Has Buffalo Outgrown It’s 3 Most Popular (But Basic) Wing Flavors?
Wings are a touchy subject in Buffalo. Everyone has their favorite spot to get them, and they have some pretty non-negotiable criteria to meet. But one thing people in Buffalo aren't picky about anymore is what flavor of sauce you choose.
What are the basic things that you expect when you eat wings?
In Buffalo, we eat wings, and we eat them a lot. We don't eat Buffalo wings. It's just wings around here. And when we do, there are a couple of things we expect.
1. Bones - First of all, we expect that they'll have at least one bone in them. If they don't have bones in them, they're nuggets. Don't bring "boneless wings" to me and expect me to say they're wings.
2. Un-breaded - Sorry, but if you want wings here, they don't have breading on them. They're bones, meat, skin, and sauce. That's all that goes on them.
3. Blue Cheese - We eat them with blue cheese, and people are pretty particular about it. It's not that anyone is really going to NOT let you eat your wings with ranch, but don't be surprised if you get some looks when you do. You might as well be eating them with peanut butter if it's not with blue cheese.
Remember when we only had three wing flavors?
I'm going to date myself here, but do you remember back when there were only three flavors of wings? We used to have hot, medium, and mild. That was it. We would order them extra crispy, but there were only three flavors. That began to change with the addition of barbecue wings, but for the most part, it was just those three.
Today we got wings in the office. The flavors included mild, hot, and two specialty flavors. They were all really good, but do you know which ones were gone first? It wasn't the old-school tried-and-true mild or hot. It was the two specialty flavors.
Strangely, Buffalo people LOVE new flavors
As you can tell from above, we're kind of particular about our wings. But for a town that has such strong feelings about breading and blue cheese, bringing new flavors into the mix seems to be welcomed with open arms. The wing purists not only seem to be open to new flavors, but they LOVE them.
What's the last time you asked someone about a wing place that they love and they said, "They've got a great medium wing!" They don't. They'll tell you about some Cajun honey BBQ coffee lemon pepper concoction that someone has dreamed up and you have to try.
I'm all for it. Over the last couple of years, I've found some really incredible flavors that I love. And it's pretty great to have people from out of town come here and still brag about how we make them different from anywhere else in the country.
When you come to Buffalo, definitely try the wings. Make sure they have bones in them, order them with blue cheese, and feel free to explore all the flavors. That's the best way to enjoy wings in Buffalo.
