Hot wings to cluck about
These joints finger-lickin’ great
Whether you’re enjoying them at home while watching the game or at one of America’s best bars, Buffalo wings are the go-to snack to really get the party started.
True Buffalo-style wings, which got their start as a regional specialty from the upstate city, are different from your standard fried chicken in that they’re not breaded, and are tossed in a sauce that’s traditionally made by combining a mild hot sauce like Frank’s RedHot with butter.
We canvassed the country for the best bars and restaurants to serve wings that are beloved by both locals and inthe-know tourists. We combed through review sites and existing rankings to find wings that met our criteria: a wing that’s crispy on the outside (even after spending some time on a plate) while remaining juicy on the inside, and completely coated in sauce but not bogged down by it. Speaking of the sauce, it needs to have the right balance of spice to butter without being overly greasy.
It’s actually a lot harder than it appears to make a perfect Buffalo wing, but the bars and restaurants that made top 25 have it down to a science. The city had three joints on the list but none in the top 10, so plan a wings-eating tour getaway to these “hot” spots. To see the entire list, visit thedailymeal.com.
10. Gabriel’s Gate (Buffalo)
For all the attention Buffalo’s Anchor Bar gets, Gabriel’s Gate, housed in a building dating to 1864, certainly gives it a run for its money. The wings served at Gabriel’s are bigger than you’ll usually find, and are fried and sauced to perfection.
9. Gritty’s (Three Maine Locations)
Gritty’s (formerly Gritty McDuff’s, and no relation to the Philly mascot), happens to serve some of the best wings you’ll find anywhere. They’re available in a handful of sauces and dry rubs — but these guys know that you don’t need to rely on crazy sauces to let the wings shine. If you’re lucky, you might be able to join their “Mug Club” and hang your personal mug on the wall, but it’s a lot easier to just dig into a plate of stellar wings and down one of their beers. There are locations in
Portland (which is also one of the best cities for beer lovers), Freeport and Auburn.
8. Legend Larry’s (Multiple Wisconsin Locations)
The winner of several awards at the National Buffalo Wing Festival, Legend Larry’s is certainly legendary in its native Wisconsin, where it has four locations. The big, juicy wings are guaranteed to be hot out of the fryer and are best washed down with Larry’s stellar selection of craft beers.
7. The Bazaar by José Andrés (Multiple Locations)
The most upscale, wildly experimental restaurant on this list also serves some of the country’s most mind-blowingly delicious wings. At Bazaar (which has locations in Beverly Hills, California; Las Vegas and Miami), José Andrés first confits his wings (slow-cooking them in chicken fat) before deboning them, dredging them in flour, pan-frying them then dunking them in his own interpretation of Buffalo sauce. He’s even got the accompaniments covered: each wing is topped with blue cheese cream and compressed diced celery.
6. Jimmie Kramer’s Peanut Bar (Reading, Pa.)
There are no frills to the wings at Reading institution Peanut Bar, where guests have been littering the floor with peanut shells since the 1930s. Great care is given to the wings here, which have won multiple awards. The restaurant also offers them in garlic-herb sauce, but you’ll want to stick to the classic: big, meaty, crispy wings, perfectly sauced and made with high-quality chicken.
5. Nine-Eleven Tavern (Buffalo)
There’s something magical about the Buffalo sauce that douses the wings at longtime Buffalo favorite Nine-Eleven Tavern, but it’ll have to remain a mystery — it’s a closely held secret. The wings themselves are always perfectly crisp on the outside and juicy on the inside, and they’re artfully arranged on the platter into a glorious ring of deliciousness. You can buy a bottle of that legendary wing sauce on your way out and try to replicate it at home, but these wings deserve to be enjoyed in their natural setting, which also happens to be a pretty amazing dive bar.
2. J. Timothy’s Taverne (Plainville, Conn.)
It’s not the oldest restaurant in the state, but J. Timothy’s is located in a building that’s well over 200 years old. A full menu is served, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a table that doesn’t have a pile of chicken bones on it. Constantly rated the best in the state, J. Timothy’s serves more than 300 tons of wings per year, and invented what’s called the “Dirt Style” wing, which gets a dose of sauce both before and after heading into the deep fryer. It sounds like a recipe for an acrid, burnt-tasting wing, but these guys have mastered the art form. The result is a depth of flavor that just doesn’t exist elsewhere.
1. Duff’s Famous Wings (multiple N.Y. locations)
With six locations in upstate New York, Duff’s cements the region’s claim to fame as the home of the best wings in the country. There’s some sort of magic in Duff’s sauce, which is unbelievably flavorful, and even after dousing, the wings stay crispier than you’ll find just about anywhere else, while staying juicy and tender on the inside.