Tasty discovery: Chicken wings
Price: $5.99 for five, $8.99 for 10, all the way up to $140.99 for 200
Destination: America’s Best Wings, 12551 Jefferson Ave., in Jefferson Commons, Newport News
Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Mondays to Thursdays, 11 a.m. to midnight Fridays and Saturdays; 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays
More info: 757-898-1064, americasbestwingsnewportnews.business.site
The menu has lots to offer — burgers, seafood, Philly cheesesteaks — but when the name above the door reads America’s Best Wings, you pretty much have to start with the namesake item.
Whether they are the best in the country is a matter of taste, but it must be said that America’s Best Wings (a chain on the Eastern Seaboard) provides a wide variety — the wings can come with any of a dozen dry rubs and about 20 sauces, with plenty of opportunities to mix and match.
Naturally there are selections that bring extreme heat — the ghost pepper dry rub is rated “five peppers,” and the nuclear sauce’s name speaks for itself. But every wing stand and sports bar boasts wings hot enough to make you cry.
What catches the eye at America’s Best Wings are the options that offer interesting blends of spices and flavors that are interested in playing with your sense of taste rather than terrorizing it.
Steve Kim, speaking from the chain’s headquarters in Georgia, said the jumbo wings are deep fried without breading to give them a lighter, healthier taste.
The Moon Dust dry rub is liberally applied after the wings are fried, but the spice blend is subtle — a hint of citrus and other flavors that come together in a nice, savory taste. “It’s a spice blend like Old Bay,” Kim said, “but Old Bay has a heavier taste and this is much lighter.”
The 24-Karat Gold sauce is certainly hotter than the Moon Dust rub, with the kick coming after you’ve swallowed each bite. But it’s subtle (ranking 1 pepper on a spiciness scale, compared with 3 peppers for the standard hot sauce).
Kim said the 24-Karat is built around a gold barbecue sauce and a hint of teriyaki. Its flavor is closer to sweet-and-sour than it is to anything traditionally associated with Buffalo wings.
Even if you’re dining in, the wings come in carry-out boxes, five wings per container. Use this to your advantage — no matter how many wings you order, and whether you are by yourself or with a group, take the opportunity to sample as many different flavors as possible.
