The Chicken Wing
I am not a huge fan of chicken. Chicken is really easy to do okay, difficult to do well, and sometimes impossible to screw up. Of all the proteins, it takes the least amount of imagination to work with, which is one of the reasons that so many people are able to cook chicken as their signature dish. Over the last couple of weeks, I have been thinking about my favorite part of the chicken: the wing (and thigh). I asked Teacher Dave the other day if it counted as a "wing" if it was breaded? He and I both agree that breaded, while tasty, is not a wing.
For me, a wing is chicken dunked in a sauce of butter and hot sauce that is deep fried and then dunked again. See how simple that is? Why do people do wings with such paucity of skill? Is it training? Do some people want their wings that way? I had "wing like things" in New England last fall and they were disappointing if I want to be generous. Take pride in what you do. The wing is difficult to do well but all it takes is a little bit of effort and a system to do it well.
Which leads me to...
Last night, a bunch of us were at the Ruck for wings. We all ordered batches to our liking, me with hot (To which Becca exclaimed "Not for this girl") and all the various shades of wings were represented. Early in the evening, Irisira stated that the Ruck had the best wings in the 518, which is a fair statement and not one that I am willing to argue against. Later in the evening, another member of the happy wing eating band stated that the Hill Street Cafe had "the best wings in Albany" which is another fair statement and one that I am not willing to argue against.
This got my mind grapes churning into mind juice.
Who does have the best wings in the 518?
First, I went to Google and one of the top hits (non-sponsored) was to the 2010 Times Union Readers' Survey. I won't force you to click through... Wings Over Albany (which is in Guilderland) won. Remember when I complained about breading? Yeah.
FAIL.
More searching showed that one of my least favorite places, the Ale House, had their own partisans. I know this is a personal preference and that there are a number of people who enjoy the Ale House, but I am not going to go there. There is something about it that makes me feel less than welcome and you know, I am not going to spend money in a place where I do not feel welcome. Regardless of how people crow about their wings.
There are a lot of places that say that place A. (like I Love NY Pizza) or B. (insert your local tavern) have the best wings, but no one has gone at it with something like a scientific method. This is not be volunteering to put one together, however, I am willing to sit on a panel that does the tasting. Has anyone done this and I am just missing this? Is this a futile project?
I want to know what the best is. I mean, I have my own opinions but I would love to see what the consensus was (and this is not to include those who vote in the Readers' Poll. They chose Wings over Albany and the routinely choose the Olive Garden.) from people that I kinda-sorta trust.
Oh, and folks, remember, breading is always bad.
Noooooo don't get me started on "best".
ReplyDeleteI guess you want "best tasting", but that does not always constitute "best", especially when we're talking about food. This comes up for me whenever Daniel B. talks about "best", especially for the TU poll. The example I usually trot out is that while Mrs. London easily has the best bread, the fact that I have to drive 30 minutes to get it does not make it the best bakery... to me.
Put another way, eating bad breaded wings in a place I like with people I like would be better than eating wings made of heavenly manna with, say, the cast of Jersey Shore.
Best schmest.
Ahhh, I disagree. Good company does not make terrible food better. It makes terrible food tolerable at best, and you maybe satisified socially but jonesing for something from your fridge at worst ...
Delete... actually, no. It makes you hugging a toilet because you didn't touch your food and just drank alcohol instead.
Like I said, this is worst case scenarios we're talking about. :)
B, I grok, and I understand why company makes even awful food better but...good food and beer makes great company even better.
ReplyDeleteI can identify things that are really bad, like Wings Over Albany, or Olive Garden, but when things are good, it comes down to personal preference.
So, B, what is your preference for wings in the 518?
when things are good, it comes down to personal preference
DeleteGood point. Look at wine club! :)
(But, that's also part of the fun.)
Every wine was drinkable, after a bit, at the wine club though. Not every wing can such a claim be made for.
DeleteHonestly I have not tried enough places to say what's the best. I haven't had the Ruck for one! They come highly recommended. I do love McGeary's wings. And I can tell you that the wings at Hooters (don't ask) and Brown's are absymal.
ReplyDeleteI think it might be that different styles would stand out at different places... even between hot and mild "regular" wings (I wouldn't know, I usually order them as hot as they come). The place with the best hot wings may not be the place with the garlic parmesean wings or whatever weird crap people come up with.
I'm just not a big fan of ranking like this in general (I actually have the germ of a project along similar lines in my head, but not ranking or trying to find "best"), but if you attempt any kind of local wing survey I'd happily give my opinion...
B, oh, I won't ask about Hooters (we have all been there...) but aren't Hooters wings breaded?
DeleteI am willing to accept a scale of greatness. McGeary's does do a nice wing but I am going to have their sliders, which should be another challenge.
What is your germ of an idea?
For me, wings have to be spicy, the sauce needs to be butter and vinegar based, and they need to be fried. How you get to wing perfection from there is up to the various cooks.
Yeah there's the option of breaded wings at Hooters, I thought it's their thing so why not, right? That was just one mistake on a giant heap of mistake and regret from that night.
DeleteWhen my idea fruits I'll let you know ;)
I'm with you on wings, but of course everyone has their own taste, which is another reason I don't quite get trying to make a "best of" for any kind of food. I could tell someone what my favorite ____ in the area is, I don't know I would call that "best".
I have not tried either Hill St. or The Ale House's wings. I also haven't tried Scubbers, which I've heard are also good. However, I'm not Daniel and I don't need it to necessarily be a scientific thing. The Ruck's are the best I've had from a pretty large cross-section (Graney's, Wings over Albany (yuck), Brown's, Bomber's (they come in pretty high, believe it or not), etc.) and the Ruck's stand out as wings that would "hold up" in Buffalo. They also happen to be served at one of the coolest bars in the area. This didn't used to be the case - The Ruck has always had good wings, but just a few years ago the inside looked more like Palais Royale than it does now. I know some are charmed by this particular style of bar, but I'm not among them.
ReplyDeleteThen again, no one has ever accused me of being a hipster. I've made jokes that while I really like Troy, as a card-carrying yuppie I'm required to live in Albany. ;)
Yuppie as a badge or honor, Irisira? I sense that we are about to move into Bret Easton Ellis Territory.
DeleteNo, probably not. :)
DeleteAnd, ugh, no, not THAT kind of yuppie ... *shudder*