The story
Chicken wings were cheap scraps, mostly used for soup, until 1964 at the Anchor Bar on Main Street in Buffalo, run by Frank and Teressa Bellissimo. Family accounts differ. In one, a delivery of wings arrived by mistake instead of the backs and necks for spaghetti sauce; in another, their son Dominic wanted a midnight treat for regulars. Either way, Teressa deep-fried the wings, tossed them in hot sauce and served them with celery and blue cheese. John Young, who sold breaded wings in mumbo sauce in Buffalo from 1961, is the rival claimant. Buffalo declared a Chicken Wing Day in 1977.
Rival claims
Credited to Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar; John Young, who ran a wing restaurant in the same city in the 1960s, is the rival claimant.
Also known as Buffalo wings, Buffalo chicken wings, chicken wings.
On the Meridish menu
Hot wings was the starter course on menu No. 25 on October 25, 2026. Its clue in the game, which hints at the place without naming it:
Deep-fried chicken wings tossed in hot sauce and butter, with celery and blue-cheese dip. A family-run bar in this snowy lakeside city first served them in 1964.
In Meridish, every dish is pinned to the town or city most widely credited with creating it. A guess within 25 km scores all 100 points. How scoring works.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_wing
- wbfo.org/heritage-moments/2018-01-29/heritage-moments-the-night-they-invented-chicken-wings
Food history is often disputed. Think we've pinned it in the wrong place? Tell us at hello@meridish.com, ideally with a source.
