NEW CONSOLIDATED Thread: Best Chicken Wings in GTA

[shekamoo]

I have actually no nominees, and all I say is that I think Duffs sucks half the time and is only half decent the other half, so lets hear something good here.

[pepperette]

Crown and Dragon #1 ! Yes they have plain buffalo style also. The Viva Italia are great. Buttery with a little parmesan and herbs.

[Luvtooeat]

Crown and Dragon +1

[TorontoTips]

Just for clarity, does Crown and Dragon do traditional buffalo-style unbreaded wings with a buttery hot sauce in variable heat settings, or are they more of the 101-flavours and/or breaded type?

[devilfoodlover]

I tried Duffs last night at its new location uptown. The wings are not hot enough :(

[jmeggs]

Duffs has a new uptown location? Where is it? Also, how hot did you order your wings that you were disappointed?

[Strongbad789]

Yeah...say what you want about Duffs, but I can't think of another place in the city with hotter wings than their Armageddon.

[justxpete]

Agreed.. I may not like the wings that much, but they have the hottest sauce in the city.

[TexSquared]

I never had an issue with the heat (if your comment was referring to me), just their overall recipe isn't to my liking.

It doesn't take a genius to make a super-hot wing though, you must admit.

[Strongbad789]

It certainly doesn't take a genius to make a super-hot wing (and frankly I find duffs' armageddon far too hot for me...I usually go with super hot, which is two steps below armageddon), but I have noticed that the wings at most wing places in the city aren't hot enough for my tastes. I routinely order the hottest heat level at any wing place I go to and I almost always find that they're not hot enough (although I've also been surprised a few times with inedibly hot wings).

[justxpete]

It's a little tricky to make a super hot wing and not have it taste absolutely horrible.... Duff's has accomplished that, although their super-hot-sauce isn't "good", it's not "horrible", which many end up being...

[Davwud]

I tried the Armageddon sauce at Duff's and found it extremely bitter.

DT

[TorontoTips]

If Hot was the only measure of a wing, I would agree, or perhaps I'd say that the best wing wasn't a wing at all, but just munching on a ghost pepper. :-)
Personally, the strange bitterness, weird pulpy texture and rubbery, undercooked skin eliminates Duff's from contention, or even from the conversation, for best.
Vive la différence!

[Strongbad789]

Have you asked for them well done? I don't personally prefer them that way, but my friends do...that might fix your undercooked skin problem. You're probably not going to be convinced, but thought I'd try... :)

[TorontoTips]

Thanks for the suggestion, but even if I managed to instruct Duff's in the technique to cook wings properly, their odd sauce is really unpleasantly bitter and pulpy, not sweet and buttery, so Duff's is never going to be on my list.

(1 - Yes, I know that technically, the best wings joints use liquid margarine, not butter, but it tastes buttery. :-)

2 - I've also been asked a couple of times that If I really could teach how to make better wings than Duff's, why don't I just make my own - the answer is that one really needs a professional deep fryer to properly do the job, without one the quality suffers considerably, and it's also a big hassle and expense to go through setting up a successful home-frying station every time I want to fry up just 20 or 30 wings.

My search continues. :-)

[devilfoodlover]

It is at Bathrust and 16th, the plaza with Longos.
I tried Hot... think I should try the next next level next time.
And the wings were warm only.
If the wings were hot enough, it might taste even hotter :D

[shekamoo]

Just thought I would share that I tried two places in the past few days and both had great wings, although they could not be more different eating establishments: Dragon Breath wings Crown and Dragon, and Honey Garlic wings at Congee Queen

Dragon Breath was for me the right combination of saucy/crispiness, and the CQ wings were very well prepared and the Honey Garlic flavor was infused into the wings. I will try other wings in CQ soon, this one was ordered by someone else at my table as I was not there for the wings in the first place.

[TorontoTips]

Go ahead and add me to the Duff's haters list. :-)
Their weird, bitter, pulpy sauce, rubbery soggy wings and buckets of attitude from Mgmt. are enough to keep me far, far away.

And THE the worst wing's I've had in TO were from the V.P. & Ellesmere Wild Wings which were SO bad that I refused to pay and left.

Sadly, I've yet to find a place in TO that gets it all right. Either the sauce is good with poor wings, or the wings are great but the sauce is all wrong.

It's sad because less than 2 hours away in WNY virtually every pizza joint and greasy spoon bar makes shockingly better wings than anything available here in T.O. (Anchor Bar, La Nova, Buzzy's, Gabriel's Gate, Pudgy's, Baci, Max's, Peter K's, The Pub, Just Pizza, Doc's, Elmo's, BarBill, etc. just to name a handful).

And hey, please know that I grant you the right to love your wings breaded, frozen, baked, from Costco, tossed in Kraft BBQ Sauce or some mixture of bottled commercial sauces combined to create 101 flavours, just know that wing afficianados across the continent are exchanging winks when you profess your love. :-)

[TexSquared]

If there was a like or +1 button I'd be clicking it for your post, Double-T :-)

It's not as if Buffalo wings have some secret recipe that needs to be reverse-engineered Todd WIlbur style.

Need to post a similar reply to anybody who praises California rolls....

[Davwud]

Yawn.

DT

[TexSquared]

One of the few things I disagree with you on, is your support of Wild Wing and your support of inauthentic Buffalo wings. You (like I) quickly rip apart any BBQ place that isn't up to your standards... same thing here. Wings have a standard. Do any of the things TT listed, it's a failure. Like a sushi place that claims "Authentic Japanese" yet the menu is Monster Truck Rolls.

[Davwud]

You still over estimate my like of WW. Now that the one near me has closed I don't go. I'm not a fan. Just don't hate them. The place was convenient, the staff was friendly and in particular the owner. I found a couple flavours that I didn't hate. They did two other things quite well though. They put on whatever sporting even I wanted and kept the beer cold. And flowing.

I like breaded wings. So I'm open to ridicule??
I like many others love Duff's. Again, open to ridicule?? Even having my character questioned?? Duff's don't bread their wings anyway, their dusted with flour to promote crispiness.
I haven't been to Duff's in Buffalo so I can't compare but I'll take their word for it they're the same until I find evidence to support a different conclusion.
I'm at the point where I've given with Q up here. I make my own or go to a couple of places I know and like.

One thing I DO NOT DO is criticize or ridicule others who don't agree with my opinion.

DT

[kayia1]

Davwud: I am an avid reader of your posts - thoroughly enjoy them. Just curious as to which King Henry's you frequented as I use to be a regular at the RH location with frequent visits to Aurora and a few trips to the Uxbridge location. Meals at KHA have always been good pub fare in my opinion.

[Davwud]

Aw shucks K. <blushing>

I like the RH location better. For the food anyway. As a place to sit and enjoy the more square Aurora location is better than the more linear RH spot.

Yes, well above average pub food and a really good specials board. Avoid the chicken pot pie though. Tastes just of cream. No chicken flavour there.

DT

[TorontoTips]

DT, I wasn't upset by your "yawn", and I hope you also know that my comments are all just in good fun. Truly, no offence intended, just having fun.

I love learning from all you smart folks, and most valuable are the debates about the specifics of a place that is loved by some and not liked by others. These dissenting voices are more valuable to me than a unilateral declaration of "great", as the ensuing discussion lets me know enough detail to judge if a place's particular offering will suit MY taste.

True, I like to poke a little fun at the ultra-trendy pizza-lovers with organic-poached-pear and free range gluten-free-goat-cheese pizzas, AND I occasioanlly have fun with the folks who claim "best wings" titles for costco-pre-cooked-breaded&sauced-bake-at-home wings or the tiny big-chain breaded wings sauced with a combo of Kraft BBQ or 101 cheap bottled sauce flavours.

Like I've said many times, I'm all for everyone loving what they love, and I'm never uncomfortable going against the grain if I like what others don't like. In fact my fave watering hole wings are lemon-butter wings at the Harp & Crown in Pickering. But I don't go declaring them "Best", just my current faves in a desolate desert of Toronto wing options. :-)

[Davwud]

That's okay TT, no harm, no foul.

There are far too many people on these boards who will deride you for not wholesale agreeing with everything they say. You get to the point that you don't know who's a hater and who's not. More and more I feel like I'm talking food with my dad. If he doesn't like it, it's crap. The very notion that something could be fantastic yet not his cup of tea is preposterous.

And the "Yawn" comment was more about the fact that, joking or not, it's not like I haven't heard those comments several times over on several different subjects. No matter what side of the ledger I'm on.

Ultimately the good thing is we agree that debate is beneficial to all where as dismissing someone else's opinion out of hand is not.

DT

[justsayn]

lol

[Brain of J]

Puck N Wings, if you like your wings big, breaded and saucy. Yonge and Finch, Bloor and Spadina. Some other spots too.

[TexSquared]

Breading + sauce = epic fail. Unless you like wings coated with a disgusting mushy paste which is what happens when the breading absorbs the sauce, which will happen in short order.

There's a reason why proper Buffalo wings are UNBREADED.

[justsayn]

Actually I think you misread Brain's post Tex! He was saying he likes those wings that way. I don't think he was saying they are an epic fail. He's recommending them!

[TexSquared]

I didn't misread anything. I was stating that (in my opinion) breaded sauced wings are a fail, and that breaded wings are not Buffalo wings (fact, not opinion). Meaning, his recommendation is a no-go for me. if anybody misread, it was you.

[justsayn]

I guess I missed the word Buffalo mentioned anywhere at all in the OP post or Brain's comment. I will re-read them for that. I thought Brain was just recommending wings he likes, and wings I will check out! So I thought you were mistakenly bashing his opinion, but now I see you are just protecting the integrity of the "buffalo" wing in North America!

I love churches and popeyes wings so these sound like they might be great!

[justxpete]

I'm in the "I love breaded wings camp", too. So good!

[TexSquared]

They're OK only if not sauced. Sauced breaded wings are disgusting. But any breading means they are no longer Buffalo wings.

[Poorboy]

Must have been a full moon recently because I completely agree with TexS on this. No breading ever on a Buffalo style wing. You can have breaded wings with Buffalo sauce on them. Butter is a must. The best Buffalo wings I ever had in the GTA was years ago at a pub called Quinn's on the Danforth. These days I find that only a few small time pubs get it right in Toronto and they are hit and miss. Duffs are good, but nothing to write home about.

[justsayn]

And a super moon at that!! lol What was in question was why tex was bashing some person's opinion simply for liking breaded wings at Puck n Wings. Brain never said they were Buffalo style and the resto doesnt claim they are Buffalo style. They are just breaded wings. I've never been to the place and I was happy to read about. I am going to try them out, but I will get them without sauce.

So while we can all agree that proper Bufallo wings aren't breaded, this has nothing to do with the legitimacy of popeyes, churches or Puck N Wings for a simple breaded wing.

[justsayn]

Puck wings look like they have potential.

[TorontoTips]

Yikes! That looks good?

[justsayn]

LOL - I haven't exactly rushed out to try them but yea they look like they could be good. I like dry crispy chicken wings, with perhaps a little dipping in this or that. They need to be flavourful through and through.

What aspect of them makes you say yikes? Just curious!

[TorontoTips]

Well, I AM one from the no-breading camp for wings, AND I've been to Puck'n'Wings and was completely unimpressed... BUT this pic's look to me is one of processed shake'n'bake, not something I would find very appealing compared to buffalo wings, (or even KFC or Popeyes). I guess catering to many different tastes and palates is why there's more than one restaurant, huh? :-) Cheers!

[justsayn]

Not really! I hate shake n bake too! And I like buffalo wings and don't think these are buffalo wings. Imagine if we were only able to eat items one way. I wonder if I would only eat fried fish or grilled fish if you could only like one?

It seems to me that you have never had fantastic bread crumb fried wings....I have! Doubt these would be them - but who knows!

[TexSquared]

Exactly. Duffs did not "perfect" the wing, they wrecked it by omitting the butter. Their sauces are just straight hot sauce. To me the butter is a key component, cuts down the bite of the vinegar and helps it adhere to the wings. Anchor Bar style still rules for me.

[Dean Tudor]

I've enjoyed wings at Lou Dawgs, where you get the whole three piecer all attached (tip, flat and drumette), and at Allen's where you get capon wings (juicy, large). Dawg offers a variety of sauces, mostly Tex-Mex BBQ.

[Davedigger]

Although breaded, The Wing Company on Lakeshore in Etobicoke makes my favourite wings. They've got some interesting flavours, and the wings are still crispy when eaten as leftovers the next day!

There's also The Wingery in Oakville that's really great too. Also breaded, but IIRC, you can ask for no breading.

[ThoughtForFood]

Duff's is good. Haters are gonna hate I guess. There are so many Wing joints in Toronto that deserve the hate, but Duffs does a decent job in comparison. Why so bitter people? Kinda funny people seem to have a grudge against others enjoying the place.

[atomeyes]

well....no.
I've stated my lack of love (not hate) for Duff's and its based on flavours, service and quality of food. they tend to over-cook their wings. their hot wings are nothing but vinegar overload - not enough flavour, just a whole lot of vinegar-based heat. their wing size is not huge when compared to, for example, Chinese restaurant wings.
i'd throw it back at you. you say Duff's is decent. "Decent" would make it the best wings only by default, not via accolades.
I've been eating at Duff's for the past 10 years or so. My last visit was likely my last. Its ok to good. Definitely not great, in my opinion. and when my favourite wings are not ones involving their hot sauce - and i like hot wings - then you know that they're failing in one area that they shouldn't be failing. you have to judge a wing resto based on its hot sauce execution. its their bread and butter.

[ThoughtForFood]

Ya....... I only used the words Decent and Good because that's the most I could give them. Fair enough they may be best by default, because nobody does much better. Unlike most other places in town, they give me the vibe that they actually care. Thats why I don't feel they deserve the "DUFF'S SUCKS!" attitude.

"you have to judge a wing resto based on its hot sauce execution. its their bread and butter."- well.......no, you can judge them any way you like. I judge them based on what else is available in the area in this thread. Using the words Decent and Good is fair I think. When we hold them to a "best wings in North America" standard, than they may not fair so well. But in Toronto they are a decent recommendation.

[Jakis]

pho hung

[Wench Foraday]

Yes to Pho Hung. Have had their spicy wings (which are very similar to buffalo wings) two weeks in a row. Will probably return for a third.

[crawfish]

Comparing Chinese wings to Buffalo wings = apples to oranges

[biggreenmatt]

I agree. Besides the fact that I think Duff's makes a really good product, one of the things I really really like about them is that they mean what they say: their hotter wings are *very* hot, without losing flavour.

I order Death wings all the time- very, very spicy, but the "tastiness" of the sauce and chicken isn't lost. How many times have I ordered "suicide" wings from other joints only to get a piquant level of spice. Granted, I have a high tolerance for heat, but still- if you're going to offer "suicide", you should get something that's more than just a little bit hotter than hot.

I've eaten Duff's Armageddon wings. Extremely hot. To me, they're within-tolerance edible (barely, and over time) but not enjoyable. I stick with the Death, which I enjoy.

[mediumrare]

If you like smoked wings (or haven't tried them) my vote is for Highway 61, and Big Bone BBQ a close second.
Otherwise my vote is for Duff''s.

[atomeyes]

Buster Rhinos. No contest.

He smokes them. you can get them with any of his awesome bbq sauces or, on occasion, honey garlic house-made sauce.

Second best goes to Congee Star on Don Mills and Lawrence. perfectly fried. get them with the Chinese salsa

Not sure how anyone can vote for Duffs with a clear conscious. their hot wings are vinegar bombs and the smell alone chokes you up. the "best" wings at Duffs are the hot&honey or the bbq. any of the spicy wings are bleh.

[Davwud]

"Not sure how anyone can vote for Duffs with a clear conscious."

Why do you get to decide what I should like and not like??
Let alone the fact that Duff's has 4 votes and the only other place to get more than 1 is Wild Wing. So clearly I'm not the only one who you think should be suffering from a crisis of conscious.

DT

[shekamoo]

I am not interested in the implications of voting for Duffs for the clarity of one's conscience. however, I must say Davwud, that as a follower of your Blog, your recent entry on Duffs northern location was really baffling to me. My experience there was simply awful. the wings dripping with sauce that had nothing but a weird heat (note I am not attacking them for being saucy, just for the sauce having a weird flavour), a disgusting little pool of oil formed at the bottom of our basket, not to mention the fries that were nothing special at all, bordering on something terrible.
May I suggest you have a soft spot for this 'brand'?

[justsayn]

Had great wings at Swatow last night. Dipped in some vinegar, some chili, and mmmmmmm.

[Davwud]

Of course I have a soft spot for them. Every time I've gone it's been great. One exception was the first visit to that same location. The wings were cooked but just barely. They didn't crisp up like they should've. I mentioned it to the owner and he thanked me for the feed back.

I don't expect everyone to agree with what I like. In fact, I don't care if anyone agrees with what I like. But I'm allowed to like it and I shouldn't have to weigh my conscience to say so either.

DT

[justxpete]

oooh.. yes, Buster Rhino's does have very, very good wings as well. I had the pleasure of having them last week, in my first visit to BR. Delicious. I wolfed them down like nobody''s business. I'm inclined to think that others would appreciate these more than the BH wings I mentioned earlier. They absolutely blow Duff's out of the water. It's not even close. Great. Now I'm craving them - and it's an hour drive from my place. I'm not sure why I didn't think of them - but these get my vote for the best wings in the GTA. I still personally like the Brazen Head wings better, but that's only a personal preference - others will find the Buster Rhino's wings to be far superior to both BH and Duffs.

(as an aside - these wings were transported for 30-45 minutes before being eaten, and were still outstanding)

[justxpete]

I agree that Duff's wings generally suck. No flavour, boring hot sauce. But, I have to give them props for their very hot sauces - the Armageddon and Death sauces are some of the hottest I've found in the GTA - and I've been looking quite hard. Most ethnic restaurants don't have anything that comes close. Not jamaican, not indian, not west indian, nothing. I think the only place that might have something comporable is Kori's Roti Shop in Burlington.

[TexSquared]

I agree. Two auto-fails for me when it comes to Buffalo wings are:

Pure hot sauce, no butter (that's my problem with Duff's)

Breaded wings (that's my problem with most places in Toronto)

Buffalo wings need buttered hot sauce, and NO breading. Period.

[Evenshorter]

@TexSquared - Amen. ITA.

I used to enjoy the wings at The Pump on Rathburn for many years. Reason being, I could get mine un-breaded while the rest of the fam enjoyed the breaded version. Visited last week and couldn't have been more sad. The wings looked more like quail wings than chicken wings.

[crawfish]

My recent wings at Duff's were quite buttery and delicious. I was surprised because I have been unimpressed with Duff's in the past.

[Dean Tudor]

Crawfish, given that there are 10,000 different wing joints in Toronto (and you walk into mine) -- why would you have gone back? Just askin'.

[sumdumgoy]

Atomeyes, do you mean Congee Queen on Lawrence just west of Don Mills?

I have had the wings at both Congee Star and Congee Queen and the Queen wins by a mile, in fact they could be the best wings I have ever had in a restaurant with the caveat that the only sauces are chili sauce and chili oil and of course no raw veg or dip.

[atomeyes]

to be honest, i've never gone to Congee Queen. Kind of got hooked on Congee Star. too lazy to drive the 1/2 block to see what Queen has over Star :)

i used to walk to CS when i worked briefly in the hood. due to a short dinner break and cold winters, there was no reason to walk to CQueen. but perhaps i should give it a try.

[sumdumgoy]

I am hooked on Star as well but mainly because I like the wait staff. For purely a food experience the Queen wins. The cooking is somewhat more refined and it becomes quite obvious since the menus have about a 90% overlap.

But please try the Queen"s wings (in deference to this thread). Get them plain and use the truly exceptional chili oil, the chili sauce or take a little bottle of Franks, Tabasco or whatever!

[justsayn]

If vinegar is avaiilable as it is at Swatow. Try dipping the wings in some. I was nicely surprised at how great it all tasted together with chili sauce too!

[sumdumgoy]

Great idea!

Dumpling places normally have vinegar on the table congee places don't, but you only have to ask. Then try a chili oil vinegar mix.

I am hoping some 'hounds will take one for the team and critique the wings at Congee Queen.

[juno]

Unaccustomed as I am to ordering resto chicken wings - my cholesterol count is high enough, thank you - but given that Congee Queen is regular stop for me, I thought I'd give sumdumgoy's challenge to "take one for the team" a whirl. Plain, deep-fried wings (there's another sauce-y version) at $5.25 for six meaty pieces, and mighty tasty they are, too. Especially when lightly dipped into the house chili oil, as sumdumgoy wisely suggested. Mind, unlike the obsessive chicken wing savants on this entertaining thread, I've got little to compare them to. It has been years since I last ventured into Duff's and some of the other chicken wing shrines around town. But Congee Queen will do quite nicely for me. I didn't feel like I was taking one for the team at all.

[julesrules]

I didn't find Duff's to be anything special but FWIW, the vinegar whiff is part of the Buffalo wing thing for me. To each their own!

[foodiction2]

Not that picky but putting my vote in for Crown and Dragon

[justxpete]

ok - so I went back to Brazen head last night.. I would say that they are the best chicken wings in TO, for me... I'm not sure anyone else will appreciate them like I do. The ones at Duffs are huge - but I find them lacking in flavour - they're just kind of plain. The ones at BH remind of a place i used to go, for wings in Mississauga, that I thought had the best wings - a place called CCs. I'd long forgotten about CCs wings until I tried the wings at BH a few months ago - and was very enthused. They are crispy, battered wings. They're not the biggest wings you've ever had, but the sauce and the wings, to me, are delicious. I don't expect many to agree - but they're the best wings I've found in TO, myself.

[Davwud]

Another vote for Duff's. They opened one in Vaughn and it's awesome. Even blog worthy.

For the 100+ flavour places I love All Star Ribs and Wings. They have 4 locations now. I'm given to understand they've added Nathan's hot dogs to their menu.

King Henry's Arms (3 locations) do excellent wings as well. My favourite non Buffalo style wing. I order Hot and Honey Garlic tossed together.

DT

[tylerchris]

Not sure about the best, but I enjoy St. Louis' Wings (great dill dipping sauce, and their fries are some of the best I've had, always very crispy), and I also am a fan of Wild Wing (they have lots of different flavors / rubs) as well.

[gwanderc]

Duffs I must say is the best all around wing in my mind. I have tried everywhere and Duff's always does it for me.

They are everything I like in a wing and like someone else mentioned, you can have them cooked to your preference and sauced the way you want

Wild Wing is an okay second and although a lot of people hate them (I used to), St Louis does a not bad wing/fry basket if I can't get to Duffs

[justxpete]

I hate Duff's too. I did have some great wings at Brazen Head Pub a few months ago, but that was after several pints.. so I'm not sure if they were actually great or it was the alcohol.. haha. I've been meaning to go by and try them without the influence of beer, so I'll do that soon and report back!

[Strongbad789]

I'm going to disappoint you and say that Duffs is my favourite. If you prefer them crispier (which I don't, although a number of my friends do) you can ask for them well done. You can also ask for more or less sauce. If you don't like the flavour of the sauce, then I guess you're out of luck.

I'm also just going to go ahead and say it: I like Wild Wing better than pretty much anyone else except Duffs (WAY better than St. Louis). I generally don't like 100-flavour places, but I really like some of their flavours, like Hawaiian, Snakebite, and Smoked Jerk (I also don't like a number of their flavours, including most of their non-sauced wings, but I get around that by just not ordering them).

I've been to quite a few wing places in the city and Duffs is still my go-to place (with Wild Wing a respectable second).

[biggreenmatt]

For classic Buffalo wings, it's Duff's or nothing. No contest.

Interestingly, I had me a tasty non-Buffalo style wing a few nights ago. McGugan's Pub, at Jones/Gerrard give their wings the Southern treatment, soaking in buttermilk with a firm breading, deep-fried and crispy. Basically it's the wing version of Southern fried chicken. Different- but very, very tasty.