- I tried chicken wings from four different restaurant chains.
- I ordered wings from Famous Dave’s, Miller’s Ale House, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Pizza Hut.
- The wings varied in price, taste, and meatiness.
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Whether eaten as an appetizer or as an entrée, an order of chicken wings can liven up game-day gatherings and weeknight dinners alike. In addition to being tasty and convenient, wings are also highly customizable. From mild to piquant, they’re typically prepared on a spectrum of spiciness.
As part of an ongoing taste test series, I sampled wings from four different chain restaurants. In the past, we’ve sampled a bit of everything from omelets and chicken noodle soup to smoothies and doughnuts.
I tried chicken wings from:
For the sake of consistency, I ordered the smallest portion of wings available at each restaurant and opted for each eatery’s mildest sauce. Some of the chains served their chicken wings with blue cheese dressing, celery, or carrot sticks but it didn’t influence my opinion on the wings themselves. Though Famous Dave’s and Miller’s Ale House don’t have quite as many locations as Buffalo Wild Wings and Pizza Hut, they’re fairly large regional chains I thought were worth considering.
Here's how the chicken wings stacked up based on both value and flavor.
I thought the wings from Famous Dave's were nice and crispy
At Famous Dave's, an American barbecue chain, the basket of wings I ordered cost $9.99 before tax and it came with around 10 pieces of chicken, making it a great choice for sharing.
I thought these wings were a bit on the small side and didn't have a lot of meat on their bones, but they had a pleasant crispy texture that I noticed as soon as I bit into the skin. Underneath, I thought the meat was chewy but not tough.
The Famous Dave's I visited had five sauce options available and I chose the mildest one, which was the "Rich & Sassy" sauce. The condiment was subtly sweet and smokey with a mellow kick and I thought it tasted sort of like an amped-up barbecue sauce. According to the sauce's ingredients list, "Rich & Sassy" contains unique ingredients like instant coffee and pineapple juice.
The wings were coated in the sauce, plus my take-out order was accompanied by two extra sauce packets. Plus, priced at about $1 per wing, they were also the best value of the options I tried.
I liked how juicy the wings from Miller's Ale House were
At Miller's Ale House, my small order of wings cost $10.99 before tax and my order included 10 pieces of chicken. I didn't think these wings were as crispy as the wings from Famous Dave's, but I felt that each wing had an ample amount of meat. Most of all, I thought the juiciness of the chicken really set these wings apart.
I found Miller's Ale House's mild sauce to taste a little bit plain because it didn't have much of a kick. Since it didn't have a super-noticeable spicy flavor, it's probably a great choice for those who are wary of heat.
I felt Buffalo Wild Wings' mild sauce was the spiciest out of the sauces I tried
True to its name, Buffalo Wild Wings specializes in the eponymous dish and the eatery had a lot of different options for both portion sizes and sauces. I opted for the smallest, a snack-size serving of five wings, which cost me $7.29 before tax.
In my opinion, these wings were pleasantly large but a bit tough to chew. The snack-size order was quite filling, but I wish the chicken had been a bit more tender.
I felt the mild sauce at Buffalo Wild Wings packed a surprising amount of heat. After just a few bites, the spicy orange sauce - which was smothered a bit unevenly over the wings - left my lips tingling a bit. If you like your food a little bit spicy, you might really enjoy these wings.
I thought Pizza Hut had the meatiest wings
Pizza Hut is known for its pizza pies, but the chain also has a whole section of its menu called "Wingstreet" that's dedicated to chicken wings. My order of wings cost $7.49 before tax and it consisted of five sizable pieces of chicken.
I was quite impressed with the meatiness of each wing. No matter which way I rotated the chicken, there was always some meat for me to bite into. I thought the crispy skin was really tasty, too.
When comparing Pizza Hut's mild wing sauce to that of Buffalo Wild Wings, I felt Pizza Hut's version was much tamer and less spicy. With just a hint of cayenne, it lacked a mouth-tingling kick.
I thought Famous Dave's wings were tasty and a great value
Between their crispy exterior and sweet-yet-smokey sauce, Famous Dave's wings were hard to beat. The wings themselves may have been smaller than other options I tried, but the portion size, flavor, and affordable price of these tasty wings made this dish a winner in my book.
That being said, Famous Dave's only has 180 locations throughout the globe so the eatery may not be easily accessible to everyone.
Fortunately, all of the wings were quite enjoyable, so if you're looking for delicious wings, Pizza Hut and Buffalo Wild Wings are also a great, more widespread places to order them from.