Wing-Off 15 - An All-In Celebration at Mudville9

From the same people that bring you Burger Conquest, we bring you the New York City Wing-Off. A crew of men on a search for the best wing in NYC. Wing-Off judges solely on quality of the Medium and Hot wings only. Service, ambiance, beverage selection, price and other menus have no factor but they sure do count for a good time! Also, NO WOMEN ALLOWED!!

In January of 2007, 2 men had an argument over where to get the best hot wings in New York City. The debate grew intense and while an audience watched, they agreed to battle it out, wing vs. wing, to see who was right. Some rules were established, some friends were invited and some wings were eaten. In the end, everyone had so much fun that we decided to do it again, and again and again. Thus, the NYC Wing-Off was born.

It's been years in the making with only one goal in mind, find the best medium and hot wings in NYC. Along the way we have had some fantastic wings, we've seen amazing wings be defeated by slightly more amazing wings and we were even invited into a kitchen to design our own wing recipe; "Don't Stop Believin" sauce, we've donated to cancer research and now we can say, we have found the best hot wings in New York City.

The bracket challenge to crown a champion for the best medium and hot wings in New York city came to a close on Saturday, September 25, 2010. On that day, Bar Coastal was crowned the winner and awarded the Burger Conquest Hot Golden Cock Trophy.



Our 4 year quest had come to close but we weren't done eating hot wings, not by a long shot!!! A well deserved celebration was in order and there is only one place in NYC that could help us do it the right way. It was time for a Wing Ding at Mudville9! The NYC Wing-Off crew had been there on Wing-Off 3 and it was there we learned a vital lesson, there is no VS. with Mudville9!

Located in New York City's somewhat desolate Financial District, this unassuming bar looks the same as any other sports bar. You'll find large tables, booths, men of all ages cheering on their favorite sports teams on one of 15 flat screen TVs, pounding beers, eating wings and generally having a great time. But this 33 year old bar has a secret weapon called a "Wing Ding."

What is a Wing Ding? All you can eat wings, fries, unlimited pitchers of beer for 2 hours! It's only $25 per person! There is a 6 person minimum and for an additional $5 you can upgrade to premium beer selections. Think about the damage you could do in 2 hours? Allow me to confirm, you can do it and more. That is EXACTLY why Mudville9 should not be entered into a VS situation. Don't misunderstand, the wings are fantastic, really good in fact, but who in their right mind wants more wings than they can possibly eat in 2 hours?!?! (Don't answer that question.)

Another important thing to remember about the official NYC Wing-Off, only medium and hot flavored hot wings can be considered for as entrants into the decision. With 10 different house made wing sauces, denying 8 of them would be a crime! But enjoying them as a celebration is a victory unto itself!! The excitement was at an all time high. The NYC Wing-Off crew were ravenously waiting for the 2 hour timer to begin.

THE GATES HAVE OPENED! LET THE HOT WINGS FLOW!



If Bud and Bud Lite is your thing, stick with the $25 special but if you're a beer nerd like me and the rest of the Wing-Off crew, spending the $5 to upgrade your beer choices is absolutely worth it. The best part, I mean besides the beer itself, is that all the beer comes in pitchers, a rarity in New York bars. As for the fries, go ahead, try a couple, they're good but go easy! They will fill you up and detract you from the hot wings.



The Wing Ding kicked off with a plate of Jamaican Jerk and the Medium Buffalo. The Jerk are well, SOOOO good. The sauce is both sweet and hot with a nice pepper focus. In an attempt to be poignant, allow me just say "WOW" in describing the Medium Buffalo wings. There's a nice heat with good flavor. Kyle and I think we placed the mix as Frank's Red Hot with A LOT of butter and some additional kind of pepper.



I remember the Teriyaki sauced wings being a big hit on our last visit and was anxiously waiting a re-visit. The sauce was good but there needed to be more of it. Most wing sauces are thick and to make up for the thinner nature of this one, I would've suggested bathing it a little more bountifully.



The Thai sauce, oooohhhh, the Thai sauce is so creamy and good. It even has a nice little pepper back side to it. I'm pretty sure Adam P was a mere thought turning into an action away from spooning up some sauce into his mouth. Unfortunately, I didn't think the amazing sauce paired well with the wing. Both elements are good unto themselves but the sauce just didn't take to the wing.



The Buffalo Mild were OK but only worth getting if you want to try every sauce during a Wing Ding or you are a wing novice. It's decent but for a seasoned winger, this shouldn't be your focus.



After discovering the amazing sauce that could be made by combining the jerk and the hot I decided it was time to take this party to another level. Who remembers being a teenager and combining a little of every soda flavor into one cup? Where I am from, that's called a "suicide" soda and it was the basis of our next move.

I won't lie, they looked at us a little funny when I practically begged them to combine all 10 sauces on one plate of wings. But Eric Schwimmer and the rest of the fun loving staff at Mudville9 are good sports and were happy to oblige. The name "Suicide" when applied to hot wings more often than not refers to a sauce that is ungodly hot and difficult to eat. We didn't think that fit the bill here and since we were taking a gamble, we have now named this magical sauce concoction "ALL IN" wings!



DING! DING! DING! We have a winner!!

Once all 10 sauces were mixed and applied, a new level of wingitude was achieved. It was unanimous across the table, we all LOVED these. Now the NYC Wing-Off crew can't promise you that Mudville9 will make these for any buddy but we would definitely suggest you tell them we told you about them!




So now what? It's been 4 plus years, we've crowned a winner and even have a victory celebration at one of NYC's most unique wing joints. The Mudville9 "ALL IN" Wing Ding inspired an idea. What if the Wing-Off didn't have to end? What if it just changed? What if we could just restart? Well, we took all of these into consideration and with that, I proudly announce THE RETURN OF WING-OFF!!

The NYC Wing-Off is going to kick off again in 2011 but with a new twist. In the past we only judged on medium and hot wings but now, we re-start and ALL flavors are eligible for judging. This ups the competition quite a bit and should make for a lot of fun and well earned tummy aches!

If you have a suggestion for a wing we need to eat or would like to enter into the competition, please send an email to beeftouchdown@burgerconquest.com



WING-OFF HISTORICAL

WING-OFF 1
January 28, 2007
Scruffy Duffy's vs. Atomic at Down the Hatch
WINNER: SCRUFFY DUFFY'S

Scruffy Duffy's
www.scruffyduffys.com
743 Eighth Avenue
(between 46th & 47th)
New York, NY 10036

Atomic at Down the Hatch
http://www.nycbestbar.com/downthehatch/
179 W. 4th St
New York, NY

WING-OFF 2
June 3rd, 2007
Scruffy Duffy's vs Blondie's
WINNER: SCRUFFY DUFFY'S

Scruffy Duffy's
www.scruffyduffys.com
Scruffy Duffy's 743 Eighth Avenue
(between 46th & 47th)
New York, NY 10036

Blondies's
www.blondiessports.com
212 W 79th St
(Between Amsterdam Avenue and Broadway)
New York, NY 10024-6225

WING-OFF 3
September 11, 2007
Mudville9
http://www.mudville9.com/
126 Chambers St
(Btwn Church and W.Broadway)
New York, NY 10007
Phone: (212) 964-WING

WING-OFF 4
January 20, 2008
Scruffy Duffy's at Lansdowne Road vs. Texas Arizona
WINNER by disqualification, SCRUFFY DUFFY'S

Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008

WING-0FF 5
June 27, 2008
Lansdowne Road vs. Croxley Ale House vs. 1-2-3 Burger Shot Beer
WINNER: SCRUFFY DUFFY'S

Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008

Croxley Ale House
www.croxley.com
28 Avenue B
New York, NY

123 Burger Shot Beer
www.123burgershotbeer.com
738 10th Avenue
New York, NY

WING-OFF 6
October 6th, 2008
Scruffy's Retirement Party at Lansdowne Road

Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008

WING-OFF 7
TOWN TAVERN vs. WOGIE'S
WINNER; WOGIE'S

Town Tavern
http://www.towntavernnyc.com/
134 West 4th St
(at MacDougal)
New York, NY 10012

Wogie's
http://www.wogies.com/
39 Greenwich Ave
(btwn Charles & Perry)
New York, NY 10014

WING-OFF 8
BLIND TIGER ALE HOUSE vs. THUNDER JACKSON'S
WINNER; Both DQ!

Blind Tiger Ale House
http://blindtigeralehouse.com/
281 Bleecker St (@ Jones St)
New York, NY

Thunder Jackson's
http://www.thunderjackson.com
169 Bleecker St (@ Sullivan St)
New York, NY 10012

WING-OFF 9
Tuesday, August 4th
Johnny Utah’s VS. Point Break (formerly Nation)
WINNER: POINT BREAK
EX-PRESIDENTIAL RUBBER MASKS ENCOURAGED!

Johnny Utah’s
www.johnnyutahs.com
25 W 51st St (Between 5th and 6th Aves)
New York, NY 10019-6902
(212) 265-8824

Point Break
http://pointbreaknyc.com/
12 W 45th St (Between 5th and 6th Aves)
New York, NY 10036-4202
(212) 391-8053

WING-OFF 10
Saturday, November 21st, 2009
Bar-Coastal vs. Brother Jimmy's BBQ vs. The Back Page Sports Bar
WINNER: BAR-COASTAL

Bar-Coastal
www.barcoastal.com
1495 1st Ave (at 78th St)
New York, NY 10075-1355
(212) 288-6635

Brother Jimmy's BBQ
www.brotherjimmys.com
1485 2nd Ave (at 77TH St)
New York, NY 10075-2001
(212) 288-0999

The Back Page Sports Bar
http://newyork.citysearch.com/profile/7175125/new_york_ny/the_back_page.htm
1472 3rd Ave (Btwn 83rd and 84th)
New York, NY 10028-1967
(212) 570-5800

WING-OFF 11
Sunday, February 28th, 2010
The Wing Bar vs.Bonnie's Grill
WINNER: BONNIE'S GRILL

The Wing Bar
http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wing-bar-brooklyn
275 Smith St (between Degraw St & Sackett St)
Brooklyn, NY 11231

Bonnie's Grill
http://brooklyn.citysearch.com/profile/7356065/brooklyn_ny/bonnie_s_grill.html
278 5th Ave (1st Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11215

WING-OFF 12
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010
The Final 4, Part 1 - Bar-Coastal vs. Croxley Ales
WINNER; BAR-COASTAL

Bar-Coastal
www.barcoastal.com
1495 1st Ave (at 78th St)
New York, NY 10075-1355
(212) 288-6635

Croxley Ale House
www.croxley.com
28 Avenue B
New York, NY
212-253-6140

WING-OFF 13
Sunday, May 23rd, 2010
The Final 4, Part 2 - Wogie's vs. Lansdowne Road
WINNER; DECLARED A DRAW

Wogie's
http://www.wogies.com/
39 Greenwich Ave
(btwn Charles & Perry)
New York, NY 10014

Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008

WING-OFF 14
The Finals - Wogie's vs. Lansdowne Road vs. Bar-Coastal
WINNER; BAR-COASTAL

Wogie's
http://www.wogies.com/
39 Greenwich Ave
(btwn Charle's & Perry)
New York, NY 10014

Lansdowne Road
www.lansdowneroadnyc.com
599 10th Ave (Btwn 43rd and 44th St)
New York, NY 10036-3008

Bar-Coastal
www.barcoastal.com
1495 1st Ave (at 78th St)
New York, NY 10075-1355