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No one has yet mentioned that monument to Buffalo, Franks for the Memories. Crisp wings, available from mild to extra-hot, with and without blue cheese and celery, plus char-grilled Sahlens white hot dogs.

Franks for the Memories
645 E. Hawley St., Mundelein
(847) 949-9464

Good morning.

The depth of quality wing places in Buffalo goes far beyond the Anchor Bar and Duff’s, neither of which is serving up the best in town anymore imo. Duff’s, I’m sad to say, has gone the way of the Anchor Bar in that it began skimping on the quality of its wings once it became clear that people would come no matter what. That said, I still consider Duff's a good restaurant for sandwiches and what not.

Gabriel's Gate in Allentown, for all it’s shortcomings, has exceptional wings. Brennan’s Pub on Transit Rd. in Amherst also has excellent wings. Bocce Club knows how to make a proper wing. There are many, many others in and around Buffalo. Not too big; not too small. Crispy. Chewy. Hot. Messy. Delicious.

Below is the wing recipe I’ve been going with for years:

Ingredients:

4 to 5 pounds chicken wings
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt (if desired)
4 cups vegetable oil 4 Tbsp butter or margarine (1/2 stick)
5 Tbsp Louisiana-brand hot sauce or Tabasco sauce or Frank’s
1/4 cup of beer (drink remaining 5 and 3/4 of six pack)
1 Tbsp white wine vinegar

Cooking Instructions:

Chop off the tip of each chicken wing, and discard it. Chop the wing in half (cutting at the joint) to make 2 pieces. Grind on fresh black pepper and sprinkle with salt if desired.

Heat the oil over high heat in a deep skillet, Dutch oven, or deep-fat fryer until it starts to pop and sizzle (around 400 degrees F). Add half the chicken wings and cook until they're golden and crisp, stirring or shaking occasionally. When done, remove them to drain on paper towels and cook the remaining wings.

Melt the butter or margarine over medium heat in a heavy saucepan, add the hot sauce, the beer, and the 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Stir well and remove from the flame immediately.

Place the chicken in a large bowl, pour sauce over wings and give a quick shake.

Serving Suggestions:

Buffalo Chicken Wings are traditionally served with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks. Carrots may be substituted for celery.

For some folks' take on frying (Buffalo Joe's-style) buffalo wings, you can check out one of my first posts on the board over here -- from way back in 2004 -- along with the cooking styles and individual recipes which followed:

http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t=439

Just had lunch at BJ's today, actually. They even gave me more suicide sauce than expected. Will wonders never cease?

--Dan

Have you ever been to Casa di Pizza? When I was in Buffalo this summer, I did a sampling of various places (including Duffs and the Anchor Bar, which I preferred to Duff's), and this wound up clearly my favorite. It doesn't seem to be known for its wings, but I did happen upon that place by a local recommendation. (Although all the locals seem to say the joint down the street has the best wings in town. )

I haven't been to "The Cas" since I was a kid, so I can't speak to the food there, but I have always had good nostalgic feelings about the place. You're so right about all the locals swearing by the joint down the street, as I swear by La Porta's on Klein and Hopkins. Truth is, a lot of them have good people in the kitchen who care deeply about junk food. Bless their hearts.

With the super bowl around the corner I felt it my duty to remind the readers of LTH about the great "House of Wing". Just a couple weeks ago some buddys and myself decided to order a party tray for delivery, what we got was more than anyone could expect or ask for. Along with the usual outstanding wings (about 65-75 in a party tray) they made sure we had 3 large Styrofoam cups of both bleu cheese and ranch, celery that added up to an entire bundles worth, at least 15 of those paper bowls to throw bones in and id say 30 wet naps.

Im not even exaggerating about that, they really take care of their customers here and I for one really appreciate it. Its nice to see compared to these other spots that actually charge for dip and celery and then have maybe two or three napkins at your table. Do take note that the wings they serve in their party trays are smaller than the ones in a single order. I actually prefer my wings smaller, ensuring they are fully cooked through and the skin to meat ratio is also higher. Mind you all this was something like $40 delivered with tip. Simply outstanding.

House of Wing
2447 N Clark St
(at Arlington Pl)
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 929-9421

And I'll put in a good word for Wings Around The World in Bronzeville. Top notch wings with a huge number of available sauces and spices, from Buffalo to Masala to Jerk.

I don't know if they've changed, but me and Patrick Bertoletti, last years Spike TV wing eating champ ate over 100 wings at nine spots in the same night, and house of wings was one of the lesser wings. (You can read full article below)

Wings Throwdown

Likewise we tried wings around the world and while very unique and tasty, the meat was dried out.

Twisted Spoke and Buffalo Joes were head and shoulders above....

Has Buffalo Joe's changed their sauce in the last year or two? A friend came into town in November, and, as is our tradition, we hit up Buffalo Joe's on the way back from the airport. While we have noted some decline in the quality in the wings themselves--we've been going there since '93, and the wings seemed to be getting more and more anemic as of late -- this is the first time we both bit into the wings, looked at each other and said, what in the hell happened to the sauce? I don't mean a little difference in flavor, I mean completely different. The sauce wasn't even the same color--rather than the usual orange/rusty red, it was a reddish-brown color.

I'm sorry to say, as much as Buffalo Joe's has always been my go-to, and when they were on, they were my favorite wing bar none (even given all the places in Buffalo I've been to), it's quality has slipped enough that I can't really recommend this place anymore.

edit: Heh, I didn't realize I've been posting to this thread since '05. Interesting, it does seem to me that there's been a steady decline. Also, it seems I repeat myself a lot.

I'd had the same reaction over the last year or two, but fortune has smiled on my last two samplings of carry-out and day-afters back in October and December: the chicken and/or sauce (it was hard for me to tell which) tasted significantly better and more like its old self. Your November experience could be more than an anomaly, however, as my sample set probably doesn't cover all recent worker shifts and such, but I've managed to enjoy some decent Buffalo Joe's in late 2007. Not quite as reliable or consistent as before -- I also started eating there during the '90s -- but there could be hope if you try, try again.

Good luck with that,
Dan

I was wondering who blew away the old wing-eating records on my last trip or two there. Nice to put a name -- and reputation -- to the face near the doorway. ("Didja know that's Patrick Bertoletti, Chicago-area Spike TV wing-eating champ?" [Fighting jealousy to immediately beam with local pride.])

I finally got a chance to read through the Time Out article -- first, MJN, I like this style of article (also seen with the pierogi throwdown) and would love to see more.

But even I, who am still known to eat Buffalo Joe's with less despair than many posters on this board am kind of amazed to read "These are ... huge, like chickens on steroids."

I still think BJ's sauce is great, and usually the wings are fried pretty freshly, but they usually seem pretty scrawny.

In this Time-Out Buffalo wing article were the results gathered the same way as the Time-Out Chili contest? Not sure I can trust it if so. BJ's does not have large wings "on steroids" as they tend to be smaller than most (even though I like my wings smaller, this is the case at Joe's) Ordered the party tray from HoW and was just as happy above with the quality and the fact that they made sure EVERYTHING was in the bag they delivered.

I too have been frequenting Buff Joes since 1993 and agree that they are not quite what they were. The wings are smaller (however, I like small wings) the price is higher, and the sauce is a bit milder. That being said, I still think they are the best in town. I live in wrigleyville and find that Casey Moran's are the best around there. Too bad I never made it to the Twisted Spoke outpost.

chico

I found nothing redeeming at the Evanston location tonight.

Ordered
1 double wings suicide
1 double wings spicy
1 pint cheddar broccoli soup
1 potato
1 beer
1 soda

Total $34.00

Items that were ok - maybe the spicy wings - the potato would have been alright at half the price.

The rest - the less said the better

I watched them make the wings so I know they were fresh. Size wise they were smaller than what I typically see at places like hooters where I frequent for lunch (at the behest of colleagues, I don't like hooters).

Taste wise they were cooked well and the chicken was good while the sauce was a nice and vinegary but I ordered spicy and suicide wings. What I got was slightly sweet vinegar wings and slightly sweet vinegar wings with some sorry canned jalepeno slices on top - which were also devoid of flavor or heat.

The soup which we ordered upon suggestion was just plain terrible. An oily flavorless pint of yellow broccoli rue. The potato was a microwaved russet with the fake cheese and possibly frozen broccoli.

I can't really imagine why the praise. I assume this was an off night but I wouldn't go back there if someone else was paying.

I might try another location but unless I end up on the wrong side of half a dozen imperial pints at nevins I don't think I will ever be back.

My favorite wings in town are at Kendall's on Lincoln Ave in Lincoln Park. A great balance of spice and vinegar and they run a great special on Tuesday -$.25 a piece. I don't often venture to Lincoln Park for food, but this is worth the trip. Be warned:This is a classic frat bar complete with 21 yr olds drinking too much and taking Jager shots, but there are tons of flat screens, so this is a great place to watch a game and have some wings. They also have the small Burger King pre-2001 style fries and tons of great beer on tap.

Wasn't so impressed with Buffalo Joe's.
Loved Wing Stop in Rogers Park, but couldn't figure out why they weren't in Lincoln Park- the prices did not fit the neighborhood.

i've been enjoying the wings at cobra lounge on ashland avenue...
they're smoky, meaty and have some nice heat.

Wingstop is opening soon in Evanston.

http://www.mywingstop.com/?cl=376

Germuska, thanks for the kind words. Yep I have a few more ideas in the pipeline for comparative eats articles in a similar style to wings and pierogies.

Da Beef, I don't know how Time Out chili results were gathered, but I can assure you Patrick and I went to all nine places, tasted at 7 places in one day and 2 more on the next day (we would have done all 9 in one night, but places started closing on us) We used mild (with spice, not bbq wings) as a control for this wings article.

I go to every place I write about in these types of articles within a few weeks of publication. I never make assumptions or rely on old experiences. This usually means driving 30-50 miles all over Chicago in one day and risking a major case of heartburn, but it's always well worth it.

Whether or not Buffalo Joe wings are anemic by other people's standards, I can say without a doubt that they were one of the biggest, if not the biggest wings of the nine places on that particular night we went to taste. That's not to say the size doesn't change on a particular week...they could.

Hooter's which was also in our sample were definitely smaller. I didn't take a caliper to them, but based on heft, amount of meat and feel, this was true....I remember Patrick and I both commenting on how big the Buffalo Joes wings were at the end of the night. The Spoke ones and Great sea were pretty meaty as well.

Yeah … I woke up craving Buffalo Wings this morning. No place stood out as convenient upthread, so I looked elsewhere. I saw some internet love for Wing Stop on Harlem just North of North, which I had previously ignored. For some reason, I had assumed this was a stand-alone Wing Street, the Pizza Hut adjunct, that I had tried and written off. Hell with the cold and the potholes, down Harlem I sped. How hard can it be make decent Buffalo Wings? Fry ‘em, toss them in some butter and hot sauce. A place that makes nothing but, must get it right.

I ordered 10 piece ($5.39), mild, well done, with “Crispy Vegetable Sticks” (celery and carrot, $0.74), and “Chunky Bleu Cheese” ($0.74) via cell and was advised 12 minutes. Perfect timing, I pulled up at the 11 minute mark. My wings were just going into the bag and back to the abode I flew. The wings smelled right.

I took a very hasty pic:


Well, they weren’t very meaty, which in my mind is over-rated anyway. Didn’t have much flavor and were pretty dried out. Next time I will order “Original Hot,” not ask for them to be well done, and ask them to be heavy on the sauce. So, I was not impressed, but I will definitely give it another try. Interesting side note, my daughter B (10 yo) who never eats chicken wings, was so intoxicated with the smell that she had to try. We ended up splitting the order.

Additional complaints: One of the celery sticks was visibly dirty. The “Chunky Bleu Cheese” neither tasted Bleu and lacked chunks altogether.

Other wing sauces: atomic, Cajun, hickory smoked BBQ, lemon pepper, garlic parmesan, Hawaiian, teriyaki.

I think I’ll just have to go back to making my own Buffalo Wings. I’m just loathe to deep fry at home, that’s what restaurants are for.

Wing Stop
1740 N Harlem
Elmwood Park, IL
708-452-1010
many additional locations all across this great nation:
wingstop.com

-ramon

That about matches my reaction to Wing Stop, too. Just not very good, fundamentally.

The fries were ok, but doused with sweet seasoned salt. I'm not normally an opponent of seasoned salt, but I like it more seasoned and salty than sweet.

Yeah, you'd think that, but try not to hold high expectations for your next visit. I tried Wingstop when they opened on Clark in Rogers Park, and I was thoroughly underwhelmed, especially in comparison to Buffalo Joe's (and even Buffalo Wild Wings at Village Crossing). Guess there's a reason why that location's no longer listed on the Wingstop web site? I shed no tears if it's gone, as a short drive would quickly get me to the certainly less posh BJ's location on the Howard Evanston border when a wing craving hits. Drive further out if you can manage it.

I know it doesn't sound logical, but there is no way to drive from Harlem & Lawrence to Evanston. The roads don't go that way! I suppose I could take the Kennedy downtown, cross over to LSD north to Evanston. But, as stated somewhere upthread, I've been sorely disappointed by Buffalo Joe's on my last two or three visits, despite being a long time fan. I'll still give it another try, but only if I suddenly materialize near a location.

-ramon

Oh, c'mon. When I was married the in-laws lived very close to Harlem & Lawrence. Harlem -> Devon -> Central (turns into Niles Center) -> Howard (or any other E-W street you want to use to get into Evanston. Particularly if there's much expressway traffic, it's a pretty efficient way to make the trip.

Of course, that used to be the 'spouse's commute to work almost exactly (NP fire station to 2 blocks short of Buffalo Joe's)

While there is a way, especially if there is a will, it's a 45-minute drive on a good day. The BJ wings are fine, I doubt they'd fit the bill after driving cross-town through inevitable traffic - though you can pick up an awful lot of great stuff on Howard these days. (Nr706, that was our preferred route, too) It seems to me as though an easier way to go is to find a local bar that does them, rather than someone who specializes. On the rare occasion I've gone to a bar with the sort of "happy hour" food, wings are usually what I eat, as they're the least likely to be ruined. If you're headed this way, PM me, though!

It is a joke, nr706! I've actually driven much further, solely for a specific food stuff, as has, I bet, everyone here.

But if that was my commute, Mhays, for something as mundane as work, well I guess my family would go hungry. How ironic!

-ramon

Don't know if anyone has mentioned SportsPage on Rand in Arlington Heights for decent wings. I order them "regular" with extra sauce (hotter) on the side. Just an FYI never order them extra hot, they came to the table and our eyes watered. We (4 of us) all ate 1 wing each and ended up sending them back cuz they were just too hot! If anyone knows a good NW burb place for wings-let's hear it!

Too hot C'mon - that's what wings are for! And you sent them back after ordering Extra Hot - shame on you!

Check out the Jake Melnick's thread!

You know what "they" say live and learn-honestly I'm not a wimp that's why when we said make 'em hot they probably had a field day in the kitchen. All kidding aside, the place is pretty popular 20 wings are 10.95 40 are 19.95 celery and blue cheese dressing included!

Depending on the preparation (and your personal preferences), Buffalo Joe's might not be worth the trip, but detouring through downtown via the Kennedy just isn't pleasant most of the day. The route described by nr706 is probably the faster way (and this from a regular LSD user -- er, Lake Shore Drive driver), as Lawrence just isn't as efficient as other east-west routes like Belmont and certain stretches of Devon and Howard. Hope you find a convenient wings joint, though!