Adam & Eats: Wing King

Editor’s note: Adam Brandt is a graduate from the Cobra Kai School of Culinary Callousness, where he received their highest award, the Red Apron of Merciless Eating. Aside from eating and talking about eating, he makes pots, paintings, prints, books, photographs, and generally, a big mess. He has been the studio assistant at Mudpuppy Pottery for almost nine years and is attending a local university in a desperate attempt to earn a biology degree.

In keeping with the new theme of crazy food, I decided it was time to investigate something that I had heard a bit of buzz about: Fried Kool-Aid. Just for the record, it turned out to be just as ridiculous and awesome as it sounds in your mind.

Located just off of Phoenix, on Towson Avenue, in what was until recently Irish Maid Donuts, is the new home of the Wing King. They don’t bury the lead, they put it right in the title. They make and serve mainly chicken wings. The simple décor inside is masked lightly with a cloud of delicious smelling fryer smoke.

The combination of corrugated steel, yellow and purple paint, and chicken tchotchkes makes the place feel like a chicken coop at Mardi Gras. At the same time festive and straight forward.

Yes, they serve chicken wings, but they are excited and proud to do so. This excitement comes across as friendly and helpful to us customers. The cooks in the back are not only sending good food out, but also good vibrations. Watching them work is like watching a very well-rehearsed dance. Each step, each movement memorized by the dancer’s muscles so that their minds are free to dream up new ideas of stuff to deep fry. It’s pretty magical to watch, really. Any good kitchen crew will put on a helluva show without meaning to and the crew at the Wing King is a prime example of that.

As one would expect of a wing joint, most of the menu is of the deep fat fried variety. Wings with or without bones, strips, sides, and desserts are all breaded and fried to a golden brown. Do not fret, my healthy eaters out there, they also prepare a few grilled dishes as well.

My personal preference as far as wings go, and I think it is a fine testament to the skill of the cooks, is the original wings. Fried and then lightly salted and peppered, plain and simple. They don’t need to drown their wings in over-flavored sauces to cover up shoddy preparation. Theirs come ready to go, on their own, plain, and it can only go up from there. Granted, most of the variety of flavors come from dusting these tasty appendages with various familiar seasonings, but since we’ve already established that the original wings fly well on their own, there’s no harm or fowl (Get it?) done by adding some old favorite flavors to the mix

 I’m a big fan of both the Cajun and the Greek wings with their complex arrays of spice and heat.

Now, we can’t talk about wings without mentioning everyone’s favorite Buffalo-style. The Wing King offers three different levels of heat: Hot, Hot Hot, and Fire Hot. As it was explained to me, hot is mild, hot hot is hot, and fire hot will melt your face off. Since I needed my face in working order to eat the rest of my meal, I opted for hot hot and they were not lying. It was plenty hot. Like the kind of hot that grabs you in the back of the throat. Ah, the things we do for love.

In addition to the star of the show, some of the back-up singers have got real talent. The fried green beans, for example, are to die for. As for the dessert options, let’s just say that fried Kool-Aid is probably one of the most overly sweet things you will ever eat in your life. It consists of a sweetened cake batter mixed with sweetened Kool-Aid mix and dropped in spoonfuls into the fryer. Once crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, the dust them with powdered sugar and drizzle them with some sort of red syrup. I think I just got a cavity writing about it. Also, if you are a Twinkie lover, the fried version of this classic treat is a real heart stopper, both literally and figuratively.

If you haven’t found your way over to Towson to hit up the fried wonders of the Wing King yet, you should really make it a point to give them a try. You know,  football season is only a few weeks away.

Until next week, good eating to you and yours.

Feedback
When he’s not beating his eggs, Adam makes time to respond to e-mails that get past his hard-ass spam filter. You can try to reach him at [email protected]

Adam also has this thing called Sandwich Control.