Wings are the ultimate comfort food. They’re a step above greasy fast food but just as craveable and indulgent. And fortunately for those of us in the US, there’s no shortage of restaurants that serve them. From boneless and traditional to dry rubs and sauces, you can find wings that satisfy pretty much any craving. The hardest part may be deciding where to order them from, which is where my expertise comes into play. I’ve tried wings from all over and have selected the absolute best wings and top flavors for you to drool over. Enjoy!
Shigs ‘N Pit
Available flavors: Shigs Dry Rub, House BBQ, Hot BBQ, Spicy Buffalo, Alabama White, Carolina Mustard, Korean BBQ
Top Choice: Shigs Dry Rub
Shigs ‘N Pit isn’t your typical wing joint. This franchise specializes in ribs and pulled pork, but they’ve basically mastered wings, too. These traditional chicken wings are dry-rubbed & slow smoked, creating that classic BBQ flavor. There’s a handful of flavorful seasonings to choose from. Regardless of which flavor you go for, you can’t go wrong with any one of their country-style sides, from Southern Green Beans to Corn Spoonbread.
BJ’s
Available flavors: EXXXXtra Hot Buffalo, Garlic Parmesan, Nashville Hot Sauce, Lemon Pepper Sesame Dry Rub, Hot and Spicy Buffalo, BJ’s Peppered BBQ, Cherry Chipotle Glaze, Sriracha Dry Rub, BJ’s Handcrafted Rootbeer Glaze
Top Choice: BJ’s Original Wings
BJ’s is never the first place people thing of when they’re wanting wings, but let me tell you – they are bomb. Somehow, this chain restaurant has mastered the upscale bar food scene with some of the best wings, pizza, and of course, beer. When it comes to wings, you can order bone-in or boneless with any of their nine flavors. They also have a couple specialty wings, including:
- Bacon Jammin’ Wings – Bone-in wings with BJ’s Peppered BBQ sauce and bacon onion jam
- BJ’s Original Wings – Bone-in wings topped with with Hot and Spicy Buffalo sauce and ranch
Wingstop
Available flavors: Lemon pepper, Original Hot, Hickory Smoked BBQ, Atomic, Mango Habanero, Cajun, Spicy Korean, Louisiana Rub, Mild, Garlic Parmesan, Hawaiian
Top Choice: Louisiana Rub
Wingstop has a ridiculously loyal following… understandably so. They serve some of the best wings in the industry, and best of all – they don’t taste like they just came out of the freezer and were popped in the microwave. (I’m not naming any names, but you know the taste I’m talking about.) Instead, they taste fresh and have a bold flavor, no matter which sauce you choose. Wingstop serves classic wings, boneless wings, or crispy tenders. I’m not typically a traditional wings kind of gal, but I’ll eat Wingstop’s any day.
Pizza Hut Wingstreet
Available flavors: Honey BBQ, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Burnin’ Hot, Hawaiian Teriyaki, Spicy Garlic, Cajun Style
Top Choice: Honey BBQ
There’s something about the pizza and wings combo that complements a Saturday night (or really any night) so well. The pizza delivery industry has a reputation of serving subpar wings (don’t @ me), but Pizza Hut is an anomaly. Wingstreet offers traditional and boneless wings that taste just as good – if not better – than the big boys in the industry like B-Dubs and Wings Etc. The best part? The wings are fried to a perfect crisp and have white meat all the way through. No sogginess or chewiness.
Buffalo Wild Wings
Top Choice: Lemon Pepper sauce
Available flavors: Salt & Vinegar seasoning, Lemon Pepper Seasoning, Sweet BBQ, Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Mild, Pizza, Parmesan Garlic, Smoky Adobo, Honey BBQ, Medium, Chipotle BBQ Seasoning, Spicy Garlic, Orange Chicken, Asian Zing, Caribbean Jerk, Buffalo seasoning, Jammin Jalepeno, Thai Curry, Nashville Hot, Original Buffalo, Hot, Mango Habanero, Wild, Desert Heat Seasoning, and Blazin Carolina Reaper
Buffalo Wild Wings takes the cake for the biggest selection of dry rubs and sauces. This chicken chain is wildly popular for not only its wings, but its cocktails and beer selection, as well. Just like most places, you can choose between traditional or boneless wings, but Buffalo Wild Wings takes it one step ahead with their new vegetarian cauliflower wings. You can order them with any of their bizillion sauces and dry rubs, and they’re not half bad for a meat replacement. B-dubs has also added tons of new flavors lately like Lemon pepper sauce, Blazin Carolina Reaper, and orange chicken.
Bdubs can be a bit pricy compared to other fast food wing chains, but you can always get a good deal if you visit on Tuesdays for traditional wings or Thursday for boneless wings.
Wings Etc.
Available flavors: “WALL” (Habanero), Wango (Habanero), Atomic (Buffalo), TNT (Buffalo), Hot (Buffalo), Blazin’ Asian, Tweener (Buffalo), Asian Kick! (Sweet Hot Asian), Hot Barbie (Spicy BBQ), Hot-Honey-Garlic, Spicy Hot Honey (Hot Honey Mustard), Medium (Buffalo), Major Jerk (Spicy Caribbean), Say it Ain’t Tso, Jerkin’ Barbie (Caribbean BBQ), Sweet Chili Cha-Cha, Mild (Buffalo), BBQ Sauce, Mahalo-Que, Teriyaki, Honey Mustard, Gar-Licky-Parm
Top Choice: Jerkin’ Barbie (Caribbean BBQ)
Wings Etc. is pretty comparable to Buffalo Wild Wings in my opinion. The dining area has a similar vibe – dark and a little dingy, so perfect for watching games and shouting above the obnoxiously loud TVs just so you can ask your friend to pass the salt. They’ve got a massive list of flavors which is equally fun as it is stressful. I’d give is an 8/10 – you really can’t go wrong with this place.
KFC
Available flavors: Honey BBQ, Buffalo, Nashville Hot
Top Choice: Nashville Hot
KFC has perfected the art of fast food fried chicken over the years, but how do their wings measure up? Kentucky Fried Wings were just added to the menu in 2019 during the peak of football season. Just like their other famous dishes, the restaurant boasts that the wings are crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. They’re a great option if you’re craving wings but don’t want to visit a sit-down restaurant like B-dubs or Applebee’s. They’re super salty and flavorful – just what you’d expect out of a solid chicken wing.
Applebee’s
Available flavors: Classic Hot Buffalo sauce, Honey BBQ sauce, Sweet Asian Chile sauce
Top Choice: Classic Hot Buffalo sauce
I’ll have to say, I probably wouldn’t order Applebee’s boneless wings as my main dish, but I love chowing down on them when they come in the Classic Combo platter with Spinach and Artichoke Dip, a Chicken Quesadilla and Mozzarella Sticks. They’re not the best wings on this list (hence why I can’t eat 10 of them like I can at B-dubs), but they are a decent option if you’re in the mood for cheap bar food.
