Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it was just supposed to be twelve weeks of chicken wings and now I’m stretching it into week number fourteen, but it had to be done. People kept asking me to pick the best place I went to for wings and no way was I doing that. I didn’t want to hear the crap from people that disagreed with who I ultimately would’ve picked. So I decided to let four of my friends do the picking and let them decide who has the best chicken wings of the five chicken wing restaurants that got a four-star rating. And here’s the four judges that will be rating the four-star chicken wing restaurants:
Clockwise from the upper left, the MBIP Chicken Wing Judging Team is: Scott, John, De and Brennen. These four were picked for their chicken wing savvy, their combined love of truth, justice and the American Way and the fact that they all knew (after I told them) that Denny Laine was the only musician to last through all the incarnations of Paul McCartney and Wings.
So we called all the four-star rated MBIP chicken wing restaurants and let them know we were coming to judge them. We also asked them to make a signature drink and I’ll be judging the drink. One thing I’ve been slightly criticized here for is for being too friendly to restaurants in my reviews. Well, I guarantee that you’ll get a fair review of every signature drink today! And there’s not going to be as many photos of the restaurants, there’s a link to the original post on every entry to see more photos of when I went there during the tour. This post is going to focus more on the chicken wings and the judging of them. Plus since I had the others judging, I kind of wanted to take the day off and just enjoy the signature drinks, so I decided to give the MBIP camera a little rest for once and kick back and let the others do all of the work!
Oh and I should note that Mud Puddle Pizza, one of the four-star rated chicken wing restaurants was rented out last Sunday and couldn’t participate, so we duly note that while they couldn’t be a part of this, they made four stars and were one of the restaurants at the top of the list of the MBIP Chicken Wing Tour.
And so it’s off we go to begin our winged judging tour!
Off we go into that wild blue yonder. Lots of cloud coverage today, which is great because it’s shielding us from that nasty thing known as, “sunshine.” Ecch!
First Stop: Hammer’s Bar & Restaurant
Here’s the owner of Hammer’s, Brad Kempthorne serving up the first signature cocktail of the day. It’s a rum-based frozen drink called, “The Rum Runner.” It looks delicious!
And here’s Brad serving up the chicken wings.
Brad brought us four flavors of wings that are served up at Hammer’s: Garlic Parm, Blackened BBQ, Garlic Teriyaki and a new flavor, Sweet and Heat. I should note that the judges are rating the chicken wings on a one to four scale of presentation, taste and if Denny Laine would like them. Okay, let the judging begin!
Some of the judge’s comments regarding these wings: “I like the fact that they serve up the whole wing.” “They’re crispy outside, I like that.” “It’s cool that they put some work in the presentation and each flavor has four wings.” “Everybody here is super friendly.” “My favorite is the blackened BBQ.”
Four Betty Ford Centers—The Rum Runner was very, very delicious!
Second Stop: No Wake Zone
Here’s super-cute bartender Atlee delivering No Wake Zone’s signature drink, the “ Jack Manhattan.” It looks delicious!
We’ve got three special guests sitting in at the judge’s table here, starting at the right end of the table is: Mikey C. and Jason and Brittany. I’ve known Mikey C. forever and we met Jason and Brittany back when we were doing out Year of Pizza tour. Great to see all of them again and happy to have them sitting in with us at our judge’s table.
Here’s No Wake Zone owner, Pete Clarno bringing us three baskets of wings to sample and judge.
The three flavors he cooked up are: Mild, XXL Hot and Southern Comfort BBQ. Some of the judge’s comments regarding these wings: “The wings are smaller and make a nice bar snack item.” “These are perfectly fried.” “The heat builds up slowly in the hot wings.” “I’m not going to eat the hot wings, I don’t do hot!”
Four Betty Ford Centers—The Jack Manhattan was very, very delicious!
Third Stop: Blue Duck BBQ Tavern
Here’s the pretty Blue Duck co-owner, Joanna serving up the third signature drink of the day, The Kentucky Mule. It looks delicious!
Kavan who’s the other co-owner and chef who created all the recipes on the menu brings us a plate of Blue Duck’s chicken wings.
Blue Duck offers up one style of chicken wings on their menu and it’s an Asian barbecue infused wing. And it’s served up with a house-made red pepper sauce.
Some of the judge’s comments regarding these wings: “These are not an appetizer! These are a full meal!” “Great smoky flavor!” “The spices in the wings give it a homemade feel.” “I love the blue plate they’re served on, nice contrast to the colors of the wings and the sauce.” “I’ve never had a chicken wing like this!”
Four Betty Ford Centers—The Kentucky Mule was very, very delicious!
Fourth Stop: Country Club BBQ
Okay, this is the fourth signature drink and I’ve had a few beers thrown in between as well, so my reporting is getting a little shabby here and I didn’t write down this gentleman’s name, but he’s bringing the Country Club signature drink, the Blueberry Moonshine Lemonade. It looks delicious! And he looks kind of like Dave Grohl, that chief Fighter of Foo, so we’ll call him Dave!
And here comes the wings served up by Dave and the Executive Chef of Country Club BBQ, Mick.
The four flavors they delivered are: Plain, Mild, Hot and Orange Pineapple Teriyaki.
Some of the judge’s comments regarding these wings: “These are cooked perfect!” “They’re really tender and juicy.” “Great mild heat.” “I like the fact that they have a plain option.” “Good taste.” “The hot wings are tasty, but could be a little bit hotter.”
Four Betty Ford Centers—The Blueberry Moonshine Lemonade was very, very delicious!
Fifth Stop: Kenny’s Westside Pub
There’s a big crowd in here, but we have a table in the back reserved for our judgemental duties.
John’s serving up the fifth and final signature drink of the evening, the Jameson Shake-Up. It looks delicious!
Here’s the esteemed owner of Kenny’s Westside Pub, Sean Kenny bringing us his Peanut Butter Wings.
These wings are a creation he made especially for this MBIP chicken wing tour. They’re not on the menu, but you can order them if you’re in the know and now you are. Kenny’s also serves up eleven different flavors of chicken wings on their menu.
Some of the judge’s comments regarding these wings: “These are unexpectedly delicious!” “I love the taste and the heat in them slowly sneaks up on you.” “These are definitely my favorite of the evening!” “Peanut butter and chicken wings are a beautiful thing!” “He certainly gets points for originality!”
Four Betty Ford Centers—The Jameson Shake-Up was very, very delicious!
Okay, I have to go nurse my hangover and tally up the judge’s scoreboards and we’ll be back next week with the official wrap-up of the MBIP Twelve Week’s Of Chicken Wing Tour and announce the winner of the best chicken wings of the twelve week tour. That’s right you have to wait a week to find out the winner. I’m stretching this shit out as long as I can! Stay tuned and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Twelve Weeks of Chicken Wings @ The Turley’s, Hammer’s Bar & Restaurant, Blue Duck Barbecue Tavern, No Wake Zone, Mud Puddle Pizza, The 50’s Diner, The Country Club, Boss Hogg’s, Norwood Pub & Grub, A World Of Wings, The River Side Cafe in The Embassy Suites Hotel, Kenny’s Westside Pub and Agatucci’s.