Cuisine Review

Not that I minded, but my kids made us do it. I verbalized all week that I had no idea where to eat next. My son quickly filled the void, loudly chanting for several days that we should go to Wings Sports Grille on Airport Boulevard. If I have not said so before, really good chicken wings are hard to find in the area, so few non-chains even have them on the menu and an even smaller number prepare them well. I have always liked them at Wings, but over the years have gravitated toward other, non-traditional menu items when visiting. A friend of ours and two other children went with us on a recent Saturday night, which was a set-up for a big mistake. We arrived after 7 to a filled parking lot, after traveling through the hell of Airport Boulevard. I think the location is why I tend to forget Wings’ existence. If we had a smaller group we could have been seated immediately, but it took only about 20 minutes to be shown to a table.

If you have not been to Wings, it is a cavernous space, full of noise – music and televisions at every sight line. If there is a sporting event on television you can see it at Wings. The staff has never hurried me through and it is an excellent place for a group to go after a kid’s game, to watch a game or nurse a Saturday night hangover. I would not recommend it as a romantic spot or place to have a quiet conversation. Our waitress, Roxanne, was friendly, helpful and attentive. In fact, we decided that she was one of the best waitresses we ever had. She even quickly brought out another meal when one child spilled Sprite and dropped hers on the floor.

We began with two appetizers. I selected the triple play cheesy fries ($7.99) hot curly fries sprinkled with melted Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses with bacon, and served with homemade ranch dressing. This was a mound of fries, yet they were not covered in cheese. They were edible, none were left, but I would make something else my first choice. Keep the fries to go with your sandwich and wings; they are fine on their own.

The other one that sounded appealing was the char-grilled black and white “dippin’” chicken ($7.99) had at least an entire breast of thick, sliced on the diagonal pieces fresh off the grill, and the white barbecue sauce dip was of a vinegar base, and most white barbecues have a mayonnaise base which I believe this was the case here. This is a good option when you are hungry and want to stay away from the fried food, but I recommend it anytime. On earlier visits I have eaten the fried pickles ($4.99) and fried mushrooms ($5.99) and they are worthy as well. When will restaurant consultants stop telling people to not round up to the next dollar? Not only do I hate typing all these .99s but it really is not fooling anyone into thinking it is some bargain. From this point forward I am rounding up all item prices in my reviews. Spread the word.

The menu is so large you have to just ignore sections that don’t strike your interest. For example, if you want a steak they have strips, sirloins and ribeyes ($13-$20) that are served with baked potatoes and steamed broccoli. They have ribs served on their own, with “lips” (boneless wings with hot sauce) or wings. Under this barbecue section is found what in my opinion is the best thing on the menu – grilled Jamaican jerk chicken ($11). A marinated boneless chicken breast is basted with their jerk seasoning, then topped with a fresh mango salsa, with black beans, yellow rice, cilantro sour cream and steamed broccoli.

The jerk seasoning is full of thyme (I believe) and plenty of kick and I have never had a piece of chicken cooked poorly here. The mango salsa mellows the bite. Plenty of Cuban style black beans and moist yellow rice are more than complemented by the delicious sour cream. I never would have noticed it on the menu had I not tasted this at the Taste of Mobile a few years ago. For about a year this was the only thing I ordered – it is something healthier than other options, quite different.

There are eight salads on the menu, two that I have tasted and one ordered on this visit. Our friend always gets the hot lips salad ($9), greens with boneless, breaded hot chicken chunks with roma tomatoes, red onion, Monterey jack, cheddar and served with bleu cheese or ranch. All of their dressings are Kraft and the list is extensive, so you can count on them. The lips are just wings without bones. I have eaten the grilled fresh catch salad before (market price, there is also a grilled chicken) that is tossed in a raspberry vinaigrette with fruit segments. There are also plenty of sandwiches and wraps.

My wife loves anything with wing sauce, so she ate the fried chicken sandwich ($7), crunchy and slathered with hot sauce. It was also tremendous, with a pile of their skinny fried onion rings (I like them large, but if you like this kind they are good). I would mention others, but my editor has been complaining that my reviews are too long.

The kids and I ordered wings. I typically dive right into hot wings and try nothing else – I like Wings sauce, hot is just fine for me, anything over this is a tongue-burner. I was talking with a friend the week before who mentioned the jerk wings hot. They are fantastic – I will never get anything else again. I ate one and a half pounds ($9, about a dozen) and my son and I split fries. Just imagine the grilled jerk chicken with a dose of hot sauce. I understand the lemon pepper wings are just as good.

Watch out for visual and noise overload, but this is a good place to take the family. They don’t need my business, but if they were in a better location I would frequent them more often.

Kinnon Phillips is Lagniappe cuisine editor. Contact him at kphillips@lagniappemobile.com.

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