If you're planning on snacking your way through the Super Bowl, there's a good chance that wings are on the menu. Americans will eat an estimated 1.45 billion of those portable little proteins during Kansas City and San Francisco's football faceoff, according to the National Chicken Council's 2024 Wing Report.
Wings' game day popularity can be traced back to the 1980s. That era's health-conscious food habits led to a strong demand for boneless-skinless chicken breasts, while wings became an inexpensive afterthought. But a new wave of sports bars had a solution for all those discarded wings: They fried them, sauced them and served them in large quantities for cheap. A beer-friendly snack that could easily feed a crowd was born.
Which brings us to today. The wing craze continues, and Twin Cities restaurants and bars are putting their own spins on the classic Buffalo- or barbecue-sauced drummies and flats. Whole wings, secret-recipe dry rubs, Korean ginger glaze, Szechuan peppercorn and porketta seasoning are all in the mix.
The Taste Team set out to try them all, from the storied classics like Monte Carlo to a brand-new entry from Revival. These are our favorite places to get wings right now in the Twin Cities.
YOU'VE NEVER HAD WINGS LIKE THESE
Bricksworth Beer Co.
It's the kind of genius that must have been dreamed up by someone in the throes of a serious attack of the munchies, someone stuck with an impossible choice: Eat wings or eat Doritos? The result is Bricksworth's Cool Ranch Dorito-dusted wings. They're coated in that distinctive tangy, tart corn chip flavor — making these wings built for best enjoyment alongside a cold beverage. Good thinking for a brewpub.
305 5th Av. N., Mpls.; 12257B Nicollet Av. S., Burnsville; bricksworthbeer.co