Hal's Bar and Grill

3225 Babcock Blvd Pittsburgh, PA


The wings show up and they are average size. But, the smell has a nice spicy allure to it. Sriracha is again a player here (but who doesn't love sriracha?). Let's eat!

The prep is decent, but a bit soggy. It could have been better. I dig the sauce, though, it is creative and better than average. And speaking of sauce, the coating of sauce is a bit conservative and they could have been a bit more generous with it. Overall, these wings are decent. I wouldn't go out of my way for them, but I also wouldn't turn them down at all.

Order: 10 EW9
Size: 3
Prep: 4
Taste: 4
Total: 11

Chasers in the Run

3806 Acorn St Pittsburgh, PA


So it's a Monday night in the run, so that means it's wing night at Chasers. Finding this place is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. It used to just be a regular house that was converted to a bar. The bartender did tell us that back in the day, there was a speakeasy run out of the basement. But, on this night, there were 11 wing sauces to choose from and some wings to be had.

Here's a good bit of info to know. They sell full wings cut into two pieces. So, essentially, if you order 6 wings, you're gonna get 12 normal wings. Got it? It's a bit deceiving, but in a good way. Wing night gets you 50 cent wings. But, at the 2 pieces per wings logic, that's more like a 25 cent wings night. Score!

The wings show up and they are decent size. Sauced quite well. The Candy Pepper looks like a sweet thai chili glaze of sorts. The Spicy BBQ looks good and has a nice smell about it. But, it's the Buffalo Hot that grabs you by the nose hairs and yanks. Let's chow down.

As expected, the Candy Pepper (which was the sauce sent in to WPXI) was a sweet thai chili sauce. Emphasis on the sweet. It was like a glazed doughnut wing, not much spice.

The Spicy BBQ was fairly average also. More of a lighter BBQ with some heat to it. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it, but it's not topping a list anytime soon.

But, the Buffalo Hot was where it was at. Definitely some sriracha in the mix and plenty of other happy goodness to go with it. I really dug that flavor and I look forward to going back and trying it again.

The wings themselves were better than average size and the prep was top notch. Plenty of crispiness, but the insides tender and juicy. It was tough to find this place, but I'm glad we did.

Order: 12 Candy Pepper, 12 Spicy BBQ, 12 Hot Buffalo
Size: 4
Prep: 5
Taste: 5
Total: 14

3 Rivers Six Pack

Hollywood Blvd Delmont, PA



The wings show up and they are decent size and they smell hot, especially those sexy devils. Sauced well and looking crispy. Let's eat!

The prep on these wings is pretty good. The wings are slightly soggy, but for the most part it's better than average. The meat is nice and juicy, so we are off to a good start.

I start with the sexxxy sauce and it's hard to describe. It's got this nice hot flavor, but it's also got a sweet tang to it. I am really impressed with the flavor. It's like nothing I've had before.


So, then I set my sights on the sexy devils. They smell like I'm in for a hurtin'. So, I take a deep breath and dig in. This is where is gets really surprising. They aren't that hot. It's like being front row at a rock concert with the volume turned down. I have to take my hat off to the owner. He had found a way to prepare this sauce with habenero and ghost peppers, but do it in s way that you really taste the peppers and not the heat. Don't get me wrong, they have some heat, but nothing really dangerous. The flavor of the peppers really shines through.

All told, I'm really glad we made the trek out to Delmont. While they probably don't live up to the #1 ranking on WPXI's wing tasting, they hang tough. Prep is better than average and the wings size is a little better than average. But, it's the sauce that takes the cake here.

Order: 12 sexxxy, 6 sexy devils
Size: 3.5
Prep: 4
Taste: 5
Total: 12.5

Wings Suds n Spuds

8806 University Blvd Coraopolis, PA 15108




Wings show up and i'm truly underwhelmed. Smaller wings but plenty of hot smell. I inhale the vapors and have to pull back as the nose burns. No visible seeds or anything, so it could be franks xtra hot, but let's find out.

The word that comes to mind is overcooked. Extremely crispy but not juicy at all. I've heard good things about this place, but this was anything but.




The wings were under sauced, unless you want to pay 75 more cents for extra wet wings. C'mon, I've already paid nearly 9 bucks for 10 wings, give me some sauce. Not that the sauce is great, it's pretty much franks xhot and butter. Blah.

Order 10 xtra hot
Size: 3 prep: 2 taste: 3
Total: 8

Excuses Bar and Grill

2526 East Carson Street Pittsburgh, PA



In an effort to visit all the places that were listed on WPXI's search for the best wing, we decided to try out the place that came in second place. The name of this place couldn't be any more accurate.

My group and I showed up at about 9:30pm on a Saturday night. The placard was out front advertising their second place victory. Needless to say, I was excited, ready to dig in. There's the sign, they have the wings, let's get some!

Here's where it starts to go all wrong. We get inside to find out the kitchen is closed. But, instead of just saying, "no wings for you", they say they have precooked wings that they are being kept in a warmer and they are more than happy to serve. This is a bullshit move. Don't claim you have great wings and instead serve up some kept-warm and aged wings. But, it's before 10pm on a weekend night and I've got my review pen in hand, NO EXCUSES!

I get my basket of a dozen wings and my first surprise, they are chargrilled wings. I was not expecting that. Also, they are weakly sauced. Turns out the sauce is just applied by spraying them with sauce from a squeeze bottle, like you would apply ketchup to some french fries. I actually went back to ask for another application of sauce since the first attempt was no good.


So let's dig in... And I'm even more disappointed. The wings are slightly soggy from sitting in the warmer. The chargrilling of the wings could have been a nice touch, but with the light sauce, you mostly just taste burnt wing. It's almost like eating a stick that was plucked in the morning mist, placed on a fire to dry out briefly, and then dipped in some Franks inspired hot sauce. The sad thing is, the slight hint of sauce on the wings actually had some flashes of a unique and tasty sauce. Too bad there wasn't more of it.

Overall, this has to go down as one of the worst wings reviewed here. Perhaps they have great wings, based on the WPXI judging, but I didn't see it. Maybe some day I'll head back here again, but there are so many other places worthy of trying.

Order: 12 mild
Size: 3
Prep: 2
Taste: 2
Total: 7

Wing Dome

7818 Greenwood Ave Seattle, WA


Order 10 Thai Spicy Chili, 1 7 Alarm

Well, the wings show up and at first they look pretty small – they work out to about average size. Some are tiny, some are oversize, so it evens out. The sweet thai chili really has no spice to it, it’s almost like eating a glazed donut wing – quite sweet. The 7 Alarm showed up looking like a chicken wing drowning in chili – that sauce is thick… and hot! Not quite the hottest thing I’ve tried, but it’ll keep your mouth throbbing for the next 10 minutes. I ended up using the leftover sauce from the 7 Alarm on the thai spicy just to give it some kick. Again, another decent wing, I think I’d like to go back and try to 5 or 6 Alarm wings next, just to try a proper hot sauce.

Size: 3 Prep 4 Taste 4 total 11

Wiggy's

2350 Noblestown Rd Pittsburgh, PA



Good size when they show up. I'm interested. All four of the sauced wings have great aroma. Can't wait to dig in. Let's eat.




No, that's not blood. It's just testament to how liberal the are with the sauce (which I wish more of it would end up on the wings themselves - more on that later), it's dripping off my fingers.



Great size on the wings, with some so big you can beat folks with them. I could give a 4.5 If we go half points, but we don't. Cooked perfectly, crispy outside, juicy inside. The only gripe is the wings aren't fully sauced. It's like the sauce is poured over top and not tossed. Take a look at this pic, looks like 3 dry wings in a row, right? Nope, the middle is a sauced wing showing its backside.


Let's run down the sauces:

Buffalo Cajun: Good taste, but perhaps a tad salty. Decent heat, but not too hot. Slightly reminiscent of Erik Jr's at the Birmingham Bridge Tavern.

Wildfire: A nice bbq sauce. A little on the cooler side, but still holds its own.

Hey Mon: This is the crown jewel. You can immediately taste the habenero in the sauce, with its tangy spice. Then it hits you with a right cross of bbq and we're talking knockout.

Lemon pepper: Standard dry rub. Nothing special, but a nice alternative to the burners on the table.

Supersonic: The hottest here. Nice spice but less flavor than the Hey Mon's.

All told, Hey Mon takes it. Nice wing and fully recommended.

Size 4
Prep 4
Taste 5
Total 13

Buffalo Blues

216 South Highland Avenue Pittsburgh, PA

Order: 6 Hotter n Hell

I was pretty disappointed here because as I walked in, this place is noted as being voted Pittsburgh's best wing in 2009.  Maybe I caught them on a bad day?  The wings came out and I was surprised for the price that they were a little on the smallish side.  Not quite a 2, but close.  Prep was not the best as the wings themselves were a bit soggy and the meat kind of dry.  It's almost like these were cooked in advance and left in a tray to await their sauce assignments.  You just don't feel the love in those situations.  As for the sauce, it was a nice hot flavor that definitely hung with you.  Reminiscent of the Gator Death at the bar formerly known as Gator's (RIP).  If the wings were prepped a bit better, this could be a recommended wing.  But, for this trip, it misses the mark.

Size: 3 Prep: 2 Taste: 4 Total: 9

Coopers Ale House

8065 Lake City Way Seattle, WA




They arrive piping hot and smelling great. Good hot flavor you can smell even without laying a finger on them. Wow, it’s days like these that make me happy to like wings. While not overly saucy, each wing is cooked to a nice crisp outside and coated to perfection. The taste is hot, more than your typical franks/butter combo, you can see the pepper flakes in the sauce. Loses 1 point because as you eat, you realize the wings are more “hot just to be hot to burn your mouth” and less “flavor hot” – what I can say, it’s a fine line, but overall a fine wing – they should be proud. Afterthought, is there Sriracha in the sauce?

1 order Hot
Size 4 Prep 5 taste 4 total 13

Sidelines Bar and Grill

621 Evergreen Ave Millvale, PA




Order: 10 Hot
Size: 4 Prep: 5 Taste: 5 Total: 14

Comments: Good sized wings cooked to perfection, nicely crisped and coated in a wonderful sauce. Sauce must contain BBQ sauce because it is thick and you might mistake it for a soup. The seeds in the sauce let you know you’re in for heat, but it’s a flavorful heat. This may very well be the wing to judge all wings.

The Holding Company

Embarcadero 2 San Francisco, CA




Sit back and I'll tell you a story. About 10 years ago, I used to live in this awesome city, San Francisco. And it was during that time that a group of coworkers and myself used to go to this place for happy hours. I always recalled the wings being good, but so hot I could never finish the plate. So, I figured a decade later, it was worth a revisit. Side note, this was the temperature readout on my rental car today. Let's see if the wings are as hot.



So the wings show up and I'm greeted with a nice pleasant spice smell. Been a while. Not overly saucy, but they look great. Larger than average. Let's eat.




Awesomely crispy wing and so well cooked. The insides are so moist, I can't get enough. I also can't get enough because it's 8 wings for 10 bones. So, it's a bit pricey.

Regardless, this is like returning to the scene of a crime, but it didn't do me like the first time. The bartender tells me they've told the kitchen staff to not kill the gringos, so the heat is down. However, I think my pallette for heat has evolved. Don't knock it, though, my mouth is pleasantly warmed. It's a weird situation, the wings aren't sauced much, but they have plenty of flavor. Good taste and it's deceivingly hot. At first I was like, is this it? Then it starts to catch up with me. And I admit, I have a soft spot for wings with visible pepper seeds.

1 order extra spicy
Size 4 Prep 5 Taste 4 Total 13