Where the wings are
Whether it's heat you're after or a bite during the game , wings are on menus everywhere. Here are a few places to get your fix.
Buff's Pub
317 Washington St., Newton, 617-332-9134
Don't let the ominous buffalo head hanging over the booths scare you. Quick service and convenient ``bone baskets" make this a great after-work meeting place. Five different kinds of wings are on the menu, including Buffalo, barbecue, honey barbecue, honey hot, and spicy teriyaki ($5.95 for a half order; $9.95 for a full). The honey overwhelms the honey hot, so get the Buffalo instead, which are deep-fried, coated with the traditional hot sauce, and served with blue cheese dressing.
James's Gate Restaurant and Pub
5-11 McBride St., Jamaica Plain, 617-983-2000
With televisions framing the pub, James's Gate is the JP spot to catch the game. Says executive chef Brian Seymour: ``Nine times out of 10, soccer outweighs baseball or football." Still, he adds, ``occasionally a Sox game will win over the crowd." A year and a half ago you could find flavors such as teriyaki and honey pepper, but ``they just didn't sell," says Seymour, so they're off the menu. Buffalo are on it now. Both bone-in and boneless wings come from chickens prepared in-house. This extra step, with the chef's own hot sauce, has made the wings ($7) popular for years.
Parish Cafe & Bar
361 Boylston St., Boston, 617-247-4777
Parish Cafe is known for its chef's sandwiches, which change every six months, but its roasted reggae wings ($9) have held their own for 14 years. These wings defy the stereotype of tear-jerking heat and grease. The chicken marinates 24 hours in chef and owner Sean Simmons's special blend of soy sauce, jerk spices, and citrus. Roasted rather than fried, the wings are good enough that one can ignore the distracting side of banana mango chutney.
Sunset Cantina
916 Commonwealth Ave., Brookline, 617-731-8646
Three heat levels to the Buffalo wings here, in four flavors -- atomic, subatomic, no nukes, honey-stung -- which come boneless ($8.50) or bone-in ($7.50). The boneless wings are served on a handy stick. White meat tenders are skewered, lightly breaded, deep-fried, and coated in one of four homemade sauces with a touch of honey to cut the heat.
Wing-It
1153 Commonwealth Ave., Allston, 617-783-2473
There are 21 flavors on this menu (ranging from 6 pieces for $5.24 to 145 pieces for $90). Honey barbecue wings are the most popular (though cloyingly sweet). Wing-It's medium-heat Buffalo wings steal the show. Crispy fried skin, juicy meat, and a spicy sauce complete the wing trifecta. Ask for blue cheese dressing, which doesn't automatically come with your order, to cool down the burn. Alas, there is no beer on hand to take the edge off the heat.
Wings Over Brookline
477 Harvard St., Brookline, 617-264-9464
With more than 21 flavors (7 pieces for $5.49 to 120 pieces for $62.99) and five styles of Buffalo ranging from "wimpy" to "afterburner," Wings hopes to appeal to everyone young in the region. In keeping with the airplane theme of the Hangar, the original Amherst location, Wings Over Brookline offers up boneless and traditional wings, all named after aircraft. Ordering options include the DC-3 (more than a half- pound of boneless wings) and the C-5 Galaxy (120 wings). The honey barbecue is the most popular flavor , but you can make a split order with the mid-level "cruisin altitude" Buffalo to mix some heat with sweet. Consider takeout unless soda is your bubbly of choice.
KRISTINA NIES
