Spicy San Antonio: Kay Kay and Creeper Wings from Wayne’s Wings

Bottom Line: Wayne’s Wings in San Antonio is making some sizeable wings that deliver the heat, and this place is worth searching out.

Chicken wings are pretty much everywhere these days. Not only are there chains devoted to the bird bits like Buffalo Wild Wings, Wingstop, and Pluckers, but they show up in just about every casual sit-down restaurant and fast-food joint as well. With so many options, you have to wonder how some of the smaller local and regional places draw much traffic, but several have managed to stand out. Texas chain Wing Daddy’s Sauce House is one of those, as is the local San Antonio spot Wayne’s Wings.

I had heard about the Creeper Sauce from Wayne’s a while back, and it had been on my to-do list to give it a try. So I stopped by recently and got an order of boneless wings with two sauces: the Creeper and the Kay Kay. The latter is a combination of hot sauce (they don’t specify a brand, but I’m guessing some variation of Louisiana sauce), cayenne, red pepper flakes, and sliced jalapeños. The hotter Creeper Sauce mixes Ghost Peppers, hot sauce, BBQ sauce, and lemon pepper, and it also comes with sliced jalapeños.

I ordered six boneless wings, and they were thick and tender with just the right amount of breading, not greasy at all. They drench them pretty heavily with sauce, but there’s still some notable crunch in each bite.

The Kay Kay sauce is heavy on the tang with a fair amount of sourness, which I assume comes from the hot sauce they use. It has a peppery kick but not much sweetness to counter the tang. The heat is approaching Hot on my scale, especially when you get a jalapeño slice in the mix. But that sour note really dominates, making these best when tempered with the blue cheese dipping sauce.

The Creeper Sauce, on the other hand, has a notable sweetness with some smokiness, the latter coming from the BBQ sauce. It’s rich, with just a bit of tang and a peppery kick. At first, it doesn’t seem that hot, but as the name implies, the heat creeps up the more you eat. After finishing one wing, it had definitely reached Fiery on my scale, and it edged a little higher when I got a bite with a jalapeño slice.

Between the two sauces, I definitely preferred the Creeper. It had a good balance of flavors and climbed high on the heat scale. It’s not quite at the insane heat level of Buffalo Wild Wings’ Blazin’ Knockout Sauce, and that’s a good thing. Instead, it gets close to that perfect juncture I look for where fire meets flavor. It delivers on the heat, and the average mortal will want to approach the Creeper Sauce with caution. But I’ll definitely be returning for more!

Wayne’s Wings has three locations across town, and I went to the one on Walzem, which I believe is the original. I got there just before the lunch crowd hit, and the place was packed by noon, so if you go around that time, plan accordingly. At around twenty bucks for the combo with potato wedges and a drink, it’s on the high side. But it was a big meal (I probably should have split it for a second lunch), and this is a local spot that was rated “Best Wings in Texas” last year, and I’ve included it on my Spicy San Antonio list. So yes, it’s definitely worth the splurge, and I’ll be back to try more of their sauces.

Wayne’s Wings
4453 Walzem Rd
San Antonio, TX 78218
Phone: (210) 300-3891

11600 Bandera Rd Suite 1611
San Antonio, TX 78250
Phone: (210) 667-4057

7870 Culebra Rd Suite 12
San Antonio, TX 78251
Phone: (2100 265-3621