in between. A reasonable cross section of palates made up our panel, we thought. Here are the results:
GOLD
El Cap
8.3
For many decades, this rustic sports bar and eatery in St. Pete has been lauded for serving the best burgers in town. We can now add wings to its reputation. Our tasters appreciated these morsels for their adherence to the Buffalo-style tradition. "A classic wing," remarked one fan, rating it a 10. The panel also appreciated the spicy hotness. "Possible replacement for Anbesol to numb gum pain," wrote one tester. And our resident wing aficionado waxed, "Finally, some fire!" while giving El Cap wings a 10. El Cap, 3500 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg, 727-521-1314.
SILVER
The Press Box
8.0
The testers appreciated The Press Box's wings for their traditional Buffalo flavor ("you can actually taste the chicken and the sauce") and nuclear orange hue. Further, these critters proved that, with wings, size does matter. "HUGE wings," scribbled one tester. "From a pterodactyl-size bird, a chicken with a wingspan," said another. And finally, "Drummette could club a small animal." The Press Box, 222 S. Dale Mabry, Tampa, 813-876-3528.
BRONZE
Beef O'Brady's
6.9
One taster, who rated Beef's wings a 9, summed them up best: "A bracing kick of vinegar in the sauce. Not very hot, but pleasing to those who prefer mild." Our panel generally admired their meatiness ("best meat consistency") and crispy outer texture, and one noted the "creeping heat."
4th Place
Hungry Howie's
6.5
We were surprised that a takeout pizza chain that serves wings on the side would rank in the upper half of our survey, but kudos nevertheless. Hungry Howie's veers from Buffalo tradition, and drew an array of responses from our testers. One was utterly charmed: "This delectable jewel excited my palate like a wet leaf to a bay doe's tongue." Others thought highly of the heat. A couple of detractors lamented the wings' lack of sauce and one thought they were far too salty.
5th Place
Winghouse
5.92
Our panel was quite divided over Winghouse's nontraditional approach. One tester favored them above all, writing, "Little bit sweet, mellow afterburn, just the right amount of sauce." A few fans liked their subtlety and appreciated them as an alternative to the standard Buffalo style. Detractors saw the wings as "boring" and "bland" and "awfully mild," too light on sauce and heat, and, in one case, overburdened by vinegar ("So much oil and vinegar you could use these on a salad for dressing").
6th Place
Green Iguana
5.88
These babies came swimming in radioactive-color sauce. "You could bob for these," observed one tester. Another, a blue-cheese dipper, said, "So oily the blue cheese slides off it." Still another, who generally liked Green Iguana's wings and rated them an 8, found a "major drawback: classic chicken pimples [on the skin], enough to approach cellulite proportions." Green Iguana, 1708 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City, 813-248-9555; 7627 Courtney Campbell Causeway, Tampa, 813-288-9076; 4229 West Shore Blvd., Tampa, 813-837-1234; 8790 Bay Pines Blvd., St. Petersburg, 727-209-1234.
7th Place
Ferg's Sports Bar & Grill
4.64
Ferg's enjoys a strong wing reputation, but, alas, not among most of our testers. The major objections: "Very fleshy, too much skin, rubbery"; "more like fried chicken crust"; "such a pansy — say something to me!" A few of us like Ferg's birds, though. "Can really taste the chicken," commented one panelist. And in the most astute appraisal of all, our biggest wing fan said, "Breaded but tasty — think they're Ferg's but if so, where's the sauce? They're usually saucy and awesome." Ferg's, 1329 Central Ave., St. Petersburg, 727-822-4562.
8th Place
TGI Friday's (frozen in the box)
4.5
We were curious to see whether our collective taste buds could be tricked by mixing in frozen wings heated in a microwave. Nope. These barbecue babies were mostly skin, "icky skin," and light on meat. One panelist summed it up: "Too much honey barbecue sauce and breading — is there a wing in there?"
9th Place
Hooter's
3.75
There will undoubtedly be conspiracy theorists out there who think we rigged Hooter's last-place finish, what with the sexism and all. But you can save your investigations — this was a blind taste test, pure and simple, and besides, a good wing is a good wing, whether it's served with extra cleavage or not. In this case, though, a bad wing is a bad wing. Hooter's sauce-less style put off the panel, as did "too much breading," and a lack of character. "Yawn. If I wanted regular fried chicken, I'd get a drumstick."
Contact Senior Writer Eric Snider at 813-248-8888, ext. 114, or eric.snider@ weeklyplanet.com.
This article appears in Mar 4-10, 2004.