You can have Christmas, New Year’s, family time and all that other shit. When I get a chance to come back to Buffalo for any reason, I’m here for the chicken wings.  Since moving to Florida roughly two and a half years ago, I realized how much I took having wings in Buffalo for granted, not to mention what a I creature of habit I was, frequenting the same two or three spots every time.

After quickly learning that nearly every place in Florida that serves chicken wings in Florida sucks, I decided each time I get back to Buffalo, whether for business or pleasure I’m going to hit up as many different wing joints as possible and subsequently power rank them. I fuckin’ love me some power ranking for literally everything. Lots of factors go into the world famous Moran-Alytics Podcast Chicken Wings Power Rankings: atmosphere, price point and service, but of course taste is far and away the most important factor. Whether I go myself or with an accomplice, I generally consume two flavors of wings per visit: traditional medium (or hot in some cases) and either something the server recommends or a flavor I see on the menu and am just feeling that day.

My first trip back in the 716 this week led me to The Lenox Grill near downtown Buffalo. This review and power ranking may come with controversy, as Korean BBQ is their signature wing sauce per the advice of several friends and Twitter followers.  To be honest though, I’m not a fan of oriental food and assumed I wouldn’t be a big fan. Get over it. Therefore, I went with 10 hot and 10 medium barbeque.

How were they? Quit being lazy and read on.

PROS:  Truth be told, I’ve been to plenty of places with all the bells and whistles but at the end of the day, the wings sorta tasted like shit.  The Lenox Grill scored huge for me with their traditional hot wings. I like a kick to my medium and/or hot wings but ain’t trying to need a towel around my head by the time I’m finished.  These wings were spicy but not overly done. Also, bonus points for their fries. My wife and I split an order with our wings and they were tasty. So much so in fact that a few wings were left on the table so we could demolish all the fries.  I’m also a fan of the look and feel with the establishment itself. I don’t know if it’s been around forever but it feels like it has. The men’s bathroom serves as evidence.

CONS: The medium barbeque wings were a bit bland compared to similar wings from several other spots I’ve had, to be honest. It’s not that they were bad, they just didn’t stand out—at all.   As for the hot wings, you may be a tad disappointed if you want your wings very hot.  You’ll probably want to step up to their suicide flavor for that effect.  They also weren’t particularly crispy, which is purely a preference thing and for me a plus. I personally don’t want my wings blazing hot nor ridiculously crispy. The portion size was overall pretty good but three of the medium barbeque wings were tiny. Doesn’t sound like a big deal, but if you’re sharing them with someone that’s a third of the order. Not cool, man.

QB COMPARISON: The Lenox Grill is the Andrew Luck of chicken wings. You heard and read so much hype about coming out of college that you expected him to be one of the league’s better NFL quarterbacks before he even took a snap.  That certainly held true, but is he a Hall of Fame gunslinger? I’m not sure he is. Luck’s in the conversation right up there with the best, but does anyone think he’s a top five quarterback in the league right now?

RECORD IF SPORTSCITY PLAYED A FULL NFL SEASON: 10-6 playing in the NFL’s toughest division and competing for a playoff spot.

OUTLOOK: Many told me that the Lenox Grill is a top fiver for them. I’m not going to agree. They score high on the hot wings and mediocre on the more traditional barbeque. Do I regret not having their Korean BBQ wings? Possibly, considering how many told me I should.  All that said, they’re a top dozen wing joint in Western New York for me and the strength of their traditional hot wing alone gives me confidence you’ll leave this place satisfied.

As someone who lived most my life in Buffalo, grew up on the West Side and spent plenty of time living in North Buffalo there’s few things I enjoy more than Hertel Avenue.  I’ll take a beautiful spring or summer day of sitting on a patio and enjoying a cold one at a Hertel Ave pub over almost anything else Western New York has to offer. For that reason MT Pockets is one of my favorite spots to relax and feel the vibes at.   But what about the wings?

PROS:  They’re OK.

CONS: They’re just OK

QB COMPARISON: Wade Wilson. He was — OK.

RECORD IF M.T. POCKETS PLAYED A FULL NFL SEASON: 6-10 but it’d be OK because their fans wouldn’t turn on them.

OUTLOOK: Trying to compare typical bar wings to well established wing treasures like Bar Bill or Gabriel’s Gate is completely unfair.  Problem is I’m not sure MT Pockets measures up to its peers either. To be honest if I’m on Hertel Avenue craving wings sans vehicle to venture elsewhere, I definitely preferred Geckos and Wellington Pub to MT Pockets, though be fair I don’t think management at Pockets touts their wings as one of Western New York’s best to begin with. People go there to hang out, drink and have a good time and make no mistake about, it is a good time. MT Pockets is a cool drinking and social spot with where pub-goers of all ages can enjoy, featuring a patio that makes for splendid people watching in the summer months. It’s not like you’re going to hate the wings if you get it.  Like I said, they’re “OK.”  I just can’t recommend going there if that’s your primary purpose.

The first time I had Anchor Bar wings a few years ago I enjoyed them a lot. So much, in fact that I had them Power Ranked in my Top 15 and also ahead of Duffs.  To say that caused a shit storm in my Twitter mentions is an understatement, but I don’t care. My chicken wing consumer standards are unbiased and I refuse to succumb to general popular opinion.  Because of that controversy I ultimately, recently in fact had them a second time.  Did they live up to my initial experience?  Let’s find out.

PROS: I respect pioneers and when walking into Anchor Bar I can feel the rich tradition of Buffalo chicken wings (I hate using the term Buffalo with them) as well as the presence of so many influential people who’ve ate there. In that regards Anchor Bar is like Wrigley Field or Madison Square Garden—the mecca of chicken wing joints.  My first time there I had medium wings and enjoyed them thoroughly.  They were tasty, cooked well and enjoying some live jazz music in the background was a pleasant bonus.  Western New Yorkers generally bash the place because we know of several better options yet still hear and see national folk still bring up Anchor Bar as Buffalo’s go-to spot.  Relax, hometowners.

CONS: Absolutely maddening inconsistent. Of any place I’ve ever wings from more than once I’ve never had a bigger eating experience discrepancy.  My first time, described above was well prepared and pleasant.  My second was literally among the worst I’ve had.  I got a double order split with someone else, half medium/hot and other half BBQ. They were both smothered with sauce (which to be fair I often enjoy) and the wings were rubbery. I mean, like literal rubber.  I’ve enjoyed wings from Tops or Little Ceasars more than what I got here the second time around.  Because of its notoriety beyond Western New York, Anchor Bar is awfully overpriced and you’re probably going to wait longer to eat than you want to.

QB COMPARISON: Drew Bledsoe.  Perhaps the second-most famous quarterback in both Patriots and Bills history, Bledsoe was a huge name with a huge arm and constantly a huge topic of conversation in NFL circles among his era’s best quarterbacks.  But was he really THAT good?  Drew had a 98-95 career record and just a 77.1 quarterback rating yet still made four Pro Bowls.   Bledsoe wasn’t bad and certainly deserved respect but there were far better quarterbacks throughout his NFL career. In other words, dude was kinda overrated.

OUTLOOK: I’m an old school type of guy who respects what came before me.  Anchor Bar’s an O.G. on the chicken wing circuit and it angers me when people forget that.  Sure, there’s better alternatives, but don’t shun someone who’s meant so much to the scene.  Bruno Mars may be a better singer & performer than Smokey Robinson (arguably of course), but is Bruno famous without Smokey paving the way?  That being said, Anchor Bar’s a commercial place seemingly more about style than substance. They now have a location in Williamsville as well as the airport and I can’t imagine the quality is getting better anytime soon.  Respect the tradition but know there’s (far) better options. I originally had them ranked higher than Duffs.  They’re not—but neither is a Top 10-15 spot in Western New York.