Bottom Line: Anchor Bar’s Extreme Wings may not be the hottest out there, but they are quite tasty and still deliver some good heat.
There are plenty of places you can get wings these days, ranging from the top-notch (Buffalo Wild Wings, Wingstop) to rather sketchy (your local convenience store hot box). But if you happen to have the opportunity, why not go to the source? Buffalo wings are called that not because they have anything to do with the animal, but because they originated at Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. That establishment has opened franchises across the country, and it is possible that you may have one near you.
I have never made the pilgrimage to the original location, but an Anchor Bar opened here in San Antonio a few years back, and I stop by there from time to time when I am in that part of town. The wings of course are a must-have if you dine there, but they make a pretty darn good pizza as well, and the Beef on Weck is certainly worth a try as well. Since I have been (rather slowly) covering the hottest wings from the major chains, I made a recent visit to Anchor bar to revisit their Extreme wings.
I ordered the Anchor Bites on that trip, which are the boneless wings, but I have also tried the Extreme with the original bone-in version. This is a bold sauce with a peppery taste to it (as in black pepper) and a nice richness as well. It has the expected tang of a wing sauce, but delivers a more complex flavor that kicks it up to the next level. It has only a touch of sweetness to it and there seems to be some smokiness, but that may actually be the taste of roasted peppers in the background. The Anchor Bites are decent size with a good breading to meat ratio and the chicken is quite tender. If you get the original wings, those tend to be rather meaty pieces of chicken
Heat-wise, chiliheads may be disappointed if they expect the originator of wings to also have one of the hottest sauces. The Extreme sauce does pack a punch, but I would put it at about the Hot heat level or maybe just a tad higher. And if you are eating the bone-in wings, this will be hotter because you will get more on your lips as you eat around the bones and the burn will follow. But this one still clocks in as notably lower in heat that BWW’s current Blazin’ sauce as well as Wingstop’s Atomic sauce. Taste-wise, the Extreme is still pretty good, though, and my favorite of the sauces at Anchor Bar (though the Mango Habanero gives its a run and the original sauce is a classic).
According to the legend, Buffalo wings first came into existence when friends of the owner arrived at Anchor Bar late one evening and there was not much left in the kitchen to offer them. The owner’s mother grabbed some wings (which they usually used for soups), fried them and spiced them up with sauce (allegedly Frank’s Red Hot) and seasoning, and served them with celery and blue cheese on the side. They became an instant hit and they are now a fixture on menus worldwide.
Should you happen to be in Buffalo, New York, you will certainly want to make a stop by the original Anchor Bar. But in the meantime, the franchise is expanding with locations in three states outside of New York as well as in Canada. You can see if there is one near you here, and if not, they are looking for people interested in opening new stores.