Hot Wings To Wing Bowl & Wingettes..DininG ArounD TowN with Roundhouse Ron
Since “Hot Wings” is one of my all time favorite proteins, I just had to write about these delectable treats. I like to call them “Hot Wings”, but they have also been known as “Buffalo Wings”, “Chicken Wings”, “Hot Wings” or “Wing Dings”. Some people enjoy them as an appetizer, while others luv to chow down & get right to the point as a main entrée. These tasty morsels are best when accompanied by fresh celery sticks, along with a dipping sauce of either blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing.
As history goes, on a cold Friday night in 1964, “Dominic Bellissimo” was tending bar at the now famous “Anchor Bar & Restaurant” in Buffalo, New York. Late that evening, a group of “Dominic’s” friends arrived at the bar with ravenous appetites. “Dominic” asked his mother, “Teressa”, to prepare something for his friends to eat. “Chicken Wings” in those dayz, usually went right into the stock pot for soup. So, “Teressa” had deep fried sum wings & flavored them with a secret cayenne hot sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn’t take long for people to flock to the bar to experience this new taste sensation. From that evening on, “Buffalo Wings” became a regular part of the menu at the “Anchor Bar & Restaurant”.
If you ever thought that a “Buffalo Wing” came from parts of a buffalo, you were completely wrong & probably been living under a freakin rock, cause everyone who lives in Philly, knows that “Buffalo Wings” come from chickens, actually from the 1st (wing drumette) & 2nd section (flat wing tip) of the wing.
These miniature culinary masterpieces can be prepared & served in several different ways. Always best when made fresh, please don’t ever buy those grocery store frozen bags of “Chicken Wings”. To be honest, they focking suck & are so damn gross. Get the real deal or don’t eat them at all. Clean your pieces, then lightly dip them in either seasoned flour or seasoned bread crumbs. Deep fry these puppies until golden brown or to your liking. Now, is where we all get lost, in the final flavor treatment of the wings, there is over 5 trillion different ways to finish them off. I prefer my own secret mixture of a “Frank’s Red Hot Sauce” base, chopped cilantro, minced garlic, splash of lime juice, with a few dashes of cayenne pepper. Mix it up, then add the wings for a few seconds of shaking & enjoy ;-}
As many of you already know, I review & post a Top 10 List Of Philly’s Best “Hot Wing” Spots, in my opinion. I could not continue this article without mentioning a few local locations. If you are ever in da need for sum amazing “Chicken Wing” greed, please check out either “Reale’s Sports Bar & Grille”, “Curran’s Irish Inn”, “Byrne’s Tavern”, “Paddy Whacks Irish Sports Pub”, “Moriarty’s Irish Pub” or “McCrossen’s Tavern”. Since visiting all of these food eateries, tasting their fine wingers, I seriously recommend them all. Other awesome local chain restaurants that have fabulous wings are “Hooters”, “Chickie’s & Pete’s”, “Tilted Kilt Pub” & “Buffalo Wild Wings”.
“Buffalo Wings” & football, need I say anything more? These gotta be 2 of my favorite things in life, so I have to mention how popular they are during our big American show down. Super Bowl weekend is unquestionably the biggest time of the year for wings. More than 1.25 billion wing portions will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend, totaling more than 100 million pounds of wings, according to the National Chicken Council’s (NCC) Wing Report. Some 23% of those who watch the big game have eaten “Chicken Wings”, up slightly in popularity from last year & second only to dips & spreads (32%) on Super Bowl menus.
Leading up to our local “Hot Wing” heritage, I can’t go any further without mentioning WIP’s (94.1fm/610am radio) world famous “Wing Bowl”. The “Wing Bowl” is in part a sporting event, part 3 ring circus & all entertainment. This annual “Chicken Wing” eating contest founded in 1993 by radio talk show host “Al Morganti” & in time “Angelo Cataldi” joined in on this celebration of pure gluttony. “Wing Bowl 1” started in 1993, with about 10 people who attended The Wyndham Franklin Plaza Hotel lobby in center city Philadelphia. This wacky competition started with just 2 contestants, as “Carmen “The Beast from the East” Cordero” walked away with the inaugural title of eating 100 wings while receiving a hibachi grill as his prize. The Wing Bowl is traditionally held on the Friday preceding the Super Bowl. This year’s big winner was “James “The Bear” McDonald” (from Granby, Connecticut) who rose to victory after devouring a ridiculous 287 “Chicken Wings”.
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“P.J. Whelihan’s” in Haddonfield, NJ is responsible for supplying all the “Chicken Wings” for WIP’s “Wing Bowl” this year. They fry up to about 540 pounds of wings, which falls into around 12,000 wings for this single event.
A huge part of this annual event has been the “Wingettes”. OMFG, just imagine over 120 scantily clad women dressed in bikini tops with boy shorts & high heeled shoes, all biding for the title of “Miss Wingette”. Actually they are a vital asset to the contestants, as the “Wingettes” support their wing eating gladiator onto victory or defeat. The top “Wingette” of “Wing Bowl 21” (this year) rode off on a brand new Harley Davidson 883 Sportster from Barb’s Harley Davidson. I know you are all chomping at da bit wondering, who was this year’s top “Wingette”? This year’s winner was a very attractive 20 year old brunette named Alexandra Warner from Easton, PA.
With such a worldwide attraction, the “Wing Bowl” attracts numerous commercial & local sponsors. Not only do these sponsors promote the eating competitors, but they also help supply the event with the “Wingettes”. Big time promoters & local companies like “Promo Frank”, “The Penthouse Club”, “Xfinity Live”, “PBR Bar & Grill”, “Chickie’s & Pete’s” & the “Victory Beer Hall” (just to name a few) have a stable of fine young ladies that are more than willing to be a part of this colossal 20,000 people venue.
And, this is how “Roundhouse Ron” goes from “Hot Wings” to “Wing Bowl” & “Wingettes”. “Enjoy Life My Friendz, With No Regrets, Cause Tomorrow Is Not Guaranteed”. You can always reach me @ www.facebook.com/RoundhouseRon