Original Post:

https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/u85jms/best_chicken_wing_quest/

A bro and I have set out on a quest to answer an extremely important question:

Who makes the absolute best wings in Baltimore?

We will judge each buffalo/hot wing order on a 5 point scale (average of the two reviewers) on the following parameters:

Appearance: Size, quality, and consistency of the wings
Taste: Overall deliciousness, heat to expectations
Sauce: Consistency, creaminess, acidity, flavor, quantity, attachment to wing
Crispiness: Crispy exterior, appropriately cooked meat pulling off the bone, not dry
Convenience/value: not weighted, used for tie-breaking
Restaurant: Look and feel of restaurant environment, not weighted, used for tie-breaking

3 locations added to this post: The Chaucer and Pig & Rooster*

In order of consumption:

**Delia Foley**: Very disappointing. Not nearly enough heat, overcooked, some horribly dry. Great scene though.

**Magerks**: These were okay. Good consistency, okay taste, not enough sauce, could have used some more heat. Good crispiness. Good scene.

**Hudson Street Stackhouse**: Really good classic buffalo flavor. Good amount of heat in an appropriate amount of sauce. Could have been a little crispier. Super convenient and high value ($10 during happy hours) but a bit of a claustrophobic ceiling. Place still is great.

**Don't Know Tavern**: Damn good wings. Very good consistency, just right in size and quality. A little mild for a hot wing, but oh boy that sauce. Perfect creaminess from the butter, sticking to the wings, and enough acid to bite the back of your tongue. Perfectly crispy. I would be remiss to mention that on Mondays and Wednesdays an order of wings is $6. Which is almost unthinkable for the quality you are getting here.

**iBar**: Also damn good wings. A little bit of variability in the size and quality of the product. Had 2 broken flats in a single order. Perfect heat for an order of hot with great creaminess and attachment. Perfect amount of sauce with just the right bite. Ordered both regular and fried hard orders. Feel like the absolute perfect crispiness is somewhere in between the 2.

**Kisling**: I live near Kislings and have eaten hundreds of wings from here. I was VERY disappointed this evening. Had 2 broken wings and varied in size, sauce was good but WAY too much of it and they were overcooked. It was also grimey, far worse than normal. Not sure I'll be back anytime soon, also forgot to photo these.

**Nepenthe**: Pretty good overall. Mostly good consistency in quality, 2 were a little too big, and the order itself only had 8 wings. There was no heat to the sauce, but the sauce was good, good consistency and creaminess. On advice of this sub, we ordered them crispy and thank god we did. Because even ordering them crispy they were not at all. Feel like they would be rubber on a normal order. Overall tasty but not executed terribly well.

**Charles Village Pub**: Not going to bother scoring the restaurant because its bad. Absolutely terrible. Reasonable consistency in size and quality. Terrible and broken sauce, no creaminess, no heat. The order came out cold and we sent them back. The kitchen refried the entire order, including the half eaten wing that I left on the plate. Somehow they came back still luke warm but I didn't bother eating them. The waiter was also terrible. These were the worst wings I've ever had, and that's saying something.

**Lighthouse Tavern**: The first thing you notice on these is that they have grill marks. Turns out they are baked, fried, grilled, then sauced. I'm not sure why all of that is necessary, but it adds up to a very tender and well cooked wing. If you closed your eyes it would be hard to tell the difference between these and Nepenthe with slightly better execution. A good wing, with a good consistency in sauce, could use more heat and be a bit crispier.

**Claddaugh**: I used to get beer tubes and wing platters here back in the day and remember these wings being better. The quality was not good - the size of the wings was all over the place. Some were so big they could have been turkey legs (bottom right in photo), two were broken. The sauce seemed to be Frank's with a little vinegar added and quickly broke, definitely needed more fat and better emulsification. They were not crispy at all.

**Mahaffey's**: Full Disclosure - I am a beer club member here and have eaten hundreds of wings over the years and sometimes they can be hit or miss. We went on a Wednesday, which is wing night. The consistency was a bit off, some very big, some small, some just right. But really that was the only problem. Perfect amount of sauce with great attachment with just the right heat. Amazing crispiness, and not dry at all, which was impressive considering the size disparity. Very good wings overall.

**Smaltimore**: Consistency was all over the place here as well. On the menu they advertise them as Delia Foley's wings, the sauce is definitely not Frank's based, there wasn't enough of it, and it needed more heat. They were crispy, but dry, which meant they were overcooked (as can be seen in the photo). We did not review our Delia Foley review prior to scoring Smaltimore, and they track similarly across the board, as not very good. Additionally, I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't comment on the scene here. It was "music bingo" night and it was incredibly loud. People were proudly singing Eagle Eye Cherry and Nickelback. They have like 25 TVs, and only one in the back of the bar had the World Series on. So either I'm older than I think, or kids today really love shitty music and hate sports.

**Cheezy Mike's Food Emporium**: Wings were all very big but consistently sized, however had a few broken flats in an order of 8. Taste was fine, and the garnishes of at least 2 kinds of cheeses was pretty pleasant, however I don't think this was Frank's based, it was just slightly off. It had good attachment to the wings, which was why I was very confused why they were drowning in sauce. Way too much sauce. Despite saying right on the menu these are cooked hard, these were maybe under cooked, there was absolutely zero crisp. Soggy from the sauce and then I came to find out they were baked. These are bottom tier wings. Whoever recommended we go here in my last update, you owe me $16 + tip.

**Wet City**: I used to love this place when it was called Dougherty's, and despite everyone raving about every single dish here I've always been disappointed. The wings are not an exception. Couple big wings, one broken flat. They were sauced appropriately, good creaminess, good attachment, just absolutely flat on the heat. I think a little too much vinegar, not enough chili. They were juicy because they are confit cooked then fried, but not crispy at all. I'd put these as fine if you're desperate, but avoid if other options are available.

**Choptank**: We were picking up another buddy from here, and when we walked in he had ordered us beers, so as opportunists we felt compelled to do the thing. Nothing surprising here. Marginal consistency, not great sauce, poor attachment, not enough of it, not enough heat, poor crispiness.

**City Limits**: Very good consistency. Sauce could use some more heat and more acid. The sauce is thickened with a roux so it really coats the wings without the need for a ton of it. I actually don't mind a thicker sauce, but recognize it's not for everyone. These were pretty crispy and not bad at all among the better scorers not in the absolute highest tier. The bar is a very big circular situation and the overall scene is good. This is clearly a neighborhood favorite, lots of families with children here, and they have a full size shuffleboard table. Added bonus, Santa Claus showed up with his granddaughter.

**Wiley Gunter**: Again very good consistency, and like City Limits the sauce could use some more heat. These wings are baked and then fried. Sauce had good attachment, and there was a proper amount of it. I liked the charring from the bake, but they were not very crispy. Again, very neighborhoody scene which I loved, mostly hightop and bar seating. Overall decent wings and a good spot.

**Captain Larry's**: Couple broken wings but good size in an order of 8, at a reasonable $10. Excellent flavor on the sauce, great balance of acid and creaminess, but could use a little more heat and a little more quantity. The crispiness of these was truly exceptional and they were perfectly juicy. I think these had the best crispiness of ANY wings we've had to date. If they had a little more heat these would be in the running for best in the city.

**Shotti Point**: Couple broken wings again but overall good size. We liked the quantity of the sauce, and the slightly thicker consistency, and a proper amount of it. However, the buffalo is a homemade 'Shotti' sauce and is definitely not Frank's based. It's also WAY too sweet, almost to the point that it's not a buffalo sauce at all. They weren't soggy but not crispy enough. Cool scene with surfboards on the ceiling and a lively neighborhood spot. Not great but not terrible, middle of the road wings.

**Alexander's Tavern**: Our 20th spot! Good size and consistency. The sauce had good attachment but there wasn't enough of it and it needs more heat. The sauce had the right acidity. This order was very crispy but they were overcooked and as a result were dry inside. If they weren't overcooked they would be middle of the road wings, but tonight they were below average.

**The Chaucer**: Couple broken flats. Sauce was different but pretty tasty. Clearly Frank's based but there's some added spices in there to change things, a little sweeter but not overly so. Great attachment and creaminess, just the right amount. These were not crispy at all, if we had ordered them crispy I suspect this would be a pretty good wing. However, as ordered kind of standard mid tier wings. I don't know what it is about the Chaucer but I've never been crazy about the scene, feels sterile to me, but I know its a neighborhood place.

**Pig & Rooster**: DISCLAIMER: Most of the places we had been sampling suffered from not enough heat bringing down the overall experience. We had had more than a couple beers and saw a "ghost buffalo" on the menu here and decided to go for it. Because these were quite good but very hot this score gets an asterisk. We have decided to go back and score the regular buffalo as well, but for now I will provide the review for the ghost buffalo. Good quality and consistency in size. Perfect amount of sauce and good creaminess. Very clearly Frank's based with the ghost pepper addition (not sure what the addition is). Outstanding crispiness. These are not for the faint of heart, they are hot but very very good. This is a good scene, slightly divey, good neighborhood bar.

Photos (Chaucer>P&R): https://imgur.com/a/57oRvGd