Restaurants

Southern Living says Texas has two of the best chicken wing spots in the South

Texas is known for barbecue and Tex-Mex, but did you know that it also has some of the best wings in the South?

Southern Living recently explored all sorts of restaurants like dive bars, food trucks, pizza parlors and barbecue joints to find the 20 best spots for chicken wings in the South.

Though chicken wings originated in Buffalo, N.Y., the dish is a Southern staple. Chicken wings became more common in the 1980s, at the same time that football became televised, according to the National Chicken Council.

“Wings were easily shareable and affordable, a great ‘group food’ to eat with other people, and are the perfect pairing with a pitcher of beer,” according to the National Chicken Council. “And so the pigskin-chicken wing bond was born.”

And if you know football, you know Texas is the biggest state for it. So it’s only fitting that a few Lone Star state joints made the list.

Where to get the best chicken wings in Texas

According to Southern Living, the best chicken wings in Texas are at Seoulside Wings in Houston and Track One in El Paso.

Seoulside Wings

  • Korean chicken wing food truck
  • Chef Jane Lim mixes the vinegary southern brine with crispy Korean batter frying
  • Tossed in Korean style sauces– soy garlic, super spicy Korean rice cake (Hotbokki) or mildly spicy gochujang sauce (K Sauce). They also have lemon pepper, buffalo, garlic parmesan and honey butter. 
  • At Conservatory Galleria: 5353 W Alabama St., Suite 100-9, Houston. 

Track One

  • El Paso’s best wings. Also serves burgers, nachos and salad
  • Classic southern, breaded and deep-fried chicken wings
  • Sauce options are hot, BBQ, lemon pepper, hot honey or plain
  • 1330 Buffalo Soldier Road, El Paso

Chicken wings in North Texas

The chicken wings at Buffalo Bros.
The chicken wings at Buffalo Bros. Nancy Farrar Special to the Star-Telegram

Buffalo Bros

  • Several locations – on the TCU campus, in Sundance Square and one in Burleson.
  • Winging Wednesdays gets you 10 wings for $8 and five for $5. 
  • Classic Southern-style bone-in, boneless and tenders. 
  • Hot, medium, mild, BBQ, Cajun, suicide, garlic parmesan and lemon pepper sauce/rub options. 
  • 415 Throckmorton St., Fort Worth; 3015 S. University Drive, Fort Worth and 139 W. Ellison St. #101, Burleson

Keeks

  • Asian wings in North Fort Worth’s Alliance neighborhood
  • Bone-in and boneless with 14 sauces and rubs
  • Soy garlic, honey butter, Viet spice, salt and pepper, ninja kick, mango habanero, angry pepper, buffalo, lemon pepper, honey BBQ, Old Bay rub, garlic parmesan (dry or sauced) and Nashville hot 
  • 3529 Heritage Trace Parkway #153, Fort Worth
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken from Memphis is known for spicy chicken.
Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken from Memphis is known for spicy chicken. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com

Gus’s World Famous Fried Chicken

  • Fried chicken wings on Magnolia Avenue
  • Breast, thigh, leg, bone-in wings, tender served with coleslaw, beans and white bread
  • Wings are served plain, but there is ranch or honey mustard to dip
  • 1067 W Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth

Ooowwweee Wangz N Catfish

  • Fried chicken wings in southwest Fort Worth. 
  • Bone-in chicken wings, tenders and legs. 
  • Sauce and rub options are Ooowwweee sauce, lemon pepper, Ooowwweee heat, jerk chicken and boomerang (condiment blend). Served with Ooowwweee sauce, seasoned fries and rolls. 
  • 3951 Sycamore School Road, #117, Fort Worth

Second Rodeo

  • Chicken wings in Fort Worth Stockyards
  • Classic southern bone-in wings tossed in sauces and rubs
  • Sauces include PB&J, pineapple sriracha, smokey bacon BBQ, whiskey pickle, buffalo, lemon pepper, chicken and waffles and garlic parmesan. Dip in blue cheese peppercorn ranch or chipotle ranch
  • In Mule Alley: 122 E. Exchange Ave Ste. 340, Fort Worth
Buffalo chicken with green-chile mac-and-cheese at Anchor Bar Restaurant Sept. 17, 2024.
Buffalo chicken with green-chile mac-and-cheese at Anchor Bar Restaurant Sept. 17, 2024. Bud Kennedy bud@star-telegram.com

Anchor Bar

  • New York’s Anchor Bar is the “Home of the original buffalo wing,” and it has a location in Frisco.
  • Classic wings, tenders with choice from 14 sauces and four rubs
  • Original buffalo sauce is labeled as medium, with seven other hotter options
  • 6129 Main St., Frisco
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Ella Gonzales
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Ella Gonzales is a service journalism reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Ella mainly writes about local restaurants and where to find good deals around town.
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