Adaptation is a key for the success of any business. In the restaurant world, we’ve seen pop-up versions of restaurants, the downtown streatery, cocktail to-go kits and now restaurants creating delivery-only offshoots known as ghost kitchens. (more…)
Posts Tagged ‘wings’
It’s Just Wings
Sunday, July 26th, 2020Wings Over Madison
Sunday, December 30th, 2012
Wings Over Madison is the newest entry to the somewhat crowded field of chicken wing joints here in town. If you recall, there’s already a Buffalo Wild Wings, a Wingstop, a Quaker Steak & Lube and a Pizza Extreme (which also sells wings) on campus; Wings Over Madison also is targeting mostly college students despite its location off-campus on University Avenue next to Qdoba (finally, something took that empty space!).
Location aside, I really did like the wings and the sauces. Regarding the latter, you have a whopping 25 sauces and dry rubs from which to choose. I ordered the 25-wing B-1 Bomber, which allowed me to choose up to five sauces. Decisions, decisions.
Luckily, I really enjoyed all five of my selections; in fact, I barely tapped into the cup of bleu cheese. My favorite was the Golden BBQ. It’s slightly sweet, though still different from the Honey BBQ sauce. This one is a safe bet if you’re on the conservative side.
The Citrus Chipotle was much milder than I expected, but it pairs really well with chicken. Speaking of the chicken, the wings were meaty and juicy, unlike the shriveled up pieces you may find elsewhere. You also can order them boneless.
Now, I think dry rubs work on ribs, but I wasn’t sure how they would be on wings. One bite into the savory, smoky-flavored West Texas Mesquite removed any doubt. The Garlic Parmesan also is a dry rub; it’s super tasty but fortunately not overpowering that it kills your breath.
Out of the spicy ones, I only tried the Jet Fuel. On a 10-point hotness scale, I’d give it a 6 or 7. You also can choose AfterBurner and Red Alert.
Wings Over Madison is open every day, including very late on Fridays and Saturdays. There are a few tables inside, but it’s primarily a take-out or delivery place.
Atomic wings at Quaker Steak
Friday, August 20th, 2010About five years ago I went to the Quaker Steak & Lube in Middleton on a Tuesday night for all-you-can-eat wings. I concluded the evening by trying to eat the Atomic Wings, which are so hot you have to sign a waiver to try them. Despite my love for all things spicy, I could not even eat one and thus failed.
Fast forward to this week. A new Quaker Steak opened up downtown in July in the space formerly occupied by Uno’s. I felt it was finally time to redeem myself. But first, I had to look at the reasons why I failed:
- I ate the Nos. 2-5 spiciest wings prior to trying the Atomic. That apparently weakened my ability to take on more heat.
- I drank soda. I didn’t realize that carbonation only enhances spicy foods.
- I didn’t use any ranch of blue cheese sauce with the Atomic wings. I wanted to test the flavor first, and that was a mistake. The flavor, by the way, is HORRIBLE. Most spicy foods actually taste good, but not these.
I first ordered a glass of milk (sadly, Quaker only has 2%–it was so gross). On the first set of wings, you have to get eight, so I simply ordered the honey mustard wings. I kept the blue cheese intact for the Atomic, which I ordered next. After signing the waiver, the waitress brought over four of them.
First, how hot are they? They have a Scoville rating of 150,000. For comparison, a cayenne pepper rates about 30,000-50,000.
I tried hard not to breathe in the aroma of the wings, then began digging in. I generously dipped each bite into the blue cheese, and ate as fast as I could. It didn’t help that the wings were really temperature hot, so I was battling two fronts. I polished the first wing before I had to drink some milk (again, super thick and gross).
Each wing I ate was more difficult than the previous. By the fourth wing, the waitress came by to see how I was doing. I mumbled “fine” as my tongue was numb at this point. But seeing the end in sight, I scarfed down that last wing (then I chugged the rest of the milk along with a glass of water).
I sat for a few moments to bask in my glory before running to the bathroom to wash my hands and face, the latter of which was covered in sweat. Admittedly, I also had to splash water into my mouth and spit to try to cool off my tongue, which was in mortal pain.
I came back to the table and ate three more wings (Asian sesame) before declaring my stomach closed for the evening. My stomach felt really, really bad all the way through dinner the next day, like I had been snacking on jalapenos for 24 straight hours or something.
At least I got my name on the wall!
**Addendum: Sadly, Quaker Steak has added an even spicier wing called the Triple Atomic. It rates at 500,000 Scoville units. No thank you!
