I've head people joke about why buffalo wings are called buffalo wings if buffalo don't have wings.
Well, it's because they're not name for the animal, but rather the city: Buffalo, New York.
And, in Buffalo, there are a number of wing places. But two main ones generally compete: The Anchor Bar and Duff's.
The first on this trip was The Anchor Bar, which claims to be the home of the original chicken wing.
On a Friday night in 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the now famous Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo, NY. Late that evening, a group of Dominic’s friends arrived at the bar with ravenous appetites. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends to eat.
They looked like chicken wings, a part of the chicken that usually went into the stock pot for soup.
Teressa had deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn’t take long for people to flock to the bar to experience this new taste sensation. From that evening on, Buffalo Wings became a regular part of the menu at the Anchor Bar.
The phenomenon created in 1964 by Teressa Bellissimo has spread across the globe. Although many have tried to duplicate Buffalo Wings, the closely guarded secret recipe is what makes Frank & Teressa’s the proclaimed “Best Wings in the World.” (ABOUT US)
There's a whole art to wings, and whether they're breaded or not, deep-fried or not, etc. And, I do not want to get into the fine details about chicken wings. But Wikipedia defines it as:
A Buffalo wing, in the cuisine of the United States, is an unbreaded chicken wing section (flat or drumette) that is generally deep-fried then coated in a sauce consisting of a vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and melted butter prior to serving. They are generally served hot, along with celery sticks and/or carrot sticks with either blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing for dipping (Wikipedia).
Lisa and I came at a good time - and we were hungry! We were immediately seated and perused the menu.
"All of our World Famous Wing orders are served with traditional celery and bleu cheese, just like Mother served us that famous night in 1964," read the top of the menu.
We ordered to kinds of wings: Mild and Spicy Hot BBQ.
I definitely loved the bbq ones better. The sauce had some kick to it, but I like the smokey sweetness.
The mild was good - definitely crispier! A vinegary base so definitely a bit more sour. But straightforward - and always good dipped in bleu cheese!
