Ode to Buffalo Wings

Days before the most recent Super Bowl, various fliers and advertisements called out to me:  Chicken wings on special! What would Super Bowl be without chicken wings? I love Buffalo wings! Love it, love it, love it! Super Bowl was just another excuse to have some wings. I have searched high and low for the best wings and I take every chance I get to try a new place which has this on the menu. I do try honey garlic or barbeque sauce but I will always choose Buffalo-style wings over these. I found the best wings (at least at this point in my life) at their birthplace--Anchor Bar in (where else?) Buffalo, NY. Apparently, the owner, Teressa prepared this for a group of customers who came in late one night for a meal. She fried some wings (which were originally meant to be used for stock) then put some of her special sauce. And so, Buffalo wings were born. Thank you, Teressa!

For our anniversary a few years back, the family crossed over to Buffalo to have lunch at Anchor Bar. We really did not plan to shop or do anything else but have lunch there. Braving traffic at the Peace Bridge, we drove over to satisfy the craving I had not been able to appease ever since I saw an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featuring this place.

They were the best Buffalo wings I ever had. The kids had spaghetti and meatballs while hubby and I had a double (20 pieces) medium order. We did not dare order their “Suicidal” sauce. After all, I wanted to enjoy my wings, not burn my mouth. Our order came in a heaping platter with celery and bleu cheese. I couldn’t wait to dig in! Hubby prefers the drumette and I like the middle “flat.” He can be my wing man, anytime! (Sorry, I had to put that in--even at the risk of revealing the era I’m from, haha.) The skin was crispy, the meat was tender and juicy and the sauce was absolutely great! These wings were certainly worth driving to Buffalo for!

Since I cannot drive over to Buffalo all the time, I had to find a local alternative. Duff’s Famous Wings comes close. Duff's originated in NY, too, and we are all too glad they have branches here! We went to the Bayview location where parking can be a challenge, but again, for Buffalo wings, it was worth the effort. The wings are a bit smaller, but they are great as well, especially with the staple celery and bleu cheese. We did not go for the Death or heaven-forbid, Armageddon sauce. We stuck with our usual 20-piece medium (and at Duff’s “medium is hot”).

As you can see, I will go through lengths to get my Buffalo wings. I choose this for anniversaries and birthdays. My favorite chips? PC Buffalo Wings and Bleu cheese flavored chips.