The Best Chicken Wings in the World

The internationally famous Buffalo Chicken Wings, referred to simply as “wings” or “chicken wings” by true Buffalonians, originated in Buffalo, NY at the Anchor Bar in 1964. Buffalo is an American city in Western New York State, located at the eastern end of Lake Erie. Buffalo is the second largest city in New York State, after New York City. The Anchor Bar is a favorite stop for many celebrities and visitors to the city. Hillary Clinton had wings from the Anchor Bar delivered to her while she was in Buffalo; sports figures from opposing athletic teams visiting Buffalo and celebrities such as actor John Candy, Kenny Rogers, Bob Seger, members of Glen Miller’s Band, and countless other musicians, band members and political figures visit the Anchor Bar whenever they are in town. The walls of the Anchor Bar are decorated with license plates of visitors from all over the world who have visited, along with many awards, celebrity photos, articles, and comic strips about “Buffalo Wings” that have been published in various national newspapers.

The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY is the undisputed “home” of the Buffalo Chicken Wing, where the now famous appetizer was first created on October 30, 1964 by the restaurant co-owner Teressa Bellisimo. Up until that date, chicken wings, which are the wing sections referred to as flats and drums, were considered to be scraps; they were only used to make soup stock. On that night, Teressa Bellisimo and her husband Frank were working in the kitchen at their restaurant and their son Dominic was tending bar. A group of Dominic’s friends came into the bar after the kitchen had closed, and Dominic asked his mother to prepare something for his friends to eat. Teressa decided to fry up the excess of chicken wings that she had on hand. She smothered them in a buttery hot sauce which she created, and served them with the bar’s house dressing, which happened to be bleu cheese dressing, to cut the spice of the hot sauce. She added celery sticks to the platters of fried wings as a garnish and to dip into the dressing. Although the crowd was a bit hesitant when they saw the wings, the aroma was captivating and the new creation was an instant hit. From that point on, Chicken Wings were a regular menu item at the Anchor Bar. Wings became a new eating sensation in no time at all, and people flocked to the Anchor Bar to experience them. Today, the Anchor Bar serves over 70 thousand pounds of wings every month.

The original chicken wings created at the Anchor Bar have now received national and international acclaim, and have literally put Buffalo on the map. In 1977, the Mayor of Buffalo proclaimed July 29^th as the annual Official Chicken Wing Day in the city. The first National Buffalo Wing Festival was held in Buffalo over Labor Day weekend in 2002, and has become an annual two-day event drawing crowds from across the United States. The festival features chicken wing cooking competitions, chicken wing eating contests, live entertainment, the chicken wing Hall of Fame, the crowning of the woman voted to be “Miss Buffalo Wing”, and much more. For more information visit the festival’s official website at: http://www.buffalowing.com.

In Buffalo, most (if not all) pizzerias serve wings. You can order them in most casual-dining restaurants as an appetizer and any bar or tavern that sells food will have wings on the menu. They are one of the basic food groups for Buffalonians and are a must have for any party or gathering. One must remember that Buffalo chicken wings are the largest, meatiest wings that can be found; they look like small drumsticks. The small skinny wings that are often breaded are not Buffalo wings. The large wings are sectioned into “flats” and “drums” (they are not to be breaded) and are deep fried in oil. When done, they are removed from the oil and drained thoroughly of oil before being tossed in the sauce and butter. They are always served with cut celery and chunky bleu cheese dressing.

The phenomenon of the Buffalo wing has now spread across the globe. There are many variations of wings claiming to be Buffalo wings, including breaded wings and different types of sauces, but these are not Buffalo wings, and people from Buffalo will be quick to reject them. The very best chicken wings in the world can still be found only at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo. For those who want to enjoy authentic wings when not in Buffalo, the Anchor Bar ships across the country and its original wing sauce is sold on their website (http://www.buffalowings.com). At this time, the Anchor Bar is planning to open a second restaurant in North Carolina due to the large number of Buffalonians who have retired to the warmer climate. I would expect that in the years to come there will be Anchor Bar franchised restaurants opening up across the United States. Anyone who has only had imitation local variations of chicken wings would be surprised at the difference between those scrawny, tasteless items and a true chicken wing from Buffalo.