Best Wings in Buffalo

[Virgil]

Many fans are making their first time trip to Buffalo this year and the most consistent question I see is “where is the best place to get wings?”   
 

If you have a strong opinion on this, please state the restaurant and why.  I will update the poll with each restaurant named.  
 

Also, feel free to add in any “must go to” places, food or not. 

Edited July 27, 2021 by Virgil

[Draconator]

I'm voting to add Bar Bills and Big Tree to the poll please

[Rico]

Stay away from Rochester, they serve puke on a plate there.

[aceman_16]

I voted but would have liked to have seen Bar Bills and Mammosers as choices.

[dorquemada]

 

The other think to consider is that as often as not, some local tavern is going to have fantastic wings.  Ask the locals.  For my money Duffs is better than Anchor Bar, but when I'm in Buffalo, i'll go to Lebros before either

 

edit:  an out of town example of this is (was) Putzy's Tavern on Yates St in Albany.  Just a local gin mill that the Albany City workers would come get liquored up at during lunch, that I used to live across the street from.  They made fantastic wings

Edited July 26, 2021 by dorquemada

[First Round Bust]

been-done both and what really is the difference other than a bad batch or sauce selection ?  Is a wing a wing, or am I missing the secret sauce here ?

[Draconator]

Just now, First Round Bust said:

been-done both and what really is the difference other than a bad batch or sauce selection ?  Is a wing a wing, or am I missing the secret sauce here ?

 

Wings outside of Buffalo, skin and bone. Wings in Buffalo, skin, bone and actual meat on the wing.

[TheBrownBear]

Just now, dorquemada said:

 

The other think to consider is that as often as not, some local tavern is going to have fantastic wings.  Ask the locals.  For my money Duffs is better than Anchor Bar, but when I'm in Buffalo, i'll go to Lebros before either

I love Duffs, but you can get similarly GREAT wings (compared to the rest of the country) at every other local bar in Buffalo.  I no longer live in Buffalo, but my parents live right by UB and their local wing spot is a little place in a strip mall called Elmo's and they have unbelievably good wings too.  

 

And as much as Buffalonians love to crap on the Anchor Bar, their wings are still dang good and will also blow the minds of out-of-towners who haven't been exposed to much beyond Buffalo Wild Wings.

[Mrbojanglezs]

Duffs if I had to choose between the two but neither would be in my top 5

[dorquemada]

2 minutes ago, TheBrownBear said:

I love Duffs, but you can get similarly GREAT wings (compared to the rest of the country) at every other local bar in Buffalo.  I no longer live in Buffalo, but my parents live right by UB and their local wing spot is a little place in a strip mall called Elmo's and they have unbelievably good wings too.  

 

And as much as Buffalonians love to crap on the Anchor Bar, their wings are still dang good and will also blow the minds of out-of-towners who haven't been exposed to much beyond Buffalo Wild Wings.

 

lol, im in the same boat.  I've been to Elmo's, and love the wings.  Before I moved out (30 years ago), i used to go to the Raintree Inn in Tonawanda.  No idea if it's still there but pitcher of Molson and a dozen hot wings and I was happy

[The Tomcat]

Love me some Duffs.

[Rigotz]

Anchor Bar is universally known as a joke of a wing spot. Terrible wings... good marketing.

Duffs is good, but you need more than one legitimate option on the poll.

[BuffaloMatt]

La Nova wings are good too. 

[teef]

i always loved gabriel's gate wings, but i'm partial because i lived a block up.

[dorquemada]

I'll also let you rookies in on a secret...order them extra crispy.  Very few places (especially outside of Buffalo!) make properly crispy wings.  I've finally broken the takeout places near where I live and they make the wings correctly.  No, they insist, soggy slimy wings are what people want!

[teef]

3 minutes ago, dorquemada said:

I'll also let you rookies in on a secret...order them extra crispy.  Very few places (especially outside of Buffalo!) make properly crispy wings.  I've finally broken the takeout places near where I live and they make the wings correctly.  No, they insist, soggy slimy wings are what people want!

this really is the case.  i have 2 or 3 places by me that actually cook them to the proper crispiness every time, (other places will do it, but too hit or miss) and that's where we go to get wings.  take out wings, no matter how crispy i ask for them, are always rubbery.  every single time.  

[Gugny]

52 minutes ago, Virgil said:

Many fans are making their first time trip to Buffalo this year and the most consistent question I see is “where is the best place to get wings?”   
 

If you have a strong opinion on this, please state the restaurant and why.  I will update the poll with each restaurant named.  
 

Also, feel free to add in any “must go to” places, food or not. 

 

Bar Bill.

 

And it ain't close.

[Watkins90]

10 minutes ago, teef said:

this really is the case.  i have 2 or 3 places by me that actually cook them to the proper crispiness every time, (other places will do it, but too hit or miss) and that's where we go to get wings.  take out wings, no matter how crispy i ask for them, are always rubbery.  every single time.  

I find it comes down to the sauce and what state the wings are in when they are fried. Frozen, no matter how long you keep them down turns rubbery about two minutes after you out the sauce on. 

[Ned Flanders]

16 minutes ago, teef said:

i always loved gabriel's gate wings, but i'm partial because i lived a block up.

The Gate is our first stop when coming to Buffalo.

[The Dean]

I agree too many places serve great wings for a two restaurant poll. This has already been done to death---typically by clueless outsiders (Food Channel, for instance), It's easy and mindless, IMO.

 

With that said, I much prefer Duffs, whose style is most like the flavor of most of the area's great wings, IMO. Anchor is "different". I suppose if you prefer that difference, you'd take Anchor.  Another reason is I like my wings SCREAMING hot (but still with the traditional Buffalo wing flavor). On that Duffs delivers while Anchor falls flat.

 

Outside of WNY (and to an extent in WNY too) the size of the wing really isn't a huge issue to me. I'll take a scrawny wing, properly cooked and sauced over a big flabby undercooked mild or off tasting wing any day.