[Eleven]

Should be an easy win for Duff's, IMO; I wish the show was restricted to the city, though.

[wjag]

I haven't tried Duffs yet. I can say that the one time I went to Anchor Bar I was not impressed. The Sabres were on TV and the seats I had didn't have a view of the game. The wings were overpriced and nothing special. This place is clearly living off its name recognition and not its food. Sad.

[inkman]

wjag, on 10 March 2010 - 05:00 AM, said:

The Sabres were on TV and the seats I had didn't have a view of the game.

At least the game was on. I was there a few years ago and they didn't even know whether or not they could get the game, which of course turned into them not being able to get the game. A world famous bar, in Buffalo, during a Buffalo sporting event, and they don't have the game on. Unfathomable...

[nobody]

Has Duff's improved? The show mentioned how their wings were crispier. The times I've been there they were as soggy as wet dog.

[R_dudly]

nobody, on 10 March 2010 - 10:43 AM, said:

Has Duff's improved? The show mentioned how their wings were crispier. The times I've been there they were as soggy as wet dog.

Last time in Bflo in January we stopped at the Duff's in OP just before jumping on the NYS thruway and got a large/hot and small/mild for the kids. Planned on having them for dinner when we got back home from the 3+ hour drive.
Couldn't get 5 miles down the road with that smell in the van before breaking into the stash. The wings were all very crisp and delicious but we always ask for them crisp. I have to say driving a van and eating wings with hot sauce on them is quite the chore but I was up for challenge only thing missing was road beers.

[nobody]

R_dudly, on 10 March 2010 - 10:53 AM, said:

The wings were all very crisp and delicious but we always ask for them crisp.

I've heard others say that about Duff's - that they have to ask for them to be crisp. How can people use their crispiness as a reason they are better when you have to ask for them to be that way? That should be the standard.

[spndnchz]

Spoiler Alert

Duffs won.

Their place on Millersport and Sheridan is perfectly located between UB Main st and UB Amherst.

Yummy.

[inkman]

nobody, on 10 March 2010 - 10:43 AM, said:

Has Duff's improved? The show mentioned how their wings were crispier. The times I've been there they were as soggy as wet dog.

R_dudly, on 10 March 2010 - 10:53 AM, said:

Last time in Bflo in January we stopped at the Duff's in OP just before jumping on the NYS thruway and got a large/hot and small/mild for the kids. Planned on having them for dinner when we got back home from the 3+ hour drive.
Couldn't get 5 miles down the road with that smell in the van before breaking into the stash. The wings were all very crisp and delicious but we always ask for them crisp. I have to say driving a van and eating wings with hot sauce on them is quite the chore but I was up for challenge only thing missing was road beers.

nobody, on 10 March 2010 - 11:05 AM, said:

I've heard others say that about Duff's - that they have to ask for them to be crisp. How can people use their crispiness as a reason they are better when you have to ask for them to be that way? That should be the standard.

Well, as someone who works with chicken wings 5 times a week, I hope I can speak a little to the issues at hand.

1) The wings will be soggy if
a) They are ever placed in styrophome (sp). The steam off the wings just recirculates into the skin and voila, soggy wings.
b) Too much sauce is used. It's not usually a problem, but an abundance of sauce will inundated the skin with moisture resulting in soggy wings.
c) The cook doesn't allow the wings to dry a little after cooking. After lifting the wings, they are soaked in oil and need at least 1 minute or so to dry out giving the wing that familiar crispy feel.

2) You will almost certainly get crispy wings if you them to cook the ###### out of said wings. The quality of the meat may suffer a bit but most people are oblivious to chicken wing meat quality as the sauce usually satiates their needs.

3) Believe it or not, my housemate is a chicken wing snob. I made wings for the house one night, brought them back only to hear how they were "overcooked". I was annoyed because I cooked the wings probably an extra 2 to 3 minutes (for crispiness), well within reason and I was getting complaints. I have come to realize that he is a real "foodie" (a term I hate BTW), and he won't even eat cookies unless they are warm from the oven. Lesson is, not everybody wants their wings scorched for 20 minutes.

[shrader]

R_dudly, on 10 March 2010 - 10:53 AM, said:

Last time in Bflo in January we stopped at the Duff's in OP just before jumping on the NYS thruway and got a large/hot and small/mild for the kids. Planned on having them for dinner when we got back home from the 3+ hour drive.
Couldn't get 5 miles down the road with that smell in the van before breaking into the stash. The wings were all very crisp and delicious but we always ask for them crisp. I have to say driving a van and eating wings with hot sauce on them is quite the chore but I was up for challenge only thing missing was road beers.

You thought you could go a full 3 hours with wings in the car and not touch them? I always knew you were crazy, now I have the proof.

[LabattBlue]

Anchor Bar in a nutshell...

1. Overpriced

2. Bad service

3. Mediocre food

The Anchor Bar is a tourist trap. Nothing more, nothing less.

[inkman]

LabattBlue, on 10 March 2010 - 11:34 AM, said:

Anchor Bar in a nutshell...
1. Overpriced
2. Bad service
3. Mediocre food
The Anchor Bar is a tourist trap. Nothing more, nothing less.

I wonder if the same qualities have transferred to the Rochester version...I can't bring myself to go after my afwul Buffalo AB experience.

[cdexchange]

Not all Duffs are equal:
http://buffalochow.c...he_slow_so.html

[Moongate]

LabattBlue, on 10 March 2010 - 11:34 AM, said:

Anchor Bar in a nutshell...

1. Overpriced

2. Bad service

3. Mediocre food

The Anchor Bar is a tourist trap. Nothing more, nothing less.

Well, I work three blocks from the place and we never go there for wings. If we want good wings for lunch here in the office, we order in from Just Pizza....

[shrader]

Moongate, on 10 March 2010 - 12:44 PM, said:

Well, I work three blocks from the place and we never go there for wings. If we want good wings for lunch here in the office, we order in from Just Pizza....

The name of that place bugs me. Why are they selling you wings if it's just pizza? Then there were those ads I heard a while back that said "Just Pizza: it's not just pizza". Incredibly stupid.

[R_dudly]

inkman, on 10 March 2010 - 11:20 AM, said:

Well, as someone who works with chicken wings 5 times a week, I hope I can speak a little to the issues at hand.

1) The wings will be soggy if
a) They are ever placed in styrophome (sp). The steam off the wings just recirculates into the skin and voila, soggy wings.
b) Too much sauce is used. It's not usually a problem, but an abundance of sauce will inundated the skin with moisture resulting in soggy wings.
c) The cook doesn't allow the wings to dry a little after cooking. After lifting the wings, they are soaked in oil and need at least 1 minute or so to dry out giving the wing that familiar crispy feel.

2) You will almost certainly get crispy wings if you them to cook the ###### out of said wings. The quality of the meat may suffer a bit but most people are oblivious to chicken wing meat quality as the sauce usually satiates their needs.

Lesson is, not everybody wants their wings scorched for 20 minutes.

Thats some good facts there. Defintely is a difference if you eat in the resturant or get take out with the styrofoam or cardbaord buckets which is why we always order crisp for take outs.

A place I never see mentioned that I'm not sure even exists anymore that used to have pretty good wings was Santora's Pizza & Wings. A friend of mine used to work for them and I witnessed their process which used some of the elements you described which was letting the wings sit/drip for a couple of minutes out of oil followed by a buttery hot sauce bath tossed in one of those huge metal bowls ended by a red spice crack like powder dusting before going on the plate or in the box.

Mmmm hungry just talking about it.

shrader, on 10 March 2010 - 11:21 AM, said:

You thought you could go a full 3 hours with wings in the car and not touch them? I always knew you were crazy, now I have the proof.

:D Yeah well it seemed like a good idea at the time.

cdexchange, on 10 March 2010 - 12:27 PM, said:

Not all Duffs are equal:
http://buffalochow.c...he_slow_so.html

Nice didn't realize they were franchised but I will admit best Duff's experience for me always was Amherst on Sheridan. Would go with some UB classmates after mid term or semester end exams and get the bucket and pitcher of beer specials they would run for students. Only did Suicidal once and that was enough for me.

[PASabreFan]

shrader, on 10 March 2010 - 01:30 PM, said:

The name of that place bugs me. Why are they selling you wings if it's just pizza? Then there were those ads I heard a while back that said "Just Pizza: it's not just pizza". Incredibly stupid.

It's a good name. It got you thinking about it -- and posting about it.

[inkman]

PASabreFan, on 10 March 2010 - 01:48 PM, said:

It's a good name. It got you thinking about it -- and posting about it.

Yeah, I'm thinking starting a joint named "Just ######". Lots of people will be talking about it... :D



The best part about the filter is that inserting whatever word you want works way better than the word I have there... :lol:

[That Aud Smell]

Quote

wjag, on 10 March 2010 - 05:00 AM, said:

I can say that the one time I went to Anchor Bar I was not impressed.

LabattBlue, on 10 March 2010 - 11:34 AM, said:

Anchor Bar in a nutshell...

1. Overpriced

2. Bad service

3. Mediocre food

The Anchor Bar is a tourist trap. Nothing more, nothing less.

i've been to the anchor 3 times in the last 2 years - each visit involved people in from out of town who wanted to go to the birthplace/tourist trap (i can't blame them - when i visited one such guest in san fran, we asked her do a lot of touristy stuff and skip much of the hipper-than-thou stuff she wanted us to do instead). anyway, it might just have been dumb luck, but each wing experience i had there was solid and completely did the trick for my guests.

as an aside, two of those three trips were followed by a walk down allen street to gabriel's gate for a taste-test-comparison. even without the benefit of keen hunger (the best spice, right?), everyone agreed that the gate's were better.

nobody, on 10 March 2010 - 10:43 AM, said:

Has Duff's improved? The show mentioned how their wings were crispier. The times I've been there they were as soggy as wet dog.

interesting. duff's hallmark has always been crispness. but that's only if you're dining in. if you're taking away, all bets are off (as ink has explained).

inkman, on 10 March 2010 - 11:20 AM, said:

1) The wings will be soggy if
a) They are ever placed in styrophome (sp). The steam off the wings just recirculates into the skin and voila, soggy wings.

[BuffaninATL]

FWIW, I used to be a Duff's loyalist in my teen years but over the last several I have been sold on Gabriel's Gate in Allentown...great flavor, always perfectly cooked, & the BIGGEST wings I have ever seen....I think they use genetically mutated chickens !

[Eleven]

BuffaninATL, on 10 March 2010 - 03:07 PM, said:

FWIW, I used to be a Duff's loyalist in my teen years but over the last several I have been sold on Gabriel's Gate in Allentown...great flavor, always perfectly cooked, & the BIGGEST wings I have ever seen....I think they use genetically mutated chickens !

Hands-down, the best in the city. I do like Duffs, but that's a drive and there's no atmosphere.