Wingstop is a fast-casual restaurant chain specializing in buffalo-style chicken wings. Founded in 1994 in Garland, Texas, by Antonio Swad and Bernadette Fiaschetti, the company began franchising in 1997 and has since expanded to over 2,500 locations worldwide. The menu centers on bone-in and boneless chicken wings, chicken tenders, and sides like fries and veggie sticks, with a variety of sauces including Lemon Pepper and Atomic. There aren't any locations in West Virginia, so when I spotted one in the wild during my travels, I quickly placed an online order and made my way inside. I wanted to try several flavors, so I ordered Sweet BBQ Blaze, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan & Hawaiian boneless wings. The Sweet BBQ Blaze delivers a smoky, molasses-thick sauce with a lingering kick; Lemon Pepper is bright and zesty, balancing citrus and black pepper on crispy chicken; Garlic Parmesan is rich and savory, with buttery garlic and umami Parmesan coating each wing; and Hawaiian offers a sweet, tangy, tropical twist for a refreshing change. Bleu Cheese, Cheese Sauce and Cajun Fried Corn rounded out my meal. What's your favorite thing here?

Wings After Dark set up recently at one of the local hospitals during lunchtime, and I made my way over to check them out. they were a bit delayed, so it took a while to get my order of five wings. But, when I did receive them, they were hot and crispy. The crisp is crucial here, because I don't like any flabby parts on wings. I wanted a bit more zing from the barbecue sauce, but not bad overall. Grade: B

The First Baptist Church of Charleston has a commercial kitchen and space to sell food, as well as a space to eat it. So, some local cooks have used the commisary kitchen to do just that - like BG'z LA Street Tacos on Tuesdays.



On Wednesday, the pastor himself gets in on the action with "Wing Wednesday" where you can enjoy a wing dinner complete with two sides, a drink and a roll for just $10.



Wing flavors include mumbo, hot, bbq, lemon pepper dust, hot mumbo, honey drizzle and plain. Sides can vary, but I've seen mac & cheese, collard greens, potato salad, mixed vegetables, broccoli rice casserole, jambalaya, cheesy redskin potatoes and more.



AND, they have dessert. If it's your first time there, you get a dessert for free! Banana pudding, cakes, cookies - the works. And they have a good variety of drinks. I love having the options of Brisk, Sunkist, Crush - mix it up a little.



I initially was going to ordeer BBQ wings, but thankfully the woman taking my order knew better and asked if I had tried "mumbo," to which I replied no. She said if I liked sweet and sour, I would like it. I took her up on it, and God bless that woman, because those mumbo wings were fire. It really is like a sweet and sour, but so much better. It's maybe even sweeter, but also maybe more sour, too, so there's a deeper complexity that just makes me want to keeep taking another bite. The mac & cheese was stellar - nice and creamy, a touch swweet - just the way I like it. The greens were even great. I'm not huge on greens, but they cooked these in a way to take some of the bitterness out, but still provide that nice bite in between all the other rich flavors on the dish. All that plus a roll, a tasty Grape Crush and a free banana pudding? This may be the best deal in town.

**At the time of this writing, I do think they raised their price to $12, but it's still the best deal in town. Also look for their Fried Fish Fridays.



Grade: A

The Market is one of my favorite spots in Huntington. Often, I'll get a drink from one place, do a little work on my laptop, get a snack at another place, do a little work on my laptop, and so on. You get the idea.



So when there's a new restaurant in the market, I'm excited.



The Wing Place opened up within the last several months and is pretty straight-forward: They have wings. And fries. And onion rings. And funnel cake fries. But that's it.



They do have a variety of sauces, which all sounded good. I went with 6 boneless parmesan garlic and 6 boneless Carolina gold. The parmesan garlic was too dry for me. I just needed a bit more of the ~sauce~ so its not hard to choke down. The bbq, though, was tasty. The sweet, tangy wing with a dip in blue cheese adds some funk and makes for a great bite.



Grade: B

Andy's Grill has a storied history in Institute. The former restaurant served WVSU students for years with its legendary wings. 



"Andy's Grill: In 1957, Andrew Johnson opened his locally famous restaurant, Andy's Grill, on Route 25 in Institute. The business operated for over 40 years as a family restaurant that provided service to the Institute campus and the entire Kanawha Valley. The grill was best known for hot bologna sandwiches, ribs, shrimp, chicken, his secret sauce, and grilled honey buns. Johnson, affectionately known as "Mr. Andy," always greeted guests with a smile and made everyone feel at home."



I, however, knew none of this when I saw "Andy's Wings" from Brandon Johnson pop up on my Facebook feed saying they were having a pop-up and dozens of people commented that they were coming through. Let me first state that I do not encourage anyone to reach out to a stranger on facebook, drive to their house and pick up food, but that's exactly what I did. Do as I say, not as I do.

Brandon is the grandson of Andy and carries on the tradition through pop-ups at his home. He offers the wings plain or tossed in the famous sauce. He also occasionally does ribs. He also sells bottles of the famous sauce. After a little wait, I had a whole box full of wings and headed home to dig in. First of all, these are not tiny drumettes - these are whole wings. And the sauce is this sweet and tangy sauce that is addictive. I licked my fingers after each bite. The wing itself is good - but that sauce - is really tasty.

Grade: A

Wing It, located in Weirton, focuses on - wait for it - wings! I went here a month or two back (when yes, it was still snowing) while at home visiting family. I ended up going here because they made it SO EASY. You can order right online, and they have a drive-up window. In the times of COVID-19, it's so simple and safe to get some dinner this way. 



So, I ordered a half pound of boneless wings in honey BBQ - a classic. And I picked them up right at the window. This was honestly a huge portion, and they had a nice crispy coating. The flavor left a little to be desired. I love honey BBQ, but this wasn't especially flavorful. I wish there was more or it was more bold - but that's on me. Next time, I'll try another.

Have you been?

Grade: B

Fairmont is home to a number of old-school restaurants that I haven't spent enough time exploring. But I recently went up to the area to go ramp hunting with my friend Liz, and I wanted to grab a bite and support a small local business before heading back to town.



Hoops Cafe is like a sports bar that is family-friendly. At the time of my visit, we were still under quarantine. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to check out the inside. BUT, I was able to place and order and pick it up. The menu has fried appetizers, burgers, sandwiches, and wings - which I heard was their specialty. I went for 10 wings in the "Saloon Girl" sauce, which is "a must for any wing enthusiast. A balance of sweet BBQ and subtle heat makes this one of our best sellers!"


It's not your typical sweet BBQ flavor. It has a little something extra. I like my wings a bit more crisp, but overall, these were decent.

Grade: B

The Cold Spot is a wing & beer spot with three locations in West Virginia.

There's one in Charleston, one in Glen Jean and one in Nitro. The last is the only one I hadn't been to, so I gathered up some of my friends to go check it out.


It's a bit rough around the edges - with some awkward parking and a convenience store looking as though it's the entrance - but once inside, it's like any other bar and grill.

They are known for their wings, so my eyes went directly to that section.

Of course, there are spicy sauces like "toxic." But I went with 6 boneless "BBQ gold" and six boneless "Sweet BBQ."

Now, usually a "sweet BBQ" is a safe choice. But this one was just OK - their sweet bbq sauce doesn't have a ton of flavor to me.

But the BBQ gold was fantastic.

It had some sweetness and some tang. Definitely a keeper.

Oh, and the giant beers don't hurt. What's your favorite wing flavor here?
 

Big Shot Bobs House of Wings is making its way into West Virginia. I've already tried the Morgantown location, and I know there's a Wheeling location, and this time - I visited the Weirton shop.

This place features a bajillion different wing flavors, and I wanted to try a couple different ones. So first, is just a simple honey BBQ.

But the second is "Cash Club" which is mild ranch and garlic butter parm. 

Do you have a favorite?

Big Shot Bob's House of Wings just opened a Morgantown location. They are based in Pittsburgh but have a few locations in West Virginia: Weirton and Wheeling. But this is the first I tried.

This shop is cash only, so be sure to get some money out before you go. Or, they have an ATM on site. The interior is open with a decent amount of seating, including a bar area.

The wing menu of flavors is crazy. There are literally just so many, and many of them build on top of one another. I ultimately went with "TALK OF BEAVER FALLS - Hot and Tangy. One of Our Bestsellers."

They weren't joking when they said they have some kick. It has an almost vinegar-y flavor that perked me right up. Interesting flavor though. Do you have a favorite?

I've, of course, had Clutch Wings before.

But, they recently made the move to High Street, so I thought I'd stop by to check it out.

One cool thing about this is that they now have dine-in space.


I ordered six boneless sweet honey wings.

And a Kool-aid!

The wings are more like chicken tenders that have been sliced up.

What's your favorite sauce?