I recently met with Mark Rinna, one of the original S.erious W.ingeaters
A.re T.raveling members. Mark has fond memories of the days of getting the
certificates with the sauce prints (which have since turned green with age), and
the great fellowship that we all shared during those times. As we were
reminiscing about those times with the Wing General,
Mark offered to take me to Wing Stop. I had read of Wing Stop in Nations
Restaurant News, and am always eager to check out a new concept, so we decided
to go that evening.
Wing Stop is nestled in the back side of a building in Martinez, GA (the
Augusta area) on the pad of a Big K-Mart. The attractive little facility has
some outdoor seating and a few tables inside. It looks like this particular
location plans on emphasizing take-out orders.
We examined the menu, and found it to be free of pasta salad, so we placed
the order. Taking Mark’s advice, I ordered the Original Hot wings with an order
of Atomic sauce on the side. Prices were very reasonable, with a 10 piece order
clocking in at only $3.99. We were informed at the time of the order that it
would be 14 minutes before the wings would be ready. We took this as a good
sign that the wings would be freshly prepared.
While waiting in the wings, er… waiting FOR the wings, we had plenty of time
to look at the menu. This chain features other wing flavors like Cajun, Mild,
Teriyaki, Lemon Pepper, Hawaiian Barbeque and Garlic Parmesan. Certainly, the
serious wingeater would not consider those flavors, but they could come in handy
in ruling out a veto-vote when bringing a party of people to this destination.
They do have an order of 100 wings for $35.95. We know from experience that
when they have a 100 piece order it’s going to be a pretty good wing joint. We
waited with confidence.
Other side items included Fresh Cut Seasoned Fries (way too much salt), Hot
Cheese Sauce, Pearl Potato Salad (dangerously close to pasta salad!), Bourbon
Baked Beans (could be interesting if teamed up with a big order of hot wings),
Crisp Vegetable Sticks and House Dips (Creamy Ranch or Chunky Blue Cheese – made
in house). We were very pleased to see that they accept Discover, Visa,
Mastercard and American Express.
We looked around the joint, and found the required TV set on ESPN, and some
other tasteful wall hangings. Fortunately, there were no signs of NASCAR
anywhere in the place. It almost looked a little too nice for a wing joint, but
we calculated that with age, they could mellow into a very comfortable
establishment. They also have plenty of beer on tap to extinguish even the most
serious wing-fire.
The wings arrived with a flourish, nicely packaged in lined paper boats, a
traditional style of packaging for authentic Buffalo Style wings. The wings had
a beautiful red color and an exceptional bouquet. The brightly colored Crisp
Vegetable Sticks were carrots and celery and wonderfully fresh.
The wings had a great flavor, and we were able to compensate for any lack of
heat by carefully dipping them into the Atomic Sauce. The Atomic Sauce was more
of a paste than a sauce, and one could easily get in over their heads if not
careful. This sauce could have been used in combat against the Iraquis if our
troops had run short on ammunition. Mark and I agreed, it was time to go home
and put an extra roll of toilet paper in the freezer before morning. Sure
enough, the next day it proved to be a wise strategy.
The Atomic Sauce was so good that we achieved a 15-minute afterburn. I, for
one, found my endorphins to be reactive so favorably that I was glad that Mark
was driving. We sped away from the restaurant very satisfied, and ready to give
the Wingazette® stamp of approval to this
wonderful new chain. They have about 120 restaurants right now scattered about
the country. Many of these are located in Texas, but you might find one near
you if you check their website at
Thanks, Mark, for your excellent recommendation.
Wing Stop - Las Vegas, Nevada
We visited the Wing Stop in Las Vegas, Nevada recently while on a trip for
Popeyes Annual Conference. The banner on top of the building proudly proclaimed
that this location was the chain’s 200th location. We were
determined to find out who has the best wings in Las Vegas, and with Wing Stop’s
excellent reputation (see the Great Wing Pyramid) we were certainly optimistic
as we entered the joint.
The usual Wing Stop layout was in place, with corrugated aluminum lining the
lower walls and aircraft memorabilia covering the upper walls. The menu is
pretty simple here, and we placed our order for 20 original hot with a cup of
Atomic sauce, fries and carrots and celery and blue cheese. The product is
always cooked to order at Wing Stop, so we waited the usual 15 minutes before we
were able to continue our review.
The fantastic manager at this location delivered on the promise, and the
wings arrived in a flourish of steam and glory. After the first 4 pieces, we
had steam and glory rising off the top of our heads, not to mention just a
little bit of the fear factor that comes from the wonderfully thick Atomic
sauce. We really appreciate the way that Wing Stop keeps their wings small –
with the resulting tender meat with crispy skin – the way all wing joints ought
to be.
The overall experience was worth the 3 ˝ miles worth of walking we did that
afternoon to stumble on the location – far away from the glitzy strip of Las
Vegas. Wing Stop has the
Wingazette® seal of approval as the #1 wing
chain in America. This approval comes as a result of having the most locations
with best tasting sauces and highest quality wings. Keep up the good work, Wing
Stop!