Wingstravaganza!

Wings wings wings! Oh delicious wings!

Please pardon the lag in posting about restaurants, but I know that I have had a one-track wing mind lately. I felt like I needed to do some extensive research (taste-search?) before posting my results. I’ve filtered out the no-need-to-mention-ables down to the following results:

Wing Stop
Union City and San Leandro locations
www.wingstop.com

Oh so delish, worth any waiting, AND endorsed by Troy Aikman. Not that endorsements have anything to do with where I’ll eat, especially Troy Aikman’s, but he might have some sway with others. I can see why he would say that these are the “best wings I’ve had in my life,” or so the web site claims. I’ve developed a soft spot and a constant craving for the tasty beauties and have even found excuses to pick up lunch from there (I need to run by Target quick for some display stuff!) So far I have sampled the following: mild, original hot, hickory smoked BBQ, garlic parmesan, and teriyaki. I really really really like mild, original, and garlic parmesan (only in moderation however – never more than 5 or I start feeling gross). BBQ had a weird flavor when I tried it - kind of a spicy smoky, but not in the good chipotle spicy smoky way. Teriyaki was a glorified BBQ sauce – totally not teriyaki AT ALL. Someday I will muster up the courage to try the likes of Atomic and Cajun. The fries are totally delicious and seasoned perfectly to boot (do they use a touch of sugar?!). The 10 wing meal deal is totally the right size too.


Hooters
Fremont location only
www.hooters.com

Never mind the short orange shorts or your waitress introducing herself as “your hooters girl tonight.” Hooters really does have some delicious wings and I really do go there just for the food. Yes, it’s totally targeting straight men with there gazillion flat panel TVs and hula hoop swaying ladies, but their food stands up and outshines their testosterone-tempting-ways. I’ve only had my wings in the medium sauce, but I have both breaded and “naked”. (Yes, they put naked in quotes on their menu. And right next to some busty blonde I might add.) I prefer naked as the breading tends to soak up a lot of the oil (the girls will almost always recommend breaded in my opinion). Both mild and medium are butter based sauces, so never ask for it on the side or you might end up with some congealed catastrophe. It is, however, very good on the piping hot wings so you kind of forget that you’re pretty much eating spicy orangey butter. From there, the sauces get much spicier. My last dining companion got some samurai sauce on the side for his chicken strips and it was quite tasty. Not as spicy as I had imagined, but I might change my tune if I get 10 wings slathered in the stuff. In regards to other things on the menu, they have decent sangria by the pitcher and a fully loaded bar (I had a blonde bombshell last time – YUM!). Oh and their curly fries are great!

Le Soleil
1515 E. 14th Street (next to Luke’s Grill)
San Leandro

Their wings are only considered an appetizer, but OH MY GOD are they a delectable one! They are dusted in curry powder (the yellow kind, folks) and then fried to a perfectly crispy crunch, but always juicy on the inside. I simply cannot pass these suckers up, unless my dining companion of the moment would really like something “healthier” instead. The curry powder adds that extra something and it’s just the right amount. Even people who aren’t normally that keen on curry have liked these. I have to post a full review of this place soon!