NAV MAN wrote:Just hammered back 4 atomic boneless strips and 10 rock solid cajun wings from Wing Stop on harlem/bloomingdale. Real solid little stop at the wing shop. Feeling the fire right now. Washed it back with a few brewcats. NAV MAN livin' the high life.

Got pics but the NAV USB CORD is in the NAV CAB and the NAV MAN is too lazy to go get it.

Big thanks to IDID for sparkin this fire because winter time is WING TIME!

Okay, now I officially mentally read your (enjoyable) postings in the voice of Duff Man from The Simpsons.

Oh, Yeah!

My Honey 1 didn't have BBQ sauce, they had buffalo sauce (some sort of Louisiana hot sauce), and I 've had them there at least 3 times. I didn't know that breading was a deal breaker. That leaves out Hooter's original wings, but they do have naked ones now, and Harold's, and Jewel. I am a buffalo wing sauce purist. I hate any other type of wing. I do not like asian sweet/hot sauce of any kind on my wings. I am especially disappointed when buffalo wings are advertised, and they turn out to be a "version" of the restaurant's like sirachha or some weird other sauce thrown in the mix. Now, don't get me wrong, I like other sauces on other things, but Buffalo is Buffalo in my eyes. The more "Frank's, Durkee, Redhot, like" the better for me.

I think breading is out. Otherwise it's fried chicken, not buffalo wings. Just one man's opinion.

NAV MAN wrote:

midas wrote:Wing Stop does a pretty good job for a chain. But I don't like their atomic. They are all heat and no flavor. So I stick with the Original Hot.

Agreed.

Wing Stop is one of the few games in town in that North/Harlem area. Smokin Ms kinda sucks.

Reports mention that the wings at Wing Stop are on the small side and not that good of a value (Not that I have been).

Not far from North and Harlem there is ...

Kenny's Ribs & Chicken‎
6427 North Ave, Oak Park
(708) 660-9939‎

Just reopened where the chicken is reported to be pretty good (Not that I have been)!



I guess some wings might be on the menu tomorrow.

The Jerk Grill
6814 W North Ave, Chicago
(773) 745-3370

at North and Oak Park had some awesome Jerk Wings.

nicinchic wrote:My Honey 1 didn't have BBQ sauce, they had buffalo sauce (some sort of Louisiana hot sauce), and I 've had them there at least 3 times. I didn't know that breading was a deal breaker. That leaves out Hooter's original wings, but they do have naked ones now, and Harold's, and Jewel. I am a buffalo wing sauce purist. I hate any other type of wing. I do not like Asian sweet/hot sauce of any kind on my wings. I am especially disappointed when buffalo wings are advertised, and they turn out to be a "version" of the restaurant's like sriracha or some weird other sauce thrown in the mix. Now, don't get me wrong, I like other sauces on other things, but Buffalo is Buffalo in my eyes. The more "Frank's, Durkee, Redhot, like" the better for me.

From what I understand Buffalo wing sauce is hot sauce mixed with butter. This was confirmed when we were trying the wings at Toon's.

Panther in the Den wrote:Reports mention that the wings at Wing Stop are on the small side and not that good of a value (Not that I have been).

Yes the wings there are on the small side. They call a full wing 2 pieces and it's basically $6 for 10 pieces. It gets slightly cheaper the more you order.

But this particular location is always generous on the piece count. My 10 piece order always has 13 or 14 pieces on it. I ordered a tray of 100 pieces once that had 135 pieces. In contrast, the location nearer to where I work in Hanover Park is always exactly what you order. Order 100, get 100. No break at all.

Panther in the Den wrote:

NAV MAN wrote:

midas wrote:Wing Stop does a pretty good job for a chain. But I don't like their atomic. They are all heat and no flavor. So I stick with the Original Hot.

Agreed.

Wing Stop is one of the few games in town in that North/Harlem area. Smokin Ms kinda sucks.

Reports mention that the wings at Wing Stop are on the small side and not that good of a value (Not that I have been).

Not far from North and Harlem there is ...

Kenny's Ribs & Chicken‎
6427 North Ave, Oak Park
(708) 660-9939‎

Just reopened where the chicken is reported to be pretty good (Not that I have been)!



I guess some wings might be on the menu tomorrow.

The Jerk Grill
6814 W North Ave, Chicago
(773) 745-3370

at North and Oak Park had some awesome Jerk Wings.

I did stop in at the re-opened Kenny's and found the chicken to be not quite what it used to be. The sauce was also not what it used to be - neither the hot nor the mild. I'll probably give them another chance in another month or two, but on this stop wings were considerably smaller than they were prior to closing, and the whole chicken seemed to have suffered a bit too.

The Jerk Grill is high on my list to stop at right now, just waiting on the wife to get into the mood for some jerk.

Wholesale wings are more expensive than boneless breast, which is nuts if you think about it. Shops have to use smaller ones or offer less of them to meet certain "price points."

My favorite buffalo wings require a bit of DIY ingenuity.

For buffalo wings, unlike for BBQ, the sauce really is the boss. And the best sauce, imo, can be found at Buffalo Joe's in Evanston (I still remember my first meal at BJ's over 20 years ago). I've eaten wings everywhere, including at the Anchor Bar and other Buffalo spots, and I've never tasted a sauce quite as good.

The only problem is that the quality of the wings at BJ's has decreased over the years. Recently, I had an order of wings at BJ's that can only be described as tasting like ass, so I vowed never to return. But that sauce....

So now I buy pints of sauce at BJ's whenever I'm in Evanston and store them in my refrigerator at home. I'll then hit up some wing place like Buffalo Wild Wings, sauce in hand, and recreate the BJ's experience there. This embarrasses my wife to no end, but even she can't argue with the results.

ucjames wrote:
The Jerk Grill is high on my list to stop at right now, just waiting on the wife to get into the mood for some jerk.

I, um, well, I'll just leave the jokes alone...where even to start with that. I will tell you this tho - The Jerk Grill had a cert on restaurant.com last I checked. I have one I've been dying to use there. Panther, is it basically a shack?

Panther in the Den wrote:From what I understand Buffalo wing sauce is hot sauce mixed with butter. This was confirmed when we were trying the wings at Toon's.

thats how I do em @ home Panther, melted butter, and either texas pete or crystal.

seebee wrote:

ucjames wrote:
The Jerk Grill is high on my list to stop at right now, just waiting on the wife to get into the mood for some jerk.

I, um, well, I'll just leave the jokes alone...where even to start with that. I will tell you this tho - The Jerk Grill had a cert on restaurant.com last I checked. I have one I've been dying to use there. Panther, is it basically a shack?

Nope. Not a shack. There is a counter and tables and they fixed up the place real nice. Paintings on the walls from the Harrison Street Art District in Oak Park that have an island or voodoo theme.

I went to Wings O Flavor twice recently. The first time, I had jerk sauce, and my friend had Louisiana Cajun. The jerk sauce was appropriately hot. The person at the counter had me try it first to make sure I could take it. I drank it like a shot of whiskey, which gave me some stomach pain on the way home. (It's a lot hotter straight than on the wings.)

Anyway, I thought the jerk wings were great, and I tasted one of my friend's Louisiana Cajun wings, which was also good.

However, I went back this week and ordered Louisiana Cajun and spicy buffalo. When I opened the container, I was hit with an off, chemical smell. I ate them anyway, half expecting to get sick (I didn't though). At first, I thought it was coming from all the wings, but once things had aired out, it seemed to be more from the Louisiana Cajun. I definitely didn't notice it the previous time when I ate a wing with that sauce.

I don't know if it had something to do with eating at an off-time; it was 3:30 on a Tuesday afternoon. I'll go back at some point, but I'm feeling less enthusiastic about the place.

We visited Sheffield's between the two TMBG shows yesterday at the Vic. I didn't expect much when I ordered the wings, but they were VERY good.

They smoke them, re warm them on the grill and toss with a spicy, tangy Buffalo sauce and serve with homemade blue cheese. These were huge and juicy drummettes.

I am craving them now.

Sheffield's Beer Garden and BBQ Restaurant
http://www.sheffieldschicago.com
3258 N. Sheffield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 281-4989

Panther in the Den wrote:

NAV MAN wrote:

midas wrote:Wing Stop does a pretty good job for a chain. But I don't like their atomic. They are all heat and no flavor. So I stick with the Original Hot.

Agreed.

Wing Stop is one of the few games in town in that North/Harlem area. Smokin Ms kinda sucks.

Reports mention that the wings at Wing Stop are on the small side and not that good of a value (Not that I have been).

Not far from North and Harlem there is ...

Kenny's Ribs & Chicken‎
6427 North Ave, Oak Park
(708) 660-9939‎

Just reopened where the chicken is reported to be pretty good (Not that I have been)!



I guess some wings might be on the menu tomorrow.

The Jerk Grill
6814 W North Ave, Chicago
(773) 745-3370

at North and Oak Park had some awesome Jerk Wings.

As promised, My Bride and I headed out for a Wing Fling on Saturday and did a tour of some of the places along North Ave on Saturday.

First stop.

Wingstop
1740 N Harlem Ave, Elmwood Park
(708) 452-1010





As mentioned the wings at Wingstop are small but they try to make up for it by throwing in a few freebies. With our order of 10 we got 2 extra.

Of the three stops this was the only place that cooked them up fresh to order (resulting in a longer wait). They were nice an juicy with a good crunch. The Original Hot was dead on for a Buffalo Wing sauce and the Garlic Parmesan was tasty as well.

Except for the size a very good offering!

Next up... The Jerk Grill





Huge pieces! To our surprise the wings were the entire wing and we did have a lot of food. No problem as we had a few meals out of them.

The order came out way too quick to be fresh cooked and the tender and juiciness suffered a bit. The star here was the jerk sauce though and the heat was turned up a notch from our last visit and after talking with the owner he gave it an additional dash just for us. Habanero provided the heat.

Next? Kenny's Ribs & Chicken





A bit of a wait for room temperature wings. Once again it was a whole wing that was breaded and sprinkled with their BBQ sauce. The wings were medium size with a good flavor to the breading but not too juicy or tender. Some fries were buried underneath and a slice of bread on top.

The first review is up in the original post!

I Do It Daily wrote:The first review is up in the original post!

Perhaps it would be better to post reviews at the end of the thread rather than editing your original post.

Darren72 wrote:

I Do It Daily wrote:The first review is up in the original post!

Perhaps it would be better to post reviews at the end of the thread rather than editing your original post.

Great suggestion, Darren72. I'm still a bit of message board greenhorn. Still embarassed about that time I was incorrectly tipped off that WAMU was giving out free hot dogs.

Rick T. wrote:

NAV MAN wrote:Just hammered back 4 atomic boneless strips and 10 rock solid cajun wings from Wing Stop on harlem/bloomingdale. Real solid little stop at the wing shop. Feeling the fire right now. Washed it back with a few brewcats. NAV MAN livin' the high life.

Got pics but the NAV USB CORD is in the NAV CAB and the NAV MAN is too lazy to go get it.

Big thanks to IDID for sparkin this fire because winter time is WING TIME!

Okay, now I officially mentally read your (enjoyable) postings in the voice of Duff Man from The Simpsons.

Oh, Yeah!

ha ha! I do that too!!!

Question (and I'd ask the same of TOC): how is a guy who competes to stuff his face with as many wings as possible considered a taste expert on wings? That's so silly to me. It's the exact opposite of the ethos of this board.

The LP/Lakeview area is sort of a hotbed for wing joints. If your going to make it over to Birds Nest (which is a must try for any best of list) also check out Rock's a few minutes away on Schubert and Lakewood in the space of the old Schubert Inn. I go there every Monday when its .50 wing night and $3 drafts. On top of a good Buffalo they also always have a flavor of the week that's very good. Also in the area is House of Wing on Clark street and the original Yak-Zie's on Diversey always had great wings before they closed and they're now back open.

chezbrad wrote:Question (and I'd ask the same of TOC): how is a guy who competes to stuff his face with as many wings as possible considered a taste expert on wings?

Don't ask us. Ask Brian Boitano.

I'm going to put in my vote for that great chicken wing dark horse, Philly's Best. Meaty, large, crispy, well sauced with an authentic (I think) butter + hot sauce concoction (probably Texas Pete or the like), and very reasonably priced. They don't come with celery and the blue cheese dressing is godawful (so just don't eat it, it's not needed). But these are the first Buffalo wings I've had that I'd actually return for ... and have, many, many times. Even on a rare off night, these are very good chicken wings. (NOTE: All wings were ordered from the Philly's Best on Milwaukee; order from other stores and YMMV).


Philly's Best
2436 N Milwaukee Ave
Chicago, IL
773-276-1900

Perhaps it should be noted that although Bird's Nest has very good wings, you cannot get buffalo style wings there.

stewed coot wrote:Perhaps it should be noted that although Bird's Nest has very good wings, you cannot get buffalo style wings there.

I'm going to have to disagree with this. I've definitely had "buffalo" style wings from Birds Nest.

Da Beef wrote:The LP/Lakeview area is sort of a hotbed for wing joints.

I've noted this as well after all the great suggestions!

I Do It Daily,
Stewed Coot was just at Bird's Nest on Saturday. No Buffalo wings on the menu, when I asked the well-informed server if they could do them, she said no.
They did have hot bbq wings which were good. Now either they don't have them, or I Do It Daily got special treatment, which makes Stewed Coot cranky!

From the chicken wings thread...

Da Beef wrote:...BN has the most consistent wings in the city, perfectly fried, crispy on the outside and juicy in the middle. They call them "tweeties" and they come in two flavors, Buffalo and Teriyaki.


Buffalo wings

Not sure why they said they don't have them. What did they say they had? I've only ever seen Buffalo and Teriyaki and maybe BBQ but I never look at the menu. For the record they're buffalo chicken sandwich is really good too.

Stewed Coot,

I occassionally go to the Bird's Nest to watch football and have experienced first-hand the non-compromising responses of the personnel, e.g. "NO, despite the fact that we have 25 TVs, we have to show two games, we only have to satellite feeds, it is IMPOSSIBLE to show more." The next week there are five games on and, as my magician father would say, "the impossible has been made possible." Similarly, I think you should re-visit the Bird's Nest and request "Bird's Nest Hot Sauce," which you will find strikingly similar to "buffalo." Why your server couldn't translate your request into Bird's Nest parlance is beyond me, but that is one of the nuances of the Bird's Nest (some might call it low I.Q., but I'm not a scientist). The other is that if you order a large quantity of wings they come out steaming hot to the touch through to the bone, but within 15 minutes they become bone-chillingly cold. Minor quibbles though for a great wing (hot teriyaki is also good) and cheap beer.

I'll be dipped. Da Beef, Abraus, thanks for the info. The server was very sweet about it all, but clearly didn't know the nature of the Bird's Nest hot sauce. I guess I owe I Do It Daily an apology-Stewed Coot feels sillier than usual...