Best Wings in Buffalo?

[Andrew Amerk]

I recall this may have been discussed somewhat in the “Restaurants” thread, but who do ya got?

The most frequent responses to the tweet seemed to be Bar Bill, Big Tree, Elmo’s, and Gabriel’s Gate. I’ve never been to any of those, and would like to try out a new place next time I’m in Buffalo. 

[msw2112]

I don't live in Buffalo anymore and have not visited in a couple of years, but my old favorites were Gabriel's ("the") Gate and the Cole's/Brennan's restaurants (they used to be under the same ownership - not sure if that's still true).  The Anchor Bar and Duff's are great for nostalgia, but their wings are not as good as the others.  I tried Elmo's but don't recall anything that stood out to me.  I spent all of my time in the city or the Northtowns and have not been to any of the places in the Southtowns.  The only times I saw Big Tree was on gameday and I was tailgating and not in the restaurant eating.

Edited July 30, 2020 by msw2112

[Andrew Amerk]

2 minutes ago, msw2112 said:

I don't live in Buffalo anymore and have not visited in a couple of years, but my old favorites were Gabriel's ("the") Gate and the Cole's/Brennan's restaurants (they used to be under the same ownership - not sure if that's still true).  The Anchor Bar and Duff's are great for nostalgia, but their wings are not as good as the others.  I tried Elmo's but don't recall anything that stood out to me.  I spent all of my time in the city or the Northtowns and have not been to any of the places in the Southtowns.  The only times I saw Big Tree was on gameday and I was tailgating and not in the restaurant eating.

I’ve been to Anchor Bar a couple times and wasnt impressed. 
 

I went to one Duffs location twice and thought the wings were pretty excellent, but then went to a different location once and it was completely terrible, and haven’t been to one since. 

[Wyldnwoody44]

Bar Bill for the win, seriously, whatever they do, they do it right. 

[PerreaultForever]

So not Oloffson and Reinhart then? 

[In The Buff]

For me its LaNova's on West Ferry because the size of their wings are as big as a little kids forearm (sorry for the visual but all i could think of haha). They're also made right. Fried, then sauced, then put on the pit to char & then topped off with more sauce. Lots of places skip that all important step.

Mattina's on Delaware Ave in Tonawanda has pretty good wings too. They might even be bigger in size than the LaNova wings, but still have a good char to them.

Gabriels is good for sure & their BBQ sauce is tasty. I also remember there being daily specials from time to time but idk if they still do that. They're good but the wing sizes are probably 30% smaller than the above, so unless we're going to Gabes i usually go somewhere else.

1 great thing about Buffalo is theres no shortage of options

Edited July 30, 2020 by In The Buff

[Tondas]

I'm still down for Duff's on Sheridan.  Granted, I haven't tried Gabriel's or Bar Bill. But just about every place in WNY have great wings or they won't be in business long.

Edited July 30, 2020 by Tondas

[Indabuff]

1)  Nine-Eleven

2)  Bar Bill

3)  Mammoser's

[Kr632]

11 hours ago, Wyldnwoody44 said:

Bar Bill for the win, seriously, whatever they do, they do it right. 

This. It’s bar bill and it’s not even close. like you said they do everything right. There’s a bunch that could fight for distant second.
 

Nine -eleven is the absolute worst. 

[LGR4GM]

BarBill is awesome. 

I think Gabe's is overrated. 

Elmos is good.

Duff's on Sheridan is still good.

Doc Sullivans is pretty good. 

Sideline's honey bbq and medium are really good. 

La Nova has good wings for a pizza joint. 

[SHAAAUGHT!!!]

Don't sleep on Dalmatia Hotel either.  More of a local spot but they have 70+ flavors, crispy wings, and inexpensive beers.  

[tom webster]

47 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

BarBill is awesome. 

I think Gabe's is overrated. 

Elmos is good.

Duff's on Sheridan is still good.

Doc Sullivans is pretty good. 

Sideline's honey bbq and medium are really good. 

La Nova has good wings for a pizza joint. 

It seems more and more people putting Gabriel’s on the overrated sign of the ledger. I still like their wings but customer service sucks and it’s not a surprise because owner is a jerk.

[Kr632]

5 minutes ago, tom webster said:

It seems more and more people putting Gabriel’s on the overrated sign of the ledger. I still like their wings but customer service sucks and it’s not a surprise because owner is a jerk.

They were great 10+ years ago but have been going down hill since. Last two times I went I asked for extra crispy and extra extra crispy and they came out hardly cooked. Sucks because they were awesome

[SwampD]

https://www.bonappetit.com/video/watch/12-types-of-buffalo-wings-in-12-hours-which-is-the-best

[Indabuff]

1 hour ago, Kr632 said:

Nine -eleven is the absolute worst. 

Care to elaborate? 

[Kr632]

1 hour ago, Indabuff said:

Care to elaborate? 

Wing was cooked good but the sauce turned my stomach and didn’t taste good at all. Tried them again a couple weeks later With friends and same issue. We each ate two and  threw the rest out. That’s not mentioning the terrible staff

Edited July 30, 2020 by Kr632
Threw not three

[Ogelthorpe]

911, Gene McCarthys, Castaways, Doc Sullivans, 

Hear good things about O'Danirels, anyone been?

Bar Bill is the most overrated around, horrible and rude customer service. Gabriel's is a close 2nd in both being overrated and horrible, rude service

[bob_sauve28]

I'm not too picky. Wegman's wings are disgusting, dry and too salty, not sure why I eat them all the time. Hard to pass them by I guess. 

 

 

[Taro T]

Bar-Bill is the best restaurant for wings, if you can actually get in the door.  They have very good beef on weck too.

But haven't been there in several years because the wait for a table has been too long the couple of times we tried to go there.

Used to always be able to get in & then too many of us talked up (correctly) how good they are.  (Where's that Homer Simpson D'oh emoji when you need it?) 

[LGR4GM]

3 minutes ago, Taro T said:

Bar-Bill is the best restaurant for wings, if you can actually get in the door.  They have very good beef on weck too.

But haven't been there in several years because the wait for a table has been too long the couple of times we tried to go there.

Used to always be able to get in & then too many of us talked up (correctly) how good they are.  (Where's that Homer Simpson D'oh emoji when you need it?) 

Bar-Bill North I am happy to say is as good but sadly just as busy. Waited 45 minutes last time. You have to go at off hours. Last time I went to OG Bar-Bill we were lucky there were 3 seats at the bar right in front of the Weck Station. 

[Taro T]

6 minutes ago, LGR4GM said:

Bar-Bill North I am happy to say is as good but sadly just as busy. Waited 45 minutes last time. You have to go at off hours. Last time I went to OG Bar-Bill we were lucky there were 3 seats at the bar right in front of the Weck Station. 

45 minutes isn't awful provided you don't have somewhere you need to be after dinner.

Used to go to the original after Tux-n-Pucks night but one year that NYE fell on a Monday (IIRC), the place was closed by the time we got there.  (Not closed to taking additional patrons, but closed for the night.)  Have only tried to go there once since then & it was a 2 hour+ wait.  Headed to another place about 5 minutes away & got seated in 10 minutes.  The wings weren't as good, but they were plenty good enough.

[inkman]

Any Rochester peeps want to chime in about our wings?  Not sure if I have a personal fav but I enjoy wings from all these places:

Jeremiah's

Distillery

Fairport Village Inn

Pontillo's

Mark's

 

Someone on Twitter mentioned TK's wings in Fairport.  Their pizza is other worldly but the wings might be the worst I've ever had.  It's like 2 cups of butter with a splash of red hot.  The wings just sit in a pool of butter.  Whenever I order them (which is rare) I throw them in the air fryer and sauce them myself.  Nasty. 

[Taro T]

Distillery's wings are good.  But not as good as Duff's.  Have had Jerimiah's but so long ago can't rate them.  They were good, but not sure whether better than Distillery's or not.

The Sports Page had very good wings, but not after they changed ownership a decade or so ago & not sure if they're even still open.

The former Thomas Creek Ice Arena (Rochester Ice Center) has surprisingly good wings.  Pretty much the good ol' Frank's & butter but, especially if you order them extra crispy, they have a very good crisp to them.

Mark's are very disappointing.  But we've started ordering them extra crispy & dry & then saucing them at home - which makes 'em the best around. ?

Edited July 30, 2020 by Taro T

[MattPie]

3 hours ago, SHAAAUGHT!!! said:

Don't sleep on Dalmatia Hotel either.  More of a local spot but they have 70+ flavors, crispy wings, and inexpensive beers.  

In General, do people care about other flavors? Don't get me wrong, when I have wings not in Buffalo I almost exclusively have interesting flavors because the traditional ones just don't measure up.

28 minutes ago, Taro T said:

45 minutes isn't awful provided you don't have somewhere you need to be after dinner.

Used to go to the original after Tux-n-Pucks night but one year that NYE fell on a Monday (IIRC), the place was closed by the time we got there.  (Not closed to taking additional patrons, but closed for the night.)  Have only tried to go there once since then & it was a 2 hour+ wait.  Headed to another place about 5 minutes away & got seated in 10 minutes.  The wings weren't as good, but they were plenty good enough.

I wonder which, Pasquale's on Main (walking distance) is my go-to toe pizza and wings when I'm home. The wings there are pretty good, although I don't eat them often so I may be out of touch. Otherwise, it'd probably be Sorretinos/whatever-its-called-now in the plaza across from Tops. My parents don't like it as much since the ownership change, but that was our #1 before that.

Bar Bill has a takeout window in back now, and Hamlin park is nearby. Depending on the time of day, wings in the park is good eats.

[steveoath]

For us non wny-ers. What make a good wing? In scotland we get "buffalo wings" as a generic item from fast food places and these are essentially wings then doused in Frank's sauce. I assume that's not right! 

 

Also if anyone wants to share recipes for doing them at home please do ?