Image courtesy of Vecteezy

July 29. Today is National Chicken Wing Day, a holiday that celebrates a part of the chicken that was once overlooked—until the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, invented the Buffalo wing in 1964.

To honor this sacred day, we’re offering some ideas on where to go and what to order. The list isn’t comprehensive. It’s just a sampling of some of our favorites.

A little context to our suggestions: We like a wing that’s not too small and definitely not too big, cooked long enough so it’s not dry but also not fatty or greasy. We’re traditionalists, but we’ll venture outside the norm for a great wing experience.

On to the orders.

Al’s Bar & Grill

The wings at Al’s are big, so we order them with a 23-minute cook time—per the suggestion of one of the servers. The owners are from Buffalo, so you can’t go wrong with the tried-and-true hot Buffalo. But the Buffalo garlic parm is another tasty option.

Boatyard LKN

Want sneaky-good, under-the-radar wings from a live music venue? It’s probably not on your hit list, but the lemon pepper dry rub wings are outstanding.

H2 Public House

We’ve struggled for years to describe the flavor of the pub sauce using words other than delicious. Maybe Asian-style? Maybe barbecue? We usually order the wings extra crispy, but the pub wings—ordered fried and grilled—are perfectly cooked. The result is a sticky, flavorful wing without all the mess.

Torrence & Knox

You can’t go wrong with the Buffalo wings here but we invented something new last week. Order the wings plain with a side of hot Buffalo and a side of garlic parmesan. Mix the sauces together, then dip the perfectly cooked wings in the hybrid blend. The result is a crispy, spicy, tangy wing you’ll crave again the next day.

The contenders …

We haven’t tried every wing in town over the years, but some of our friends’ favorites include the smoked wings with Alabama white sauce at Hello, Sailor; the barbalo wings at Ed’s Tavern; and the traditional Buffalo wings at the Peninsula Yacht Club.

What say you?

Did we miss your favorite wing order? Drop a suggestion in the comments below so readers can add it to their list of places to try.