By Jianqi Zhou
What is the first thing that comes up in your brain when you hear the word “Buffalo”? The dull Bison status that standing everywhere along the street? The loud Niagara Falls that never stop running on the edge of the nation? The noisy Bull Baseball games that keep raising your blood pressure and challenging your nerves?
I believe the answer is “No”. What can leave you a deeper impression rather than the juicy, crunchy Buffalo Chicken wings? Human beings are perceiving animals. Look at the shining chicken wings slowing embracing the toasted sesames. Listen to the crunchiness when your teeth crush the golden crust of the wings. Smell the raising steam that escapes from the gap of the crust. Don’t tell me you can wipe it from your mind. Your brain may forget it, but your tongue can never forget it.
What about make your own Buffalo Chicken wings to share this delightfulness with the people you love? Yesterday Discover716iers followed the Wing King Recipes (link: https://buffalowing.com/recipes/) from the Buffalo Wing Festival Website to warm up before the revel. Five serves of air-fried chicken wings were coated with five different sauces that you can easily find and make in City Buffalo. The following ratings represent my personal experience and flavor only.
(Rating: Full score is 10)
Traditional Buffalo Red Hot
Appearance: 8
Taste: 9
Texture: 9
Smell: 8.5
Spiciness: 7
Difficulty: 1
Comment: It is the easiest and the most classic Buffalo Chicken Wing recipe you can ever get! The most challenging part may be just finding Frank’s Red Hot sauce. The strong, immediate heat and flavor just feel like a hundred bison running to you. Perfect for game time with friends! No doubt!
Honey BBQ Sesame
Appearance: 9
Taste: 9.5
Texture: 9.5
Smell: 9.5
Spiciness: 4
Difficulty: 4
Comment: Do you like BBQ? Do you like sesame? If yes, and yes, this will be what you want! The sweet smell of BBQ sauce first attracts your nose and leads your mouth to produce tons of saliva. After the first bite, your appetite gets the mouthful satisfaction, and can’t wait for the next bite. Then, the heat sneakily rises upon your lips. What a perfect show! You must try it! The recipe is just right there (https://buffalowing.com/recipes/)!
Mango Habanero Pepper
Appearance: 9
Taste: 10
Texture: 8.5
Smell: 8.5
Spiciness: 2
Comment: The name of this sounds very spicy, but it actually is a sweet and sour flavor. If you are a fan of Hawaii or tropical style, this will be what you are looking for. It is just like a cute little beast who try to pretend to be ferocious. Don’t get trick by its name!
Nashville Hot
Appearance: 8.5
Taste: 9
Texture: 8.5
Smell: 8
Spiciness: 6
Difficulty: 2
Comment: Compare to the Traditional Buffalo Red Hot, Nashville Hot is shyer, but in another way. It first says hi to your tongue with a sweet smile, then, after you finish the first chicken wing, you realize that is not just a hi. That is the most enthusiastic greeting you ever got! Your lips, your throat, just can’t let it go! You find that you are totally addicted to it--the flaming heat!
Cajun Dry Rub
Appearance: 8
Taste: 9
Texture: 9.5
Smell: 8.5
Spiciness: 2
Difficulty: 2
Comment: Southern food lover? Who can turn down the intense heartiness and spicy notes? The dry rub keeps the crispiness of the skin and locks the juice better inside the wing. I knew that the Cajun seasoning works perfect with seafood, but observably it coordinates with the crispy fried chicken pretty well.
Don’t want to messy up your kitchen with cooking? Come to the National Buffalo Wing Festival on the Labor Day weekend (Sept.4th to Sept. 5th). More than 20 restaurants will bring their best chicken wing menus gather in Orchard Park, NY from all over the nation. You can make your own chicken wing with your crazy creativity as well. I bet you must be able to find your favorite win wing in the fest!
For more information about the National Buffalo Wing Festival, please visit https://buffalowing.com