Buffalo Wings
Buffalo wings are an American invention that allow people to enjoy the long-disliked chicken wings as a snack dish, an appetizer, or as a way to compete in how much intense heat they can take. Although numerous organizations in Buffalo, New York, assert competing claims to being the dish's creator, the city claims to be the "Chicken Wings Capital of the World." Chicken wings a la Buffalo became popular in American football after the Buffalo Bills won the Super Bowl, and the beforehand media frenzy put the dish on televisions all over the country.
The Anchor Bar in Buffalo proudly advertises that it is the "Home of the Original Buffalo Chicken Wings" on a huge sign. At least four additional Buffalo businesses contest that assertion. And their conflict goes beyond a simple neighborhood family quarrel. There are rumors that Buffalo Wings' signature spicy sauce-coated fried chicken wings notion came from somewhere other than the city on Lake Erie.
One such assertion originates from a city on a different Great Lake. Chicago was reportedly the first city to regularly serve the concoction, according to some cuisine experts. During Prohibition, they were a part of the "free lunch" that enticed clients to buy more illegal alcohol in Chicago speakeasies. The cost of obtaining chicken wings from the slaughterhouses allowed speakeasies to afford to give them away. The hot sauce, sometimes known as Mumbo Sauce, got its start in a Chicago barbecue joint.
