Restaurants compete for carnivorous glory at West Loop's WingFest

03/02/2011 10:00 PM

By BEN MEYERSON
Editor

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Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap tosses up a batch of its first-place "Firecracker" hot wings. Both of Melnick’s wings won their categories, and the restaurant took home the Best of the Festival trophy for the second year in a row for its “Poncho” exotic wings.
Photos by by J. GEIL/Staff Photographer



Melanie Corbitt (left) and Jenny Johnson compete in a bid to be Queen of the Wings.

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Standing on the outskirts of a packed auditorium in the West Loop, Chris May had made a bit of a mess. His white t-shirt was dotted with sauce from chicken wings.

But it wasn’t an accident. The sauce was strategically applied in tallies, notches on his shirt for how many wings he’d eaten so far on Sunday at WingFest.

It was a marriage of practicality and braggadocio perfect for the carnivorous free-for-all.

“Napkins are pretty scarce,” said May, who lives in the Gold Coast. “We took a trip to Costco and bought a bunch of white T-shirts.”

As the West Loop has become an increasingly popular area for classy (and pricy) restaurants, populist WingFest has just finished up its seventh year at the Bailey Auditorium at 1340 W. Washington Blvd., a blue-collar stretch where it’s hard to find a building that’s not a local union’s headquarters.

On a gray and dismal late February afternoon, the weather wasn’t deterring anyone from coming out. The parking lot next to the auditorium was packed solid with cars and tour buses, and crowds gathered around the door smoking cigarettes in an escape from the raucous scene inside.

Upstairs, hordes of people swarmed the 20 restaurants that had set up shop. Reggie’s, 2105 S. State St, offered wings that were breaded and meaty, in both hot and barbecue; while the South Loop Club, 701 S. State St., offered only a hot wing, simply fried and slightly smaller.

For Reggie’s, it was their third year at WingFest, and they were hoping to place in the event’s rankings for the first time: the fest dishes out awards for the best mild, hot, barbecue and exotic wings. One of those four category winners will be taken to the next level and crowned “Best of Festival.”

“They’re a little bit jumbo,” said Nina Cassetto, a friend of Reggie’s who was helping out at the restaurant’s booth. “I eat them all the time when I go there.”

They ended up walking away with third place in the barbecue category.

But in the middle of the room, right in front of the stage, the heavy hitters had set up shop. The 2010 champions, Jake Melnick’s Corner Tap, 41 E. Superior St., were getting ready to defend their best-of-fest award.

While Melnick’s took home the trophy last year for their blazing hot “XXX” wing, they weren’t ready to rest on their laurels. In fact, they didn’t even bring any wings with the award-winning sauce to the fest, instead opting to trot out its grilled “Poncho” wing again and introducing a new “Firecracker” hot wing.

The Firecracker was a different tactic entirely for the hot category. Convinced that this year’s competitors would try to copy Melnick’s blazing trophy-earning sauce from last year’s WingFest, the restaurant decided to go in another direction.

So they took hot to a more interesting place. With main ingredients of sweet chile sauce, Sriracha chili paste, a little cilantro, and little roasted habanero, the result is a fried meaty bright orange wing with flecks of red and green. The taste? An excellent blend of sweet yet fiery spice that lingers, but not for too long.

Melnick’s other wing, the Poncho, had taken home second place in the exotic category in 2010, but the restaurant wanted to give it another shot at the gold this year. Marinated in garlic, cayenne pepper and olive oil before being cooked on a wood-burning grill, the Poncho was juicy and slightly sweet, with meat that came off the bone perfectly and finished cleanly.

“We’re re-entering it,” said Tony Bisciglia, the restaurant’s general manager. “We really believe in this wing, we think it’s a great wing. The flavor goes right through to the bone with the marinade that we do on it.”

This year, it paid off. The Poncho got the recognition Melnick’s thought the wing deserved, winning the exotic wing category and more importantly, the 2011 Best of Festival title, while the Firecracker won first place in the hot category. It’s the first time in five years that the same restaurant had won the trophy two years in a row.

Talking before his restaurant had won the award again, Bisciglia said winning the fest in 2010 had been good for business

“Oh, absolutely, you’ve gotta take the marketing opportunities,” Bisciglia said. “This event has definitely enhanced our view on the street as being a destination wing place over the last year. It’s great advertising for us on top of it being a great event for charity.”

Talking on Tuesday, two days after the fest, Matt Kubinski, WingFest’s organizer, said that the event raised about $6,000 for its charity, Chicago Neighbors United. The fund goes towards scholarships for inner city youth.

The event was a success, Kubinski said, and it’s getting more popular every year.

While WingFest used to sell out at the door, last year it sold out four days in advance. This year, it sold out 10 days before the fest. With so many hungry people to please, they’re trying to figure out how to cope with the increasing popularity — there’s a possibility they might try look for a bigger space than the Bailey Auditorium for next year, Kubinski said.

“Selling out in advance like this definitely says there’s a bigger demand,” he said. “It’s a truly Chicago event, with the beer and the overeating.”
Photos by J. GEIL/Staff Photographer



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