It's more than acceptable to eat with your hands this Friday, in fact it's encouraged as July 29 marks National Chicken Wing Day.
In 1964, Teressa Bellissimo (co-owner of Anchor Bar in Buffalo) was allegedly the first to cut wings into drumettes and flats, deep-fry them without any breading, glaze them in hot sauce and serve them with blue cheese dip and celery.
Previously, chicken wings were usually reserved for soup stock, though John Young had opened Wings’n Things on Jefferson Avenue in 1963. But his wings were breaded and dressed in a tomato-based sauce.
Bellissimo's style of deep frying and tossing the wings in hot sauce is what the world has come to know as the Buffalo-style chicken wing, though most people just say “wings”.
The idea of celebrating one of the continent's all-time favourite finger foods took off in in 1977 when Buffalo Mayor Stan Makowski declared July 29 “National Chicken Wing Day”.
As of December 2015, there are more than 3,200 restaurants in the United States dedicated primarily to chicken wings.
It takes a special type of food to earn its own day on the calendar, but while July 29 is reserved to celebrate the iconic finger food, it's Super Bowl weekend where chicken wing consumption hits its peak.
According to the National Chicken Council, Americans eat approximately 1.25 billion chicken wings on Super Bowl Sunday.
Here in Canada, we might not pack away the wings in such staggering quantities, but that doesn't mean that we can't celebrate National Chicken Wing Day.
On July 29, Wacky Wings Eatery and Beverage Co. will be hosting a wing extravaganza from 3 p.m. to closing and all wing aficionados and enthusiasts are invited to join in the celebration.
All you can eat wings will be just $16.99 and the first 100 groups of two or more who order wings will receive a free appetizer (maximum value: $9.99)
Guests ordering wings can fill out a VIP ballot to be eligible to win free wings for an entire year. Draw will be held July 30.
