Best Wings in Buffalo?

[Tondas]

There are 2 Long John Silver's in the Lincoln area, but I am spoiled from the fish frys in Buffalo, so I don't bother.

[Claude Balls]

Wales Center Hotel. Bit of a drive, but wings are crazy good.

[North Buffalo]

On 7/31/2020 at 11:22 AM, inkman said:

I've never understood blue cheese on wings.  Don't get me wrong, I'm not a weirdo that likes ranch. I just don't see the need for anything on my wing if it's done right.  Blue cheese completely eviscerates the awesome flavor that should already exist.  Don't ***** with it. 

I dip celery in it if my mouth gets too hot, otherwise agree

[Andrew Amerk]

On 7/30/2020 at 3:04 PM, Andrew Amerk said:

Windjammers is the best. 
 

Also, Carbones is excellent. 
 

I agree with Jeremiahs, and would add The Retreat and Romigs. 
 

When I was a kid, there was a restaurant called Bosdyks that had the BEST wings I’ve ever had. I can still remember them to this day. 

Made a mistake here. I meant Richmond’s, not Jeremiah’s. Not a huge fan of Jeremiah’s, the food and service is inconsistent, although they do have a very delicious wing flavor called Nawlins Blues. 
 

Also, not quite the type of chicken wings being discussed in this thread, but the chicken and sides from BoBo’s Chicken Shack on Joseph Ave is worth risking your life for. 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Andrew Amerk

[Eleven]

I just had a half-dozen at Thirsty Buffalo.  They have a "trufflalo" sauce, which basically is your normal Buffalo medium with a little mushroom flavor thrown in.

It was amazing.  The nuttiness of the mushrooms combined with the medium sauce just worked.  I don't know how It worked, but it did.

[Indabuff]

59 minutes ago, Eleven said:

I just had a half-dozen at Thirsty Buffalo.  They have a "trufflalo" sauce, which basically is your normal Buffalo medium with a little mushroom flavor thrown in.

It was amazing.  The nuttiness of the mushrooms combined with the medium sauce just worked.  I don't know how It worked, but it did.

I'm at Wegmans now and just passed that sauce.

 

[Indabuff]

[Skibum]

On 7/30/2020 at 12:41 PM, inkman said:

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. 

Dirty Dave's in Scottsville. Very unique hot sauce and they take the art of frying very seriously. They will deliver your desired crispiness with pride. They have had great wings under the radar for decades, since it was D&Ds. It used to be a real dump; I would still classify it as a Dive Bar, but in a good way. Dave has cleaned it up a lot. I just wish he had kept the shuffleboard table!

[WildCard]

I don't know about Buffalo, but the best wings in Rochester are at Dicky's Corner Pub

On 7/30/2020 at 12:41 PM, inkman said:

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. 

Dicky's by a mile for me. Not a big fan of Jeremiah's, too small/crispy and expensive; good flavor though.

I've heard good things about Fairport Village Inn actually, gotta try it.

4 minutes ago, Skibum said:

Dirty Dave's in Scottsville. Very unique hot sauce and they take the art of frying very seriously. They will deliver your desired crispiness with pride. They have had great wings under the radar for decades, since it was D&Ds. It used to be a real dump; I would still classify it as a Dive Bar, but in a good way. Dave has cleaned it up a lot. I just wish he had kept the shuffleboard table!

Interesting, gonna have to try them out

[Skibum]

On 7/31/2020 at 3:04 AM, Tondas said:

My biggest complaint, as an expat of WNY, is the size of out-of-state restaurant's wings.    Paper clip size.  But Frank's is Frank;s , so I just order more.  And if they ask me if I want Blue Cheese or Ranch, I have to hold my temper.  They may think there is a  a choice. 

I have also had the opposite experience - Wings so big they don't fry right, the sauce-to-wing ratio gets thrown off, and I can't even finish a dozen without supplemental oxygen. This is fairly common in today's world of mutant factory farm chickens. 

[Drag0nDan]

10 minutes ago, Skibum said:

I have also had the opposite experience - Wings so big they don't fry right, the sauce-to-wing ratio gets thrown off, and I can't even finish a dozen without supplemental oxygen. This is fairly common in today's world of mutant factory farm chickens. 

There's definitely a sweet spot between giant mutant wings and little caesers.  

[That Aud Smell]

On 7/31/2020 at 6:43 PM, Andrew Amerk said:

I would add that California can’t make good Italian dishes or good pizza (actually, a lot of states don’t know how to make pizza), and that really good Chinese food and Mexican food are hard to come by in WNY. 

Maybe not easy (like, in other parts of the country (not just California, btw) where you can get insanely good Mexican food from a food truck parked next to a gas station), but possible. In metro Buffalo, I'll vouch for Casa Azul (downtown, Genesee maybe?) and Taqueria Los Mayas (Cheektowaga, also on Genesee, I think). The former is artisanal, the latter more down home authentic. Both are excellent. If you're looking for just really good grub, I'd recommend Los Mayas.

Beyond that, it's Genesee County where the action's at. There are a number of joints in and around Batavia that serve excellent Mexican fare (tacos and otherwise). I presume that it's the agricultural aspect of life there that gave rise to excellent Mexican food options.

[inkman]

25 minutes ago, Skibum said:

I have also had the opposite experience - Wings so big they don't fry right, the sauce-to-wing ratio gets thrown off, and I can't even finish a dozen without supplemental oxygen. This is fairly common in today's world of mutant factory farm chickens. 

 

13 minutes ago, Drag0nDan said:

There's definitely a sweet spot between giant mutant wings and little caesers.  

This obsession with getting the biggest wings needs to stop.  I have no desire for anything that I can't chomp in a couple of bites.  The exterior of the wing is what makes a wing.  

[That Aud Smell]

6 minutes ago, inkman said:

This obsession with getting the biggest wings needs to stop.  I have no desire for anything that I can't chomp in a couple of bites.  The exterior of the wing is what makes a wing.  

Yeah - get a quality product and do it right. That's it. Up until recently, the best joints got their wings (drums and flats still joined) through Will Poultry. That provider's not around anymore. I'm not sure where the best wholesale wings can be had nowadays.

[Lanny]

On 8/1/2020 at 1:00 AM, Claude Balls said:

Wales Center Hotel. Bit of a drive, but wings are crazy good.

This is it. Wednesday Night, $5 all you can eat. 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Lanny

[Weave]

50 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

 

Beyond that, it's Genesee County where the action's at. There are a number of joints in and around Batavia that serve excellent Mexican fare (tacos and otherwise). I presume that it's the agricultural aspect of life there that gave rise to excellent Mexican food options.

There is a notable permanent Hispanic population in Genesee Co, undoubtedly connected to all of the vegetable farms in the area, and a substantial seasonal migrant worker population.  As a result, Genesee (and Orleans) County has some excellent Mexican food spots.

[Pimlach]

Best wings to me are Bar Bills.   Then Gabriel’s Gate.  There are still many good local neighborhood bars for wing, and of course the Pizza Shops.  
 

I was In Buffalo for 17 days at the end of July.  I was really impressed with Hertel and Elmwood too.  
 

One hot humid morning I walked the Parkways. Started at Elmwood and Bidwell. Then Chapin, to Lincoln, then back and around Richmond Circle.  Lovely city. 

[Eleven]

15 hours ago, That Aud Smell said:

Maybe not easy (like, in other parts of the country (not just California, btw) where you can get insanely good Mexican food from a food truck parked next to a gas station), but possible. In metro Buffalo, I'll vouch for Casa Azul (downtown, Genesee maybe?) and Taqueria Los Mayas (Cheektowaga, also on Genesee, I think). The former is artisanal, the latter more down home authentic. Both are excellent. If you're looking for just really good grub, I'd recommend Los Mayas.

Beyond that, it's Genesee County where the action's at. There are a number of joints in and around Batavia that serve excellent Mexican fare (tacos and otherwise). I presume that it's the agricultural aspect of life there that gave rise to excellent Mexican food options.

 

14 hours ago, Weave said:

There is a notable permanent Hispanic population in Genesee Co, undoubtedly connected to all of the vegetable farms in the area, and a substantial seasonal migrant worker population.  As a result, Genesee (and Orleans) County has some excellent Mexican food spots.

 

OK I need to know more about this.

Most specifically, are the soft tortillas corn or flour?  Flour is like putting ranch on wings.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Eleven

[That Aud Smell]

7 hours ago, Eleven said:

 

 

OK I need to know more about this.

Most specifically, are the soft tortillas corn or flour?  Flour is like putting ranch on wings.

Hmm. Not sure, tbh. But, dude: I’ve had plenty of elite Mexican grub with flour tortillas in authentic settings (Cali, rural Florida). All places referenced above make their own, I am pretty sure. Don’t let a corn hang-up stop you from getting this good stuff.

One follow: I am fairly positive that Azul makes and uses corn tortillas. And the (small) bar is fantastic. Finally, the female proprietor (there’s a guy who owns and operates too) is my not so secret Buffalo crush.

[Eleven]

37 minutes ago, That Aud Smell said:

Hmm. Not sure, tbh. But, dude: I’ve had plenty of elite Mexican grub with flour tortillas in authentic settings (Cali, rural Florida). All places referenced above make their own, I am pretty sure. Don’t let a corn hang-up stop you from getting this good stuff.

One follow: I am fairly positive that Azul makes and uses corn tortillas. And the (small) bar is fantastic. Finally, the female proprietor (there’s a guy who owns and operates too) is my not so secret Buffalo crush.

Kim Pegula runs a Mexican restaurant now?

Edited August 5, 2020 by Eleven

[That Aud Smell]

8 minutes ago, Eleven said:

Kim Pegula runs a Mexican restaurant now?

I would not put it past her.

But, no.

[Drag0nDan]

On 8/4/2020 at 9:31 AM, inkman said:

 

This obsession with getting the biggest wings needs to stop.  I have no desire for anything that I can't chomp in a couple of bites.  The exterior of the wing is what makes a wing.  

I've had good like duck wings that were a bit bigger.  But they do require a bit of a different preparation.

I also think larger flats are better than larger drums.  I feel like with large drums, the fat doesn't render as well as a smaller drum so you end up with some chewy grizzly wings.  

[Weave]

3 hours ago, Drag0nDan said:

I've had good like duck wings that were a bit bigger.  But they do require a bit of a different preparation.

I also think larger flats are better than larger drums.  I feel like with large drums, the fat doesn't render as well as a smaller drum so you end up with some chewy grizzly wings.  

That is exactly the issue with jumbo wings.  More cartilage.  You have to treat them differently or you end up with a tougher, more gristly wing.  And most places aren’t willing to use a slower preparation to get them right.

[Tondas]

Just curious.  What's your favorite: Drums or Flats?  I used to be drums but have since moved to flats.

[That Aud Smell]

Team flats. 

As a younger Smell, I coveted the drums. But then I put away childish things.