Sundays in the fall have three traditions in our home: Sunday mass, Buffalo Bills game, and wings. No, not the kind that angels or birds have, but the kind that Bills Mafia and others eat up by the millions. And I mean millions…sometimes even billions! In fact, on any given Super Bowl Sunday (which I’m praying the Bills make it to this year) it’s estimated that Americans will gobble up on average, 1.5 billion wings. And yes, to loyalists, they’re just “wings.” Not “chicken wings.” Not “Buffalo wings.” IYKYK.
But what are they exactly? You’ll find teriyaki, BBQ, and a host of other flavored chicken wing options, but there’s really only one real wing: The Buffalo Chicken Wing. When made right, they are uh-mazing and they have an interesting history as I learned many years ago from my Buffalo born and raised husband.
No, Buffalo wings aren’t buffalo meat (buffalos don’t have wings), and no, Chili’s didn’t invent the wing nor did Pluckers or Buffalo Wild Wings. That honor belongs to Frank and Teressa Bellissimo. Here’s the story: Frank and Teressa established The Anchor Bar and Grill in downtown Buffalo, New York back in 1935 and had quite the popular neighborhood watering hole. But, it wasn’t until 1964 that that hole-in-the-wall became an historic one.
It was on a Friday night in 1964 when their son Dominic and a group of his friends told mamma Bellissimo they wanted a late-night snack. Teressa looked around and saw some left over chicken wings, which were usually tossed or reserved for stocks or soups. Knowing she needed something fast and easy, she deep fried the wings and then tossed them in a cayenne hot sauce. She served them with celery stalks and bleu cheese dressing because she also had extras of them lying around. The rest, as they say, is history.
Teressa’s wings were a hit that night and it didn’t take long for word to spread that the Anchor Bar had a great new dish. Today, the original restaurant at the corner of Main and North Streets is considered the birthplace of wings and still serves up its famous fingerlings to locals, tourists, and even some celebrities including Elvis, John Lennon, Britney Spears, the late John Candy, numerous athletes, and even more Bills players.
Not only are they popular, they’re award-winning. In April 2003, the Anchor Bar won the “James Beard Award,” which is given to restaurants that have timeless appeal and are beloved for quality food that reflects the history and character of their community.
And, in 1977 the city of Buffalo issued an official proclamation celebrating the Anchor Bar and its owners and declared July 29, 1977 “Chicken Wing Day.” Frank Bellissimo died in 1980 at the age of 84 and Teressa died a year later in her apartment above the bar. They both passed at the age of 84. Dominic, the son whose late-night cravings resulted in his mom’s famous wings, later owned the restaurant. He died in 1991 and in 1999 the franchising of Anchor Bar restaurants was established.
An Anchor Bar bottled sauce line launched in 1999 and today can be found in more than 3,000 retailers and franchise restaurants like the one right near our Texas home can be found in eight states besides New York. The world-famous brand was even included in a “Simpsons” episode and has been featured on “The Bachelorette” and too many foodie shows to list here.
To this day, nowhere in the world are the wings as good as what you get in Western New York. Finding them elsewhere is a bit like looking for cheesesteaks in Oregon, Tex-Mex in Maryland, or gumbo in Iowa. They just aren’t comparable or even close to the real deals.
Wings in Buffalo are so delicious that I truly can eat a dozen of them all by myself. They are most often accompanied by drums and are big, crispy, never greasy or runny, and just the right amount of spicy. If you want them hot you can, but be careful as your mouth will be on fire. My husband says he remembers eating wings so hot that he’d run outside and put his lips in the snow. I don’t know if that’s totally true but it makes for a great story!
Deep-fried chicken wings are nothing culinary new and have been a southern staple for years, but most of those wings are breaded. Buffalo chicken wings are never breaded. You simply fry them up and then then coat them with a level of hot sauce to your choosing. Simple, classic, and delicious. And please, no ranch dressing on the side. Bleu cheese only is the way to go. (Although truth be told, we do like a little ranch on the side. Shhhhh!)
No trip to Buffalo is complete without a stop at the Anchor Bar but if you can’t make it to the original location, not to worry, there’s one right inside the Buffalo airport. So, as you make your way out of the airport on your way to perhaps Niagara Falls, be sure to stop and get you some wings before exiting.
Wings are so sacred in the Buffalo area, that friends and family actually argue over which neighborhood spot has the best ones. The most popular one in my husband’s hometown village of East Aurora, where Mr. Fisher and Mr. Price started Fisher-Price toys in their garage and where America’s Arts and Crafts movement began more than a century ago with the original Roycrofters and thinker Elbert Hubbard, is the Bar-Bill Tavern. The classic Main Street pub is housed in a 150-year-old building and always makes local and national “Best Buffalo Wings” lists. It is sure to be front and center in the upcoming “Holiday Touchdown: A Bills Love Story” Hallmark movie debuting November 11. Ironically, when I first met my husband, I was somewhat captivated by his tales of the “village” where he grew up. I’ve forever said it’s like a Hallmark movie set and actually has been the site of many a Hallmark movie.
I’m not quite sure how wings became so entwined with football watch parties but maybe it’s because they are a popular bar food, they are a filling finger food, and they are so dang good.
So, there you have it, the story behind those wings you’ll probably be munching on today. Now you know they’re not only yummy but a true tasty and timeless tradition. Bellissimo!
Beyond Words 