Chicken fight

Four months ago, I set
out to find the best chicken wings in the Rochester area. Over that time, many
wondered whether the subject warranted the time and effort. Trying to argue
that it did, I found myself feeling that it didn’t. But since Buffalo’s Anchor
Bar (1047 Main Street, Buffalo) started serving wings in 1964, the appeal of
the little fried hunks of mostly skin and bone has been hard to deny, and in
the spirit of populism, here goes.

            Ralph’s Roadmap for Wings
(members.tripod.com/~Backsight/) has reviews of places to get wings in 40
states, as well as Canada, Ireland, the Virgin Islands, the United Arab
Emirates, South Korea, the Philippines, and Singapore. Why? It has something to
do with finding a palatable way to sell fat and bone, the tastiest parts of any
animal. Chicken isn’t generally flavorful, but its skin is, as are the bones.
Wings, therefore, maximize its savory qualities.

            In the case of Buffalo-style wings — which for the sake
of discussion we’ll take to mean deep-fried wings tossed with a mixture of oil
and hot sauce — there is the combined draw of machismo and, well, beer to
take into consideration. Give a bunch of slightly buzzed guys something tasty,
macho (that’s the hot sauce part), and gross (tearing up little animal joints),
and they’ll eat as many as they can afford. Does the celery or blue cheese
matter? Good question.

            The saying “there’s no accounting for taste” is a problem
when you write about food. Many people have a favorite wing spot, but if
pressed, can’t tell you much about why they like it. Often, it’s an appeal to
authority (“Everybody says Jeremiah’s are best”); for some, it’s just habit,
picking a favorite bar and learning to like what it serves. Well, after having
wings at 15 establishments, my wing team and I are ready to account for our
tastes.

The wing team included myself, Stan Merrell, and the two Dave Andersons. Stan’s
credentials are unquestioned; in addition to being one of Rochester’s finest
post-punk crooners, he’s a noted burgerologist and aficionado of all things
greasy and disgusting. Saxon Recording impresario Dave Anderson has been eating
wings since before you were born, and his son, Dave Jr., is an intrepid
youngster with a definite future in offering opinions on the trivial.

            One of our criteria was size, with value being related
but not synonymous. Jeremiah’s (1104 Monroe Avenue) — a favorite with many
locals — serves large wings, but the size is offset by the expense. At $5.50
per pound, and eight or nine wings per pound, these are about the priciest in
town. Richmond’s (21 Richmond Street) were, according to my size notes, “frightening,”
and a better deal with 10 for $5, or 18 for $7.75. Chicken Mom’s (1159 North
Goodman Street), a takeout joint, had the best value, with 26 wings for $9.25,
which comes out to 36 cents per wing.

            The over-under is roughly 45 cents per wing, with size
mitigating that. Beale Street (693 South Avenue), Margaritas (1226 Fairport
Road), Richmond’s, and the Sports Page (499 Monroe Avenue) all come in under
that price. The expensive places would be the Distillery (1142 Mt. Hope
Avenue), Country Sweet (515 Monroe Avenue), and Hitchcock’s (881 Merchants
Road). A few places have obvious trouble with math. At both Rohrbach’s (3859
Buffalo Road) and Chicken Mom’s, you’re better off not getting the biggest order (at Rohrbach’s, in fact, the value
goes down in inverse proportion to the quantity).

            Another factor relating to cost is drinks. Some places
— such as the Distillery, Country Sweet, and Margarita’s — give you free
refills on soda. Richmond’s and the Sports Page, on the other hand, have their
value offset by charging $5 for each pitcher (mostly ice at Richmond’s).

            And then there are the super deals. Rohrbach’s scores big
here, with a shocking happy-hour price of $2.75 a dozen from 4 to 7 p.m. Monday
through Thursday, and 10 p.m. to midnight Saturdays. That’s worth a trip to
Gates. Hitchcock’s runs a 35-cent wing special on Saturdays, and the Sports
Page has them for the same price on Mondays and Wednesday. The wings are decent
at all three places, though the Sports Page is very smoky and unpleasant. (The
place seemed completely devoid of paper products.)

            Value doesn’t come into the picture if the wings suck.
One way to measure wing quality is whether you stop eating them before getting
full. When the wings aren’t cooked correctly, or when the sauce is annoying for
one reason or another, wings become unappetizing quickly.

            Of the places we tried, only two need to be called on the
carpet. The Distillery stands out for undercooked, undersized, expensive wings
served by a surly, unhelpful man in a loud and impersonal environment. “It’s
the Godzilla of sports bars,” explained Stan. Second, Sal’s Birdland (309 Ridge
Road East) is a depressing place where the wings have the kind of greasiness
that makes you feel queasy after just a couple.

Quality is largely a function of cooking and sauce, and taste in the latter varies
wildly. The entire team likes the gelatinous glop in which Country Sweet’s
wings swim (fly?), but I don’t. On cooking, we largely agree. Whether battered
or not, wings should be crisp on the outside while remaining moist inside.
Batters seal juices in very well, but they also tend to hold more oil.

            Country Sweet’s battered wings, which we decided
epitomize the Rochester style, seem more like fried chicken than the classic
Buffalo wing. You can also get that style at Sal’s and Chester Cab (707 Park
Avenue). Big Al at the Genesee Family Restaurant (211 Genesee Street) has it
down the best, though. His coating is loaded with black pepper, and the chicken
was the most tender we tried.

            Country Sweet’s remained tender inside, and weren’t
nearly as greasy as Sal’s. We got ours with sauce on the side, which I’ve been
told is just plain wrong, but that did preserve the crispness. I was surprised
by just how good Chester Cab’s battered wings were. The batter had a strong,
peppery flavor, and was substantial without seeming like a layer of cardboard.
It also stood up nicely to Chester Cab’s sauces.

            A Buffalo-style wing purist, though, will tell you that
batter is an abomination before the Lord. Whatever. It’s certainly true that
when properly fried, the skin on a wing becomes a thing of divine
scrumptiousness. Dave Sr. was bowled over by the cooking of Anchor Bar’s wings,
repeatedly mentioning the wonderful things that happened to “those little
pockets of fat.” It was almost a pork-rind effect, he said, and indeed, that
does happen in the best-cooked Buffalo-style wings.

            Jeremiah’s lives up to its reputation on the cooking
score. The tavern’s enormous wings are crisp enough to crackle down to the
bottom of the basket, even in lots of sauce, and the meat is moist.
Hitchcock’s, Rohrbach’s, and Richmond’s also cooked our wings very well (Dave
even found a fat pocket or two at Hitchcock’s). One aside here is that I find
the drumstick inferior to the other wing piece (what’s that called, anyway?).
Because of its uneven thickness, it’s almost impossible to cook the entire
drumstick perfectly.

            Margaritas had a unique approach, frying, saucing, and
then grilling the wings. That worked exceptionally well on mild and medium
wings, creating a depth of flavor that was unrivalled. The danger, though, is
drying them out, which did happen to the Cajun style. Special mention also goes
to Beale Street, where the skin was crisp but delicate, almost like it is on a
good roast bird. These certainly weren’t Buffalo-style, but they were cooked
with touch, and a bargain at $4.95 a dozen.

Sauce is the other part of the quality equation, and this is where
individual taste comes in. We had one occasional wing team member who kept calling
sauces “too brash.” I still have no idea what he meant. He also disliked
anything with garlic, but tended to like standard Buffalo-style wings. This is
odd, because Frank’s is such a classic sauce for Buffalo wings, and features
garlic prominently. It’s a free country, folks.

            The standard Buffalo sauce combines hot sauce, butter,
and cayenne pepper. It’s tangy, aromatic, a bit greasy, and the level of
grittiness often corresponds to the heat. We started to develop an attitude of,
“Yep; another Buffalo sauce.” It’s not subtle, and the relish leaves little
room for variation, but when you’re in the mood, it can be great (particularly
for clearing the sinuses).

            Jeremiah’s serves the hottest Buffalo-style wings we
tried; the catatonic were so hot that five of us had trouble finishing nine
wings. If you dig this style, and don’t mind the price, you can’t go wrong at
this place. Hitchcock’s and Rohrbach’s also serve commendable versions of the
classic.

            Our favorite version of Buffalo wings, though, came from
Chicken Mom’s. The place is a bit intimidating — the cashier is behind what
looks like bullet-proof glass — but those wings are a deal and delicious. The
cayenne is quite pronounced, and you’d better like garlic. The wings were
fairly greasy, but held their crispness surprisingly well for takeout.

            What we really liked, though, were the unusual sauces we
encountered. On those marvelously cooked wings at Beale Street, we found a thin
glaze, sweet but not cloying, with a hint of an Asian flavor. At the time, Dave
Sr. called them the best he’d ever had in his life. Dave has a gift for
hyperbole; he later called eating wings at the Anchor Bar “a life-changing
experience.”

            Richmond’s has its own sauce, which combines sweet,
spices, and perhaps mustard to excellent effect. My personal favorite, though,
was the medium sauce at Margaritas. It really wasn’t hot at all, but the
grilling technique the place uses infuses the flavor wonderfully.

            Of course, Country Sweet has its absurdly sweet sauce.
Stan called the wings “sugary chicken bombs.” Country Sweet also has habañero
and smoky barbecue sauces, which taste a bit different while retaining the
syrupy character of the original (Stan dug the habañero). All the
Rochester-style joints have a version of the Boss-like sauce, including the
Genesee Family Restaurant, Chester Cab, and Sal’s. Chester Cab’s my favorite of
the ilk.

            Several places offer a barbecue sauce. Richmond’s has
Uncle Ralph’s Famous Magic Sauce, and as bottled sauces go, it’s just fabulous.
Richmond’s, isn’t consistent, but one of the nights we went, the wings with
Uncle Ralph’s were among the top three orders we had during the whole mission.
Chester Cab also has a great barbecue sauce, not as complexly spiced as
Ralph’s, but smokier. Get that on the pizzeria’s grilled wings and you won’t be
disappointed.

Many favor a deep dip in bleu cheese dressing, and almost all wings come with some. The
cool dressing contrasts particularly well with hot sauces, but we’re sad to
report that the general quality of the dressings is poor. My notes on the
dressings are sad: “Miracle Whip with a few chunks,” “tasted like ranch,” “the
French wouldn’t be happy,” “too thin,” and, simply, “blech.” Rohrbach’s wasn’t
bad, and neither, surprisingly, was Country Sweet’s. Perhaps the cooling effect
is what’s important, but if you’re going to call it bleu cheese, it ought to
sort of taste like it.

            A pile of celery sticks is generally standard issue with
wings as well. This is mostly to provide a break when scalding your inner cheeks
with something described as “nuclear,” “catatonic,” or “caustic.” Nobody was
distinguished in the celery department, and we noticed that with takeout wings,
the celery got steamed, which was most unfortunate.

            What we liked, though, were the places that gave you some
options with the sides. At the Genesee Family Restaurant, $7.50 sounded like a
lot for 10 wings, but they were huge, and the price included two sides. Owner
Big Al makes stunning candied yams, crisp-tender collards, black-eyed peas,
cornbread, and more. Country Sweet’s wing pack dinner ($6.99) also includes two
sides, and while they aren’t up to Big Al’s, we did enjoy the sweet potato
fries.

            A related concern would be what else you can get at the
place. It’s entirely possible that you have friends who just don’t like wings.
Beale Street has a full menu, focusing on barbecue, and the quality-to-price
ratio is great. The Texas barbecued brisket is a highlight. If you don’t mind
the prices, Jeremiah’s other food is very good, and you can even get things for
your vegetarian friends. Genesee Family Restaurant is an excellent value for
finger-lickin’ soul food, and will get its own column soon. Rohrbach’s, of
course, makes its own beer, and Chester Cab makes pizza that plenty of locals
swear by.

            It’s mostly bars that serve wings, and you get typical
bar drawbacks and attractions. Many are smoky, but a low ceiling can make that
next to unbearable, as it can be at the Sports Page or Richmond’s. The bars
with separate dining areas — Rohrbach’s, Jeremiah’s, Beale Street, and the
Distillery — have better air quality. But of that bunch, Beale Street gets a
ringing endorsement from the team; live blues beats out TV sets and local radio
DJs by a long shot.

            Country Sweet is bright and weird, with no smoke. If you
go at night, you might meet the Friendly Parking Ogre, an enormous, pony-tailed
man who tows non-CS customers’ cars. Parking is a nightmare on Monroe, a big
minus for the Sports Page. Genesee Family Restaurant is clean and well-lit,
with big tables so you can spread out.

            The wing team paid attention to details. Beale Street had
a big supply of wet wipes right there on the table. Nice. Big Al treated us
like we were at his house. Our child-of-darkness waitress at the Sports Page
was pleasantly dismissive, but the guy at the Distillery was not pleasant. The
chairs at Richmond’s need replacing, and the tables at Sal’s can’t handle three
large guys.

Is there a Best Chicken Wing in Rochester? That depends on what you’re looking for, but
the place the wing team liked best was Beale Street. As Stan put it, “The one
place I would return to for wings is Beale Street. They’ve got a winning
combination: live music, great food, and good service. Nice place to hang out
with friends and (of course) great wings.” Dave Sr. agreed: “I found the wings
at Beale Street to be a titillating taste-bud experience… a little sweet, not
too much heat, crisp on the outside with sweet succulent meat on the inside.
The sauce has a distinctive flavor, and reminds me of exotic, far-away places.”

            Dave Jr. and I loved Margaritas. In his words, “The
chicken wings at Margaritas were the best I’ve ever had. All of the sauces were
fantastic with their own unique twists. The savory flavor lingered in my mouth,
making me want to go back for more the next day. Delicious charcoal flavor with
the tangy BBQ style makes them my number-one choice.”

            The
chicken wing is practically synonymous with Buffalo, and by extension, Western
New York. It’s nice to be known for something, I suppose. Done properly,
they’re a thoroughly delicious snack, if not particularly healthy. Eaten once
in a while they certainly won’t hurt you, though I don’t recommend having them
20 times in a four-month period.

Ralph’s Roadmap for Wings

This article appears in May 15-21, 2002.