A quick stop at University Chicken - Santa Clara, CA

Was on a work trip in the Bay Area last week and was able to sneak away for an hour to check out University Chicken right off of Santa Clara's campus. All-in-all it was a pretty solid visit. The wings were very large and fresh, but slightly breaded and I think I'm done with breading. Pictures below and you can read the full review at the bottom of the California page in the Internet Hot Wing Database: http://www.cluckbucket.com/ihwdbresults.asp?state=CA

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
http://www.cluckbucket.com/

Friends of Cluck (Noe, Bill, and Kristen) outside of University Chicken

Batch of wings from University Chicken

Cluckbucket Featured in BusinessWeek

Fire on the Mountain and Cluckbucket.com were recently featured in a BusinessWeek article about local restaurant success tactics and the burgeoning wing scene in Portland. It was reported in the article that in just it's third year of business, FOTM has topped $1M in revenues. I guess Portland is a sustainable wing town afterall...

Check out the article at the link below:

Restaurateurs Don't Just Wing It

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
http://www.cluckbucket.com/

PS: Check out The Smash wing eating technique at http://www.cluckbucket.com/ucluck2/wingeating/smash.htm

Wing Bowl 16 - Right Around the Corner

Christmas and New Years have come and gone, that can only mean one thing - the annual Wing Bowl in Phillidelphia is right around the corner. This year's event, Wing Bowl 16 will be held bright and early (as usual) from 6:00-10:00 am on Friday, February 1st.

The key match-up to watch this year is 5-time champion El Wingador (Bill Simmons) and the reigning champion and world record holder Joey Chestnut. Last year Chestnut beat his own record by devouring 182 wings in 30 minutes. The local favorite, El Wingador hopes to bring the Wing Bowl crown back to Philly by employing unique form and technique during the battle. Speaking of wing eating techniques, check out the Cluckbucket wing eating techniques on uCluck2.

Think you'd like to attend the event? Well, think again, the 15,000 tickets for Wing Bowl 16 sold out in roughly 45 minutes. The best you can do at this point is stay tuned on our blog and at the Philly.com website below for complete coverage:

Philly.com Wing Bowl

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
www.cluckbucket.com

Brooklyn Restaurant Holds First Ever Vegan Buffalo Wing Eating Contest

A vegan restaurant in Brooklyn is going to hold the first ever "Vegan Buffalo Wing Eating Contest" on Wednesday, January 16 at 6:00. It should be interesting to see how much publicity this event gets because of its novelty concept.

Check out the story here:
Brooklyn Restaurant Holds First Ever Vegan Buffalo Wing Eating Contest

I'm all for it, but I rather they call it the first ever "Fake Chicken Buffalo Wing Sauce Flavored Eating Contest".

Peace, love, and real deep fried chicken grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
www.cluckbucket.com

The Chicken Wing Project

So check this out, this guy Phred Barnet reached out to me last month and apparently he has an annual tradition, to eat nothing but chicken wings for the month of January. He successfully completed this feat back in January of 2007 and has decided to make a cluck of it again in 2008. He's about a third of the way through the journey and has eclipsed the 200 wing mark - apparently he is pacing himself - something I can definitely empathize with after knocking back roughly 70 wings in one day back at the National Buffalo Wing Festival.

So Phred, congrats and best of luck from your friends of the Cluckbucket!

You can follow along with Phred's journey at:
The Chicken Wing Project

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
www.cluckbucket.com

Portland, OR Wing Wars Continue

A friend sent me some recent blog posts that had comparisons of the wing joints in Portland, OR. Very interesting read, and I'm very to glad that there are others as obsesed about chicken wings in Portland as I am. Overall I agree with the Blogger's assessment, Fire on the Mountain still is my favorite wing joint in Portland and I can't wait to see what happens when they open up their second location. I still must admit that I haven't yet had wings from Biggs Brothers Wing Shack but I have heard very very good things about them. Maybe this lovely football weekend will be my time...

Nonetheless, here are the links to the recent wing reviews in Portland and a link to the wing recap that I wrote a few months ago (just in case you forgot about it...)

Comparison of Buffalo Wild Wings to Fire on the Mountain:
http://portland.metblogs.com/archives/2007/12/wings_in_portla.phtml

Comparison of the Wing Stop to Fire on the Mountain:
http://portland.metblogs.com/archives/2008/01/the_wing_wars_c.phtml

Cluckbucket.com Portland Wing Roundup:
http://cluckbucket.blogspot.com/search/label/portland%20oregon%20wing%20round-up

Peace, love, and grease!
Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth

Fire On the Mountain 2

Fire On the Mountain, hands down the best wing joint in Portland, and perhaps the best wing joint on the entire West Coast is set to open their second location in the near future - hopefully by the end of January.

The new location will be at 18th and E. Burnside.

In an Oregonian article, the owners cite Cluckbucket.com as their reason for coming to Portland...

Platter: Food Finds, Restaurant Reviews and Dining Trends- OregonLive.com

2007 Wing Lover's Holiday Wish List

Give the Gift of Wing

Cluckbucket.com proudly presents the 2007 Wing Lover's Holiday Wish List. We've searched high and low for the perfect items that will impress and delight newbie and experienced wing lovers alike. Whether you are looking for something big like a outdoor propane wing/turkey fryer or a stocking stuffer like a three-pack of original Anchor Bar wing sauces, we've got you covered in Cluckbucket style.

> Check out the 2007 Wing Lover's Holiday Wish List

An amazing wing sauce - Suck Creek Wings

I also had a chance to taste a killer new wing sauce that was sent out to me from Tennessee, Suck Creek Wings. They make original, medium, and spicy BBQ flavors and they are all fantastic, but the original is my favorite.

Read the official Cluckbucket review at the link below:

Cluckbucket Review: Suck Creek Wings

Peace, love, and grease!
Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth

PS: If you have a wing sauce that you'd like for me to review, let me know and we'll gladly taste it and then do a write-up on the site.

See our other wing sauce reviews.

A new way to serve wings - The SnacDaddy

There's a new serving tray that is taking the world of wings by storm. I recently had a chance to do an official Cluckbucket review and was very impressed with how it performed. At first I didn't think it would be all that cool, but then once I started building a boneyard in the middle, I was very amazed.

Check out the review at the link below:

Cluckbucket Review: The SnacDaddy



Peace, love, and grease!
Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth

New Kettle Chips Bring the Heat

Kettle Foods has just started their annual People's Choice awards (where they let their fans pick the next flavor that they bring to market) and I was able to get my hands on an early batch of the chips to give them a try. This year's campaign, called "Fire and Spice" consists of the following flavors:

• Wicked Hot Sauce
• Mango Chili
• Jalepeno Salsa Fresca
• Orange Ginger Wasabi
• Death Valley Chipotle

I held a taste test with some of my co-workers as well as some of my wing-eating friends at the Oregon State football game, here's how things netted out.

The Clear Winner: Mango Chili

At both tasting parties these chips were pretty much the clear crowd favorite. They have a really nice combination of both sweetness and spiciness and aren't by any means overbearing in their heat. I really thing this chip is a winner, we'll see what happens when the rest of the world votes.

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The Runner Up: Death Valley Chipotle
This was the chip that was the most intriuging to me coming out of the bag. The name had me sold that this would be my favorite chip and it is very very good. Unfortunately in my mind, and the mind of almost everybody else, the smoky spicy flavor of this chip just didn't quite live up to the uniqueness of the Mango Chili. That said, I really think Kettle could have a winner on it's hands with this chip, so it shouldn't be dismissed.

The Rest: Jalepeno Salsa Fresca, Wicked Hot Sauce, and Orange Ginger Wasabi

I can wrap up my comments on these three pretty quickly, good, pretty good, and terrible in that order. The Jalepeno Salsa Fresca had a great flavor and to me tasted very similar to the Death Valley Chipotle but not quite as good. The Wicked Hot Sauce chips were good, but were also just pretty plain, Kettle can do much better. And finally, my least favorite of them all was Orange Ginger Wasabi. I have to admit that I'm not a big wasabi fan to start with, but even the rest of the tasters thought that these were pretty bad.

But, why take my word for it, order up a box for yourself (you can get them online through Kettle's web site for $15/total) and then go to the Kettle campaign website and cast your vote:

http://fireandspice.kettlefoods.com/

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth

The Chip and Wing Eating Crew

Me and the Oregon Fryer Commission Chicken

I'm Back - Bring on the Chicken

Hi Cluckbucket Friends-

Just wanted to let you know that I've finally come out of the lingering wing coma that I was in following the National Buffalo Wing Festival. Actually, I wasn't just off the wings, but I was also travelling a good amount for work (not to any great wing cities, although I did manage to sneak away to a Wingstop in Las Vegas) so I wasn't able to get much accomplished in the wing world.

That said, I'm back, and had a great wing experience this weekend in Corvallis, OR at the Oregon State/Stanford football game. I was able to test out a couple of different sauces that have been sent out to me and also do a review of a new wing serving tray called the SnacDaddy - very cool.

I'll try to get all of the pictures and the reviews up on the site within the next week.

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
http://www.cluckbucket.com/

Sonya Thomas interview on CNN Headline News

Here's an interview with Sonya Thomas that was done a day after she demolished the chicken wing eating world record by putting away an estimated 173 wings in just 12 minutes.

Watch the video.

Cluckbucket cited on Wikipedia

Mention of the Smash and Small Bone Twist eating techniques have made it as a reference in the buffalo wing entry on Wikipedia.

Take a look for yourself by clicking here.

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
http://www.cluckbucket.com/

How to treat a woman

A good friend sent this over, we are simple creatures aren't we...especially when there are wings involved.

How to treat a Woman:

Wine her. Dine her. Call her. Hold her. Surprise her. Compliment her. Smile at her. Listen to her. Laugh with her. Cry with her. Romance her. Encourage her. Believe in her. Pray with her. Pray for her. Cuddle with her. Shop with her. Give her jewelry. Buy her flowers. Hold her hand. Write love letters to her. Go to the ends of the earth and back again for her.

How To Treat a Man: Show up naked. Bring chicken wings. Don't block the TV.

Nice work Brew, go '82 Cardinals.

Cluckbucket featured in new book - The Armchair Quarterback Playbook

Cluckbucket.com is being featured in a new book that just hit the shelves by Christopher Lee Barish called, The Armchair Quarterback Playbook. The book dubs itself as the ultimate guide to watching football and includes such content from the Cluckbucket as our wing eating techniques (the smash and the small bone twist), wing recipes, and several terms from our hot wing dictionary. You can find the book at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Borders, or you can buy it online for 20% off through the Cluckbucket.com store.

> Buy the book now.

Book Description: Every weekend from August through January, 25 million Americans plop into their Lay-Z-Boys, crack open a beer, and watch football on television. At last, here is an illustrated book that celebrates their pastime and codifies their culture of extreme devotion like no other. The Armchair Quarterback Playbook is both hilarious and authentic, and is designed like a real football playbook complete with modified X and O diagrams. Everything a stay-at-home fan needs to know is here: how to redirect an interfering spouse ("The Listen and Respond Fake"), methods for keeping children at bay ("Intentional Grounding), equipment and etiquette tips, game food recipes, armchair quarterback vernacular, and more. Written by a certified "AQ," this is the perfect book for the football fanatic.

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About the Author: Christopher Lee Barish has watched more than 20,000 hours of football since age seven. He lives in New York.

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Visit the Armchair Quarterback Playbook website.

National Buffalo Wing Festival - Media Coverage

The National Buffalo Wing Festival 2007 was a smashing success. The attendance was the highest ever and over 25 tons of wings were cooked and consumed. We've pulled together some of the highlights of the media coverage so that you can read up on what happened:

Wing Fest 2007 - One for the Record Books
National Buffalo Wing Festival 2007 - Day One Recap - video
Buffalo Wing Festival and beautiful day attract thousands
No ‘wingin’ it’ on sauces for old pals
Wisp of a Woman Is a Wiz at Wing Eating
Wing fest returns for Labor Day weekend

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
http://www.cluckbucket.com/

The Great Chicken Wing Hunt - Media Coverage

The Great Chicken Wing Hunt is over, but the media coverage of this epic event/documentary in the making is just beginning. I've complied some of the highlights of the media coverage so that you can follow along with the action:

Central N.Y. restaurant's wings named the best by filmmaker
Seneca Falls chef's wings are winners
Great Chicken Wing Hunt hits Auburn
Group searches for best chicken wing
Man sings about chicken wings
Hunt Minstrel Al Caster sings "All of Me"

Peace, love, and grease!

Scott "The Cluckbucket" Roth
http://www.cluckbucket.com/

Labor Day Wing Tour by the Numbers

Here are a few random numbers from this past weekend to astonish, amaze, and disturb you:

• 500,000 = the estimated number of wings that were consumed over the weekend (the weight was 25 tons)
• 20 = the number of industrial deep fryers that cooked the 500,000 wings
• 27,000 = the estimated number of wings that the deep fryers could put out every hour
• 74,000 = the number of people that attended the festival on Saturday and Sunday
• 450 = the number of company owned and franchise Buffalo Wild Wing restaurants in existence (the co-founders of the restaurant were inducted into the National Buffalo Wing Hall of Flame on Friday night)
• 120 = the estimated number of wings that I consumed on Friday and Saturday
  173 = the estimated number of wings that Sonya Thomas consumed in 12 minutes (which was a new world record)
  1,500 = the estimated number of wings that Ben "The Mighty Thor" Beavers consumed during the 15 day wing hunt from Manhattan to Buffalo
  850 = the estimated number of wings that the average wing hunter consumed

Weekend Recap and Thoughts Moving Forward:

This post really isn’t a recap of the weekend’s activities (since I think I’ve already done a pretty decent job of documenting the details in previous posts) but is more a few final thoughts on some recurring themes from the weekend and a note of thanks.

Let’s start with the note of thanks. First of all, oh behalf of both Steve and I, we would like to thank our wives (Kama and Allie) for letting us go on this journey. It was a great “activity” for Steve and I to do together and was pretty much a once in a lifetime opportunity that we really appreciate you letting us capitalize on.

The next note of thanks goes to the Wing King, Drew Cerza. We are very gracious to Drew for inviting us to be involved in many of the activities throughout the weekend – the pre-party for the festival, the wing judging, the channel 7 news interview, and the event itself. It’s evident from meeting Drew in person that he has a true passion for the wing and more importantly has a heart that is in the right place, even though the main focus of the event is to promote the goodness of the buffalo wing, Drew is really using that as a front to provide a venue that allows the people of Buffalo (and all the rest of us outsiders) to gather for two days and simply have some good family friendly fun – and that is truly something that he should be proud of.



The next note of thanks goes out to all of the places where we consumed wings this weekend. There are too many to name, and while we are happy to have gotten to eat your establishment’s prized wings, we’re also pissed at you because our bodies hurt right now and we don’t want to eat any other wings for a long time… :-)

The final note of thanks goes out to a group of devoted wing lovers who gave up 14 days (plus travel plus bodily recuperation time) of their lives to journey from Manhattan to Buffalo on the quest to find the best buffalo wing in the world. Your mental stamina and intestinal fortitude are truly amazing and we were honored to get to share some of the closing moments of the journey with you. And to Matt Reynolds, the leader of the pack, I think you summed things up pretty appropriately on the phone this morning when you said “it’s nice to meet a couple of guys that are so deeply passionate about the wing – but at the same time are actually pretty normal”. The same goes from us to you. Your outward passion for the wing is obvious, but even more impressive to us are a couple of things that we saw in you that might not always get noticed (1) the amount of time and energy that you have poured into envisioning, creating, planning, and coordinating the Great Chicken Wing Hunt is simply amazing and should not go unrecognized, (2) the quality of the individuals that you brought together and level of friendship that you shared with the hunters – even through the tough times - showed that you are a true leader, and finally (3) your composure under pressure and all of the elements that you had to deal with proves that you are in this for all of the right reasons, because somebody that was going through this process to simply make a buck, would have given up a long time ago. It was an extreme pleasure for us to get to know you and again we thank you for welcoming us into your wing team with open arms.


Now to a few of the takeaways from the weekend and we will intentionally keep this short because we will be following up these concepts with more in-depth discussions on this blog over the next couple of weeks.

1. There seems to be a bit of a divide amongst wing enthusiasts that we believe needs to be debated more thoroughly and that is this seemingly simple question - how far can a buffalo wing sauce recipe deviate from the original ingredients and still be considered a “traditional buffalo wing”? Sub-question – novelty/specialty wing flavors, how far is too far, seriously…?

2. Another question worth discussion – the boneless buffalo wing, is it an abomination of everything that is right about the buffalo wing, or a way to strategically spread the influence of the wing to others that may not be likely candidates to consume real wings”? Sub-question – do people that are introduced to boneless buffalo wings eventually graduate into consuming real wings, or do they simply stay boneless wing lovers for life?

3. And finally (for now), with all due respect to the people of Buffalo (and the rest of the original wing region) I’m going to make a generalization that won’t accurately catch everyone’s opinion but is a reflection of what I witnessed through numerous conversations in my 48 hours in Buffalo – the people of this region do not believe that good traditional buffalo wings can be found pretty much anywhere else in the world other than inside their region. And while I will not argue with you that your region is clearly the home of the wing, and the strongest overall wing region in the world, based on my experience of eating wings in many of the 49 other states and a few other countries – the wings that are being produced there are just as good, if not better in many cases than the ones that are coming out of your region. I know that this statement won’t be a popular one for many people to read, but I simply think that it’s time that we all begin to realize that the buffalo wing is reaching a state of maturity – where eateries in other regions have been able to not only reproduce the amazing work that you’ve pioneered, but they’ve also been able to evolve the wing to new levels that you might not be aware of – but may be pleased to experience…

As I said, much more to come on these three and many other topics, but for now we welcome your comments and thoughts…

Peace, love, and grease!

The Roth Brothers (Scott and Steve “The CluckBucket” Roth)
http://www.cluckbucket.com/