I loooove buffalo wings! Ever since Amy, my freshman year roomate at the University of Rochester (which is very close to Buffalo), first introduced me to the wonders of these savory, tangy and spicy morsels, they've been one of my favorite foods. In Rochester, a side of wings is always ordered with pizza, and a frequent weekend indulgence. Buffalo wings (and another favorite food, salt & vinegar potato chips, which Amy also introduced me to) were directly responsible for me gaining the freshman 15 lbs! However, that still hasn't stopped me from indulging from time to time. After reading about a Super Bowl wing wrap up on Serious Eats (www.seriouseats.com), John, Jasmine and I held our own taste test during my visit. We put 3 brands to the test: KFC (buffalo and plain crispy); Extreme Pizza; and Original Buffalo Wings. Extreme Pizza and Original Buffalo Wings are local neighborhood spots. The local KFC was very sketchy. Each place we ordered 3 types of wings: plain, buffalo and barbeque.
The KFC barbeque didn't disappoint. It was crispy, sweet and smoky, just like we had remembered it. I also liked the slightly thicker breading (which is a no-no for buffalo wings, but perfectly acceptable for barbeque wings!). At the end of the night it placed second overall.
The plain category had a very weak showing. We didn't particularly care for any of the plain wings-- they were either too plain, or flabby and wimpy, or just too "blah".
The overall winner was the Original Buffalo Wings. Their buffalo wings were just right-- the correct balance of vinegar, spice and butter, on a crispy wing with very light breading. A special bonus are the homemade potato chips which are categorically delicious! The second place buffalo wing winner was KFC, and the loser was Extreme Pizza-- just not good at all.
The KFC barbeque didn't disappoint. It was crispy, sweet and smoky, just like we had remembered it. I also liked the slightly thicker breading (which is a no-no for buffalo wings, but perfectly acceptable for barbeque wings!). At the end of the night it placed second overall.
The plain category had a very weak showing. We didn't particularly care for any of the plain wings-- they were either too plain, or flabby and wimpy, or just too "blah".
The overall winner was the Original Buffalo Wings. Their buffalo wings were just right-- the correct balance of vinegar, spice and butter, on a crispy wing with very light breading. A special bonus are the homemade potato chips which are categorically delicious! The second place buffalo wing winner was KFC, and the loser was Extreme Pizza-- just not good at all.
1 comment:
I too love a good buffalo wing and a good BBQ wing. Well done (yuck on floppy skin), no breading and extra sauce. Original Buffalo Wings are awesome (KY crew can attest from their days in the Bay Area) but I have a memory that keeps getting more legendary as time passes about the best buffalo wings ever when I visited Rochester!
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