Some kids grow up wanting to be firemen or doctors or superheroes. All I ever wanted to be was a judge in a Buffalo wing contest - and this weekend at the Kickin' Chicken Wing Fest at Fraze Pavilion I was able to do just that.
Who has the best chicken wings in Dayton?
Some kids grow up wanting to be firemen or doctors or superheroes. All I ever wanted to be was a judge in a Buffalo wing contest. Even as a small child, I knew that someday I would get the call. Buffalo wings weren’t even invented yet, but I knew. In preschool I would draw pictures of herds of buffalo with tiny little wings and the teacher would say, “Buffalo don’t have wings you silly little boy” and I would say, “Someday they will, and they will be delicious”. It isn’t often that a man truly gets to live out his dream, but this weekend at the Kickin’ Chicken Wing Fest at Fraze Pavilion I was able to do just that.
The mark of a great annual event is that it continues to improve and this year’s festival was even better than last year. The Miami Valley Restaurant Association, The Fraze Pavilion and all the vendors and staff did a remarkable job this year. The weather was tremendous, the lines moved swiftly, and most vendors had enough chicken wings to keep the hungry festival goers happy and full. There were plenty of places to sit and enjoy a cold beer and some great wings while listening to some excellent live music.
Returning this year was also the wing eating contest where two teams compete to eat the most wings in three minutes.
Of course, the real star of the day was the food.
There were some long time favorites and some newcomers this year. This year’s participants included Archer’s Tavern, Brixx Ice Co., Buffalo Wings and Rings, Crazy Mango Bar & Bistro, Cadillac Jack’s, Sidelines, The Dock, Nick’s Restaurant, Romer's and Pies & Pints. All of these restaurants offered some amazing food that made me and my fellow judges’ (Lisa Seibert of Dayton Local, Dave Ball of Dayton Magazine and local celebrity Jim Bucher) jobs very difficult.
BEST SAUCE
For a wing lover, this is the money category. If someone has a really good sauce, then you know those are going to be some great wings and there were a lot of great wings. Brixx Ice Company was a strong winner taking two of the four judges’ top spots and very high in the rankings of the other two. Their char-grilled whole wings combined the smoky flavor of a grilled wing with a very good spice and sauce. Grilled wings overall seemed to be a favorite with both the judges and the festival chicken wing connoisseurs. The smoke and char add an extra layer of flavor to the normal flavor profile of a wing.
Brixx Ice Company is located right across the street from 5/3 field where the Dayton Dragons play. I can’t imagine a much better night that watching a Dragons’ game and then stopping by for some of the best wings in Dayton and this year’s Kickin’ Chicken Wing Fest champion.
For me, the honorable mention goes to Nick’s Restaurant in Xenia. These were the quintessential Buffalo wings. They were breaded and fried super crisp (the most important factor if you are going to do wings breaded and sauced). The sauce was a bit sweet with the traditional Buffalo sauce tang and kick. It was the just the perfect amount of kick too… the kind you feel on your lips after a few bites. If you are looking for a superb traditional Buffalo wing, you can’t lose with Nick’s.
HOTTEST WING
If there are chicken wings in hell, they are going to be serving up a batch of Archer’s Tavern wings. I am going to have nightmares where I get into my car in a dark parking garage, look in my review mirror and an Archer’s wing is waiting for me in the back seat. This wasn’t even close.
All four judges choose the same wing for the hottest wing because those wings are evil. The sauce has some type of oil in it that makes it stick to your mouth, tongue and lips.
No matter what you drink, how far you run or what lake you jump into; you aren’t getting rid of that stinging hellfire. It is like eating napalm. If you have enemies, invite them to dinner at Archer’s Tavern and order their Wing and a Prayer wings.
BEST WING
This category was for the best wing without sauce on it. This was perhaps the most hotly contested race as the judges were split two to two and we were forced to deliberate like a jury deciding the fate of a human life…only this was chicken.
Once again, the rich flavor of char-grilling wings won out as Pies & Pints took the top honor. The smoky flavor of the wings melded perfectly with the dry rub spices to create a wonderful dry wing. They also serve these with a creamy Gorgonzola dipping sauce which is unlike anything I have ever tasted on a wing. It all worked.
The judges also really liked Sidelines Sports Bar and Grill’s breaded, seasoned and deep friend wings. I am a total fiend for sauces, but I would go to town on a bucket of these wings with nothing on them. They were large wings and had perfect crunch and seasoning.
BEST BONELESS WING
The best boneless went to Buffalo Wings and Rings’ garlic and parmesan wings. They were chicken chunks in a tangy garlic Buffalo sauce with flakes of cheese. The cheese added an extra bite and was a bit like dipping a wing into blue cheese dressing (which was delicious).
BEST SIDE
This was the hardest category for me to judge simply because it is difficult to compare something like coleslaw to an onion ring. However, of the sides that we tasted The Dock's Barbeque Chicken Po’ Boy Slider was a runaway hit with all the judges. This was a unanimous decision and even the people helping out the judges ended up getting some of these for themselves. The sandwich was grilled chicken covered in a sweet barbeque sauce, topped with a really good slaw and then put on a slider roll.
BEST BOOTH
The Dock took another top prize. Their tiki themed booth was the best decorated booth at the festival. It was decorated with umbrellas, statues, plants and trees and really stood out among the other booths.The Kickin’ Chicken Fest is one of those events that is becoming a “must do” every year. It just keeps getting better and better and is really just a fun, cool place to hang out for a day. What could be better than hanging out under a tree by the pond with food from ten of the area’s top wing joints, a cold drink and some good friends?
PEOPLE’S CHOICE
Congratulations to Nicks Restaurant for winning the 2014 People's Choice Award for the "Best Damn Wing" - now 4 years straight!
