In Honor Of National Chicken Wing Day, Here Are My 5 Favorite Chicken Wing Joints

Wednesday marks the 43rd annual National Chicken Wing Day. Established by Stan Makowski, then-mayor of Buffalo, New York, the holiday is meant to celebrate the delicious food item that makes the city world-renowned. Sort of.

In honor of the glorious day, I present my most favorite chicken wing joints.

1. The Obvious: B-Dubs

Buffalo Wild Wings is a family favorite and for good reason. After multiple visits to the location in upstate New York, I'm nowhere close to trying all the different sauces and spices.

My wife, on the other hand, will never deviate from her go-to favorite of Garlic Parmesan.

The sports bar also has an impressive beer menu with great deals on pitchers. Everyone knows that beer is the most important companion to have with chicken wings. Who said it was carrots and celery?

2. McKibbins Rim Reaper Challenge

Located in beautiful downtown Montreal, the popular Irish pub McKibbin's offers a hot wing challenge. To succeed, you must eat 12 wings made with the Bhut Jolokia pepper (a.k.a. Ghost Pepper) that is packed with a Scoville rating of more than 1 million. By comparison, law enforcement grade pepper spray clocks in between 1.5 million and 3 million on the Scoville rating.

Hot sauce aficionados: The spice level is roughly consistent with a very generous serving of Da Bomb's The Final Answer hot sauce.

3. Don't Mock Me: Domino's Has Great Wings

I haven't been to a Wingstop Inc WING and it's likely much better than the wings Domino's Pizza, Inc. DPZ has to offer.

But I still like Domino's and nothing will change that. The wings are always delivered nice and hot with a good amount of sauce. And the wings taste even better when dipped in the sauce packet meant for the breadsticks.

Pizza Hut on the other hand? Ehhhh.

4. Easy Challenge Across The Pond At Hobgoblin

Located in the picturesque city of Bristol in the United Kingdom, the Hobgoblin Pub has its own hot sauce challenge that I dominated.

Referred to as the "Death Wings," the spicy wing challenge was a walk in the park for my taste buds that have likely been permanently damaged from my obsession with hot sauces dating back at least 20 years.

What made it special was experiencing the challenge with family who live in the area. The beer wasn't too shabby as well. Not the warm ones -- no offense to our British friends.

Honorable Mention: Hooters

Classic Hooters and its all-you-can-eat wings on Mondays. A true shame the restaurant located a 5-minute drive away closed.

This Hooters location was awesome. They would take three orders at a time to ensure a consistent flow of piping out and fresh wings the whole night.

Were the wings good? I actually don't remember. But we prioritized quantity over quality. Good times!

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