If you want juicy, the answer is Joyce’s Tavern. If it’s kick and spice you’re after, go to The Hop Shoppe. But when it comes to date night—Denino’s!

By R. Vazquez and Rachel Restivo

Rachel and Grace, the Banner’s amateur foodies, drove from the north to the south shore in search of the perfect wing. This is what they found:

Here’s the criteria: Meat Quality: We believe in juicy and tender wings (not dry), with crispy skin; and that a wing should deliver at least four good bites.

Sauce: We believe a good sauce should cover the wing, that we should be able to taste it in each bite, that it shouldn’t overpower, but that it should be flavorful, have a kick and be authentic.

Mouthfeel: We believe in good first impressions and lasting flavor.

Price: We believe that $1.00 and $1.20 per wing is the sweet spot

Wing Size: We believe size matters.

Our top ten:

10. The Kettle Black

415 Forest Avenue, (718) 420-0173

Dine-in · Curbside pickup · No-contact delivery

They offered several choices for quantity and size. For Grace, it was between 6 wings for 8.85 or 12 for 16.95. She said “if I was going to pay that much I wanted two flavors.” Wing size was in the 2.5 inch range. The sauce could’ve been the one redeeming quality of the wing if the chefs hadn’t put so much on it. That said, the sauce delivered that perfect combo of heat and sweetness. Big problem: The meat quality was absolutely horrendous, probably why they put so much sauce on it. There was barely any meat on the bone and the meat that was there was so dry. The mouthfeel wasn’t any better. Though the sauce was good the wing was clearly overcooked and was just a hard wing to swallow.

Overall Rating: 1/10

9. Domenico’s Pizzeria

3295 Amboy Road, (718) 351-2100

Dine-in · Curbside pickup · No-contact delivery

I should have known better than to have good expectations for wings from a pizzeria. The meat quality was very dry and did not have that juicy flavor i was hoping for. The sauce did not cover the whole wing, in fact there was very little sauce. The flavor was not very lasting because there wasn’t much to taste. Price was a little on the pricey side, for one wing cost $1.60. The size of the wing was at least a decent size being about 4.5 inches.

Overall rating: 2/10

8. Wing Stop

1756 Forest Avenue, (718) 524-6564

Dine-in · Takeout · No-contact delivery

For 10 wings it was $10.79, for a little less than a dollar for each wing, that isn’t too bad. But this is where the review begins to go downhill. The wings were only a little over 2 inches in size. The sauce,  though the flavor was good, had barely any spice and was extremely oily. The wings were well-cooked and juicy on the inside but the outside lacked that crispy texture we were looking for. The mouthfeel wasn’t great either because the wings were room temperature and dry. 

Overall Rating: 2.5/10

7. Buffalo Wild Wings

1447 Richmond Avenue, (718) 983-6912

Dine-in · Curbside pickup · No-contact delivery

Buffalo Wild Wings is where you find every boy and his friends watching a game and eating wings, so I had high expectations going into this. The meat quality on these wings were very tough and on the chewy side. Sauce was way too spicy and burned my lip off, that made them almost un-enjoyable. The sauce was way too hot which made a horrible mouth feel for i had to keep chugging ice cold water. For price, there’s no reason a chicken wing should be over two dollars. At least for the price, these wings were a decent size being about 3.5 inches.

Overall rating:  4/10

6. Planet Wings

2220 Forest Avenue, (718) 273-7575

Dine-in · Takeout · Delivery

Planet Wings is very popular on the Island even for tiny wings. These wings were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The sauce was nice and spicy while not overpowering. The price was reasonable because one wing was about a little over a dollar. But one wing could be finished in two bites, which is disgraceful.

Overall rating: 5/10

5. Applebees

1451 Richmond Avenue, (718) 477-1300

Dine-in · Takeout · Delivery

Grace was lucky with the price—on their regular menu for 10 wings it’s 16.99. But she got a happy hour price of 10.99—a deal, any way you cut it. The wing size was average, some were okay-sized but a few were quite small so they provided two bites at best. The sauce has a kick that doesn’t overpower the flavor but the wings were too heavily coated in it. No complaints about the meat quality, crispy on the outside and the inside was well cooked. For mouthfeel, the only complaint was because there was so much sauce the wings tasted a bit soggy. 

4. Wing World 

876 Manor Road, (718) 370-9464

Dine-in · Takeout · No-contact delivery

Wing World was the number one wing spot in SI when I asked google , and even appeared on the SI advance. These wings were a good size at 3 inches, there was so not enough sauce on them which gave me trouble though. They were cooked perfectly for the quality, moist and juicy while the skin was crispy. The price was reasonable at a little over a dollar per wing. A shame there was not that much sauce on them, they were a bit dry for my first impression.

Overall rating: 8/10

3.  Deninos’s Pizzeria and Tavern 

524 Port Richmond Avenue, (718) 442-9401

Dine-in · Takeout 

Their wings came in an order of 10 for $9.95. For about a dollar per wing that’s pretty good. These wings were quite large being close to 4 inches, Grace already had high expectations. The sauce was easily the best part of the wing. It had this sweet and spicy combo to it, where one never overpowers the other, and each wing was perfectly coated. Grace’s one comment was that she wished it was spicier. In terms of meat quality, the inside was perfectly cooked but it could have been crispier on the outside. Lastly, for the mouthfeel though everything combined amazingly for taste the temperature was almost inedible they were brought to our table. For wings this good no one wants to wait to eat them. 

Overall Rating: 8.5/10

 2. Joyce’s Tavern

3823 Richmond Avenue, (718) 948-0220

Dine-in · Takeout

Joyce’s Tavern is a bar that has amazing wings on their appetizer menu. I fell in love with these wings because they were drenched in sauce. They were cooked perfectly, not tough, not chewy. They were moist and juicy on the inside while being crispy on the outside. The size could have been a little bigger, they were under two inches. The price was about two dollars per wing, but it’s okay when you have a flavorful wing that hooks you in the second you bite into it.

Overall rating: 9/10

1. The Hop Shoppe

372 Van Duzer Street, (718) 448-3400

Dine-in · Takeout · No-contact delivery

The price for 10 wings was 16 dollars. A dollar and 60 cents per wing; outrageous. The wings were standard size but by the end, Grace said they should have been bigger. The sauce was where these wings went upward. They had the perfect amount of kick that didn’t overpower the unique flavor they offer. For meat quality, the wings were extremely well-cooked and they came on a cast iron skillet that kept them warm the entire time. Lastly, for the mouthfeel, Grace had no complaints, the flavor and the quality of the wing worked to make the perfect combo. 

Overall Rating: 10/10