Is there any food more identified with the All-American right to stuff yourself silly while drinking beer and watching football than wings?
The ultimate bar food has expanded beyond the hot, spicy variety popularized in the city of Buffalo. Wings can be spicy, sweet, tangy -- whatever your palate pleases.
That diversity was popularized at the recent 10th Annual Chicago WingFest, where 2,000 people came together to eat more than 45,000 chicken wings at West Loop’s Bailey Auditorium.
More than 20 local restaurants competed for top honors in a variety of categories, and more importantly, bragging rights until next year.
- Best of the Fest: Mahoney’s Pub & Grille’s
- Best Mild Wing: Mullen’s Bar & Grill
- Best Hot Wing: Timothy O’Toole’s
- Best BBQ Wing: Mahoney’s Pub & Grille
- Best Exotic Wing: Bull & Bear
The highlight of the festival was the always-exciting “Lord of the Wings” competition. The participants had 3 minutes to eat as many wings as possible.
Danielle Young took the women’s competition for the third year in a row, polishing off 12 wings.
Believe it or not, Young would have also won the men’s competition. Three men tied for first after eating 11 wings in the allotted time. In the three-wing playoff, “Squared” from Cactus Bar and Grill, finally reigned supreme in the sudden-death playoff.
WingFest raised more than $8,000 for Chicago Neighbors United, a community-based organization that assists various neighborhood programs.
