Of course, my trip to Buffalo had to include eating enough Buffalo wings to fill a Dan-Campbell-testicles-sized wheelbarrow.
When it comes to wings that are deep fried and tossed in sauce or rub, there’s only so much that can be done, and only a limited range of outcomes. It’s hard to screw up deep-fried foods.
Wing juiciness is the key for me. There’s nothing that bothers me more than dried out chicken. Please don’t overcook your wings (looking at you Buffalo Wild Wings)! As a home fried-chicken maker for over 25 years, I’ve learned the secret to not overcooking chicken. The safe internal temperature of chicken is around 160°F, so get an instant-read thermometer and keep that chicken temp as close to the 160-170°F range as possible. And know that the internal temp can rise 15+ degrees AFTER you take it out of the deep fryer.
It wasn’t just wings I had to try in Buffalo. This Bills fan on X tipped me off to Beef on Weck - something I had never heard of…
Beef on Weck is short for roast beef on a kummelweck (also spelled kimmelweck) roll, which is a bun topped with caraway seeds and coarse salt. The dish is basically a French dip sandwich, as it’s served with horseradish and au jus. I love French dip, and the kummelweck roll takes it to another flavor level.
Here’s the ranking of my Buffalo food experiences with wing juiciness being the top criteria. While none had the really juicy wings that I’m able to crank out at home, they were all still delicious. I understand that commercial kitchens may need to cook to higher internal temps for food safety reasons. Caveat: I only visited each place once, and with food, it can turn out differently each time.
#1. Atomic Wings
Wing juiciness rating: 7/10
If you want the restaurant/bar ambience, you won’t get that here. What you will get is a casual, counter-serve, “hole in the wall” location that pumps out crispy and hot wings. The juiciness was the best of all the wings I tried.
I was the only customer in the store and I dined in, so the instant service could be a big factor in the juiciness. If I could pick only one place to eat at again, it would be Atomic Wings.
Here’s the full tray with truffle garlic parmesan waffle fries, boneless wings with Nashville dry rub, and traditional wings with Old Bay rub. Deep fried goodness…
#2. Anchor Bar (Niagara location)
Wing juiciness rating: 5/10
While the wings were just fine, it’s the other foods which really stood out. Here are the wings with a generous heaping of tasty Buffalo dry rub…
The boneless wings were enormous and by far the biggest ones on my trip. This 10-piece with garlic parmesan sauce could probably feed two grown adults… as long as one is not an NFL lineman. This sauce was very well done…
This is a single boneless wing that I cut in half to show how big it is…
The mac and cheese with boneless wings on top was a fantastic dish with excellent presentation…
The Beef on Weck sandwich had an excellent bun with a strong caraway taste. This was the best Weck sandwich on my trip…
#3. Wingnutz (Genesee St location)
Wing juiciness rating: 5/10
I got take-out here. The wings with Buffalo hot sauce were good. Not too saucy, but I think I prefer it that way…
It’s the pizza that was a surprise standout here. The crispy, bubbly crust was comparable to some of the best NYC pizzas I’ve had. The cupped pepperoni looked and tasted great…
The Beef on Weck was a disgrace and should be thrown over Niagara Falls in a barrel. The bun was plain, without any caraway seeds and salt on top. I don’t think you are legally allowed to call it Beef on Weck if there’s no weck. The meat wasn’t tender and there was not enough horseradish or dip provided…
#4. Duff’s Famous Wings (Depew location)
Wing juiciness rating: 5/10
I got a nice variety of food from Duffs for take-out. Here are the wings - half with a lemon pepper rub which had a pleasant sweetness to it, and half with a standard hot Buffalo sauce. Both were good.
Here are the boneless wings in BBQ sauce…
Here are the Bavarian pretzel sticks which tasted like a sad, reheated frozen product. My kids didn’t mind…
The Beef on Weck had very tender roast beef and tasted great. There could have been more caraway seeds though. The potato chips were excellent and tasted like they were freshly made.
Here is a pizza log that my kids enjoyed…
#5. Macy’s Place Pizzeria
Wing juiciness rating: 4/10
Macy’s is a take-out-only place that was absolutely hopping on a Friday night.
The wings were on the tougher side, but were saved by a smothering of sauces - wet hot Cajun, and hot BBQ.
What’s special about Macy’s is the uniquely creative types of pizzas they offer. Here is the pizza log pizza which is pretty self-explanatory. The crust and sauce were not the greatest, but it was a very fun pizza to eat and totally worthwhile…
Also available are pizzas topped with chicken fingers, curly fries, stuffed ricotta shells, pulled pork, crab rangoon, and much more.
#6. Jim’s Steakout (Elmwood Ave location)
I didn’t only eat wings on the trip. Jim’s Steakout is a casual, counter-serve restaurant with multiple locations that specializes in sandwiches. Here’s a unique cheesesteak sandwich with onions, lettuce, tomato and sauce that was very messy, but very delicious…
Here’s the equally wet, chicken finger sub…
Here are some nice-sized chicken fingers, fries, and a churro in the background.
#7. Checkers
Wing juiciness rating: 5/10
This regional fast-food restaurant had Buffalo wings that were much better than you might expect from fast-food. Here they are smothered in Buffalo sauce…
However, the chicken bites were barely edible…
My son gave the chili dog a thumbs up…
I also got some funnel cake fries which were excellent. I ate them all before I could get a picture. Sorry.
Wegmans Grocery
In Buffalo, you can’t turn around without seeing Josh Allen’s face sponsoring some product. Here he is looking a bit sickly while hawking his Crunch Time cereal.
I wasn’t sure if Buffalo would have Superman ice cream, but they had some version of it. Instead of cherry ice cream, it’s cherry bubblegum. Instead of yellow vanilla, it’s lemon. Instead of blue moon flavor, it’s blue raspberry. Regardless, it was delicious.
I also had to try out the local Buffalo Bills “Bring the Storm” ice cream, which is cake-flavored ice cream. It was pretty plain and not worthwhile unless you’re celebrating a victory (I unfortunately was not).
I got a Beef on Weck for the plane ride home, which was a surprisingly excellent cold sandwich. The beef was very tender and the bun was good.
Conclusions
I greatly enjoyed eating Buffalo wings every day during my visit to Buffalo. All the wings were good, so your choice may come down to location, ambience, dine-in vs take-out, and pricing. The Beef on Weck sandwich was a really nice surprise also. All that food made for some satisfying Lion-size naps…
