Heavenly Buffaloes
1807 West Markham Avenue, Durham; 407 West Franklin Street, Chapel Hill; heavenlybuffaloes.com
Heavenly Buffaloes bills itself as “the wing joint you’ve been looking for,” and delivers with a menu of wings—boneless, bone-in, or vegan (which have earned a cult following of their own)—that you can order dry (with rubs) or wet (choose from more than a dozen sauces, including vegan buffalo). Order a bunch of blue cheese and a (massive) side of the waffle fries to complete your meal.
It’s a Southern Thing
605 West Main Street, Durham, itsasouthernthingdurham.com
As the name suggests, It’s a Southern Thing embraces all things South. Among them: smoked wings, drizzled with Eastern N.C.-style vinegar sauce.
M Kokko
311 Holland Street, Suite B, Durham
M Kokko, chef Mike Lee’s second Durham restaurant, is adjacent to his first (M Sushi) and around the corner from his third (M Tempura). It specializes in Korean fried chicken, and both the spicy-sweet wings and the soy garlic wings quickly became the talk of the town after it opened in 2016. If anything, M Kokko is a victim of its own success—with just twenty seats, it’s too small to accommodate all the people who want to eat there.
Mason Jar Tavern
114 Grand Hill Place, Holly Springs, themasonjartavern.com
The Mason Jar is a Holly Springs favorite, not least because of its consistently good comfort food fare. But its wings—available in boneless or traditional, with sweet heat dry rub, buffalo, house BBQ, or honey BBQ—seem tailor-made to be washed down with some of Mason Jar Brewing’s craft suds.
Mattie B’s Public House
1125 West N.C. Highway 54 Durham, mattiebs.com
There are plenty of choices when it comes to the comfort-food-heavy menu at Mattie B’s, including a stellar lineup of wings. You can get the normal sauces—medium, hot, BBQ, etc.—but don’t miss the guava cayenne, with its sweet-spicy kicker.
Northside District
403 West Rosemary Street, Chapel Hill, thenorthsidedistrict.com
Sure, chicken wings are ubiquitous bar food, but the Scorpion wings at Northside accomplish a rare feat by delivering quality meat and actually bringing the heat. The sticky sauce complements the crackly skin while delivering an immediate burn that intensifies with every bite, begging to be paired with a crisp lager.
The Provincial
119 North Salem Street, Apex, theprovincialapex.com
The can’t-miss order at this buzzy-yet-cozy eatery in downtown Apex is the Chinese-five-spice chicken wings. They come with a ginger-soy dipping sauce, but honestly, the piping-hot wings are so flavorful—with a supremely crispy coating and the irresistible savory smack of cinnamon, cloves, fennel, and star anise, coupled with a lip-tingling sensation from the Szechuan peppercorns—that you won’t need it.
Sammy’s Tap & Grill
2235 Avent Ferry Road, Raleigh, sammystapgrill.com
Order like a pro and get your wings extra crispy, then choose from scratch-made sauces. Your best bet: the Sammy sauce, bolstered with fresh habaneros.
The Wooden Nickel Pub
113 North Churton Street, Hillsborough, thewnp.com
The wings here have skin thick enough to stand up to the misperception that this bar food is mere throwaway meat. The sticky-sweet Thai chili wings are so crispy they cut through the perpetually lively conversation at this favorite townie haunt.
Zweli’s Piri Piri Kitchen
4600 Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard, #26, Durham, zwelis.com
As the name suggests, piri piri chicken dominates the menu—piri piri refers to the namesake pepper and marinade—and the wings are an excellent way to sample the peppery flavors and fire-kissed skin. Vegetarians can get a taste of the signature peppery sauce with the piri piri tofu.
2018 Best of the Triangle Readers’ Picks, Best Wings:
Heavenly Buffaloes, Durham County
The Wooden Nickel Pub, Orange and Chatham Counties
Lynnwood Grill, Wake County
The House restaurant in Durham and Tavern on 9th st in Durham has best wings i tried. I tried all on this list