THE BEST: Buffalo-Style Chicken Wings in NYC

[Cpalms]

I'd like to throw in Bluesmoke's wings.....big plump wings, fried right, top notch bleucheese....why is everyging so good at bluesmoke except what its there for, the barbeque (the BBQ IMO is just ok)? like the burger, mac and cheese, chocolate cake, key lime pie, cuban sandwich, beers, cocktails, french fries,

great fountain coke

[MRX]

Having eaten at all of the above, the best on this list is the Back Page. Still try the wings here, for delievery only...pretty good, we tried 'em one night when Back Page wouldn't deliever http://www.texasrotisserie.com/Welcome.tpl...=nc&from=Top125 - Cheap too!

Edited January 17, 2004 by MRX (log)

[Stone]

The best buffalo style wings are at The Back Page on the Upper East Side on 3rd Ave. They understand the ratio of sauce to crispiness and it is really rare that they have an off wing night.

Ditto. Surprisingly good wings.

[mpav]

If anyone plans on heading over to PluckU for some wings, please note that the one on the corner of 2nd Ave and 35th closed a few weeks back.

I was never a Pluck U fan anyway.

[lia]

Another vote for Atomic Wings here and i had some EXCELLENT, super spicy classic tasting sauce, not too flabby, but not too overdone wings at Nice Guy Eddie's on houston and first.

[Eric_Malson]

I believe Atomic Wings has locations in a number of bars including Blondies and down the hatch....therefore you have been in fact eating atomic wings all along

I was at Blondie's (west side) last weekend (great wings, as usual) and found out that Blondie's did indeed serve Atomic wings in the past, but at some point some dispute arose and they now do their own.

[foodboy]

A little out of town, but Chuck's Spring Street Cafe, Princeton NJ has my favorite wings. Also has the distinction of formerly being owned by the Menendez Bros.

Wow! That place was serving wings as far back as the late 70's/early 80's (maybe earlier, for all I know). It's the first place I ever had them. I was only 7 or 8 at the time.

As for the Menendez brothers, when did they own the place?

[tommy]

As for the Menendez brothers, when did they own the place?

after they killed their parents.

they bought lots of cool stuff

Edited January 18, 2004 by tommy (log)

[Stone]

I went to Boxers today for the early game. I was promised great wings. Lies, lies, lies. We asked for them extra crispy, they were barely cooked. The sauce had a honey sweetness that doesn't belong in a wing. The burger was o.k. But the fries were undercooked.

[foodpsycho]

Another vote for Atomic. Also FYI Nodine's Smokehouse makes Sweet and Hot Chicken wings that can be mail ordered and when fried up are pretty terrific.

[Fat Guy]

I'm officially revising my opinion to concur with those abouve who place The Back Page at the top of the NYC wings heap. As I mentioned before, I thought the best wings in the past were at Entourage, which closed long ago. The Back Page appears to be a partial reincarnation of Entourage, in the same location, and with a wings recipe "acquired from The Entourage."

http://www.backpagebar.com

[picaman]

Call me a curmudgeon and/or a heretic and bash away at me if you will, but in my mind, when eating there's a ratio of work performed to reward obtained that must be heeded. Lobsters and crawfish, for example, are so good that the workload is exceeded by the enjoyment.

Chicken wings fall squarely under "too much work--why bother?"

I'm not sure of the exact work/reward ratio, but as Potter Stewart said about pornography, "I know it when I see it." Or in this case, eat it. Food, that is.

Jamie

[allister]

I have a vote in for Aiello's (27/28 and 3rd) Never had the pizza there, can't comment on that sorry, but great wings. good ratio of acidity/spiceness/'fried-ness' of wing

[irongut]

So far I like the Pluck U wings for consistency and taste. I tried aiello's and thought it was good but the sauce was a bit thin I thought. I still need to try atomic wings and backpage.

[joeforte]

Hooters has great wings as well. Atomic wings is still the best but if you go to Hooters and order them extra crispy with the three mile island sauce you will be happy.

[coquus]

How can anyone f*ck up Buffalo Wings. Franks Red Hot and ButterIt, maybe some tabasco, garlic powder, celery salt thrown in the mix, you can't possibly screw it up. I disagree with anyone saying that anything else classifies as a Buffalo Wing, I would even go so far as to say that Breaded Wings of the Hooter's variety are more Buffalo than some sweet/hoisin/bbq/whatever nonsense anyone in NYC is pushing as Buffalo Wings. You want a recipe, two cups Frank's, one cup Tabasco, or if you prefer 1/4 cup cayenne, one gallon Butter it, 1/4 cup celery salt, 1/2 cup garlic powder, more chile if you need to, toss liberally with your deep fried chicken wings (fully cooked for us bone gnawers), and serve. Do not fake the Buffalo Wing. Disclaimer, I have no recipe to quote from it's all up here, if it don't taste right I cannot be held responsible.

[Pumpkin Lover]

I see I posted here over a year ago about Dougie's BBQ--I must revise my opinion a la Fat Guy, and state that I have fallen in love with Atomic Wings, specifically those at Down the Hatch on West 4th. Those wings, when they're fried perfectly, are heaven--and they're not always fried to perfection, unfortunately. Combine that with some beer pong and cute dudes, and I'm a happy camper.

[Pan]

I see I posted here over a year ago about Dougie's BBQ--I must revise my opinion a la Fat Guy, and state that I have fallen in love with Atomic Wings, specifically those at Down the Hatch on West 4th. Those wings, when they're fried perfectly, are heaven--and they're not always fried to perfection, unfortunately. Combine that with some beer pong and cute dudes, and I'm a happy camper.

←

Is the music still horribly loud at Down the Hatch? I went there with a friend (another classical musician) perhaps a year and a half ago or something, and the music was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation, so we beat a hasty retreat and didn't stick around to have more after a single drink apiece and some Buffalo wings with celery and carrots. I enjoyed it, up to a point, but it was a damned bad place to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen for a while. I think we ended up at Kettle of Fish and hung out in the back, which is a much more restrained place.

[coquus]

*more rant

Buffalo Wings only come with the Blue Cheese Dressing, not Ranch, and yes, carrots are welcome with the celery. I'll recap, Frank's Red Hot+ButterIt, cook wings at least until they float, toss wings in sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing (with nice blue cheese chunks, mostly mayonnaise) and celery. Now, tell me, how can you mess that up? Well, trust me NYC you're not alone, I rarely have had BW outside of Western New York that taste remotely like the real thing.

[Pumpkin Lover]

Is the music still horribly loud at Down the Hatch? I went there with a friend (another classical musician) perhaps a year and a half ago or something, and the music was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation, so we beat a hasty retreat and didn't stick around to have more after a single drink apiece and some Buffalo wings with celery and carrots. I enjoyed it, up to a point, but it was a damned bad place to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen for a while. I think we ended up at Kettle of Fish and hung out in the back, which is a much more restrained place.

←

Michael, it's still loud as hell there. I usually sit in the back, though, at one of those long tables--the speakers aren't as loud there, and my girls and I can hear each other pretty well. I'm going tonight, so I can report more fully if y'all would like.

[Stone]

I'm officially revising my opinion to concur with those abouve who place The Back Page at the top of the NYC wings heap. As I mentioned before, I thought the best wings in the past were at Entourage, which closed long ago. The Back Page appears to be a partial reincarnation of Entourage, in the same location, and with a wings recipe "acquired from The Entourage."

http://www.backpagebar.com

←

Good man.

Back Page's wings are my Monday Night Football meal. I couldn't wait, so I stopped in recently. The guy said that the sauce is their own recipe (perhaps from Entourage, I don't know), mixed by a Jamaican fellow.

Dinner of Champions: Double order of extra crispy hot wings and and order of fries smothered in hot sauce. Extra blue cheese for dipping.

sigh. no wonder I'm still fat.

[Pan]

Is the music still horribly loud at Down the Hatch? I went there with a friend (another classical musician) perhaps a year and a half ago or something, and the music was so loud that we couldn't have a conversation, so we beat a hasty retreat and didn't stick around to have more after a single drink apiece and some Buffalo wings with celery and carrots. I enjoyed it, up to a point, but it was a damned bad place to hang out with a friend I hadn't seen for a while. I think we ended up at Kettle of Fish and hung out in the back, which is a much more restrained place.

←

Michael, it's still loud as hell there. I usually sit in the back, though, at one of those long tables--the speakers aren't as loud there, and my girls and I can hear each other pretty well. I'm going tonight, so I can report more fully if y'all would like.

←

Sure.

Maybe it deserves its own thread.

[smgarsh]

*more rant

Buffalo Wings only come with the Blue Cheese Dressing, not Ranch, and yes, carrots are welcome with the celery.  I'll recap, Frank's Red Hot+ButterIt, cook wings at least until they float, toss wings in sauce and serve with blue cheese dressing (with nice blue cheese chunks, mostly mayonnaise) and celery.  Now, tell me, how can you mess that up?  Well, trust me NYC you're not alone, I rarely have had BW outside of Western New York that taste remotely like the real thing.

←

I agree. You cannot get good wings in NYC. I lived in Buffalo for a while and even wings at the worst pizzeria in Buffalo are way better than anything in NYC. It's better than Atomic Wings, PluckU etc. And the funny thing is, its so simple to make. Like coquus said, its deep fried wings, Frank's Hot Sauce and Butter. There even a recipe on the back of the Frank's hot Sauce bottle.

One thing I've noticed about wings in NYC is how cheap there are with the celery. I swear its about 1/3 of a stalk of celery cut into tiny strips.

[Sethro]

I agree. You cannot get good wings in NYC. I lived in Buffalo for a while and even wings at the worst pizzeria in Buffalo are way better than anything in NYC. It's better than Atomic Wings, PluckU etc. And the funny thing is, its so simple to make. Like coquus said, its deep fried wings, Frank's Hot Sauce and Butter. There even a recipe on the back of the Frank's hot Sauce bottle.

One thing I've noticed about wings in NYC is how cheap there are with the celery. I swear its about 1/3 of a stalk of celery cut into tiny strips.

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I've been to Buffalo, had the wings, and was about as impressed with them as I was with the cheeZesteak in Philly. In other words: meh.

Blondies gives me so much damn celery and carrots that I've been considering buying a rabbit.

[Pumpkin Lover]

Maybe it deserves its own thread.

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Right on it, sir.