Wing CountryGet me some wings
Who's frying near you, and who's worth the gas.
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Worth the gas
Joints somebody already bragged on in print. The dots count how many said so; they're all named on the joint's own page.
Prince's Hot Chicken Shack 4 recognitions
James Beard Foundation, Southern Foodways Alliance, Food Network, Other named recognition
Nashville, TN — The Nashville hot chicken shack, started by James Thornton Prince and run since 1980 by his great-niece André …
Elmo's Bar & Restaurant 3 recognitions
Bon Appétit, Buffalo Wing Trail, The local paper or alt-weekly
Getzville, NY — A pitcher-and-television sports bar on Millersport Highway in Getzville, near the University at Buffalo's nort…
Nine-Eleven Tavern 3 recognitions
National Buffalo Wing Festival, The local paper or alt-weekly, Buffalo Wing Trail
Buffalo, NY — A cash-only corner tavern in South Buffalo, established 1981, whose wings come out large and heavily sauced in…
American Deli 2 recognitions
The local paper or alt-weekly, Thrillist
Atlanta, GA — A counter chain out of Atlanta, open since 1989, that sells wings by the ten-piece with a long board of season…
Anchor Bar 2 recognitions
Other named recognition, Food Network
Buffalo, NY — A bar and restaurant at Main and North in Buffalo, open since 1935, which claims the Buffalo wing and has trad…
Bar-Bill Tavern 2 recognitions
Buffalo Wing Trail, The local paper or alt-weekly
East Aurora, NY — A tavern on Main Street in East Aurora, fifteen miles southeast of Buffalo and not in the city at all, whose w…
Big Bob Gibson Bar-B-Q 2 recognitions
Southern Foodways Alliance, Other named recognition
Decatur, AL — The Decatur, Alabama pit where white barbecue sauce was invented: mayonnaise, vinegar and black pepper, made f…
Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish 2 recognitions
Southern Foodways Alliance, Other named recognition
Nashville, TN — A small East Nashville counter at 624 Main Street selling spicy fried chicken and spicy fried fish, opened in …
Gabriel's Gate 2 recognitions
Bon Appétit, Buffalo Wing Trail
Buffalo, NY — A restaurant and tavern at 145 Allen Street in Buffalo's Allentown, trading since 1969 inside an 1864 brick ro…
Hattie B's Hot Chicken 2 recognitions
Other named recognition, USA Today 10Best
Nashville, TN — A Nashville hot chicken house founded by a father and son both named Nick Bishop, open in Midtown since 2012 a…
Horace & Dickie's Seafood 2 recognitions
The local paper or alt-weekly, Other named recognition
Camp Springs, MD — A fried-fish carryout that ran thirty years at 12th and H Streets NE in Washington and now trades from Prince …
J.R. Crickets 2 recognitions
The local paper or alt-weekly, Other named recognition
Atlanta, GA — A Midtown Atlanta wing bar open since 1982, founded by Paul Juliano, who still runs it.…
Mammoser's Tavern & Restaurant 2 recognitions
Bon Appétit, Buffalo Wing Trail
Hamburg, NY — A neighbourhood tavern on South Buffalo Street in Hamburg, twelve miles south of the city, pouring eighteen mi…
Wingnutz 2 recognitions
The local paper or alt-weekly, Other named recognition
Williamsville, NY — A sports bar on Millersport Highway in Williamsville, run by Ed and Alicia Wrazen, whose wings ran for thirtee…
Buffalo Wild Wings 1 recognition
National Buffalo Wing Festival
Atlanta, GA — A sports-bar chain that put a Buffalo wing on a menu in Columbus, Ohio in 1982 and then on menus in all fifty …
Capital City Mambo Sauce 1 recognition
Other named recognition, Other named recognition
Bowie, MD — A bottler, not a counter. Arsha and Charles Jones started Capital City in a home kitchen in 2011 to put D.C.…
Central BBQ 1 recognition
Southern Foodways Alliance
Memphis, TN — A Memphis barbecue house started in 2002 by two competition cooks, Craig Blondis and Roger Sapp, on Central Av…
Chickie's & Pete's 1 recognition
Other named recognition
Philadelphia, PA — A Philadelphia sports bar and crab house that began as a Mayfair taproom in 1977 and now runs stadium, casino …
Thin spots
No place here carries lgbtq+ welcoming, all flats or all drums, closes when sold out, closed. That says nothing about America's wing counters — it says where our reading stopped. What would earn it: lgbtq+ welcoming — the business's own statement, a press list whose framing says the businesses in it are LGBTQ-owned, or a public directory (an LGBTQ chamber of commerce, a Pride business list, OpenStreetMap lgbtq=welcome); all flats or all drums — the menu; closes when sold out — the business's own site or a dated press piece; closed — a dated press piece or the business's own notice. Thin so far: woman-owned (2), naked, no breading (1), smoked (3), bone-in only (3), wing night (1), halal (1), cash only (2). Every directory we read is listed on where all of this came from. A business that wants a tag it has earned can say so on its own site or in any of those directories, and we read it there.
Reading the tags
| ✊🏾 Black-owned | the owner's own statement, a press profile naming the owner, a Black-owned business directory |
|---|---|
| ♀ Woman-owned | the owner's own statement, a press profile naming the owner, a women-owned business certification (WBENC, WOSB) |
| 🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+ welcoming | the business's own statement, a press list whose framing says the businesses in it are LGBTQ-owned, or a public directory (an LGBTQ chamber of commerce, a Pride business list, OpenStreetMap lgbtq=welcome) |
| 👪 Family-run | a press profile or the business's own history |
| 🔥 Naked, no breading | the menu, the business's own words, or a press piece that describes the wing |
| 🍞 Breaded | the menu, the business's own words, or a press piece that describes the wing |
| 💨 Smoked | the menu or a press piece describing the cook |
| 🥣 Sauce made in house | the business's own words or a press piece |
| ⚖ All flats or all drums | the menu |
| 🦴 Bone-in only | the menu |
| 📅 Wing night | the business's own listing or a dated press piece; name the night in `note` |
| 🌙 Open late | posted hours running past midnight |
| ☪ Halal | the business's own statement or a halal directory |
| 💵 Cash only | the business's own site or a dated press piece |
| ⏳ Closes when sold out | the business's own site or a dated press piece |
| 🪟 Counter or window, no dining room | the business's own site, a press piece, or OpenStreetMap takeaway=only |
| 🍺 Bar, 21 and over | the business's own site or a dated press piece |
| ⚫ Closed | a dated press piece or the business's own notice |
Each tag names where it came from. No tag means we haven't read that one yet.