With the winter sports season in full gear, delicious food is a necessity for nervous fans. Whether you are watching football, hockey, soccer or whatever your choice may be, chicken wings are an absolute must. Northern Virginia is chock-full of great wing spots for you to try, and I will be rating a number of them for how delicious their wings are.
The wings will be rated using my own system, with a total of 10 possible points. The feel and look of the restaurants, the overall taste of the wing, the sauce, the quality of the meat and the size of the wing will all be rated on a scale of two. All pictures of the wings were taken the moment they were served.
Anchor Bar
The original Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, claims to have invented buffalo wings. Their official website shares the story.
“On March 4, 1964, Dominic Bellissimo was tending bar at the now-famous Anchor Bar Restaurant in Buffalo, NY. Late that evening, a group of Dominic’s friends arrived at the bar with ravenous appetites. Dominic asked his mother, Teressa, to prepare something for his friends to eat. They looked like chicken wings, a part of the chicken that usually went into the stock pot for soup. Teressa had deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn’t take long for people to flock to the bar to experience this new taste sensation. From that evening on, Buffalo Wings became a regular part of the menu at the Anchor Bar.”
Since then, Anchor Bar has franchised and now has 16 restaurants across the United States and Canada. One of those restaurants happens to be in Leesburg, VA, which is roughly a 40-minute drive from the school. It is a bit of a hike, but I happened to find myself in the area. I have been to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, and the wings at the Anchor Bar in Leesburg tasted exactly the same. In terms of atmosphere, the Anchor Bar in Leesburg is much more of a sports bar than the original. There is sports memorabilia all across the walls, and there are TVs everywhere you look. I ordered the medium buffalo wings, and they were obviously about as authentically Buffalo as you can get. The wings looked great and were very moist. They had some crispiness on the outside at first, but as time went on, the wings got a little soggy. Their size was about what you would expect, and the wings were very consistent in terms of size and quality. The sauce tasted amazing, but was rather mild.
Atmosphere: 2
Taste: 1.7
Sauce: 1.8
Meat: 1.5
Size: 1.7
Score: 8.7/10
Address: 1609 Village Market Blvd SE, Leesburg, VA 20175
Bear Branch Tavern
The Bear Branch Tavern is, for lack of better words, is a high-end sports bar in Vienna, VA. The restaurant is filled with TVs and sports, but it still has a classy look. I ordered the fried wings with buffalo sauce. The meat was spectacular, with a great crispiness on the outside and juiciness on the inside. The sauce was more of your typical hot sauce than buffalo sauce, since it lacked serious tang and creaminess. Nonetheless, the sauce was delectable and had great flavor. They were also on the mild side. The wings were consistent in size, which was above average. The truly impressive part of this wing was the quality of the meat.
Atmosphere: 2
Taste: 1.7
Sauce: 1.5
Meat: 2
Size: 1.8
Score: 9/10
Address: 133 Maple Ave E, Vienna, VA 22180
First Down Sports Bar and Grill
First Down Sports Bar and Grill is within walking distance of the school, as it is situated in Ballston. First Down is a very casual dive bar and a great spot to catch your favorite team on Sundays. I ordered the mild buffalo wings, which were medium-spicy. The overall taste of the wings filled my mouth with spice and that delicious buffalo taste. The chicken was high quality, crispy on the edges and moist on the inside. The wings size was average.
Atmosphere: 1.9
Taste: 2
Sauce: 1.8
Meat: 1.7
Size: 1.7
Score: 9.1/10
Address: 4213 Fairfax Dr, Arlington, VA 22203
baddpizza
baddpizza has locations in both McLean and Falls Church. I visited the location in McLean which has no seating, so the atmosphere will not be accounted for in the rating. I ordered the medium buffalo wings. The wings didn’t have much sauce, but you can add more. The sauce tasted great and was authentically Buffalo. There could have been more creaminess, but the taste of the sauce still hit the spot. The meat was a little dry, but it still tasted great. Other than that, the overall taste of the wings was great. The wings simplicity and ability to give you the authentic Buffalo taste redeems it. I will certainly make sure to order extra sauce the next time I get baddpizza wings.
Taste: 1.7
Sauce: 1.6
Meat: 1.6
Size: 1.6
Score: 6.5/8
