CROWNING the KING WING

In a similar vein to NAV MAN's, wildly successful, TOP TACO, I will be undertaking the task of crowning the KING WING of Chicago (and outlying areas - nothing out of cook county though - I want to pay full sales tax on these wangs). So far the agenda includes: Bird's Nest, House of Wing and Twisted Spoke (maybe a BW3 visit will be necessary too - I'm a BW3 virgin). Please commence with suggestions for other top wing spots. One additional note - this will only include traditional buffalo wings, none of that teriyaki or bbq B.S.


1.

Bird's Nest

While walking into the Bird's Nest I was suddenly alarmed by the cohesively attractive waitresses tending the bar. Was this going to test my faithfulness to my Colombian goddess?!?!? Luckily one thing stood between me and infidelity, decadently delectable buffalo wings (not to mention questionable looks and a lack of a personality). Upon arrival, the wing meat piping hot and ostensibly moist, was soon proven not to be dishonest. While the sauce, remained text-book, it should be regarded as the definitive prototype and was aurally appetizing. Not even those buxom temptresses could distract me 10 wings and $3.50 in. For someone as thrifty as I Do It Daily, the $0.35 price tag per wing on Thursdays and Sundays proves to be oddly pleasant. Here you have it readers, your top wing to this point, and they're going to be hard to top.


2.

House of Wing

My Sunday afternoon voyage to House of Wing started enjoyably with a compliment on my CARCETTI FOR MAYOR shirt from another patron. Things I Do It Daily will never tire of: The Wire and adulation. Well, moving on to the wings....we have a new occupant in the top spot. The reason: that sauce, which, like Twisted Spoke's, barely qualifies as 'Buffalo." It was a wonderful hybrid of traditional buffalo style and the glaze on these amazing Korean wings I had at some inconclusive spot and time, which lead to an incredibly sweet taste (pun intended). The chicken, no complaints there, it was succulent and cooked to utter perfection. House of Wing continues to deliver after repeat visits, and is cheap to boot! Consequently, the only drawback being that 12 wings did not suffice. As NAV MAN has stated I make Shelly Duval look like Paul L. Smith. Needless to say, my appetite is often meager, and with wings this good I can only wish they were bottomless. Maybe that's why it's only $5.99 for a dozen.

Apologies for the less than stellar photo, it does not do these wings justice.


3.

Twisted Spoke

Let me start of by saying Twisted Spoke's sauce had it going on during this trip to the Biker Themed Bar/Restaurant at Ogden and Grand (Full Disclousure - I've already experienced many of the wings that will be included in this competition, but never with a critic's eye). Back in 2008 Timeout had Patrick "Deep Dish" Bertoletti sample wings from 8 Chicago Wingeries, with Twisted Spoke taking the coveted top prize; earning 5 out of 6 wetnaps. "Deep Dish" compared the wings to roasted chicken and declared it the best sauce, sweet and salty with a hint of chipolte. And who am I to disagree, Patrick is a legend. He bested Kobayashi at Spike TVs buffalo wing eating championship taking down 100 wings in 8 minutes. The sauce is all together original barely qualifying as a traditional buffalo wing sauce. The rest of the field has it's work cut out, Mitch and Cliff have started off with a sizeable lead on the competition. Oh yeah, in honor of Silas Jayne (oh where have you gone?) I enjoyed a Laguanitas IPA with these bad boys.

Added bonus - In addition to carrots and celery, jicama is also included as a dipper. Pretty badass!


4.

WOW Cafe & Wingery

What can be said about WOW Wings other than, "wow, what acceptable wings!" The city's only palindromic wing spot (if only Toons had been named Toot, there would be some competition) was a pleasant surprise. A smorgasbord of wings were ordered, but I was only judging the Buffalo I style which according to the menu were award-winning. What award was not specified......dubious. WOW churns out a healthy sized wing which were cooked appropriately. The sauce was fairly standard fair, but was lacking in quantity for this particular order. No frosty brews were to be consumed during this wing excursion as it was shared with some of the upper management during a business lunch, though the Miller Lite tap was staring me down for the entirety of the meal.

One complaint: Ordering goes by the pound. How the hell am I supposed to know how much a pound of wings is?


5.

Vini's Pizza

On a whim I decided to indulge in some wing action at my old haunt, Vini's Pizza, in Palatine (still within the Cook County border - although maybe not for long). Locations also exist in Elk Grove and Chicago. Well, they don't call it Vini's Pizza for nothing, the wings were nothing to write home (or to LTH) about. The sauce was standard fare while the wings were sizable, but the meat inconsistent. That's not to say myself and my party didn't devour those bad boys.....we just had to incorporate a little ranch action into some of those bites. I'd recommend sticking to the pizza and "Bubba" beefs here, which are both excellent.

One complaint: The wings were, well.......full on wings. Eating buffalo wings is already enough exercise for a sedentary man such as myself; I don't need any additional tasks to get the food in my mouth.


6.

Yak-Zies

Terrible.


7.
8.
9.
10.

Toons

Wings of Flavor
3109 N. Halsted
(773) 697-7032

This should keep you busy.

Kennyz wrote:Toons

Do we trust someone who eats wings once every 12 years?

Wings Around The World.

I submit that for the victor; it will be good to be the king.

Dylans
118 S Clinton St
Chicago, IL 60661-3628
(312) 876-2008
A place to try in the loop at lunch time.

teatpuller wrote:

Kennyz wrote:Toons

Do we trust someone who eats wings once every 12 years?

Abolutely not! That's why someone with IDID's expertise should conduct an independent assessment

Get thee to VIP and order champong. Also, convince me that NAV MAN and I Do It Daily are not the same person.

VIP Chinese
3254 W. Montrose
Chicago, IL 60618

*Edited to acknowledge that this post is unwanted as you are only interested in traditional buffalo wings and not that "teriyaki bs." Your loss.

Do we trust someone who eats wings once every 12 years?

Those do look like some pretty tasty wings though, a nice shade of orange.

I, for one, applaud the focus on Buffalo "style" wings. Otherwise it's akin to comparing hamburgers to meatloaf.

Wings Around The World.

IDID was a big fan until they moved to like 75th. Just can't make it down there too often now. Will definitely make the trip for the sake of this competition though.

Also, convince me that NAV MAN and I Do It Daily are not the same person.

Hey I'm just a fan (of NAV MAN) like everyone else......

I Do It Daily wrote:

Wings Around The World.

IDID was a big fan until they moved to like 75th. Just can't make it down there too often now. Will definitely make the trip for the sake of this competition though.

Still as good as it ever was, if that will make the trip any easier. Pick up some ribs from Lem's and you've got a nice taste of 75th St.

Crisp
2940 N Broadway St
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 697-7610

Wild Goose Bar and Grill
4265 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60618-2953
(773) 281-7112

Toons and, to my surprise, Kincade's are the last two places where I had classic Buffalo wings that I really enjoyed.

However, while Kincade's is brown-line-adjacent, has good domestic beer specials and is a great place to catch a game (especially in the back, back, back room on the huge screen), I steer clear on weekend nights (DePaul undergrad weekends, a.k.a. Thursday-thru-Saturday nights) because it turns into a packed-to-the-gills frat party.

Toons is my preferred post-Cubs bar, and I like that it stays laid back and only gets slightly (but very tolerably) crowded & noisy later in the evening...unfortunately, it's quite a hike for me to get there.

Kincade's
950 W. Armitage Ave.
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 348-0010

Khaopaat wrote:Toons is my preferred post-Cubs bar, and I like that it stays laid back and only gets slightly (but very tolerably) crowded & noisy later in the evening...unfortunately, it's quite a hike for me to get there.

I once won like 20 games of shuffleboard in a row at Toons....and yes, the wings are pretty delicious.

Great Seas

Great Seas Chicken Wing Lollipops

... and it's daughter store on the south side...

Take Me Out

Take Me Out Little Hotties (wings)

Take me out now serves Lollipops.

pasta pronto wrote:

Khaopaat wrote:Toons is my preferred post-Cubs bar, and I like that it stays laid back and only gets slightly (but very tolerably) crowded & noisy later in the evening...unfortunately, it's quite a hike for me to get there.

I once won like 20 games of shuffleboard in a row at Toons....and yes, the wings are pretty delicious.

NAV MAN once had like 20 two dollar Carlsburgs at toons one thursday.

Man, now I'm thinking about Toons.

I'm meeting some people at Guthrie's at 7, but need dinner before. If anyone wants to meet up I'll probably be there around 5:30-5:45.

jesteinf wrote:If anyone wants to meet up I'll probably be there around 5:30-5:45.

If you're lucky, maybe NAV MAN and his alter-ego, IDID, will show up.

Panther in the Den wrote:
Take me out now serves Lollipops.

Take Me Out started to suck after the Great Sea folks handed operations over to the local family - has it rebounded? I haven't seen reports lately.

Santander wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Take me out now serves Lollipops.

Take Me Out started to suck after the Great Sea folks handed operations over to the local family - has it rebounded? I haven't seen reports lately.

I also read the negative report and was apprehensive but when My Bride and I stopped by not too long ago it was as good as ever.

aschie30 wrote:

jesteinf wrote:If anyone wants to meet up I'll probably be there around 5:30-5:45.

If you're lucky, maybe NAV MAN and his alter-ego, IDID, will show up.

NAV MAN works later then that, but the NAV MAN would love to meet all possible LTHers at the TOP TACO crowning celebration party.

NAV MAN wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

jesteinf wrote:If anyone wants to meet up I'll probably be there around 5:30-5:45.

If you're lucky, maybe NAV MAN and his alter-ego, IDID, will show up.

NAV MAN works later then that, but the NAV MAN would love to meet all possible LTHers at the TOP TACO crowning celebration party.

Is that going to be held at THUNDERCANS?

aschie30 wrote:Is that going to be held at THUNDERCANS?

Would that it was. It will be held at the TOP TAQUERíA that is also BYOB.

Get thee to VIP and order champong.

Just for clarity, go there and order wings and champong? Or just go for the champong?

Based on my experience tonight, I would definitely throw Toons into the mix. Meaty wings. Nice balance of vinegar and heat. Crisp but not dry. Also, they were served piping hot, which too few places do. Along with half a slab of some pretty solid ribs (definitely not fall-off-the-bone meat jello), I enjoyed my first Toons experience.

kimeetee wrote:

Get thee to VIP and order champong.

Just for clarity, go there and order wings and champong? Or just go for the champong?

sorry i meant gang pong. Champong are spicy seafood noodles which are also fantastic, but i love their fried wings.