The Best Wings in Philly

Address: 2331 East Cumberland Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125
Website: www.memphistaproom.com
Price: 10 Pieces for $8

Tracy’s Overall Review: After reading the description “Pilsner-Brined Hot Wings” both Scott and I were scared these wings were going to be too fancy to be good. However I saw these wings mentioned a bunch on the Internets and the place sounded intriguing so we decided to give them a try. I am glad we did because these wings were delicious. I could taste a little fancy in there but a solid foundation in authenticity pulled them through. The wings were very tender and crispy. The sauce was decent, it started strong but didn’t have staying power as the wings cooled. As I made my way through the wings the sauce lost it’s tang and heat. The bleu cheese dressing was kinda gross. It was watery and tasteless even though it had lots of blue cheese chunks. Overall, though, I found the wings to be very enjoyable.

Scott’s Overall Review: We were the first ones in for lunch so I was pretty psyched for fresh wings. I was not disappointed . The wings here were pretty good. The only suggestion I could give is “more sauce”‘. I was kinda worried about the pilsner brine but that didn’t seem to alter the taste at all. The wings were good but the blue cheese was lame. The blue cheese tasted like mayo and water kinda like a cold mayo soup. I would definitely go back for wings here!

Authenticity: Even though they don’t use a “pilsner brine” in Buffalo this element of fancyness was not too overpowering to make the wings not taste like Buffalo wings. Other than the brine the wings were prepared authentically.

Wing size: Most wings were a nice size, but some were small.

Sauce: Very good at first, but lost steam as the wings got cool. Could stand to be more tangy and hot.

Accouterments: The wings came with celery and carrots. Although it contained lots of bleu sheese chunks the dressing was pretty watery and tasteless.

Atmosphere: Located in Port Fishington, the Memphis Taproom is a hipster bar with a good sense of humor. Interesting art installations, rustic decor and decent music. The menu is very creative and we would totally come back again to try out some of the other items. The service was also very nice.

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Address: 2000 Fairmount Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19130
Website: www.fairmountpizzaandgrill.com
Price: 10 Pieces for $6.45

Tracy’s Overall Review: After a little hiatus from wing reviews we wanted to start off with something good. This place was emailed in as a recommendation from a Buffalo Wing lover, so I went in feeling optimistic. This place did not disappoint, the wings were tasty and satisfying. They were crispy and tender. My only complaint is they were small and the medium sauce was thin so it didn’t stick to the wings. I kept redunking the wings in the sauce and it would just run off. The nice, unpretentious, atmosphere makes Fairmount Pizza & Grill a great place to curb a wing craving. We couldn’t help not getting a slice of the Buffalo chicken pizza too, it was also tasty.

Scott’s Overall Review: The atmosphere was a little busy and chaotic and for some reason I felt right at home. The service was very good, nice and hardworking girls at the front made sure everyone was taken care of. The wings took a little while to cook but it was good to see that they were freshly made. At first glance the wings looked a little small and meager in size but smelled and looked really good. The sauce was pretty good and the wings weren’t dry. Tracy’s Medium looked a little mild and drier but I think the hot had the perfect amount of sauce. The wings came with a decent amount of celery and carrots. I still think the carrot addition is a weird Philly thing. The bleu cheese was okay, It had a bit of a mayo consistency with large chunks. All in all Fairmount was a pleasant surprise and my only real negative is that they were a little small.

Authenticity: Passed the authenticity test.

Wing size: On the small side.

Sauce: The sauce was decent, it comes in mild, medium, hot and x-hot. Tracy got medium and Scott got hot, both were a little less hot than advertised. The medium sauce was thin, but the hot was a nice consistency.

Accouterments: We got 4 stalks of celery and 2 carrot sticks. The bleu cheese dressing was a little gelatinous, but tasty with a lot of nice chunks of blue cheese.

Atmosphere: Fairmount Pizza & Grill is a better-than-average Philly Pizza place. It has all the makings of a quintessential pizza joint, but the service is so nice it makes the place special. We went there at a busy, bustling lunchtime and our orders were taken quickly and efficiently. It is also bigger than your typical corner pizza shop with plenty of table seating. It’s at the corner of 20th and Fairmount, a good location to grab lunch if you’re visiting the Eastern State Penitentiary.

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Address: 512 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Website: www.manny-browns.com
Price: 12 Pieces for $6.49

Tracy’s Overall Review: I think these wings are a solid contender for pretty darn good. They are tasty, crispy, enjoyable and a bargain. The wings fall short of amazing because of the sauce, it could be a little tastier and a little hotter. Also they aren’t saucy enough, I like a little pool of sauce in the bottom of the basket to dip in. I don’t like sauce that is dried on within 15 minutes. Another downside may be that they play some of the worst music in Philly on their sound system.

Scott’s Overall Review: After a few mediocre wing tries I wasn’t expecting good things. I was pleasantly surprised. The wings were good, crispy and the sauce was good. There weren’t options for mild or hot but they were in a nice mid range. The wings were priced nicely, the celery was a good amount and the bleu cheese wasn’t bad. The only thing holding them back from a perfect score is the sauce. I think there needs to be more sauce and maybe a little more bite.  The lack of sauce and a drier wing seems to be a Philly thing though. It may be just me but I say “Drown them!”

Authenticity: Passes the authenticity test to a T.

Wing size: The wings really vary in size, from big to little.

Sauce: Very decent sauce, but it is not very hot.

Accouterments: We got 6 stalks of celery and bleu cheese dressing. The dressing was alright, but a little too gelatinous.

Atmosphere: Manny Brown’s is a divy (but not in an old man way) bar on South Street. It’s a little less hipster than Tattoo Mom’s. Scott describes it as an “Alt Sports Bar.” When we were there at lunchtime it was pretty dead. Our server was very nice. On Monday nights they have $6 pitchers of PBR and $.15 wings from 8pm – 12 am. It’s a bargain, but the 15 cent wings are tiny. If you want good wings, just get the regular ones, because they are already a good deal.

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Address: 22 South 3rd Street Philadelphia PA 19106
Website: www.nationalmechanics.com
Price: 8 Pieces for $10.00

Tracy’s Overall Review: These wings were good, not amazing, but decent. The sauce was good, but there was too much pepper. I know people want their wings to stand out, but I think you should strive to be #1 by having the most authentic sauce, not adding pepper. I got the “mild” wings and they were hot for me (I am a spice lightweight). The biggest problem was the price. They were the most expensive with the fewest wings per serving (and small wings at that) of all the places we have reviewed so far. I would have liked them to be a little crispier and a little less salty.

Scott’s Overall Review: The wings were crispy and the spiciest in the city So Far. They where tasty and enjoyable. The sauce did seem to want to set its self apart with salt and black pepper, but not too overpowering. My only gripe with the wings here was the size and price. At $10 bucks for 8 meager wings its a little pricey. The wings came with a nice amount of celery and carrots. The bleu cheese was another story though. I had to take a few tastes before I realized the problem. The bleu cheese tasted blah like it was watered down. The taste of the wings did even out the price and bleu cheese.

Authenticity: Passes the authenticity test with the only exception being too much pepper in the sauce.

Wing size: The wings were small. For 10 bucks the wings should be bigger or they should give more in a serving.

Sauce: The sauce was tasty , but a little too peppery and salty. They offer a mild and hot version and both were pretty hot, which is a nice change, because in our experience the sauce is usually less hot than advertised.

Accouterments: They gave you bleu cheese dressing, celery, carrots and a lettuce leaf. They advertise the dressing as “home made,” but in this case home made doesn’t necessarily = good. It was kinda watery, chalky and not very tasty.

Atmosphere: National Mechanics is in the old Club Revival building in Old City. That space has been a million different things since the Revival days, but this one seems to have stuck for now. They did a nice job renovating the building and the lunch crowd was pretty mellow. We’re sure it’s a different scene on a Saturday night with an obnoxious Old City crowd. The decor is interesting and kind of schizophrenic — big stained glass windows, church pews, old lights hanging, terrariums, bugs under glass and fake fires — but it’s not cheesy. The staff was very nice and the rest of the menu looked pretty tasty.

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Address: 500 Oregon Ave Philadelphia PA 19148
Website: www.mrwingsinc.com
Price: 10 Pieces for $6.96 (Tax Included)

Tracy’s Overall Review: These wings were good, but they didn’t blow me away. They were a good ratio of crispy to tender. They didn’t leave me disappointed, but they’re not wings I’ll be dreaming of later.

Scott’s Overall Review: At first the glance place was a little questionable and a little dodgy. I was pleasantly surprised though. The hot version of the wings weren’t “HOT” but enjoyable.  I must say Mr. Wings were actually the best I have
had in awhile. There wasn’t any fancy take on these wings, no chives or honey,
thank god! The celery was crispy and fresh and came with carrots. I usually don’t
enjoy carrots at all but I actually ate all of them. To put it simply Mr. Wings was
the ”Meat and Potatoes” of wings in the area so far.

Authenticity: Passes the authenticity test, no breading or extraneous ingredients.

Wing size: Average, not too small, but could stand to be a little bigger.

Sauce: Not bad, but not amazing. It was missing a little bit of that Buffalo Wing tangyness that tastes so good. They DO, however, make their own sauce and make the claim “we use natural ingredients in our sauces” so that gets big points with us. They offer a choice of mild, medium, hot and nuclear. Scott got the hot and Tracy got the medium and the heat meter seemed a step below their labels.

Accouterments: This was a big surprise, not only did they include carrot sticks along with the celery they were both extremely fresh. And the bleu cheese dressing was tasty with plenty of chunks of bleu cheese. Our only complaint is we wish they gave you a little more celery.

Atmosphere: A sketchy-looking place in a South Philly strip mall. Looks like it could either be scary or an awesome gem in the rough. The few seats and no tables sends the message “we want you to be able to sit while you wait for your wings, but we don’t want you eatin’ here.” Which is too bad because wings are best crispy hot out of the fryer, you may have to sit and eat them in the car like we did. The woman who took our order was very nice. This place is also the recipient of a few Philly “best wings” awards.

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