AngrySarah wrote:I know this is eating out forum, but I really like Uncle Dougie's wing sauce that you make at home. Real vinegery sauce with some kick. Not hot but tasty/spicy. Plus if you follow the directions all the fat is cooked away (the wings are baked, not fried). Meat falls off the bone. My personal favorite.

Agreed 100% Sarah. I've brought chicken wings done with Uncle Dougie's sauce to literally 20+ get togethers. Each time they were snarfed up with ravenous intensity. People sometimes complain when I show up without them.

I pretty much just follow the directions on the bottle, but if I get some time later, I will write out my specific methods on the cooking forum.

-ramon

Rene G wrote:The gan pon chicken wings at Great Sea (3254 W Lawrence) are very good. I’d go so far as to say they’re among the best chicken wings of any sort in Chicago.

Thanks so much for the suggestion Rene G! I am happily gorging myself on these bad boys as I write this! chomp, chomp. Oh tangy suace on keyboard! YUM!. These are spicy, sweet, tangy and a bit garlicky, not heavy/greasey at all, very crunchy and the meat is tender and juicy. These are indeed very excellent wings.

I still think there needs to be more variety in the wings world, but I am probably in the minority on this one. Still these are tasty as all get out. Thanks again!

On this topic, does anyone know of any place that has the Thai style stuffed chicken wings similar to those sold at Takashimaya food court in Singapore? Too die for....

Bangkok Inn serves a boneless deep fried chicken wing stuffed with shrimp, bean thread and water chesnut. Perhaps this is what you're looking for.

Bangkok Inn
2566 N Lincoln

I've never been to Singapore, but Amarind's Thai also serves a fried chicken wing stuffed with shrimp, mushroom, chicken, water chestnut, etc.

Amarind's
6822 W North Ave
773 889-9999

Best,
Michael

I have nothing to compare them with, certainly not the real thing on its home turf, but the stuffed chicken wings have been for me one of the best options on Taste of Siam's menu:

Taste of Siam
600 S. Dearborn St.
312-939-1179

sunshine wrote:I am a big fan of Schoolyard Tavern's chicken wings. They are meaty and possess a tasty, crispy outer layer. They can be ordered in a variety of sauces...the sweet and spicy really gets my taste buds jumping. And I believe they have a deal on Thursday nights - 20 cent wings.

Schoolyard Tavern & Grill
3258 N Southport (at School)
773-528-8226

I do the "Trivia Night" at Schoolyard sometimes on Tuesdays, some I'm there probably twice a month. I have had Schoolyard's wings exactly 3 times. The first time they were decent, the second time they were outstanding (exactly as described above), and the third they were terrible. Bad (tiny, broken) chicken, poorly (under-) sauced, and overcooked. A friend ordered them another time and they looked more in line with my most recent version. In my experience, they've been way too inconsistent to merit a regular order. Crispy Rueben Rolls, on the other hand...

I would also chime in with the OP on The Bird's Nest, another bar in the Southport locale. I've had a bad batch before, but they're on 5 times out of 6. My indoor soccer team is sponsored by this bar and a softball team I play on sometimes in the summer is sponsered there, too, so I eat their wings three times a month for much of the year. The Hot wings are solid - meaty, well-sauced, with enough heat to make you notice. And if you're looking for a change of pace, ask for Hot BBQ (not on the menu) for a little tang with yo' spice.

My favorite wings of all time are not buffalo-sauced. They're in varying levels of sweet & spicy heat (with names such as Lava, Inferno, Fire-eater)at Romano's 24 inch Pizzeria and Chicken in Middlesex, NJ. If the guy at that restaurant found a way to globalize, he would be a billionaire. By the way, skip the pizza.


Schoolyard Tavern
Southport & School

The Bird's Nest
Southport & Altgeld

Romano's 24 inch Pizzeria and Chicken
571 Bound Brook Rd.
Middlesex, NJ 08846
(732) 424-2323

In my book, the "Tokyo Drums" at Japonais reign supreme.

Japonais
606 W. Chicago Ave.
312.822.9600

E.M.

I must admit to a fondness for those greasy little bits of spicy, flavorful (hopefully) yummyness dipped in accompanying sauce with vegetable sticks. Some places we've been to have been a roaring success (we used to love the wings at Dick's Last Resort), some a total disappointment (TGI Friday's). Survived the Tabasco wings at Buddy Guy's which were great but when the waitress said she was concerned about the color of my face (beet red and sweaty), I wound up laying off of those. I'm mainly talking buffalo wings here but will investigate and try any worthy. Let's also not discount the importance of the dip, mainly really good blue cheese dressing. Where is your favorite place for wings?


[MODERATOR EDIT: This post and the four following were merged in from a seprate thread with an identical topic to this one]

I vote for Buffalo Joe's Evanston location on Clark St. Good, spicy "vinigarey" wings, well cooked. (Served with Ranch, not blue cheese). Three levels of heat. . . . . mild, spicy & suicide.

Crew, a gay sports bar(yes, they exist!!) on B'way a couple of doors up from Lawrence, has excellent wings. Mild or 'Sassy', in addition to BBQ, soy mustard and eastern flair. We've only had their mild, but lately my spice tolerance has gone higher and I'm tempted to try the spicy 'Sassy'. The wings themselves are not like puny weak wings at other places I've tried (the old BW3s being a good example). They are big and meaty and juicy, cooked perfectly. The rest of their offerings are also quite good, much better than one would expect from bar food.

Crew
4804 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60640

Cheers,
Joel

dan1234 wrote:I vote for Buffalo Joe's Evanston location on Clark St. Good, spicy "vinigarey" wings, well cooked. (Served with Ranch, not blue cheese). Three levels of heat. . . . . mild, spicy & suicide.

I will second Buffalo Joe's. I grew up in Evanston, and was spoiled on these. I spent a good deal of my adulthood living out of the Chicago area, and friends were very sick of me complaining about other wings. Glad to be back!

About two years back I picked up some wings at Buffalo Joe's. I'd been going for many years and thought they were the best. This time the wings were so shrivled and grey I judged them well past their prime and tossed them without even trying. I swore never to return.

Today I just happened to be in the neighborhood, must have felt forgiving, and stopped in. Despite the fact that I ordered them crispy, and my receipt dutifully read "well done," these were definitely well under cooked.

I should have stuck with my original vow.

Damn I just burned them in the toaster oven.

-ramon

Ramon wrote:Today, by chance, I found myself in reasonable proximity to Da Beef’s rec of House of Wings. The parking gods smiled on me as I found a spot right in front with time on the meter.

Da Beef,

My favorite wing can be found at Yak-Zies on Diversey*, but I'm happy to say I have room for more than one set of wings in my ever clogging heart. House of Wings crisp Buffalo style w/blue cheese were truly terrific wings. Hot, crisp, meaty, nicely spiced, perfectly cooked, nicely presented w/wet naps, plenty of napkins and a mint, how could I have passed this place by and never stopped in.

HoW is a different style than Yak-Zies, which is minimalist, no breading, basic Anchor Bar type sauce, different effect altogether than HoW.

Thanks Da Beef for the heads up and Ramon for the wing porn picture.

And thanks Michael M for the LTH On-Star.

Enjoy,
Gary

*Long (long) ago I was enough of a regular at Yak-Zies they named a burger after me, The Gary Burger, onion/blue cheese topped, killer wing sauce mixed into the meat, and a damn good burger it was.

House of Wings
2447 N Clark
773-929-9421
M-Th 11-9
F-S: 11-3
Sun: 12-8
Delivery offered

Yak-Zies Bar-Grill
506 W Diversey Pkwy
Chicago, IL
773-327-1717

Ramon wrote:About two years back I picked up some wings at Buffalo Joe's ... I swore never to return.

i've always wanted to try these wings after reading damning praise in this thread. when discussing wings, someone would always bring up Buffalo Joe's. last month, after tasting the disgusting mealy chicken at Jamaican Jerk on Howard, i couldn't avoid the big disgusting wing shack on the left.

i went for the suicide and got pussycat sauce. it was completely watered down and had poor butter ratio. wings were indeed shriveled and gray, looking like.. mummified chicken. i ordered the cheese fries, but got nothing resembling what is s'posedly "famous" fries... ugh. tossed out half of my order.

gamekeeper's $0.10 wing nite FTW.

You went to the place on Howard? The one on Clark is the one I think most people here are talking about.

I haven't been there in a couple of years, but Buffalo Joe's are still the wings I judge all other wings by. In fact, I like their take on wings better than either Duff's or The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, minus the fact the wings are smaller than their Buffalonian counterparts and they inexplicably serve with ranch, and not blue cheese.

It's sad to hear if they've really gone this downhill.

But, yeah, their suicide is worthless. Jalapeno just doesn't work with wing sauce. Medium is the only way to go, in my opinion.

I'm always on the hunt for an above-average wing place. I set my quality standard early in life at Foxy's on Treasure Island in Florida (near Tampa).

I've had wings many places here, but few have been really memorable. I like the wings at the Chicago Rib House on Chicago Ave and Dearborn. I forget the name of the sauce, but it was spicy and flavorful. Near home, I normally satisfy my cravings with the buffalo chicken strips at Leona's. The chicken is almost always cooked perfectly and the sauce is nice and spicy.

I have been to Buffalo Joe's and while the wings were good, I wished they had more heat. Adding jalapenos to the sauce just doesnt work for me.

I'm going to have to check out some of the recommendations others have made. Thanks to everyone!

People who live in or around Chicago and enjoy wings should make them at home. While there are many decent wings in the area, I have not found any to write home about. Even Buffalo Joe’s, which has very good sauce, has scrawny wings and the ranch dressing gimmick is a bad joke as far as I’m concerned. As I told the manager when I ate there last, if they refuse to serve blue cheese with chicken wings they should take the word “Buffalo” out of their name. (No offense intended to the poster above who prefers ranch.) BW-3 serves wings that are no worse than any I've eaten here.

When making wing sauce, consider adding a quarter cup of beer and a tbsp of white wine vinegar to the standard hot sauce and butter or margarine mix. Also, be careful not to shake your wings in a plastic bowl-- the sauce stains.

Are we talking cheap american beer to the wing sauce? Personally, I prefer two or three pints on the side, if you take my meaning.

And Coaster, since you're in E. Lakeview, consider hopping on the Broadway bus south to Clark and Fullerton. House of Wing has been spoken of kindly on this site.

whiskeybent wrote:Are we talking cheap american beer to the wing sauce? Personally, I prefer two or three pints on the side, if you take my meaning.

Just pour some of whatever you're drinking into the pot along with the other ingredients and keep it on a low simmer until everything is blended. If by chance you're enjoying pints of heavily flavored or otherwise unusual beer, any standard ale will do.

Well, these aren’t buffalo wings. But, they are served at a Chinese take out/dining restaurant called Gourmet and is a family run place. They have been talked about in a thread of 2. Anyway, when I go there I always get some chicken wings. They are the biggest I have seen, they are the size of turkey wings! They are marinated in so sort of sauce, lightly battered and deep fried. They are best when they are right out of the fryer. The best part is they are $2.50 for 3 whole wings. That is 9 pieces including the little tip thing besides the 2 pieces we are use to.

Gourmet Food Inc
210 W 23rd St
Chicago, 60616
(312) 842-3366

Coaster wrote:I'm always on the hunt for an above-average wing place. I set my quality standard early in life at Foxy's on Treasure Island in Florida (near Tampa).

I've had wings many places here, but few have been really memorable. I like the wings at the Chicago Rib House on Chicago Ave and Dearborn. I forget the name of the sauce, but it was spicy and flavorful. Near home, I normally satisfy my cravings with the buffalo chicken strips at Leona's. The chicken is almost always cooked perfectly and the sauce is nice and spicy.

I have been to Buffalo Joe's and while the wings were good, I wished they had more heat. Adding jalapenos to the sauce just doesnt work for me.

I'm going to have to check out some of the recommendations others have made. Thanks to everyone!

The Leona's fried Buffalo strips are pretty good...they *can* pack significant heat and their sauce has actual chunks of blue cheese and, thankfully, doesn't have the irritating, banal mayo flavor of most commercial sauces.

as far as the recent predominance of Ranch instead of blue cheese goes(and I get plenty pissed when I'm automatically served it):
well...it's cheaper to manufacture Ranch and restaurants can hedge their bets in the face of that certain population who, either doesn't like blue cheese(whatever)...or has to have Ranch on everything that goes in their mouths(double whatever)

I don't like wings, but am a huge fan of good strips and blue cheese dip

hotsauceandbluecheese wrote:People who live in or around Chicago and enjoy wings should make them at home. While there are many decent wings in the area, I have not found any to write home about. Even Buffalo Joe’s, which has very good sauce, has scrawny wings and the ranch dressing gimmick is a bad joke as far as I’m concerned.

Well, part of the problem is that I've never seen wings in Chicago the size of the ones they have in Buffalo. I've always wondered what the chickens in Buffalo looked like if they all had wings that huge. At the very least, those chickens must be hittin' the gym and workin' the weights.

As far I remember, Joe, who is from Buffalo himself, settled on ranch dressing because that's what Midwestern tastes preferred--at least at the time he opened up shop. While I can't completely blame him for giving the public what it apparently wants, they should at least offer the choice of ranch or blue cheese.

About two years ago in swing through up-state New York to go to the Baseball HOF my son and I went to Buffalo and tried the wings at the Anchor Inn. He's been a fan of wings and most specifically Buffalo Joes on Clark St. in Evanston since he had enough teeth to consumer them. He and I agreed that the Buffalo Joe's version out shone those from the mother nest of wings. But only when they are right. Cooked enough and vinegary enough. Sometimes they can be slimey and weird and they just are not good. The Anchor Inn was okay. Incidentally, I don't recall that they were particularly large.

Hello!

Wings taste good because they are SMALL -- high skin (fat) to meat ratio and finger food to boot. Bigger isn't always better.

Ranch is (and has been for a while) the new ketchup. Blue cheese is smelly and expensive !

-ramon

Ramon wrote:Hello!

Wings taste good because they are SMALL -- high skin (fat) to meat ratio and finger food to boot. Bigger isn't always better.

I don't disagree with you here, but have you seen Buffalo Joe's wings lately? There's hardly any skin or meat on them! And I will agree that when Buffalo Joe's is on, I prefer it to both the Anchor Bar and Duff's. Wings in Buffalo aren't so big that you think they're drumsticks, but bigger also means more skin, as well as meat to balance that out. And ranch...well, I won't go into my feelings about ranch, lest I offend any ranch lovers out there.

Do you buy Anchor Bar's dressings? I have bought both the medium and very hot and don't find them worth the price including paying for shipping.

I haven't found the best wings yet - but I am still searching - I don't think I can do them at home...

Snark wrote:Do you buy Anchor Bar's dressings? I have bought both the medium and very hot and don't find them worth the price including paying for shipping.

I haven't found the best wings yet - but I am still searching - I don't think I can do them at home...

You know, I have tried Anchor Bar's bottled sauce, and it doesn't really seem to taste like their wings. I don't like it at all.

Making wings at home isn't difficult. Franks + margarine is fine as a sauce (you can spice it up if you want, but you don't need much more than that). You just need to deep fry your wings into crispy perfection. You can probably do them better at home than most of the place in Chicago.

What is your recipe or most importantly how do you fry? is Frank's enough heat for you though - I think I may need to add a little extract

ANd how about roasting/broiling? add the sauce after?

Snark wrote:What is your recipe or most importantly how do you fry? is Frank's enough heat for you though - I think I may need to add a little extract

ANd how about roasting/broiling? add the sauce after?

I just dry the wings in the fridge (or, if I don't have that luxury, use a paper towel to pat them as dry as I can) and fry them in oil (preferably peanut) at 375F, taking care not to crowd the pot, lest I drop the oil temp too much. I fry them until they look done. Toss in Franks & margarine (start at 1:1 and work your way from there) and serve immediately. (Texas Pete's also works well as the sauce base, if you could find it).

Actually, with my sauce recipe, I almost always add some yellow mustard to it, as well as some Tabasco. Occassionally, garlic and honey (to balance off some of the vinegar) will find their way in there, too. While I tend to like a lot of food blazingly hot (Wanza's Wicked Temptation is a staple condiment around this house, at 2 million Scolville) , I actually prefer chicken wings at medium-hot. I haven't had a suicide wing I've particularly liked yet. Something about them doesn't taste right, and the extract-based hot sauces also alter the flavor in a way I don't like.

I haven't had much success with roasting wings (they always come out soggy and rathy icky for me), but grilled wings are surprisingly good. I don't marinade or anything (don't think it's necessary with the sauce). You can brush some sauce on at the end if you want, but I just toss them like any normal ol' wing.