Best Wings in Brooklyn
I moved to Brooklyn Heights from the UES. I use to live pretty close to Blondies, which I think have the best wings in the city, followed by Atomic wings. Can anyone recommend a place for wings near Brooklyn Heights. Ive heard the Park Slope Ale House has good ones. Im up to try anywhere.
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abu applesauce
Dec 24, 2006 04:56 AM
Went to Pete's Friday night. Here's my take on the wings--simply put, good, not great, but certainly not bad. They kind of tasted like I threw a bunch of wings dipped in bbq sauce into the oven. And there's nothing wrong with that. So I wouldn't make a trip to Pete's for the wings (as I would for pulled pork), but I would order the wings again if I were there. A 6.5 on a scale of 1-10.
They also had a delicious beer on tap--I think it's called "Stoudt's Winter Ale" Very bitter and very tasty. -
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abu applesauce
Dec 21, 2006 07:45 PM
Ok--I will go this weekend and report back, but I might not report until I am back in office Tuesday--I kind of shy away from computers, desks, jail cells, or anything that reminds me of my office, on weekends.
Perhaps I will convince my wife to order the wings as her appetizer, knowing that it will probably suck, so as not to ruin my appetizer, then mooch a wing or two from her plate.›1 Reply -
abu applesauce
Dec 21, 2006 06:43 PM
I have been to Bonnie's amd love their wings and burgers.
Question: Are the posters who seem to be knocking the "Ale Houses" referring to Pete's? I have been to Pete's numerous times, and I've never had the wings. But I love everything I've had there--particularly the pulled pork. I therefore find it hard to believe that Pete's would put out bad wings. Are the posters: (i) wings-snobs; (ii) not talking about Pete's; or (iii) talking about Pete's, but wrong.
Last possiblity--Pete's puts out crappy wings (which I refuse to believe).
If no one responds, I wil be forced to go to Pete's sometime this weekend and try the wings b4 i wolf down a pulled porker, and then proceed to kick everyone's ass in bocce ball at Floyd's. Sounds like a plan.›11 Replies-
re: abu applesauce
Bob Martinez
Dec 21, 2006 06:51 PM
I'm a big Pete's booster and I had the wings there last year when my GF insisted. (My intuition told me I was in for a disappointment.) Unfortunately I was right - we both agreed that they were OK at best, two or three notches below all the other things on the menu that I've tried in the past.
Maybe it was an off night? I don't know but there could be a reason that Pete's gets lots of compliments for it's burgers but no one mentions the wings.
Abu, please take one for the team and report back.
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re: abu applesauce
I finally tried Bonnie's wings yesterday despite my good friend and fellow winghound's warnings about how overrated the place is, and sheer incredulity at how Bonnie's never gets less than a glowing review on the blogs (a conspiracy, perhaps.) Anyway, we went on my insistence and the final verdict: the wings are totally mediocre, and distinguish themselves in no way from your average bar wings in NYC.
First off, we ordered ten "hot" and ten "hotter." The latter is the first dish I've ever sent back in any restaurant in my life. They were completely inedible. I love my wings hot as sin, but these were just awful; when they came to the table I could immediately smell the excessive habanero extract that had been poured on the wings to get them to dangerous levels of scoville heat. Still, we figured we'd try them. One bite of one wing caused both myself and my friend to hiccup uncontrollably. Hot as hell wings are supposed to be hot, sometimes unbearably so, but they are not supposed to simply taste like unadorned habanero extract. They were vile, so we sent them back and our server was generous enough to switch them out with another order of "hot" which we appreciated.
So concerning the hot, these wings are decent. However, many were of the small, overly fried variety, little crunchy nuggets of flesh adorned with a pitiful amount of sauce. The ratio in any batch of wings should be nearly 50-50 in terms of drums - flats. In our order of ten there were 8 drums and only 2 flats (the superior half IMHO). The sauce in which they had been tossed was solid - hot, and a little vinegary, BUT no extra sauce had adhered to the wings when they'd been plated, so they came to the table looking dried up; unappetizing. There was not a drop of sauce at the bottom of the plate!
As for the accompaniments, the bleu cheese was good, and they give a decent amount of celery/carrots. But all in all, Bonnie's wings are profoundly mediocre, I'd say a 5.8 out of 10. To call them the best in the borough is an insult to other local institutions doing a much better job than the guys at Bonnie's. Maybe they should head down the street to Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck and do some homework...
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re: fethers10
Bob Martinez
Jun 21, 2007 12:52 PM
Lets start with the fact that the owners of Bonnie's are from Buffalo. They know their wings.
I'm not surprised the hot wings were too much for you. That's what I said in my earlier post - stick to the medium. You didn't listen. It was damn nice of them to swap out the hot ones - they just threw away $7 worth of food.
Yes, Bonnie's doesn't gunk up it's wings with gloppy sauce like every crappy bar in the city. That's one reason why people like it. As for the wings being "little," it's not like Bonnie's has their own secret chicken ranch out on Long Island where they breed teeny little birds. The wings at Bonnie's are the same size as the ones at every other place in the city. The difference is in the preparation, not the raw material.
As for you recommendation for Buffalo Wild Wings, it's a national chain with 430 locations. No one has ever posted about it on the Outer Boroughs board but it's been mentioned on the "Chains" board.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/376811They have a catchy jingle and they offer 18 different sauces. -
Sweet BBQ
Teriyaki
Mild
Parmesan Garlic
Medium
Honey BBQ
Spicy Garlic
Asian Zing
Caribbean Jerk
Hot BBQ
Hot
Mango Habanero
Wild
Blazin™
Ranch
Blue Cheese
Honey Mustard
Southwest Ranch-
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re: sam1
Bob Martinez
Jun 21, 2007 01:13 PM
Are they good? The posts on the Chains board were overwhelmingly negative.
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re: sam1
Oh sarcasm just gets lost in this "medium" doesn't it. B W3 wings is a fairly crappy national chain, I was merely offering some sarcasm that though Bonnie's owners are from Buffalo they could learn a thing or two from the pre-packaged generally poor BW3, because they are worse than it!
And as for your suggestion of getting medium, why would I have done that when they offer "hot" and "hotter"? The hot is what to get, the hotter are the horrible ones. I was actually anticipating some one out there having the obvious reaction to me disliking the "hotter" as simply me and my friend being unable to handle the heat...which is why I pointed out that it was the terrible flavor - rather than the heat - that was unbearable. I'm all for hot as hell as long as it still tastes like a wing and not stomach bile...
As for the size of the wings, you're right the difference is in the preparation not the raw material...if your preferred preparation involves over cooking the wings so that it literally reduces it to a charred, paltry sack of flesh, that's fine, but I prefer my wings cooked till they are crispy on the outside while retaining a moist inside.
As for not "drowning" their wings, I would offer that there is some happy medium between drowning and being nearly absent of sauce. Bonnie's errs on the latter here by being nearly devoid of sauce, which in my opinion is an equal evil to a broad drowning...
It was damn nice of them to swap out the wings, indeed! Classy, and something they didn't have to do, agreed!
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re: fethers10
I have eaten at Bonnies Grill many times and I always get the wings. Quite honestly, I am very surprised with your description. I always find the wings to be expertly prepared -- as you say, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. And while they are not drowning in sauce (a good thing) they are also not bone dry as you describe.
I have learned never to get the hottest available because, like you said, oftentimes it does not taste very good. But I've had the hots at Bonnies and while they are, in my mind, quite hot, i thoguht they still tasted wonderful.
It could have been an off night. -
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re: fethers10
As much as I second (or third) the endorsement for Bonnie's if you're looking for wings in the canonical Buffalo style, I'm going to also put in a vote for the wings at Smoke Joint. Not Buffalo wings, but not your typical too-sweet BBQ wings either -- the sauce is balanced between heat and tang, and the wings themselves are crisp (no breading, obvs.) but juicy. I was there with La Guapa and friend on Saturday and we all agreed that next time, we'd get less pig and more wings, and that's saying something.
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re: emjaie
Bob Martinez
Oct 13, 2006 02:11 PM
I haven't been to Wheelers but I can strongly recommend Bonnie's. The wings come at 3 different heat levels - mild, medium, and hot. Resist the temptation to order them hot. The level of heat is punishingly high. Instead go for the medium which easily equals the heat level of most other places "hot" wings. The medium wings have the perfect blend of heat and flavor.
BTW, Bonnie's has Brooklyn Lager on draft and a nice selection of bottled beers. The burger is also one of the best in New York.
You should know that Bonnie's gets really busy at prime time on Friday and Saturday nights. If you get there before 7 you should be fine, otherwise shoot for 9:00 - 9:30. Another option is to go on Saturday afternoon when they're open for lunch.
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Sommelier
Oct 11, 2006 09:23 PM
Bonnie's on Fifth Ave. Yowsuh! They have spoiled me to the point where I just don't eat them anywhere else. I like spicy... so at Bonny's I order them Medium and add some of the many different bottled sauces they have on hand to add not just burn, but flavor.
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lambretta76
Oct 10, 2006 10:15 PM
The best wings in the borough of Kings will soon be opening at Flatbush and Atlantic! That's right folks, the good people at Buffalo Wild Wings and Grill will be bringing their regional American cuisine to our fine borough!
All kidding aside, yes - I think Bonnie's are probably the best in Brooklyn; the best in the city belong to Dinosaur BBQ in my book. Actually, they're the best I've had since Quaker Steak & Lube in Sharon became a massive chain. (Those used to be the best wings out there a decade or so ago before they started franchising out.)
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re: Stella
lambretta76
Dec 21, 2006 06:30 PM
I believe it is open. I've seen employees smoking outside of the mall near their entrance and they have TVs on in there.
And if you lived in Pittsburgh how could you resist the draw of the original Quaker Steak and Lube? (The chains are a pale comparison to the original.) Or the place out in Moon Township. Man, when I was in high school I could really polish them off on AYCE nights! (I'm not judging you, I was just feeling nostalgic and decided to rant for a bit.)
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re: lambretta76
Yeah, it's definitely open. I peeked in on my last Target run a couple of weeks ago and it seemed to be doing a pretty brisk business.
Should have stuck with my original plan to go there tonight and not let the merely sort-of-bad weather deter me. I ended up ordering wings from Pig-N-Out and boy, was I disappointed. Something was totally off about the flavor, and the sides I ordered (grilled corn and baked beans) were flavorless and flavor-off, respectively.
As for Quaker Steak, I only lived in Pgh for 8 months, and I was always more than a little skeptical of any place calling itself "Steak and Lube"...should I not have been?
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