Wings Reviewed: Hot

Genre: Place That Serves Wings

Overview: Now that all of my siblings are too old to be removed from my parents’ custody, so I think it’s finally safe to admit that we ate a lot of meals at bars growing up. This could be the reason that bar food may be my favorite genre of food. Among the bars that we’ve dined at, Schottzie’s was far and away the family’s #1 choice. Many birthdays and other family celebrations have occurred here.

Now that my father has celiac (and a blog to match) we don’t get out to Schottzie’s as a family much any more, but we still find occasions to go as siblings. Last night my brother and his boyfriend were in town, but my parents were out of town, so it seemed like as good of time as any for an STLWingReview treatment.

Nuts and bolts: Schottzie’s is a casual bar near the intersection of Tesson Ferry and Lindburgh. It doesn’t smell like smoke anymore, but I think it did for months after the smoking ban went into effect. They’ve got plenty of TVs for sports games. The service is dependably not great. BUT you can get 5 pounds of wings and a pitcher of beer for $24.95. They offer BBQ & Mustard Sauce as alternative sauce choices, and I’ve never tried either of those. Their draft beer selection is limited. I’ve been here more times in my life than I could estimate.

Hot Wings

BAD • FAIR • GOOD • GREAT • BEST

The most defining characteristic of Schottzie’s wings is that they are small. They are the smallest chicken wings I’ve ever eaten. While some people may see this as a negative, for me it is perhaps their greatest asset. Small wings mean more surface area for frying. More frying means more crispiness. Small wings also mean that you’ve always got room for one more, and so you’re more likely to eat an absurd amount of them, and end up with an impressive pile of bones in front of you.

Their buffalo sauce is middle-of-the-road to mild on a hot buffalo scale. I’ve never eaten these wings with someone who found them too spicy. The sauce may be a little heavier on the butter than the hot sauce.

The premise of STLWingReview is that I review the wings I’m currently eating, and not my memories of wings I’ve eaten in the past. And so I have to say that I’m disappointed that I can’t give Schottzie’s the Best that I wanted to. The wings I got were a little overcooked and a little under-sauced, leaving everything just a little too dry. That said, if I were going to Schottzie’s, I’d absolutely make wings a part of my order. When I come back for a follow-up review, I expect to revise this rating to BEST.

Visited at 6:00pm, 8/13/2013, 11428 Concord Village Ave, 63123