The best place to eat chicken wings in Buffalo has been an ongoing debate among UB students for years. Whether students are talking about a restaurant’s wing sauce consistency or texture, students can’t seem to find common ground when it comes to choosing the best place, until now.
Known as the birthplace of buffalo wings, with John Young’s mumbo sauce, Buffalo has become a hot spot for wings. From independent to chain restaurants, each establishment puts its own individual twist on wings.
After randomly surveying over 100 students, The Spectrum compiled a rank of the top five best places in Buffalo to eat wings, according to students.
Of the over 100 students surveyed, 31.7% provided restaurants that did not make the ranking, including Wingnutz, Tully’s Good Times, Nine-eleven Tavern, Brick Oven Pizzeria and more.
5. Elmo’s Bar and Restaurant (2.8%)
Location: 2349 Millersport Highway, Getzville
Prices: 10 wings for $14.75, 20 wings for $26.75 and 30 wings for $35.75
Elmo’s Bar and Restaurant, located approximately two miles from North Campus, is a convenient spot for students to stop by and enjoy a plate of wings.
Elmo’s tosses its wings in six flavors, including hot, medium, mild, cajun, BBQ or honey mustard sauce. Elmo’s wings are served with celery and bleu cheese.
Addie Rudolph, a freshman undecided major, goes for Elmo’s hot wings because they have the best sauce in town.
“I like how well they sauce their wings. It’s not too much, but it’s not too little,” Rudolph said.
For people who prefer more sauce on their wings, Elmo’s also offers double-dip wings. Once the wings are fried and glazed with your first choice of sauce, they then grill and coat the wings again with a second sauce of your choosing.
4. Gabriel’s Gate (3.5%)
Location: 145 Allen St., Buffalo
Prices: 10 wings for $17.95 and 20 wings for $31.95
Gabriel’s Gate, located two minutes from the Downtown Campus, is a popular destination to stop for wings while in downtown Buffalo.
Gabriel’s Gate serves their wings in their classic buffalo sauces: mild, medium or hot. At the cost of an additional dollar, the restaurant also offers five specialty flavors, including cajun and Italian dry rubs, and BBQ, sriracha and suicide sauces. Gabriel’s Gate wings come with celery, carrots and bleu cheese.
Tyler Leitman, a graduate music education major, orders hot and BBQ wings at Gabriel’s Gate. With a poor history of digesting wings, Leitman was cautious when choosing his next spot. While eating at Gabriel’s Gate, Leitman found his match after discovering how crispy their wings remained despite being tossed in sauce.
“Gabriel’s Gate gives me the perfect crisp to sauce ratio on a wing,” said Leitman. “Their wings sit in my stomach the right way.”
3. Anchor Bar (9.2%)
Location: 4300 Maple Road, Amherst
Prices: 10 traditional wings for $17.49, 20 wings for $33.99 and 50 wings for $74.99
10 boneless wings for $14.99, 20 wings for $27.99 and 50 wings for $59.99
Meatless wings: $14.99
Anchor Bar prides itself on its signature buffalo wing sauce, which was made by Teressa Bellissimo in 1964 at the original location in 1047 Main St., Buffalo. After growing in popularity, Anchor Bar added four more locations in the Buffalo region, including a location two miles from North Campus.
Ksenia Galitzine, a senior history education major, orders Anchor Bar’s traditional habanero ranch dry rub wings.
“I like that Anchor Bar has a variety of flavors and ways you can get the wings,” Galitzine said.
At Anchor Bar’s Amherst location, customers are provided with three wing options: traditional, boneless or plant-based meatless wings. Anchor Bar’s wings are served with celery and bleu cheese.
Anchor Bar tosses its wings in 13 sauces, including mild, medium, hot, extra hot, spicy hot BBQ, golden jerk BBQ, honey bourbon BBQ, chipotle BBQ, spicy garlic parmesan, honey garlic or extreme heat. In addition, Anchor Bar introduced two new sauces to their menu: bacon jam and kick n’ cranberry. Anchor Bar also offers dry rub wings in six flavors: cajun, jerk, habanero ranch, coffee BBQ, original buffalo or buffalo ranch.
2. Bar-Bill Tavern (13.4%)
Locations: 8326 Main St., Clarence or 185 Main St., East Aurora
Prices: 10 wings for $15.95 and 20 wings for $31.95
Famous for their beef on weck, Bar-Bill Tavern has also become well known for their wings. In 1983, former Bar-Bill owner Joe Giafaglione served chicken wings to customers, which caused a rise in popularity for the business.
Bar-Bill shakes its wings in 14 sauces and flavors, including mild, medium, medium hot, hot, extra hot, suicidal, cajun, cajun-medium, cajun-honey butter BBQ, honey dijon, honey butter BBQ, hot and spicy BBQ, lemon pepper or sicilian. Bar-Bill’s wings come with celery and bleu cheese.
Daniel Knapp, a junior biological sciences major, orders Bar-Bill’s honey dijon wings. Each time Knapp visits Bar-Bill, he finds himself stunned by their wings’ size and crispiness.
“Bar-Bill’s wings are big, they’re crispy,” Knapp said. “Their dry rub wings are delicious.”
Anna Braymiller, a senior biology major, orders Bar-Bill’s honey butter BBQ wings. When Braymiller bites into Bar-Bill’s wings, she is impressed by how easily the meat falls off the bone.
“Bar-Bill’s wings have more flavor, and they’re more tender,” Braymiller said.
1. Duff’s Famous Wings (39.4%)
Location: 3651 Sheridan Drive, Amherst
Prices: Five regular wings for $9.99, 10 wings for $16.99, 20 wings for $30.99, 30 wings for $43.99 and 50 wings for $68.99
Five boneless wings for $8.49, 10 wings for $14.49, 20 wings for $26.99, 30 wings for $38.99 and 50 wings for $61.99
With over 50 votes, Duff’s Famous Wings won the hearts and stomachs of UB students.
Duff’s original location, located approximately two miles from North Campus, rose to fame after Louise Duffney first started serving wings in 1969. Since then, Duff's has expanded to four other locations in the Buffalo region.
Duff’s serves regular and boneless wings in 10 sauces, including mild, mild medium, medium light, medium, medium hot, hot, super hot, death sauce, BBQ or spicy BBQ. Duff’s wings are served with a side of celery, carrots and bleu cheese.
Lakari Carr, a freshman biomedical sciences major, goes to Duff’s for their regular mild wings. For Carr, Duff’s hits the mark when it comes to the amount of sauce they put on their wings.
“I like that Duff’s wings are crispy,” Carr said. “Their wings are not too saucy.”
The features desk can be reached at features@ubspectrum.com
Jason Tsoi is an assistant features editor at The Spectrum. He is an English major with a certificate in journalism. During his free time, he can be found listening to music and watching films.
