I'm so torn on this review. I dont know whether to give them two stars or five. Or three.

So I read in a "best of" that they had the best chicken wings in Wisconsin. I'd already tried Chicken Lips in Sun Prairie WI, which advertised the best wings, anywhere. I figured if Chicken Lips didnt beat them in best of Wisconsin, I needed to see for myself. THEN a friend posted on Facebook that they had the best wings in Milwaukee. Ok, that's confirmation, they're on my list.

I dont live in Milwaukee, but I work there occasionally. I made time en route to a recent work commitment to stop and pick up some wings, and I figured I could eat them at work. I checked their website and Google to confirm that they were open. When I got there, there was a sign on the door: NO CARRYOUT OR TO GO ORDERS. They had a bouncer at the door checking ID, and I asked him is it always no carryout? He said yes, and was kind of rude about it.

I didnt have time to eat in before work, and even if I did, the place was so jam packed I dont know where I would have sat to eat. Plus I dont like crowds. At this point, I had decided it wasnt in the cards for me to try Milwaukee/Wisconsin's supposed best wings, and planned to leave them a 2 star review for their NO CARRYOUT policy.

(I mean what is that? What possible advantage is there to turning away paying customers who arent taking up space in your establishment?!)

However I got done with work before 10pm, and their website said they served food until 11pm, so I decided to give them another chance. If Speed Queen hadnt been out of outside shoulder, it might have been a different story.

They have no parking lot and street parking is hard to find. When I got there the same rude bouncer carded me (there's no way I look remotely under 18). It was still crowded but there were some seats available and I decided to sit at the bar. The bartender was friendly and helpful. I asked, if I ordered a large amount of food, could I take leftovers to go? He said that was fine, so I ordered 18 wings, the largest portion. They have a lot of other food items but the other signature item was "garlic fries" so I also ordered a large of those.

The wings came out fairly quickly. The website had advertised "hand sauced" but these appeared to be dry, and I figured maybe they had my order wrong? However what appeared to be the a dry rub was extremely flavorful, smoky and spicy at the same time. I asked for a side of sauce. When I received the sauce I understood. The taste of the sauce is exactly the same as the taste of the wing spices. In other words, they had sauced them just enough to soak up the flavors, but not enough so that they were still wet. I appreciated that, as a lot of hot wings are WAY too wet. I still prefer SLIGHTLY more sauce than they came with, if they are not meant to be dry. If you eat your wings with ranch, as I do, they do not give you enough and you will need to ask for extra. They make the ranch in house.

My fries didnt come out until I was almost done with my wings (and I ate more than half of them). The garlic fries are fresh, crispy fries topped with minced garlic and something else (oil? sauce?) The combination is VERY good if you like garlic. But you HAVE to like garlic. The garlic taste is very strong. I presume there are no vampires left within 90 miles of Milwaukee. I brought some home, and my wife, who was asleep in bed with the door closed, woke up and said "what smells like garlic?" Both of us love garlic, but if you dont-- steer clear. Also, they do well dipped in the ranch.

NOW FOR THE WING RANKING.

Best wings in Wisconsin: Sweet Honey Chilli Glazed Wings from That BBQ Joint in Madison:

Best hot/buffalo wings in Wisconsin: Original wings (dry rub with sauce) from Chicken Lips in Sun Prairie

This place MIGHT make third place. Second if you only count hot wings.

And if you like dry wings, go to Monte Carlo in Minneapolis. I've been thinking about those wings since I left there.