From the same people that bring you Burger Conquest, we bring you the New York City Wing-Off. A crew of men on a search for the best wing in NYC. Wing-Off judges solely on quality of the Medium and Hot wings only. Service, ambiance, beverage selection, price and other menus have no factor but they sure do count for a good time! Also, NO WOMEN ALLOWED!!
WING-OFF 11: Sunday, February 28th, 2010
THE WING BAR vs. BONNIE’S GRILLE
-Brooklyn Style!!!
The Wing Bar
275 Smith St
Brooklyn, NY 11231
(718) 237-2728
http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/603161632/brooklyn_ny/wing_bar.html
Bonnie’s Grill
278 5th Ave
Brooklyn, NY 11215
(347) 673-1162
http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/7356065/brooklyn_ny/bonnie_s_grill.html
THE WING BAR
Rather new to the scene, popping up in 2009, Brooklyn’s The Wing Bar has been making some waves with their hot wings. Located in the Cobble Hill section of the borough, they offer a small yet inexpensive selection of bar food, all centered around the hot wing. The Wing Bar is also known for lost but not forgotten liquid serving container that is almost extinct in New York City; the pitcher! Their open until 2 am and also have a back patio but on this particularly warm winter day there were 2 other reasons to be here – 1. Wing-Off 11, 2. USA vs. Canada Olympic Gold Medal Hockey game.
The place is small and tight so we all owe a big round of applause to Ashely who not only saved us a space right under the TV but also did a fantastic job as our server. With no delay and a game to watch, we ordered a selection of medium and hot wings with a various assortment of beers to wash them down. Kudos to The Wing Bar for having Captain Lawrence on tap (big fan.)
Holy crispiness Bat(wing) Man!! Both the mediums and the hots were cooked to a perfect crunchy outside while remaining nice and juicy in the middle. As meatiness, the wings were just right; not too skimpy, not too much. The flavor in the mediums were right on the money with a buttery – peppered taste. The hots were good too but could’ve used a little more in the heat department. A strong showing on both accounts.
Literally at the end of the 2nd period, the Wing-Off crew jumped up from our tables and high-tailed it across town to our 2nd location. Along the way we crossed the Carroll St Bridge. Not that this bridge crossing the Gowanus Canal has anything to do with wings but as an interesting pieces of history, it’s worth pointing it out. Erected by the Brooklyn Department of City Works in 1889, ” is one of two retractile bridges left in New York, and one of four left in the United States. A retractile bridge slides along a track to allow the bridge to move and ships to pass.” Thanks to Wing-Off member Leo F. for the education and link.
BONNIE’S GRILL
Bonnie’s Grill is a tiny little cafe located in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn. Offering counter or waited service at one of their very few tables, this grill was created by 2 sons of the town that invented the hot wing; Buffalo
, NY. Known mostly for their wings and burgers, Bonnie’s has a decently sized menu with quite a lot of options for such a small place. Some might even call it a hole-in-the-wall, but a really, really neat and clean one.
We piled in taking up every single table in the place, eyes fixed on the TV as the 3rd period began. While the only Canadian amongst our group, Adam ordered a Labatt’s Blue, the rest of us try to stick with American brewed beers. In the race against beer, Bonnie’s beats The Wing Bar not in the fact that they too offer beer by the pitcher but an actually glass pitcher! Drink up, we did.
We placed the standard order for mediums and hot wings and waited for them to arrive. Bonnie’s wings were cooked well and meaty with a crispy outside and juicy inside. The wings were just slightly less crispy than The Wing Bar’s wings and done right on the money. The mediums had good flavor and enough bite to remind you that these are “hot” wings. The hot on the other hand, were no joke. Their peppery flavor danced across the tongue leaving a blanket of heat that lasted a good 2-3 minutes. This was hot done right. Although we don’t judge on them, we also order the “hotter” wings. These spicy little numbers were as intense as the game tying goal scored by Zach Parise of the NJ Devils with only 24 seconds left on the clock. There is not a single member of the Wing-Off who I would call a “sissbag” but these wings called for a glass of milk after 5 minutes of lingering heat.
While Bonnie’s won the Wing-Off and Canada won the Gold Medal the real winners here were the baker’s dozen of us that had a fun afternoon filled with hot wings, cold beer, history and using our bitterness to make a tasteless, yet funny joke at Canada’s expense.
WING-OFF HISTORICAL
WING-OFF 1
January 28, 2007
Scruffy Duffy’s vs. Atomic at Down the Hatch
WINNER: SCRUFFY DUFFYS
Scruffy Duffy’s
www.scruffyduffys.com
743 Eighth Avenue
(between 46th & 47th)
New York, NY 10036
Atomic at Down the Hatch
http://www.nycbestbar.com/downthehatch/
179 W. 4th St
New York, NY
WING-OFF 2
June 3rd, 2007
Scruffy Duffy’s vs Blondie’s
WINNER: SCRUFFY DUFFYS
Scruffy Duffy’s
www.scruffyduffys.com
Scruffy Duffy’s 743 Eighth Avenue
(between 46th & 47th)
New York, NY 10036
Blondies’s
www.blondiessports.com
212 W 79th St
(Between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway)
New York, NY 10024-6225
WING-OFF 3
September 11, 2007
Mudville 9
http://www.mudville9.com/
126 Chambers St
(Btwn Church and W.Broadway)
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 964-WING
WING-OFF 4
January 20, 2008
Scruffy Duffy’s at Lansdowne Road vs. Texas Arizona
WINNER by disqualification, SCRUFFY DUFFYS
Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008
WING-0FF 5
June 27, 2008
Lansdowne Road vs. Croxley Ale House vs. 1-2-3 Burger Shot Beer
WINNER: SCRUFFY DUFFYS
Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008
Croxley Ale House
www.croxley.com
28 Avenue B
New York, NY
123 Burger Shot Beer
www.123burgershotbeer.com
738 10th Avenue
New York, NY
WING-OFF 6
October 6th, 2008
Scruffy’s Retirement Party at Lansdowne Road
Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008
WING-OFF 7
TOWN TAVERN vs. WOGIE’S
WINNER; WOGIE’S
Town Tavern
http://www.towntavernnyc.com/
134 West 4th St
(at MacDougal)
New York, NY 10012
Wogie’s
http://www.wogies.com/
39 Greenwich Ave
(btwn Charle’s & Perry)
New York, NY 10014
WING-OFF 8
BLIND TIGER ALE HO– USE vs. THUNDER JACKSONS
WINNER; Both DQ!
Blind Tiger Ale House
http://blindtigeralehouse.com/
281 Bleecker St (@ Jones St)
New York, NY
Thunder Jackson’s
http://www.thunderjackson.com
169 Bleecker St (@ Sullivan St)
New York, NY 10012
WING-OFF 9
Tuesday, August 4th
Johnny Utah’s VS. Point Break (formerly Nation)
WINNER: Point Break
EX-PRESIDENTIAL RUBBER MASKS ENCOURAGED!
Johnny Utah’s
25 W 51st St (Between 5th and 6th Aves)
New York, NY 10019-6902
(212) 265-8824
www.johnnyutahs.com
Point Break
12 W 45th St (Between 5th and 6th Aves)
New York, NY 10036-4202
(212) 391-8053
http://pointbreaknyc.com/
WING-OFF 10
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Bar-Coastal vs. Brother Jimmy’s BBQ vs. The Back Page Sports Bar
WINNER: Bar-Coastal
Bar-Coastal
1495 1st Ave (at 78th St)
New York, NY 10075-1355
(212) 288-6635
www.barcoastal.com
Brother Jimmy’s BBQ
1485 2nd Ave (at 77TH St)
New York, NY 10075-2001
(212) 288-0999
www.brotherjimmys.com
The Back Page Sports Bar
1472 3rd Ave (Btwn 83rd and 84th)
New York, NY 10028-1967
(212) 570-5800
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7175125/new_york_ny/the_back_page.htm
WING-OFF 11
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
The Wing Bar vs.Bonnie’s Grill
WINNER: Bonnie’s Grill!
The Wing Bar
275 Smith St (between Degraw St & Sackett St)
Brooklyn, NY 11231
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wing-bar-brooklyn
Bonnie’s Grill
278 5th Ave (1st Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11215
http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/7356065/brooklyn_ny/bonnie_s_grill.html
The Bonnie's wing was the definite champ. Their "hot" wing was actually hot, and as you noted above… the "hotter" wing had us all sweating and screaming bloody curses. Wingbar's wings were pretty average for a place with "wing" in their name.
Your photo of yourself in front of a filthy toilet, using your index finger to indicate your proverbial 'IQ' is REALLY classy.
Hell, I was ready to overlook your tattoos and your frickin' earrings, and the 'thug' look which may help promote 'rock bands', despite how destitute and unemployed they may be.
But you have just proven to MOST (intelligent, that is) of your former readers what an uneducated jerk you really are…
Having said that, I still hope you sober up, get a life and devote your talents to contributing something worthwhile to society.
I'm sorry.
He's been abusing nasal spray and that's robbed him of any ability to self-edit.