Wingstop Boneless Wings

I wrote about Wingstop back in April. I was impressed with the quality of their chicken and I loved their fries, but the two sauces I sampled  - Cajun and Hawaiian - were horrible. And the meal, which was just a regular fast food-type meal, cost almost $14. (It was no better nor any more food than a $5 combo from KFC.) So I concluded that I probably would never go back. But then two things happened.

First, one of my 11 readers, a woman named Kelli, said that I should have tried the parmesan wings, that they are much better. Garlic Parmesan was one of the flavors I considered getting, but had decided against in favor of the Hawaiian, which I hoped would be flavorful (but was completely bland.) 

Second, Wingstop recently came out with boneless wings. I am a sucker for boneless wings. Whether they are the best boneless wings I have ever had (Wing-It in Boston) or just Wendy's reformed chicken nuggets in the shape of wings, I am never able to pass up boneless wings. So I figured I would give Wingstop another try. 

It was packed when I walked in. At least ten people were standing around waiting for their food. Of course, it didn't help that the woman working the counter was completely lost. She scribbled down my order on a piece of paper that was filled with other scribbles (she then had me repeat my order two more times) then rang it up on a relatively beat-up cash register. I took a seat under a flat screen TV and expected a long wait.

It wasn't too bad, only about ten minutes. I had ordered ten pieces of boneless wings, small fries and a small soda. I requested my boneless wings with two sauces: Garlic Parmesan and Original Hot. (The other sauce options, besides the aforementioned Cajun and Hawaiian, are Atomic, Teriyaki, Mild, Lemon Pepper, and Hickory BBQ.) 

I tried the chicken with parmesan on it first. As before, the chicken was fresh and hot. But all I could taste was the parmesan. And there was a ton of it on there. But no garlic. After I ate a couple, I realized there was a giant puddle of garlic oil at the bottom of the basket, so I dabbed a piece of chicken in the oil and tried it. Wow. It was tasty, but man, was it pungent. (Despite brushing my teeth that afternoon, my breath smelled of garlic for the rest of the day.)

The Orginal Hot sauce was the same buffalo sauce we have all tasted before - not bad but nothing to differentiate it from one thousand other sauces I have eaten in my life. The fries were again great, and plentiful; I couldn't even finish my "small" order. I wish more places went to the trouble to make fries like this - freshly peeled, fried long enough that they aren't a pile of soggy potatoes, and seasoned. (As I wrote in my previous take on Wingstop, these are what In-n-Out's fries could be.)

Barring a new promotion, this was probably my last visit to Wingstop. The Garlic Parmesan sauce was good - the best of the four sauces I have tried (good call, Kelli)  - but it still wasn't anything great. This meal cost a little over ten dollars, which isn't expensive, but it's not a good deal either. Of the three meals I have had here, not once have I left thinking it was anything more than fast food. I might as well go to Wendy's, where I can get two orders of 99 cent chicken nuggets with fries and a soda for four bucks. Or go to Chili's, where the boneless wings are more expensive, but the sauces are much better.