Buffalo shrimp soldiers

Every once in while, a spinoff outshines the original. "Frasier," Ms. Pac-Man, frozen yogurt. With buffalo shrimp, it's precisely the opposite. A fine idea undermined by flawed execution, this seafaring spin on the hallowed hot wing is the "Joanie Loves Chachi" of bar-food sequels.

The problem is that chicken wings are, like, 75 percent skin, which not only cooks up crispy but also provides a rough exterior to which the sauce can adhere. Shrimp are skinless. Swapping them into standard wing recipes - frying, then slathering on spicy butter - yields unappetizing results. With rubbery texture and sauce that slides right off, it's a sorry sequel not even Joanie could love.

Roaming about town in search of better buffalo scampi, we came across two that solved the problem brilliantly. East Coast Grill in Inman Square and Davis Square's Redbones both dredged the shrimp in flour before frying, creating a subtle crust to cling to the sauce. Each bite revealed a symphony of flavors and textures in four distinct, sequential movements: Cool, creamy blue cheese sauce; then fiery, piping-hot butter sauce; then crackling-crisp crust; which gave way to sweet, tender, perfectly cooked shrimp.

Oh, the matchup? Almost too close to call. Redbones' buffalo sauce was a tad more complex. East Coast Grill's blue cheese dip used the fancy stuff from Great Hill. In the end, size was key. East Coast Grill's jumbo bites provided just enough textural contrast to so much potent flavor, making it the perfect spinoff.

Advantage, East Coast Grill.

TRY IT TONIGHT

Buffalo fried Gulf white shrimp (left), $13.50

East Coast Grill, 1271 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 617-491-6568. eastcoastgrill.net

JUST TRY IT, ALREADY Buffalo shrimp, $5.99

Redbones, 55 Chester St., Somerville. 617-628-2200. redbones.com