Hello Asheville!
So, the other day a friend of mine was over my house, and I asked, “What are you up to tonight?” She responded by closing one eye in a thoughtful squint, and looking up at the ceiling with the other… searching her memory banks… “Well, if it’s Thursday, we’re going to MacKell’s for .50¢ wing night.”
“Fifty cent chicken wings? Are they any good?” I asked.
“Yeah, they’re good. But my favorites are at The Social. Those are .50¢ on Tuesdays.”
“Sounds like you know your wing nights.”
“Yeah… but my boyfriend really knows them all, for, like, every day of the week.”
Yeah. No. You don’t say something like that in my house and expect to leave before you write them all down for me. Paper. Pen. Before long, the BF was on the phone. Yeah, Man, gettin’ the infos.
Now, just to be sure, I called all of the places on her list and got the low down, and I also added a few picks of my own:
SUNDAY
CREEKSIDE TAP – 8 Beverly Rd, Asheville – Every Sunday AND every Wednesday, you can get Creekside’s jumbo, fresh, dry rubbed, house-smoked wings for .75¢ apiece, dine-in only. Your Choice of: House Sauce, RBY Hot Sauce, Honey Soy Garlic, Honey Sriracha or their award-winning Cheerwine Habanero. I’ve had those Cheerwine wings and they effin’ rule.
MONDAY
BONFIRE BBQ – 1056 Patton Ave, Asheville, NC – Every Monday night, after 5pm, Bonfire’s “Smokehouse Wings” are .50¢ apiece, dine-in only. I have not had these wings myself, but I heard from other people that the whole Bonfire experience is good, so I’ll go check them out and weigh-in soon. Stay tuned!
EAST VILLAGE GRILLE – 1177 Tunnel Rd, Asheville, NC – This is one of Asheville’s “Hidden Gems.” The people who live near E-Ville Grille know how good it is, and everyone seems to have a fave dish, or daily special, that they rave about. On Monday nights their “Tiger Wings” are .70¢ apiece, dine in only.
BARLEYCORN – 697 Haywood Rd, Asheville – My friend and her BF didn’t give me this one, but I happen to know that my good friends over at the Barleycorn have a great wing night, because it’s my job to post about it on FaceBook and Instagram every week! On Monday nights Chef Greg’s stout-glaze, korean bbq, and award-winning buffalo chimichurri wings are 1/2 price, which means that you can get 10 wings for $6, which is .60¢ apiece, dine-in only. I voted for these wings when they won the 2014 Wing War in a blind taste-test as one of the judges. I use and endorse these wings.
TUESDAY
THE SOCIAL – 1078 Tunnel Rd, Asheville – My friend told me that these are her favorite wings of all the places that her and her BF travel to for Wing Night. They have Mild, Hot, Atomic, Out of the Blue BBQ, Teriyaki, Cajun Dry Rub, Sweet Chili, Garlic Parmesan wings, and every Tuesday night they are only .49¢ apiece, dine-in only. I’ll have to try them! She eats a lotta wings, so she should know.
MOJO KITCHEN AND LOUNGE – 55 College St, Asheville – Mojo Kitchen has .65¢ drumsticks every Tuesdays from 5pm – 2am, dine-in only. Their candied-garlic teriyaki sauce are award winning, and their traditional buffalo, honey-Chipotle, and Thai-cilantro sauces are all very popular.
WEDNESDAY
CHARLOTTE STREET GRILL & PUB – 157 Charlotte St, Asheville – More award winning wings here, they are on special at $8.50 for 12 wings, or approximately .70¢ apiece every single weekday, Monday – Friday, from the hours of 4-7pm, dine-in only. Their “jumbo” chicken wings, are deep-fried and basted in your choice of sauce: Mild, Regular, Extra Hot, BBQ, Jalapeño Honey Mustard, Sweet & Sour, Jamaican Jerk, Lemon Teriyaki, Jerk Dry Rub, Garlic Parmesan, Chipotle BBQ, Fiery Habanero, Lemon Pepper rub
CREEKSIDE TAP – 8 Beverly Rd, Asheville – If it’s Wednesday or Sunday, Creekside’s wings are only .75¢ apiece, dine-in only.
LUELLA’S BBQ – 501 Merrimon Ave, Asheville – Luella’s award winning smoked chicken wings are only .60¢ each.
THURSDAY
MACK KELLS – 160 Tunnel Rd, Asheville – Every Thursday the award-winning wings at Mack Kells are only .50¢ apiece, dine-in only. The flavors they offer include: Homemade smokehouse BBQ sauce, garlic, signature hot sauce, teriyaki, and traditional buffalo. I’ve never been to MacKell’s, but the lady on the phne was really nice, and she said that wing night is bumpin’.
FRIDAY
CHARLOTTE STREET PUB – 157 Charlotte St, Asheville – As far as I could ascertain, Charlotte Street Pub is the only place doing a Wing Night on Friday, because every week night their wings are $8.50 for 12 wings from 4-7pm, which is approximately .70¢ apiece, dine-in only.
SATURDAY
MOE’S ORIGINAL – 4 Sweeten Creek Rd – Moe’s smoked chicken wings are only .60¢ apiece, dine-in only, every Saturday Night, Yo! Their traditional buffalo wings are also award-winning.
So there you go, program that shit into your iCals, and maybe I’ll see you at one or more… or all… of these wing nights. I’ve gotta save money somehow!
Kelly Densen handing-out the awards at the 2015 Asheville Wing War.
Daaang! There’s a lot of award-winning wings in this town, right? That’s because every year, the great and powerful Kelly Densen brings you the Asheville Wing Wars, and every year there are tons of great wings competing in four categories: Best Traditional – People’s Choice & Judges’ Choice, and Best Specialty Wings – People’s Choice and Judge’s Choice. I’ve been a judge in 2 of Kelly’s wing wars, and I voted for several of the winners above. They won for a reason, Yo. They’re fucking good… is the reason.
Here’s the scoop on the 2016 Asheville Wing War…
Asheville Wing War has become a staple of the local food scene over the past 5 years. More than a dozen local restaurants are nominated via social media by area residents and the restaurants go on to compete in Asheville’s hottest food contest.
Slated to be the largest Asheville Wing War to date, more than 600 attendees are set to pack out the exhibition hall at the Crown Plaza Resort to eat wings, drink ice cold beer and vote for their favorite spicy hand-held chicken.
The wings are judged in two different categories: specialty and traditional, and are judged separately by local celebrity judges and by attendees choosing the People’s Choice Award.
The details:
When: February 28, 2016 2pm – 5pm
Where: Crowne Plaza Resort, 1 Resort Drive, Asheville, NC 28806
How much: General admission $8 in advance/ $10 at the door; VIP $40 in advance (only 200 available)
How it Works:
A limited number of VIP tickets (includes a sample of all wings and unlimited beer) go on sale January 12
General Admission attendees are able to purchase wing samples from each of the restaurants
— END —
From left: Chef Jacob Sessoms of Table; Chef William Dissen, The Market Place; Chef Steven Goff, Standard Foods; Chef Katie Button, Curate; Chef Joe Scully, Chestnut and Corner Kitchen; Stu Helm; Chef John Fleer, Rhubarb; Chef Karen Donatelli, Donatelli Bakery; Chef Peter Pollay, Posana Cafe; and Chef Matt Dawes, Bull & Beggar./ Photo by STEWART O’SHIELDS for ASHVEGAS.COM
Stu Helm is an artist, writer, and podcaster living in Asheville, NC, and a frequent diner at local restaurants, cafes, food trucks, and the like. His tastes run from hot dogs and mac ‘n’ cheese, to haute cuisine, and his opinions are based on a lifetime of eating out. He began writing about food strictly to amuse his friends on Facebook.
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instagram.com/stuhelm33
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wpvmfm.org/show/asheville-food-fan
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Wings were designed for flying, not frying.
http://www.mfablog.org/super-bowl-slaughter-americans-to-consume
I agree on Barleycorn’s wings. I get them every time.
Wednesday is wing night at luellas.