Dayton restaurants-best wings

Dayton restaurants — Best wings

Hot, mild. Saucy, crispy. Bring 'em on! The ActiveDayton.com Taste Team likes delicious food — and wings are no exception. Dayton offers its share of tasty wings. And we decided we'd be so generous and sample them all for you and tell you which ones are best so you don't have to get messy or sacrifice your waistline. We're so thoughtful, we know…

We sampled wings — the real ones (none of that boneless or chunked nonsense) — from 12 local restaurants. We tasted them all in a blind taste test in a neutral setting so no one could play favorites. We ordered the mild or BBQ depending on what the wings joint offered, plus an order of the hottest they had.

Many of these wing joints claim to have the hottest wings around, so we decided to put them to the test. A few brave people tested the hottest sauce each place could think up. In the hotness category, a one equals, "Is that all you've got?" and 10 equals, "I can't feel my face! Hottest ever!"

The non-crazies tasted the non-hot wings and rated them on overall taste, quality of the meat and messiness or amount of sauce. Some people loved the fact that the wings were messy, while others were hoarding wet naps, so we leave that category for your interpretation.

Other results were mixed as well with many of the wings rating somewhere in the middle of our scale. There were a few standouts, however, so we leave you with our comments and profusely apologize for the sauce smudges.
— Katie Wedell, Staff Writer

	Variety	Cost How many wings do you get for your hard-earned bucks?	Overall taste	Quality of meat	Messiness How much sauce was slapped on those puppies? Messiness can be a good thing if you love sauce.	Hotness Who is truly the king of hotness?
Cadillac Jack's (5 area locations)	8 sauces ranging from Honey Mustard to Turbo	6 wings for $3.99, 12 for $7.79	Average rating: 3.4 The good: "The sauce was sweet and thick." —Hillary "BBQ flavor is nice." —Alexis "Yummy sauce." —Michelle The bad: "I spit it out. It tastes like cow manure." —Gerry "Pretty anemic." —Connie "Tough, tough, tough and chewy as well." —Alexis	Average rating: 3.9 The good: "Small wing but plump." —Stephanie "There was a lot of meat and it was good." —Hillary The bad: "Meat was chewy and skin was very fatty." —Mark "Was this cooked?" —Zack "A little skimpy. Where's the meat?" —Michelle	Average rating: 5.8 The good: "It's messy, but delicious." —Hillary "Messiest wing we had." —Alexis The bad: "You'll need a lot of wet naps with this one. A little too messy for my liking." —Michelle	Average rating: 2.2 "Not very hot at all." —Nikki "Not hot. Not good." —Gerry
Ticket's Pub and Eatery (7 W. Main St., Fairborn)	5 sauces ranging from mild to hot	10 wings for $6.75, 20 for $11.25	Average rating: 5.9 The good: "Packed with flavor." —Nikki "A gentle heat with a true buffalo flavor." —Alexis The bad: "It tasted disgusting." —Hillary "Too hot for a mild." —Mark "This guy is average in all categories." —Connie	Average rating: 6.4 The good: "Very meaty, large wing." —Stephanie "The most meat of all the wings." —Gerry The bad: "Lots of meat, but very dry." —Tony	Average rating: 6.0 The good: "Good sauce, but not too messy." —Zack "Average messiness as far as wings go." —Michelle	Average rating: 4.6 "Not too hot to enjoy the flavor." —Nikki "Very tame." —Tony "This is their hottest? Weak!" —Gerry
Wings Sports Bar and Grille (7902 N. Dixie Drive, Dayton)	9 sauces ranging from plain to extra hot	5 wings for $4.89, 10 for $7.89	Average rating: 4.0 The good: "Good taste, not too spicy." —Tony The bad: "Mediocre." —Gerry "Leaves a bad aftertaste, kind of sour." —Alexis "Tastes weird, really weird." —Michelle	Average rating: 4.1 The good: "Good meat. Good amount." —Gerry "Portion is decent." —Zack The bad: "Dry and overcooked." —Connie "Does that constitute meat? It was dry and hard to chew." —Michelle	Average rating: 4.3 The good: "Decent layer of sauce." —Zack	Average rating: 5.4 "Not very spicy at all." —Tony
Quaker Steak and Lube (3725 Presidential Drive, Fairborn)	18 sauces ranging from Ranch and BBQ to Suicide and Atomic	6 wings for $5.59, 10 for $7.99	Average rating: 5.5 The good: "Good crispy wing overall. A good option for mild wing fans like me." —Michelle The bad: "Pretty bland flavor." —Alexis "A little oily." —Hillary "Very hard to bite into." —Mark	Average rating: 6.5 The good: "A hefty slab of meat." —Zack "Crunchy, crispy skin and generous meat on the bone." —Alexis The bad: "I'm not overwhelmed or underwhelmed." —Michelle	Average rating: 5.2 The good: "Delicately covered in sauce." —Zack The bad: "A little dry." —Nikki	Average rating: 9.8 "Very hot. I'm having palpitations." —Gerry "I can't feel my lips, tongue or teeth." —Zack "This kicked my butt. I'm going to be sick." —Connie
Buffalo Wild Wings (14 area locations)	14 sauces ranging from Sweet BBQ and Teriyaki to Wild and Blazin'.	6 wings for $4.79	Average rating: 4.6 The good: "Tastes like it was hickory smoked." —Mark "Good flavor." —Alexis The bad: "Not very good. Not enough meat." —Stephanie "Too bony and not very good flavor." —Hillary	Average rating: 4.7 The good: "Just the right amount of meat." —Gerry The bad: "There was meat?" —Hillary "Veiny and sparse." —Nikki "I wouldn't run out and get these." —Alexis	Average rating: 7.1 The crazies eating the Blazin' thought their wings were much more messy than the regular wing eaters. "Too much sauce." —Nikki "Dripping, coated and covered in this awful concoction." —Zack	Average rating: 9.6 "Absolutely too hot." —Nikki "Hottest sauce I've ever had." —Gerry (until he tried the Quaker Steak wings and declared them hotter.) "This wing has authority. It's a four-star general of heat." —Connie
Bunker's Bar and Grill (893 E. National Road, Vandalia)	8 sauces ranging from Mild to Stupid Hot and Morning After	6 wings for $3.50, 12 for $7	Average rating: 6.4 The good: "Good crispy wing; moist, flavorful and not too hot." —Michelle "Quite tasty, with a faint sweetness." —Connie "Tasty and delicious." —Gerry The bad: "Kind of bland. The crispy breading isn't as crispy as it looks." —Hillary	Average rating: 6.3 The good: "Very juicy." —Stephanie "Moist and easy to chew." —Michelle The bad: "This wing is fairly small. I wanted more." —Tony	Average rating: 6.4 "Moderately messy. Had to bust out the wet nap." —Michelle "Greasy more than saucey." —Alexis "Finger-licking messy, but not dripping with sauce." —Gerry "A little more sauce would be good." —Connie	Average rating: 7.8 "Hot, but not too hot. Perfect for the spicy lover who values taste over heat." —Gerry "The after-burn sneaks up on you." —Connie
Champps Americana (2 area locations)	One spicy Buffalo sauce	10 wings for $8.99	Average rating: 3.3 The good: "Unique flavor." —Gerry The bad: "Tastes like plastic. Freezer-burnt and reheated taste. Very gross." —Stephanie "My dog might like this." —D.L. "This tastes very old and has an odd flavor." —Michelle	Average rating: 3.2 The bad: "Yuck! An unpleasant experience." —Connie "Really, really tough, dry and chewy. Tastes old like it was cooked several hours ago." —Alexis	Average rating: 4.6 "Sauce? What sauce?" —Alexis "Stingy!" —Connie "Sauce was greasy." —Mark	Average rating: 1.0
Hinder's Sports Bar and Grill (902 W. Main St., Tipp City)	4 different sauces available	10 wings for $7.25, 25 for $14.50	Average rating: 6.9 The good: "This is not your average wing. It's crispy with an unexpected sweet taste. My overall fave!" —Michelle "It's really good and tastes homemade." —Hillary The bad: "(Mild) has a cinnamon taste that is distracting." —Mark	Average rating: 5.9 The good: "The right amount of meat." —Gerry "Meat was very tender." —Mark The bad: "Too dry. If it was more moist I'd like it a lot better." —Alexis	Average rating: 4.9 "Not too messy at all. You can eat these wings without wearing them." —Michelle "There's room for more sauce." —Connie	Average rating: 6.5 "Not very hot for their hottest wing, but hot enough for hot lovers." —Gerry
Fricker's (7 area locations)	11 sauces ranging from mild to X-Scream	10 wings for $6.49	Average rating: 4.5 The good: "Chicken was juicy." —Mark The bad: "Tastes like plain chicken. Average at best." —Michelle "Not much flavor here." —Alexis	Average rating: 5.7 The good: "Good meat. You get the whole wing." —Gerry "Very flavorful." —Mark The bad: "Boring!" —Alexis	Average rating: 4.3 "Kind of messy, in a gooey, greasy way." —Hillary	Average rating: 7.5 "Lots of hot. Not a lot of flavor." —Gerry
Rooster's (3 area locations)	9 sauces ranging from BBQ to Super Killer	5 wings for $3.99, 10 for $7.59	Average rating: 4.8 The good: "Just the right level of heat." —Michelle The bad: "This is kind of gross." —Hillary "Dry, with a bad aftertaste" —Alexis	Average rating: 4.4 The good: "Wing-shaped, so larger than most others." —Stephanie "Great amount of meat." —Gerry The bad: "Very chewy, like a rubber band" —Mark	Average rating: 6.8 "Very messy, lots of sauce." —Tony	Average rating: 7.4 "Hot, hot, hot!" —Tony
8 Ball and Wings (4515 Salem Ave., Trotwood)	11 sauces ranging from Que ball (plain) to 10 ball (Super hot)	10 wings for $6.19	Average rating: 6.9 The good: "Classic hot flavor, but juicy and delicious." —Zack "Very tasty. Lots of meat and full of flavor." —Tony "The sauce is really different. Tastes like barbecue meets Caribbean, thick and chunky." —Alexis The bad: "The sauce is just weird. Strange aftertaste." —Michelle	Average rating: 7.0 The good: "Good amount of meat." —Stephanie The bad: "Kind of veiny." —Hillary	Average rating: 6.9 "Very messy! The more sauce the better." —Mark "A little saucy, but nothing the napkin can't handle." —Gerry	Average rating: 6.6 "Not the hottest I've had." —Gerry
Norton's (2505 Wilmington Pike, Kettering)	Mild or hot	6 wings for $5.99, 12 for $7.99	Average rating: 6.9 The good: "This is a pretty tasty wing. Nice and crispy." —Hillary "Great flavor and the spiciness doesn't overpower it." —Nikki "Leaves a spicy aftertaste, but not too spicy. It's just right. All I need is a beer." —Michelle The bad: "The medium sauce was not very full of flavor." —Mark	Average rating: 7.1 The good: "Had the juiciest and most meat of all." —Mark "Amount of meat is generous." —Alexis The bad: "Chewy, with more gristle than meat." —Tony	Average rating: 6.2 "Not saucy. Much more crispy." —Hillary "A generous amount of sauce, but not too messy." —Zack	Average rating: 4.5 "Not as hot as I'd expect for 'Hot'." —Zack

Variety

Cost

How many wings do you get for your hard-earned bucks?

Overall taste

Quality of meat

Messiness

How much sauce was slapped on those puppies? Messiness can be a good thing if you love sauce.

Hotness

Who is truly the king of hotness?

Cadillac Jack's

(5 area locations)

8 sauces ranging from Honey Mustard to Turbo

6 wings for $3.99, 12 for $7.79

Average rating: 3.4

The good: "The sauce was sweet and thick." —Hillary

"BBQ flavor is nice." —Alexis

"Yummy sauce." —Michelle

The bad: "I spit it out. It tastes like cow manure." —Gerry

"Pretty anemic." —Connie

"Tough, tough, tough and chewy as well." —Alexis

Average rating: 3.9

The good: "Small wing but plump." —Stephanie

"There was a lot of meat and it was good." —Hillary

The bad: "Meat was chewy and skin was very fatty." —Mark

"Was this cooked?" —Zack

"A little skimpy. Where's the meat?" —Michelle

Average rating: 5.8

The good: "It's messy, but delicious." —Hillary

"Messiest wing we had." —Alexis

The bad: "You'll need a lot of wet naps with this one. A little too messy for my liking." —Michelle

Average rating: 2.2

"Not very hot at all." —Nikki

"Not hot. Not good." —Gerry

Ticket's Pub and Eatery

(7 W. Main St., Fairborn)

5 sauces ranging from mild to hot

10 wings for $6.75, 20 for $11.25

Average rating: 5.9

The good: "Packed with flavor." —Nikki

"A gentle heat with a true buffalo flavor." —Alexis

The bad: "It tasted disgusting." —Hillary

"Too hot for a mild." —Mark

"This guy is average in all categories." —Connie

Average rating: 6.4

The good: "Very meaty, large wing." —Stephanie

"The most meat of all the wings." —Gerry

The bad: "Lots of meat, but very dry." —Tony

Average rating: 6.0

The good: "Good sauce, but not too messy." —Zack

"Average messiness as far as wings go." —Michelle

Average rating: 4.6

"Not too hot to enjoy the flavor." —Nikki

"Very tame." —Tony

"This is their hottest? Weak!" —Gerry

Wings Sports Bar and Grille

(7902 N. Dixie Drive, Dayton)

9 sauces ranging from plain to extra hot

5 wings for $4.89, 10 for $7.89

Average rating: 4.0

The good: "Good taste, not too spicy." —Tony

The bad: "Mediocre." —Gerry

"Leaves a bad aftertaste, kind of sour." —Alexis

"Tastes weird, really weird." —Michelle

Average rating: 4.1

The good: "Good meat. Good amount." —Gerry

"Portion is decent." —Zack

The bad: "Dry and overcooked." —Connie

"Does that constitute meat? It was dry and hard to chew." —Michelle

Average rating: 4.3

The good: "Decent layer of sauce." —Zack

Average rating: 5.4

"Not very spicy at all." —Tony

Quaker Steak and Lube

(3725 Presidential Drive, Fairborn)

18 sauces ranging from Ranch and BBQ to Suicide and Atomic

6 wings for $5.59, 10 for $7.99

Average rating: 5.5

The good: "Good crispy wing overall. A good option for mild wing fans like me." —Michelle

The bad: "Pretty bland flavor." —Alexis

"A little oily." —Hillary

"Very hard to bite into." —Mark

Average rating: 6.5

The good: "A hefty slab of meat." —Zack

"Crunchy, crispy skin and generous meat on the bone." —Alexis

The bad: "I'm not overwhelmed or underwhelmed." —Michelle

Average rating: 5.2

The good: "Delicately covered in sauce." —Zack

The bad: "A little dry." —Nikki

Average rating: 9.8

"Very hot. I'm having palpitations." —Gerry

"I can't feel my lips, tongue or teeth." —Zack

"This kicked my butt. I'm going to be sick." —Connie

Buffalo Wild Wings

(14 area locations)

14 sauces ranging from Sweet BBQ and Teriyaki to Wild and Blazin'.

6 wings for $4.79

Average rating: 4.6

The good: "Tastes like it was hickory smoked." —Mark

"Good flavor." —Alexis

The bad: "Not very good. Not enough meat." —Stephanie

"Too bony and not very good flavor." —Hillary

Average rating: 4.7

The good: "Just the right amount of meat." —Gerry

The bad: "There was meat?" —Hillary

"Veiny and sparse." —Nikki

"I wouldn't run out and get these." —Alexis

Average rating: 7.1

The crazies eating the Blazin' thought their wings were much more messy than the regular wing eaters.

"Too much sauce." —Nikki

"Dripping, coated and covered in this awful concoction." —Zack

Average rating: 9.6

"Absolutely too hot." —Nikki

"Hottest sauce I've ever had." —Gerry (until he tried the Quaker Steak wings and declared them hotter.)

"This wing has authority. It's a four-star general of heat." —Connie

Bunker's Bar and Grill

(893 E. National Road, Vandalia)

8 sauces ranging from Mild to Stupid Hot and Morning After

6 wings for $3.50, 12 for $7

Average rating: 6.4

The good: "Good crispy wing; moist, flavorful and not too hot." —Michelle

"Quite tasty, with a faint sweetness." —Connie

"Tasty and delicious." —Gerry

The bad: "Kind of bland. The crispy breading isn't as crispy as it looks." —Hillary

Average rating: 6.3

The good: "Very juicy." —Stephanie

"Moist and easy to chew." —Michelle

The bad: "This wing is fairly small. I wanted more." —Tony

Average rating: 6.4

"Moderately messy. Had to bust out the wet nap." —Michelle

"Greasy more than saucey." —Alexis

"Finger-licking messy, but not dripping with sauce." —Gerry

"A little more sauce would be good." —Connie

Average rating: 7.8

"Hot, but not too hot. Perfect for the spicy lover who values taste over heat." —Gerry

"The after-burn sneaks up on you." —Connie

Champps Americana

(2 area locations)

One spicy Buffalo sauce

10 wings for $8.99

Average rating: 3.3

The good: "Unique flavor." —Gerry

The bad: "Tastes like plastic. Freezer-burnt and reheated taste. Very gross." —Stephanie

"My dog might like this." —D.L.

"This tastes very old and has an odd flavor." —Michelle

Average rating: 3.2

The bad: "Yuck! An unpleasant experience." —Connie

"Really, really tough, dry and chewy. Tastes old like it was cooked several hours ago." —Alexis

Average rating: 4.6

"Sauce? What sauce?" —Alexis

"Stingy!" —Connie

"Sauce was greasy." —Mark

Average rating: 1.0

Hinder's Sports Bar and Grill

(902 W. Main St., Tipp City)

4 different sauces available

10 wings for $7.25, 25 for $14.50

Average rating: 6.9

The good: "This is not your average wing. It's crispy with an unexpected sweet taste. My overall fave!" —Michelle

"It's really good and tastes homemade." —Hillary

The bad: "(Mild) has a cinnamon taste that is distracting." —Mark

Average rating: 5.9

The good: "The right amount of meat." —Gerry

"Meat was very tender." —Mark

The bad: "Too dry. If it was more moist I'd like it a lot better." —Alexis

Average rating: 4.9

"Not too messy at all. You can eat these wings without wearing them." —Michelle

"There's room for more sauce." —Connie

Average rating: 6.5

"Not very hot for their hottest wing, but hot enough for hot lovers." —Gerry

Fricker's

(7 area locations)

11 sauces ranging from mild to X-Scream

10 wings for $6.49

Average rating: 4.5

The good: "Chicken was juicy." —Mark

The bad: "Tastes like plain chicken. Average at best." —Michelle

"Not much flavor here." —Alexis

Average rating: 5.7

The good: "Good meat. You get the whole wing." —Gerry

"Very flavorful." —Mark

The bad: "Boring!" —Alexis

Average rating: 4.3

"Kind of messy, in a gooey, greasy way." —Hillary

Average rating: 7.5

"Lots of hot. Not a lot of flavor." —Gerry

Rooster's

(3 area locations)

9 sauces ranging from BBQ to Super Killer

5 wings for $3.99, 10 for $7.59

Average rating: 4.8

The good: "Just the right level of heat." —Michelle

The bad: "This is kind of gross." —Hillary

"Dry, with a bad aftertaste" —Alexis

Average rating: 4.4

The good: "Wing-shaped, so larger than most others." —Stephanie

"Great amount of meat." —Gerry

The bad: "Very chewy, like a rubber band" —Mark

Average rating: 6.8

"Very messy, lots of sauce." —Tony

Average rating: 7.4

"Hot, hot, hot!" —Tony

8 Ball and Wings

(4515 Salem Ave., Trotwood)

11 sauces ranging from Que ball (plain) to 10 ball (Super hot)

10 wings for $6.19

Average rating: 6.9

The good: "Classic hot flavor, but juicy and delicious." —Zack

"Very tasty. Lots of meat and full of flavor." —Tony

"The sauce is really different. Tastes like barbecue meets Caribbean, thick and chunky." —Alexis

The bad: "The sauce is just weird. Strange aftertaste." —Michelle

Average rating: 7.0

The good: "Good amount of meat." —Stephanie

The bad: "Kind of veiny." —Hillary

Average rating: 6.9

"Very messy! The more sauce the better." —Mark

"A little saucy, but nothing the napkin can't handle." —Gerry

Average rating: 6.6

"Not the hottest I've had." —Gerry

Norton's

(2505 Wilmington Pike, Kettering)

Mild or hot

6 wings for $5.99, 12 for $7.99

Average rating: 6.9

The good: "This is a pretty tasty wing. Nice and crispy." —Hillary

"Great flavor and the spiciness doesn't overpower it." —Nikki

"Leaves a spicy aftertaste, but not too spicy. It's just right. All I need is a beer." —Michelle

The bad: "The medium sauce was not very full of flavor." —Mark

Average rating: 7.1

The good: "Had the juiciest and most meat of all." —Mark

"Amount of meat is generous." —Alexis

The bad: "Chewy, with more gristle than meat." —Tony

Average rating: 6.2

"Not saucy. Much more crispy." —Hillary

"A generous amount of sauce, but not too messy." —Zack

Average rating: 4.5

"Not as hot as I'd expect for 'Hot'." —Zack

And the prize for hottest, spiciest, most mind-blowing hot wings goes to…

Quaker Steak and Lube's "Atomic" wings

Where the wings came from:

Buffalo Wild Wings, Brown Street in Dayton

Rooster's, North Main Street in Dayton

Cadillac Jack's, South Smithville Road in Kettering

Fricker's, Miamisburg-Centerville Road in Centerville

Quaker Steak and Lube, Presidential Drive in Beavercreek

Ticket's Pub, Main Street in Fairborn

Bunker's, East National Road in Vandalia

Champp's, Washington Village Drive in Centerville

Norton's, Wilmington Pike in Kettering

Hinder's, West Main Street in Tipp City

8 Ball and Wings, Salem Avenue in Dayton

Wings Sports Bar, North Dixie Drive in Vandalia

The taste team:

Stephanie, 28: She hates spicy wings and rarely eats wings because they're messy. Obviously she ate the non-hot wings.

Gerry, 23: Loved spicy wings until this little experiment. He tried the hottest sauces and came to regret it.

Tony, 24: He doesn't eat wings often, but bravely tried the hot ones.

Nikki, 22: She'll try anything, but prefers medium to hot wings with lots of bleu cheese for dipping. Her first statement earned her a seat on the hot panel.

Hillary, 23: Prefers BBQ or even sweet sauces to spicy. She tasted the non-hot wings.

Mark, 22: He's a medium kinda guy who stuck to the non-hot wings.

Zack, 23: Braved the really hot ones.

Connie, 48: She likes crispy wings with moist, hot sauce, so we made her eat the hottest they had.

Alexis, 31: She eats wings often and finds them very delicious.

Michelle, 31: Mild sauce makes her eyes water and she hates really messy food. Obviously she ate the non-hot wings.

D.L., token old guy: He loves free food, hates health food, and eats wings frequently. He dared to eat the hottest wings.

What do you think of our findings? Do you agree or disagree? Is there a place we haven't covered that we should visit next time?

Comments

By Tom from Buffalo, NY

May 3, 2008 7:20 PM | Link to this

ALL OF THE WINGS IN DAYTON ARE COMPLETELY MATCHY AND DON’T EVEN COMPARE TO THE WINGS IN BUFFALO.

By Big Eater

May 2, 2008 2:36 PM | Link to this

Chappy’s on Alex Bell east 741 has very good wings. Not that hot, but high quality.

By Andrew

April 29, 2008 5:45 PM | Link to this

I love the wings at Tickets in Fairborn! Their house-made honey mustard sauce is amazing! It’s sweet with a bite. A perfect unique sauce that you can’t get anywhere else!

By Maggie

April 27, 2008 10:43 AM | Link to this

I disagree with the low scores that Cadillac Jacks received on their chicken wing ratings!!! Very strongly , I might add!! I will not eat chicken wings anywhere else because they are the best I have ever tasted. I have tasted the “charged” and the “bbq” sauce and the charged is by far the ultimate best tasting wing sauce ever!!! The texture mix of the sauce and the fried wings crunchiness is phenominal!!!

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