Chicken Wings?

[Bucki1968]

I have found that most golfers also tend to be big chicken wing fans. I too love chicken wings (and good beer). This prompted a pretty good debate this past week-end about who has the best chicken wings. Here in the Tampa area we have the usual wing places (Hooters, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.) but according to our little group these places and not anywhere near the best wing places is Tampa (or the surrounding area). So in cast any of you get to the Tampa area and want some wings, here is a small selection of good wing places.

1. Hampton Station- my personal favorite. Great beer list and by the way, they make good pizza too. Various wing sauces to take care of any temperature that you are craving.
2. Bogey's- (Venice/Sarasota)- This place is a very close second for me. The only reason I put it at number 2, is that I don't get there often enough. All guys from the group who have had them will vote them number one. Again, all kinds of sauces. They are crispy on the outside but never overdone on the inside. Big and Juicy.
3. O' Brien's Irish pub- Under the radar great wings. Very Big.   Not as many sauces but what they do have is outstanding. You can't go wrong.
4. Hattricks- This one the whole group loves (I have not had them) so not sure. Most of the guys in the group put this above all others in Tampa. Great bar downtown with a great beer list and I do know they make a great hamburger.
5. Publix Supermarkets- OKAY...it's a supermarket...but damn they have good wings. I will sometimes add some type of wing sauce to them but you don't need to.

 

Okay...let's here from everyone else.

Wow...I need to proof-read.....and I'm a teacher.

[Patch]

We have a place down the street the locals call "The Pass". They have a all you can eat buffet there, and most week days they serve wings, and drummies. Both boneles, and bone in.They have a 2 for 1, $7.99 lunch special quite often. 

The wings are mildly sauced up, but the waitress will bring you a bottle of hot sauce to warm them up to taste. They also serve all the various pieces of chicken, baked, or deep fried. Also sweet and sour, and orange glazed. 

For an extra $1.00 each, you can order your favorite alcohol beverage. Other beverages are included in the buffet price. 

I will get a plate full of wings, and a couple of big scoops cold slaw. If available, maybe a half dozen jalapenos. After I have filled up, I will finish the meal off with chunk of pecan pie, and bowl of ice cream. 

In all honesty I don't know how much better their wings are compared to other restaurants in the area. I just know that for the price, I can eat all the wings I want, sauced up the way I want. 

[djfajt71]

2 hours ago, Bucki1968 said:

I have found that most golfers also tend to be big chicken wing fans. I too love chicken wings (and good beer). This prompted a pretty good debate this past week-end about who has the best chicken wings. Here in the Tampa area we have the usual wing places (Hooters, Buffalo Wild Wings, etc.) but according to our little group these places and not anywhere near the best wing places is Tampa (or the surrounding area). So in cast any of you get to the Tampa area and want some wings, here is a small selection of good wing places.

1. Hampton Station- my personal favorite. Great beer list and by the way, they make good pizza too. Various wing sauces to take care of any temperature that you are craving.
2. Bogey's- (Venice/Sarasota)- This place is a very close second for me. The only reason I put it at number 2, is that I don't get there often enough. All guys from the group who have had them will vote them number one. Again, all kinds of sauces. They are crispy on the outside but never overdone on the inside. Big and Juicy.
3. O' Brien's Irish pub- Under the radar great wings. Very Big.   Not as many sauces but what they do have is outstanding. You can't go wrong.
4. Hattricks- This one the whole group loves (I have not had them) so not sure. Most of the guys in the group put this above all others in Tampa. Great bar downtown with a great beer list and I do know they make a great hamburger.
5. Publix Supermarkets- OKAY...it's a supermarket...but damn they have good wings. I will sometimes add some type of wing sauce to them but you don't need to.

 

Okay...let's here from everyone else.

Wow...I need to proof-read.....and I'm a teacher.

I have to agree with the O'Brien's wings.  I haven't had them in awhile, but when I lived in Brandon, I had them at least once a week.  I live in Largo now, and there's a place in Clearwater called Abe's.  Fantastic wings, and they are huge! And yes, the spicy wings at Publix are amazing!  As for Hooter's, I would much rather have Winghouse.  The sauce at Hooter's doesn't stick to the wing very well. 

[colin007]

Not anywhere near you guys so...

Anyways, I'm somewhat of an aficionado. I worked at a pizza/wing joint when I was a teenager. Wings for me are more about the cooking process than the sauce, you gots to fry them to hell and back. But when they're good, they are soooo good....

[billchao]

I can't think of the last time I had truly great wings. Good wings can be found in many places and we order them from different restaurants depending on the flavor we want.

There's a sentimental place in my heart for Cluck U Chicken from my college days, but the one by my house was awful and I'm pretty sure closed down.

[HJJ003]

Also not anywhere near the OP, however, I have heard Pluckers in Houston is really good...should check it out here in the next few weeks. 

[Papa Steve 55]

My wife makes great wings....I think her secrete is you cant put too much brown sugar on them..... 

[Bucki1968]

20 hours ago, djfajt71 said:

I have to agree with the O'Brien's wings.  I haven't had them in awhile, but when I lived in Brandon, I had them at least once a week.  I live in Largo now, and there's a place in Clearwater called Abe's.  Fantastic wings, and they are huge! And yes, the spicy wings at Publix are amazing!  As for Hooter's, I would much rather have Winghouse.  The sauce at Hooter's doesn't stick to the wing very well. 

Yes, the Brandon Location is where I usually I get them. Big Ohio State bar for games on Saturday.

[Groucho Valentine]

I too am a fan of a few wings a good beer. But the wings i make are the best ones I've had. They're (more or less) the only wings i eat. The prep work is a little annoying, but the payoff is great. 

What i do is try to get the skin as dry as possible by putting them uncovered on a baking rack in the fridge overnight. I usually coat them with a little baking soda and sea salt beforehand, but its not necessary.  Then i bake them in the oven for 35-40 minutes at 400. They taste much better and are crisper than deep fried IMO. And a healthier, too. I use two types of sauce to toss them - a typical franks red hot buffalo sauce with a little extra fresh ground pepper, and my garlic parmesan mix. I literally just toss any powdered parmesan with some garlic powder and pepper in a bowl. I use a tiny bit of olive oil cut with apple cider vinegar as a binder with the sauce, but it tastes great with melted butter too. As everything does..

[Vinny Cap]

When out, I will visit my local Irish pub for some pretty good ones and a few beers.  Sometimes I will get a couple boxes from my fav Chinese joint.

If I want real good ones I make them myself.  A mixture of Buffalo garlic sauce and some Italian dressing.

I have watched Phantom Gourmet and went to the places I saw on the show later that night.  I have found a couple of good wing places with some seriously hot sauces!

[jamo]

There's a place near Hartford, Connecticut called J. Timothy's that I saw on a few "best wings in the country" lists. I've been there a few times and can verify that they're the best I've had. I've also been to a place in Greenport, New York, on Long Island called Salamander's that has probably the second best wings I've had.

I've never been to Wingstop but my favorite chain restaurant wings are at Wings Over. Their boneless wings are awesome.

[NM Golf]

I do love some wings, I was a manager at Hooters for about 5 years, 20 years ago. The problem I have with them is no one gets a sauce that is hot enough. I am a native New Mexican we scoff at these so called "hot" sauces from major chains. When I was at Hooters we had to invent our own hot sauce because the Hottest sauce Hooters provided was a joke. B-dubs hottest sauce (blazin) is also laughable, I ate 10 wings there with that sauce and didn't even need a drink. 

 

[Bucki1968]

4 hours ago, NM Golf said:

I do love some wings, I was a manager at Hooters for about 5 years, 20 years ago. The problem I have with them is no one gets a sauce that is hot enough. I am a native New Mexican we scoff at these so called "hot" sauces from major chains. When I was at Hooters we had to invent our own hot sauce because the Hottest sauce Hooters provided was a joke. B-dubs hottest sauce (blazin) is also laughable, I ate 10 wings there with that sauce and didn't even need a drink. 

 

Yep I agree. I will say this. I don’t like wing sauce that is so hot you can’t get any flavor from it. I’ll go as hot as you want but it needs to have some flavor and not just burn my lips and mouth.

[iacas]

You can't really find bad wings in Erie, PA, and many of the places have great wings.

[saevel25]

You really have to get lucky to find excellent wings at a local restaurant in Ohio. You might find a good pizza place who does wings, or a bar. Out of the chain restaurants, probably Roosters is my favorite around here.

If anyone in NE Ohio knows of a good wing place let me know ;)

[klineka]

22 minutes ago, saevel25 said:

You really have to get lucky to find excellent wings at a local restaurant in Ohio. You might find a good pizza place who does wings, or a bar. Out of the chain restaurants, probably Roosters is my favorite around here.

If anyone in NE Ohio knows of a good wing place let me know 😉

Matt, I know its a chain and you probably have been there, but Quaker Steak and Lube in Canton is one of my favorites. They have a ton of sauce choices, big wings, and I think they have (or used to) an all you can eat wing night on Tuesdays.

Winking Lizard is also another good one for wings IMO.

[upndown21]

I love wings myself. In high school we went to all you can eat wings every Wednesday and I held the record for a period of time (126 wings)-- granted they were on the smaller side.

And fwiw I would never order breaded wings but when I go to hooters (maybe 1x every year or two) that is all I order. So good with the fries drenched in hot sauce!

[Eric C]

Weirdly, Anthony's delivery pizza near where I live in podunk Groveland, Florida makes some of the best wings I've ever had that I didn't make myself.  They have a great smokey flavor that really doesn't need any sauce.

That said, and with no ego whatsoever (ok, maybe a small amount), I make the best wings that I've ever had.  Further, anyone that has ever had my wings will tell you the same. There is no comparison.  I use a secret ingredient that was passed on to me by a friend many years ago, I won't give it away, but it makes all the difference.  I'll give this much away though, and say that any sauce for wings requires butter and honey to blend the ingredients and slow cooking them on the grill or smoker produces a much better flavor than deep frying or baking. My wings are also hotter than shit, and will probably give you the shits, but are so flavorable that you won't be able to stop eating them.