Everybody should break down a chicken at least once.
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts have long ruled the supermarket shelves. Ground beef. Filleted fish. There are a ridiculous number of foods you can buy without ever knowing they were once part of an animal.
I’m not trying to make a bunch of vegetarians. I like meat. But I think it’s important to know where it comes from. Which is, I suppose, a very roundabout way to get to this incredibly urgent point: Traditional hot wings are better than boneless hot wings.
“Oh, I don’t eat things with bones!”
Why not?
“I don’t like to think about how it was alive.”
Well, you need to get over that. Not just because it’s dumb, but if you’re not over it before you visit Wings & Things, 608 W. Vandament Ave. in Yukon, you’ll miss out on the traditional hot wings, which are juicy and hot.
Boneless hot wings are fine, I guess, but they’re usually breast meat, which is missing the fat and skin that fry up so tasty. Besides, the bones slow you down so you can savor the flavor.
The wings are $7.99 for a 10-piece order all the way up to 50 for $35.99.
What kind of sauce should you get? The most popular flavors are Honey Flames and garlic Parmesan. I got the mild Buffalo and relished the vinegary pop without all the heat. The garlic Parmesan are wonderful as well, with lots of butter and cheese and crunch.
When I go back, I’m going to have to try the jerk wings. Or the zesty Italian Parmesan. Or any of them. (But don’t order the original unless you want no sauce. Just a word of advice.)
What about the Things? I’m glad you asked. There are a lot of things that aren’t wings, and most of them are good.
The three-piece fish meal ($7.79) is a ton of food: three big pieces of fried fish, a side and two hushpuppies. This isn’t Long John Silver’s fried fish, either. This is a nice, tight crust on a thinner piece of fish. I’d like it better with more seasoning in the breading, but you can certainly supplement with the available tartar sauce.
On the side, you have quite a few options, including an okra stew that is probably pretty healthy.
But I know you. C’mon. You’re going to choose the fries. These are hand-cut and battered before being fried. That makes them big and a little awkward to eat, but when they’re hot, they’re good. The potato salad is also homemade (almost everything at Wings & Things is), but I thought it was a little too mustardy. That said, your opinion might differ.
The owner of Wings & Things is from New Orleans, and it shows when you try the po’boys. My choice is the fried fish and shrimp ($7.49), which come on a soft roll with traditional toppings. It’s familiar and filling. Maybe toss on some hot sauce. I bet hot sauce would be good on there.There is also a pork chop sandwich ($4.99), which comes grilled or fried.
So I asked, “Which is better?” Unsurprisingly, the answer was fried. Now, this is a bone-in chop, so be careful how you attack this one. But Wings & Things knows how to fry, and the pork chop was no exception.
I liked the Philly Cheesesteak eggroll ($1.79 a piece or 3 for $4.99), but I think the wings and po’boys are much better.
For dessert, there’s yam cake ($3.25). What is yam cake? That’s a good question. It’s kind of like a pound cake that, I assume, has some yams in it. It’s sweet and comes with some cream cheese frosting that helps it go down.
Wings & Things also now has gumbo on its menu. Soon, the owner plans to add more Louisiana cuisine, like jambalaya, to the fare.
Now the bad news: It’s in Yukon. Now the worse news: It’s to-go only. So, if you don’t have a good spot to land with your food, it’s a long drive before you get to eat. (And if you think you can eat this food on the road, you should know that it would be both dangerous and messy.)
But if you’re in Yukon or you just really want some good hot wings, then I think you might find yourself heading west on Interstate 40 and looking for a little bitty restaurant next to the 7-Eleven and ordering up a whole mess of food. And you better get those wings on the bone.
Print headline: Hot wings, Wings & Things offers up Cajun twists on everything from chicken to po’boys and eggrolls.
