The History of Buffalo Wings
The Origins
It all started in the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. Regardless of the true origins, buffalo wings have spread across the country as a perfect bar food. The Bellissimo family owned and operated the Anchor bar back in 1964. One version of the story, as told by a son, is that one night after drinking with his friends he asked him mother to cook up a late night snack. His mom fried up some wings and tossed them with an open bottle of hot sauce. Supposedly, the son and his friends loved them so much that the very next day buffalo wings along side celery and blue cheese were on the menu at the Anchor Bar.
Another version goes that the Bellissimo’s were shipped crates of chicken wings by accident. This led to the dish being created due to the excess of wings. Frying chicken wings were already a southern tradition so it is plausible that the addition of hot sauce was original. We may never get the true history of buffalo wings but it sure is fun guessing.
Buffalo Wing Domination
Regardless of the true origins, buffalo wings have spread across the country as a perfect bar food. The sharable, cheap nature of chicken wings makes it the perfect appetizer. By the 1980s buffalo wings had left Upper New York and made its way into bars and restaurants. In the early 90s mainstream chains like McDonald’s and Dominoes debuted their own versions of the buffalo wing. Since then nothing has stood in the path of the buffalo wing!
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