Anchor Bar and Restaurant |
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BUFFALO
WINGS Featuring
Reviews From Two Famous Buffalo, NY Area Eateries Having spent many years enjoying food as a passion, I've had the opportunity to enjoy most portions of the anatomy of the chicken in one form or another. The relatively recent love affair with wings all across the world somewhat boggles the mind! After all, aren't these tiny morsels the pieces that used to be cast into the garbage or occasionally a stockpot? Nobody ever really eats chicken wings, right? Wrong, wrong, wrong. Food history reveals that chicken wings often made an appearance in many poorer homes across the country. Destined for the butcher's garbage, thrifty homemakers cheerfully accepted these discarded bits of the bird, cooking them with perfection as the sole protein for the weekly meal. But that was then. What about now? Wings are practically everywhere. What happened? To answer that question, we must first examine the wing itself. That certainly is not a major task. The chicken wing has two parts, the stomper and the flapper, or the drumette and the wing, itself. There is no such thing as a boneless chicken wing, sorry folks. Wings presently appear in a wide variety of preparations. I've tried fried wings, batter dipped wings, Cajun wings, jerk wings, teriyaki wings, even sour cream and onion wings…sorry, no sashimi wings, although I wouldn't be surprised if they were out there, somewhere. The most well known style of wings of course, has to be Buffalo Wings. Now what makes these wings different from ordinary everyday chicken wings? Are they really from a buffalo? If so, they must be clipped at a very early age, because they are so small. Besides, no one has ever knowingly seen a buffalo with wings...there are no mythical tales supporting this obvious phalacy. Newsflash! They aren't from a buffalo, they originated
in Buffalo…. that's Buffalo, New York! In pursuit of the exact
origin of these spicy wings that appear all across the nation, I made
a pilgrimage to the famed metropolis in Western New York. I was quite
surprised at what I found. Wings joints were everywhere! Original Buffalo
Style Wings, Buffalo's Hottest Wings, Buffalo's Best Wings…you
name it, somebody's claiming it. Everybody had their own unique little
catch phrase attempting to imply that they were the best, the first,
the only! I stopped by a Buffalo landmark, a corner tavern known as Duff's. They had a branch in Toronto that I had visited a few years earlier, where they advertised something to the effect that they were Canada's Original Buffalo Wings restaurants. Well, they weren't Buffalo's original, but they were pretty good wings. Located on a huge corner lot in Amherst, with another place in Orchard Park, Duff's has been around since 1946 and has been serving wings since 1969. Self-proclaimed as one of Buffalo's Premier Chicken Wings restaurants, they reportedly serve over 12,000 lbs every week. Numbers like that must make Frank Perdue happy! The menu offered a wide variety of wings, plain, mild, mild medium, medium light, medium, medium hot, hot, BBQ and super hot. They also offered numerous other deep fried to a crispy golden brown favorites like jalapeno poppers, chicken strips, fried shrimp, French fries, and an array of sandwiches, salads and side dishes. I opted to try the full spectrum of temperatures offered. I chose an order of mild, medium, hot and super hot wings (that's 10 per order mind you…). The hot sauce was good. It is made with cayenne pepper and vinegar, a pinch of salt and a lot of love. Unfortunately, the only difference I could detect among the differing temperature ratings was the amount of hot sauce the wings were swimming in. The menu warns, "Medium is Hot!" …And it was. As were the hot, and definitely the super hot sauces. But my downfall was the unruly amount of vinegar I had to inhale in order to taste the wings themselves. Oh well, it is the nature of the beast. The restaurant itself, was bright, cheerful, clean, and the staff very friendly. Service was certainly pleasant and attentive at all times. They featured napkin caddies on each table, and brought large plastic buckets (for bones) with the delivery of the wings. Good food, good service and luckily, I got a table right before the lines started forming outside. As I was leaving, there must have been at least 50 people waiting for a table and another large group waiting for to go orders. As wing joints go, it was hopping! Very good, but not the original!
Senior Staff Writer: Les Noteworthy My pursuit continued. I asked everyone I met along the way, including gas station attendants, pharmacists, plumbers, taxi drivers, grandmothers, and the answer was unanimous… "The Anchor Bar and Restaurant." slated as Buffalo's Original Wings Restaurant! Off I went to find the "Anchor Bar", located at the less than glamorous corner of Main and North St. in beautiful downtown Buffalo The building itself was the original, built who-knows-how-long-ago? Housed in a 50+-year-old structure (one of those traditional, old school, non-descript, ageless, and timeless old buildings), the Anchor bar has been a popular beer garden since it was opened. Buffalo old-timers remember frequenting the place during their college days back in the 40's, and will be happy to tell you a few stories about their first hot-sauce laden kiss. According to legend, the wings phenomenon took place completely by accident at the Anchor Bar, way back in 1964. Some late night patrons were famished and wanted a snack, (I wonder why they were so hungry…perhaps this was the first time the phrase "The Munchies" was used as well…) so the owner and chief cook and bottle washer, Mrs. Teresa Bellisimo deep fried some chicken wings (originally intended for the stock pot) and doused them with some hot sauce. The patrons were happy, and began to spread the word of a great new snack at the anchor! The rest, as they say, is history! Today, the Anchor Bar and Restaurant offers a wide bar menu, including pizza, sandwiches, and another Buffalo original, Beef on Weck (thinly sliced roast beef on a Kemelweck roll). They also offer hot sandwiches and subs, luncheon specialties (mostly Italian favorites) and of course, the many levels of Buffalo Wings. Their world famous wings come in various levels of Mild, Medium, Hot, Spicy Bar-B-Que and Suicidal! Portions range from Single orders of ten (10) pieces, to buckets with fifty pieces (50). Not planning a trip to Buffalo, but want to try the wings? No problem! They also offer sales via their website (www.anchorbar.com). The Anchor Bar not only claims to be the original, they have been recognized as such by the City of Buffalo, N.Y. There was actually an official proclamation issued declaring July 29, 1977 as "Chicken Wing Day". These are the kinds of things that happen where there is no beach to go to I guess! But seriously folks, more recently this restaurant received the 2003 James Beard Foundation's America's Classic Restaurant Award, issued for classic restaurants that reflect the history and character of its community. They also received the 2003 Quality Institute International "Best of the Best" Award for Hot Wing Sauces. Judged from over 1000 entries, the Anchor Bar was awarded the prestigious gold medal. Nice job! So enough of the credentials…. Let's Eat! Befitting my profile as a wings connoisseur, I ordered a Mild, Medium, Spicy and Suicidal. I actually got a prize for ordering the suicidal, and was allowed to purchase a T-shirt giving me bragging rights! The mild were just that, but certainly tasty. Medium had a bit more kick, but nowhere as hot as the medium wings over at Duff's. The Spicy were very hot and the Suicidal were…well, disappointing…over promised, but under delivered. Oh, they were hot, all right! But it was a different type of sauce than the others. I tried to pry the recipe from the waitress, but there was no chance. It tasted like a tomato based sauce, as opposed to the others that were Cayenne Pepper based. It was hot, no question, but it was maybe more acidic than the other sauces. One nice thing though, was that they had very little of that prominent vinegar that often over powers the regular hot sauces. The Anchor Bar restaurant also features a full liquor bar, with over 20 bottled beers, 7 or 8 draft varieties, wines, numerous old world Italian cordials and a nice selection of deserts. Service was attentive; the atmosphere was great; an old time family-style corner bar/restaurant mood prevailed, and the food was…well, Original Buffalo Wings! Good? You bet! Original, …exactly! Finally! My taste buds were starting to smart! Would I return for more of the Original Buffalo Wings? In a heartbeat! Thanks to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY for introducing Buffalo Wings to the world! What the world does with your creation is certainly up to the culinary creativity of the interpreter. But no one can compete with what has placed you at the pinnacle of the wings phenomenon. |
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