Blue Cheese Archives - The Wing Authority.com

Ruby Tuesday – tasty, spicy Buffalo

Just a quick note: there is no apostrophe in this restaurant's name. — Just a quick note: there is no apostrophe in this restaurant’s name.

My last time eating at Ruby Tuesday was years ago and – as you know – this restaurant can be found in every big city and little town across America. My memory was that this was a place that paid some attention to its chicken wings. I especially recalled the jalapeno slices sitting on top of the wings, covered by a thick, spicy Buffalo sauce. Due to those factors, it was obvious that The Wing Authority was going to have to refresh his memory.

On this sunny Sunday, my wings were served by a cheerful female server with blue cheese and celery and with the jalapeno slices that I remembered so distinctly. According to the menu, these were to “cool the palate.” Have no fear. The Wing Authority can tell you these wings will not make you pant and run for the nearest glass of milk.

These wings are tasty! As you can see, they’re tossed generously in that perfectly viscous sauce and plated beautifully. They were crispy (maybe fried even slightly TOO crispy), juicy, and a good size.

Ruby Tuesday’s wings are well-known. While eating Buffalo wings next door to the Macy’s in your local shopping mall might not be the first choice for true Buffalo wing fanatics, it’s a good fall-back choice when stuck in an unfamiliar town and the craving hits, or when you’re forced to spend an afternoon in a shopping mall and need something to look forward to.

The fact is, Ruby Tuesday’s wings are definitely Buffalo.

King Street Grill in Charleston, SC

While visiting a friend in Charleston, South Carolina, we found ourselves checking out the action downtown on a rainy Sunday afternoon, and got the hunger. Knowing me as well as he does, my friend mentioned that King Street Grille is known to have good wings. That’s really all it takes to get The Wing Authority interested.

We walk into the downtown location of this local restaurant chain, and it’s a big sports bar, tastefully dotted with TV’s, a full bar, and high-top tables. We scoped out one for ourselves and got a couple of beers while reviewing the nice-looking menu.

Didn’t take much to find the list of wing flavors. The wings were featured center stage. Naturally, I ordered up the XXX Hot. Alongside the Buffalo flavors were a number of novelty flavors that just didn’t really draw my attention.

But do these wings look XXX Hot to you? They were not. They’re pretty-looking chicken, no doubt, but that syrupy brown sauce – with no detectable hint of crushed habanero peppers or the sting of high-octane cayenne pepper sauce – just doesn’t scream XXX Hot. Tell you what though – this was some of the best blue cheese I’ve ever had. Cheers to that!

A-HA! The posters advertising wing night at King Street Grille show that this is a place that prides itself in its wings! The Wing Authority should swing by on a wing night, because on this rainy Sunday afternoon the XXX Hot wings were not the least painful and not even Buffalo. Great service, clean downtown location, and a fun, open atmosphere. Just don’t come here for the Buffalo wings.

Blue Cheese vs. Ranch? Choose the original!

“Ranch is for salads!” “Blue cheese all the way!”

There is a very serious debate taking place in the Buffalo wing-eating community:

WHEN IT COMES TO BUFFALO WINGS, WHICH DRESSING MAKES A BETTER CREAMY COMPANION?

Blue cheese is the original. Ranch has a salty, herbal tang that makes it an interesting choice.

But let’s be real – what’s next? Thousand Island? Mayonnaise? I just gagged a little.
The Wing Authority officially declares here that… BLUE CHEESE is the only way to do Buffalo wings. First and foremost, blue cheese was the original dipping sauce to accompany those first hot wings on that fateful night at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. We can’t change the history of Buffalo wings any more than we can change that the Romans spoke Latin. But in addition to the history & tradition, the stark color contrast of white dressing on red sauce, the way it cools the palette, the tasty bits of cheese – there is no better compliment to this food than chilled, creamy blue cheese dressing.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? COMMENT BELOW