With the Badgers getting ready to face off in the Frozen Four tonight, Cardinal Food decided to review a quintessential sports-game food—buffalo wings. With a team of wing experts and novices, the Food staff banded together and consumed enough spicy chicken to melt the ice rink at the Kohl Center. But it was all for you, readers, so please, enjoy the reviews now and some buffalo wings later tonight.3:30 p.m.—The adventure commences on a drizzly, chilly day, and the group is ready to heat up with some hot, spicy buffalo wings. The first stop, State Street Brats, 603 State St., allows customers to order at the counter, and a waiter brings the food to the table.
The group gets two orders of the Boscobel Buffalo Wings ($5.50), and everyone is surprised at the promptness with which the wings are brought out. Before diving in, the group orders a pitcher of water, just in case.
We're probably the only ones ordering pitchers of water right now,\ Katie says, observing the happy hour crowd around us. While waiting for the water, the women of the group observe the wide array of vegetables surrounding the order of wings, which includes broccoli, celery and carrots, as well as ranch dressing.
""Look at all the vegetables you get—that's pretty exciting,"" Kristin says. Katrina and Katie are less impressed, however, and hypothesize that Brats is trying to hide the unhealthiness of the wings under a pile of vegetables. Not to be fooled, they refuse to try them.
As far as the spiciness of the wings, group members are somewhat at odds. While Katie claims the wings were much too hot, other group members consider the sauce to be a standard level of spice.
""It's pretty tangy, vinegary,"" Jay says, describing the buffalo sauce.
Brad notes the high drumstick-to-wing ratio, explaining to the group that wings tend to have better meat and thus provide a more substantial appetizer. Others in the group note that despite a high quantity of chicken pieces per order, each wing and drumstick was fairly small and gristly. With their appetites barely dented, they move on.
4 p.m.—The group walks a few stores down the block to Buffalo Wild Wings, 529 State St., where they had heard around campus that chicken wings ($3.79 for six wings) were served.
Amazed by the long list of sauces, the group decides to sample two types of wings, including the traditional Mild buffalo sauce and the promising, medium-hotness Asian Zing sauce. The group barely sits down in a booth before their order is called, and they are once again impressed by Madison's restaurant service during off-peak hours.
Katie's outlier opinion on the spiciness of each sauce is once again proven as she samples each wing.
""You guys, my lips are burning and my nose is running,"" she says. ""This is not a good sign.""
Others in the group laugh as they confirm that the Mild sauce is spicy, but not overwhelming by any means. Kristin boldly says the Asian Zing is even less spicy, but others in the group defend its medium rating, saying there is a much spicier aftertaste that belies the sweetness of the sauce at first.
Brad, the true wing connoisseur of the group, affirms that Buffalo Wild Wings' Blazin' sauce indeed lives up to its name, and he cautions against any but the iron-tongued ordering the wings.
All group members note the larger size of the wings compared to Brats, but Katrina also observes that there are much more drumsticks than wings as well. She is, however, grateful for the wet napkins provided with each order, calling them a ""major bonus.""
Brad also approves of this offering, as it will protect the Cardinal's camera from sauce and himself from chastisement from the photo editors.
Before leaving, the group samples three of BW3's new sauces: Honey Barbecue, Parmesan Garlic and Mango Habanero. The group manages to agree that the first is average, the second ""belongs on a salad"" rather than wings and the third is surprisingly hot. Upon trying the mango sauce, Kristin is originally unimpressed with the spiciness, only to have her mouth ""consumed by flames"" shortly thereafter.
""Shots of sauces and pitchers of water,"" Katrina quips. ""That's how we roll.""
4:30 p.m.—The group meanders further down State Street to investigate a 25-cent happy-hour wing deal at Chin's Asia Fresh, 422 State St., that Jay mentioned earlier. Intrigued by the idea of cheap, Asian-infused chicken wings, the group orders 18 wings ($3.50 for six wings, normally).
Rather than a traditional buffalo sauce, Chin's gives customers the option of pairing the wings with any of their stir-fry sauces. The group decides on Mandarin Orange Peel, Mongolian and Shanghai Sesame, and they sit down in the quieter upstairs section to wait for their food.
The wait is a bit longer than at the previous two restaurants, but the presentation of the monstrous wings, complete with elaborate garnishes, prompts ""oohs"" and ""ahhs"" from group members.
As far as hygiene goes, however, Chin's is woefully under-prepared for the wing-eating experience, as the napkins provided with the order diminish quickly and none are supplied nearby.
The size of the wings proves to be a challenge for Chin's as well, as the group's order of Mandarin Orange Peel wings is not only overly sweet, but also severely undercooked and bleeding on the inside.
""They're a little too fresh,"" Jay comments. ""I didn't know you could order chicken medium-rare.""
Despite this gaffe, the group is sufficiently impressed with Chin's Mongolian and Shanghai Sesame sauces, though neither is particularly spicy. Katie is pleased, but the rest of the group is somewhat disappointed.
The group deems the Mongolian sauce their overall favorite, with Katrina describing the sauce as ""subtle, and not overpowering"" and Jay noting a ""sweet-and-salty teriyaki flavor.""
5:00 p.m.—After Katie unwisely departs the group to go to a spinning class at the SERF, the remainder of the group hikes past the Capitol to reach the fine-dining portion of the night, The Great Dane, 123 E. Doty St.
Battling a newly developed aversion to chicken, the group tempers their order of 3 Alarm Buffalo and Sesame Asian Barbecue wings ($7.95 for the first pound, $7.25 each additional) with another appetizer, beer bread ($2.50 per order), and a few of the Great Dane's famous beers and ales for Katrina and Brad.
The order is brought out quickly, despite a large happy-hour crowd, and the group is sufficiently impressed with the presentation of the wings, which include celery, carrots and gorgonzola dressing on the side.
The Sesame Asian Barbecue wings disappoint the group, as they fail to stand out against any of the other Asian-inspired sauces tried throughout the course of the afternoon.
""I don't taste anything distinguishing about them,"" Kristin says as she moves on to the beer bread, which is dark and served with a deliciously sweet, frosting-like butter.
The buffalo wings, however, prove to be the group's favorite of all they had tried that afternoon.
""The sauce is dry, but flavorful,"" Jay comments, noting the cleanliness of a less gooey sauce. He also notes that they are less ""breaded and fried,"" allowing the chicken and buffalo sauce to stand on their own.
Katrina is impressed by the atypical gorgonzola dressing, calling it ""more mild than a ranch.""
Brad notes the small size of the wings and drumsticks compared to other restaurants, though.
""I like their buffalo the best,"" he says. ""But for the price, I don't know.""
After paying their waitress, who was remarkably pleasant about four people splitting one order of wings and leaving, the group staggers out of the Great Dane and heads their separate ways, likely to slip into wing-induced food comas. The only question that remains to be answered after this long afternoon is: Was spinning really a good idea after all this food?\
