NYC Hot Wing Crawl

The group “NYC Food Crawl” recently held an event that naturally caught my attention: a Hot Wing Crawl. How could I not attend? It's the perfect way to cover several venues in one night, not to mention meet a few foodies along the way. The event was scheduled for April 28th at 7pm. Let's see how our night went.

I arrived at the starting point of 77th Street and Second Avenue in Manhattan by about 6:45pm. Where is everyone? So far, I'm the only one here. A few people slowly arrive every few minutes. I join up with prolific tweeters @Jerlyn and @TheBeanCast for the duration of the evening. By 7, the organizers have arrived, and the crowd has grown to about fifteen people. Introductions and guidelines. We've got an official list of four spots, with a “bonus”, unlisted fifth location. We're advised to stay together as one group throughout the crawl, probably for reasons of sanity and sociality.

Surprisingly Good

Doc Watson's 
At about 7:20, we make our way to our first stop, half a block from our meeting point. This attractive tavern is surprisingly well laid out upstairs, but the group is led to the downstairs lounge, with half the seating outside on the patio, half inside with leatherette couches surround low tables. They serve only one style of hot wing, with an alternative BBQ style available for those who don't like hot sauce.

These wings were delicately fried, perhaps with butter and a rub (spices in on the wing), slightly charred outside, and juicy inside. The flavor, with what we suspect are cajun spices, permeates throughout the meat. Very, very nice. There is a light crunch as you bite into them. Very fresh. These are nicely sauced, not too much, not drippy at all, just enough to cover about half the wing, which allows the rest of the flavor to come through. Clearly the sauce was intended to complement, not overpower, the flavor. The wings were medium-sized pieces. Slightly spicy, just about a medium, a bit smokey.

Doc Watson's
1490 2nd Avenue
New York, 10075
(212) 988-5300

Atomic Wings at Bar Coastal 
At around 8:30, we went to the second stop on the list, only to find that Bar Coastal was unable to accommodate our group at any size. We decided to skip this stop and substitute with the “bonus” location. Perhaps we will return in the future to do a proper review.

Atomic Wings @ Bar Coastal
1495 First Ave
New York, NY 10021
(212) 772-8400

Somewhere, a sparrow is rendered flightless.

Mustang Grill 
It's now 8:40 and the groups have splintered off, some still trying to get into Atomic, some off to Rathbone's. Since we're here, we'll try their specialty Mango-glazed wings. This is the only wing style they apparently offer. We decide that an order of “8-10” wings is adequate for sharing per two people, but something told me to order a second appetizer, just in case.

When the wings arrived, we were quite surprised. I am used to the occasional small wing, but these were absolutely sparrow-sized. These wings had all their flavor on the outside. The sauce itself could be described as a little sweet, with bitter undertone, but hardly any mango flavor. Inside, the meat was absolutely bland, and a little underdone. These meager wings were remarkably unremarkable, and at ten dollars per order, we all felt this was a poor value.

Mustang Grill
1633 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10028-4401
(212) 744-9194

Keeping it classic.

Rathbone's
We lost a few in our group after the last location, but reunited with the group organizers (and the bulk of the crawl) once we found our way to this very popular Upper East Side watering hole. It's now 9:45, and we need from wing redemption, and a little variety, so we place an order each for hot buffalo and BBQ.

We found these wings crispy, however, just a shade overdone. These are on the larger size, rather meaty, certainly a welcome change from the previous venue. The BBQ sauce, liberally applied to the wings, was particularly sweet, yet definitely likable, assuming one enjoys that flavor. We didn't detect any spiciness in the sauce, so it's a safe bet for those with sensitive palates. It's also nice contrast to the standard buffalo hot sauce, but I expect the purists to stay with the old standards.

Rathbone's hot wings were covered well but not at all drippy, which actually suited me fine. The were done in typical buffalo style, yielding neither surprises nor disappointments. They had a nice bit of bite, but weren't overly spicy. We found them a slightly crunchy but not really crispy, overall. These are quite passable wings, but I wouldn't say they are the big draw to this venue. They're certainly not bad wings, and they're very reasonably priced, basically a great pairing with your drink of choice.

Rathbone's
1702 2nd Ave
New York, NY 10128-3260
(212) 369-7361

BBQ done well.

Manny's on Second

The last spot on the crawl, we arrived at Manny's sometime after 10:30. This tavern was larger, airier, and not quite as cramped as the other spots. It also helped that this was late on a Thursday night, and the crowds were winding down. With a claim to having the “Best Wings in NYC”. this place had the widest selection of sauces in the crawl: buffalo style in multiple heat levels, a few styles of BBQ and a Teriyaki sauce. We ordered a buffalo style in medium and a Honey BBQ for variety. They have an impressive selection of beers, so if you like to be more discerning with your beer and wing pairings, this is the place for you.

The wings themselves were easily as large as the ones from Rathbone's, again, much appreciated after our experience at the Mustang Grill. They were cooked properly, with a lightly crispy outside. First we tried the Honey BBQ and found it surprisingly good, sweet, with a very welcome little bite. Usually I don't think much of BBQ wing sauces, but these were worth it. Excellent sauce.

A neighborhood favorite. In contrast to the most excellent Honey BBQ, we found our buffalo medium sauce a little too salty. The wings were amply coated and a little drippy. Aside from the saltiness, these were a good representation of the tried-and-true buffalo wing, most likely meeting the expectations and ravenous appetite of the clientele, who need something to go well with their beers. I'm not sure which “best of” list these wings topped, but I can definitely see the appeal this place has with the neighborhood. Although we enjoyed the buffalo sauce itself, we preferred the Honey BBQ wings a bit more.

Manny's on Second
1770 2nd Avenue
New York, NY 10128-3604
(212) 410-3300

Conclusion
Over all, we liked Doc Watson's wings the best. They were the only ones that deviated from the “safe” formula successfully. The flavor goes all the way into the meat. We were very impressed with these wings, and many of us expect to return there in the near future. That said, Manny's buffalo sauce may have been the best overall sauce, but there wasn't anything outstanding about the wing itself, especially compared to the more complex flavor of Doc Watson's offering.

I would love to hear other people's impressions on these different taverns. Feel free to leave comments!