The Buffalo Wing Bible

Under-sauced, bone-dry wings Final Overall Score: 2.7  Restaurant: 3.0  The W Ferry St La Nova is bustling and lively. It’s not in the best location and parking is a little awkward. The inside of the restaurant appears that it was significantly updated at some point. It's a little cramped with stacks of pizza boxes piled in almost every corner, and some cleaning supplies and equipment strewn around the restaurant. Brownie points for having their own La Nova branded water bottles. Taste: 3.0  Overall tasty and crispy, but very dry and sorely under-sauced. Both the sauce and the dry meat made for a highly imbalanced taste, as the dry chicken only tasted dryer with almost no sauce and high acidity. Sauce: 1.0  While the quantity of sauce was far too little, the sauce that we did taste was good (although not great). It had a high acidity but only a hint of creaminess. The mild heat was well on the mild side of the medium spectrum - there was no l...

A most authentic Buffalo bar with fair wings Final Overall Score: 3.4  Restaurant: 3.0  Kelly’s is a dive bar, but in a cozy, authentic Buffalo way. It’s located near where the Turkey Trot starts every year, so it even has a bit of a nostalgic feel. The building is worn and you can tell that the restaurant has seen many a Buffalo winter. Despite the well worn tile and wood, Kelly’s Korner is overall clean and welcoming. The service was efficient and no-nonsense. The wings were not the best, but the cozy, local feel of Kelly’s still made for a memorable experience. It has more of a "local sports bar favorite" feel than a "bring your friends and family here" kind of feel. Taste: 3.5  The wings were quite tasty, but more in that they tasted like good fried chicken and not so much good Buffalo wings. The crispy skin was good and salty, but the sauce lost a critical amount of points here. Sauce: 1.5  The Buffalo sauce was the most disappointing a...

A surprisingly sub par classic wing, but a great overall restaurant Final Overall Score: 2.9  Restaurant: 4.0  The atmosphere, staff, and decor of Gene McCarthy's get top marks - very unique, eclectic, and welcoming restaurant. The bar is large and the menu overall is great. We would return to Gene McCarthy's for the atmosphere and overall quality of the restaurant, but would not specifically order the Buffalo wings. Taste: 3.0  The wings did not impress us. While the wings came out in a timely manner and were steaming hot, it was immediately easy to see that the sauce wasn't thick and creamy, and there wasn't a lot of sauce overall. Sauce: 2.5  The Buffalo sauce was tasty but fairly one dimensional in flavor. The sauce lacked in creaminess but the Buffalo flavor was good, even slightly hotter than expected for medium. While not absolutely awful, this sauce was far from perfect. Crispiness: 1.5  The wings were soft and chewy - there...

An unexpected underdog Final Overall Score: 3.7  Restaurant: 2.5  Despite its regal sounding name, Wing Kings is a little hole in the wall. It is clean and has a small area for seating outside by the Elmwood sidewalk but is designed for grab-n-go. This unassuming little takeout joint has tons of different wing flavors, but we were there just for their classic wings. As a side note, we did also try some Old Bay french fries and seriously enjoyed them. Also a shout out to the extremely kind wait staff. Taste: 4.5  We were not expecting much, but Wing Kings came through with some very tasty wings that were a surprisingly strong contender! The sauce was nearly perfect, but these wings lost points for their lack of thorough crispiness. It was a shame because the portions that were crispy were REALLY TASTY! It doesn’t show in the picture, but there was indeed celery and bleu cheese nestled under the foil. Sauce: 4.5  A solid, flavorful sauce! Spi...

Great wings, but not the best Final Overall Score: 3.7  Restaurant: 2.5  Put on your scuba gear, because this restaurant is a dive! There’s nothing wrong with being a dive bar, but there is a difference between divey and dirty. Clad in wood paneling, the restaurant itself is extremely dark inside, possibly to hide how grimy everything was. Cleanliness aside, the wings were good, but not list-topping. The food overall was not great, and the sub-par atmosphere paired with great (but not the best) wings does not top our list of restaurants to visit again soon. We agreed that Elmo’s would be a fair place to bring guests and out-of-towners for iconic Buffalo wings, but not a first choice. Taste: 4.0  The overall taste of the wings was very good, above average. Crispy skin and perfectly cooked meat, but the sauce was lacking. Overall an overly acidic wing that was cooked very well. Additionally, the wings were served with big chunky baby carrots and no cel...

An unfortunate trifecta of poor wings, mediocre food, and restaurant mishaps Final Overall Score: 1.4  Restaurant: 3.0  Overall we were very disappointed with the wings at Glen Park. The restaurant has a cozy pub style and promising atmosphere, but neither the food in general nor the wings were redeeming. It didn't help that the rest of the food we tried was just fair, and there were several small details such as the wait staff brought us the check while we were still eating and some stray ingredients, such as a wayward cranberry in the souvlaki salad. Taste: 0.0  The overall taste of the wings was greasy without any flavor. The first bite was deceptively crispy, and it all went downhill from there. The wings tasted like they had been directly fried without any seasoning, and also fried for too much time. No celery or even carrots accompanied the wings. As a sad bonus, the bleu cheese was soupy and appeared to be watered down. Sauce: 0.0  The...

An outstanding food and dining experience with fair wings Final Overall Score: 3.6 Restaurant: 5.0 The Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub has a cheerful Irish pub atmosphere and the menu is impressive. We would return here for the overall high quality food and warm atmosphere, but not specifically for the wings… Taste: 3.5 The wings overall were a resounding "just okay." The imbalance of sauce, crispiness, and dryness made for a sub-par wing. Sauce: 2.5 The sauce was acidic and quite spicy without any creaminess to balance it. In addition, there was simply not enough quantity of sauce on the wings. Crispiness: 3.5 As for the crispiness, the wings had a good crisp but perhaps a little too much. In fact, some of the chicken on the inside of the wings was on the dry side. Size & Quality: 3.5 Finally, the size of the wings was normal, but very inconsistent in size. Some of the flats were over an inch longer than others. Additionally, all of t...