July 2012

Hello there! Was anyone else’s week as weird as mine was? I think having Wednesday off for Independence Day totally screwed up my week. I’m glad it’s Friday, but it certainly doesn’t feel like one!

As you know, I finished up Week 10 of the Chicken Wing Challenge. I can’t believe how quickly these ten weeks have zoomed by! Honestly, I felt like I could have made this a 20 week challenge; you all suggested so many chicken wing places on Facebook and Twitter! I wish I could have visited them all, but there’s only so much chicken one girl can eat.

Before I announce my top three choices for chicken wings, I’ll do a quick rundown of each place I visited, in order. Let’s do this!

Week 1: Poor Richard’s

What a way to kick off the challenge! These wings were very tasty. I loved the crispy breading, the juicy meat, and the spicy sauce! And at $8.29 for 12 wings, this was one of the best deals during the challenge.

Week 2: Trainwreck Saloon

Oh, my beloved wreck wings. These wings were first roasted and then flash fried. The creative preparation definitely paid off; these suckers were good. The breading was crispy and very well seasoned. The chicken itself was delicious. I didn’t even mind that they were un-sauced!

Week 3: St. Louis Wing Co.

What’s better than one flavor of chicken wings? Four flavors of chicken wings! The flavors I tried? Honey BBQ, Traditional Hot, Thai Sweet Chili, and Sesame Ginger Teriyaki. Although I was impressed (and a little overwhelmed!) with all of the different flavors to choose from, these wings weren’t my favorite. The sauces were delicious, but the chicken itself was not very good.

Week 4: The Post Sports Bar & Grill

The Post’s Spicy Garlic Wings were baked instead of fried. Does that mean they’re healthy?  Healthy or not, these wings were fantastic! I adored the spicy flavor of the garlic sauce, and the meat was tender, moist, and hot. What more could a food blogger ask for?

Week 5: Culpepper’s

I have a strict no chains rule when it comes to my food blog, but I was willing to bend the rules a bit to try the wings at Culpepper’s. There was no way I could skip this place with all of the praise it receives! I ordered the Original style, as well as the Chipotle BBQ flavor.

Well, I wish I would have skipped it. These wings were slimy and overcooked, and the sauces tasted off. I’ve never met a BBQ sauce I didn’t like. Until now. No bueno, Culpepper’s!

Week 6: Southtown Pub

Okay, so I was a little peeved that Southtown Pub called these wings “jumbo” (look at them – they’re not jumbo!), but after I sunk my teeth into one of these puppies, all was forgiven. Southtown’s wings are plump, coated in a fabulous dry rub, and have a smoky flavor. These wings remind me of a summer BBQ. Amazing. Just amazing.

Week 7: Syberg’s

So I broke my “no chains” rule again. When will I ever learn? Although the wings at Syberg’s were generously coated with sauce (I needed a wet nap!), they were by far the most awful wings I’ve ever tasted in my life. I’m not even exaggerating. Slimy. Dry meat. And the sauce. Who came up with this god-awful sauce?! Imagine coating your wings in warm mayonnaise, and you’ll get an idea of what these things tasted like to me. I’m still shuddering at the thought.

Week 8: Seamus McDaniel’s

After the previous week’s failboat, I was anxious to cleanse my palate with some decent wings. I had high hopes for the wings at Seamus McDaniel’s, and although they weren’t bad, they weren’t mind-blowing, either. They were pretty…average. Average is not terrible, but I’m looking for the best wings in St. Louis, and these just were not it.

Week 9: O! Wing Plus

O! Wing Plus reminded me a lot of St. Louis Wing Co., in that it had many flavors of wings to choose from. I went with the two most popular flavors: Garlic Parmesan and O’s Original. Although the Garlic Parmesan wings didn’t blow me away, the O’s Original more than made up for it. The sauce was sticky, sweet, and complemented the savory flavor of the chicken so well. Pure perfection!

Week 10: The Shaved Duck

The Shaved Duck: last, but certainly not least! These smoked wings were served with a mango, ginger, and habanero sauce that rocked my world. However, these wings definitely did not need sauce. The smoky flavor of these wings made my toes curl – they were that awesome. I cannot find a single bad thing to say about these wings; I loved everything about them. And they were even good cold!

So what are my top 3 choices? After much thought, I narrowed it down:

1. The Shaved Duck

2. Trainwreck

3. The Post

Woo! My job is done, folks. Now it’s up to you to help me choose the winner! I’ve been hinting at this for a while (and if you follow me on Facebook, you already have the details), but here’s the deal:

On July 14th, the Marathon Chicken Wing Eating Event (McWee!) is happening. It’s exactly what it sounds like: a day full of eating chicken wings! The tentative schedule is as follows:

11am – visit The Post. Chow down on some wings.

3pm – stop by Trainwreck. Eat more wings.

7pm – hit up The Shaved Duck. Eat bread pudding and smothered fries. Just kidding…we’re eating more wings!

If you’re interested in being on the panel (and I hope you are!) join me to chow down! While I will be re-visiting all three spots, there’s no pressure for you to visit all three. If you just want to stop by one or two restaurants, that’s fine! At the end of the night, we’ll tally up the votes and we’ll choose a winner. Sounds like fun, right?

If you’re interested, please RSVP here. I hope to see you all there! Make sure to wear your stretchy pants; you’ll certainly need them!

Enjoy your weekend, and I’ll see you next week!

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