Food Review: Wings Over Columbus (near OSU campus)

I got out of work yesterday and had a hankering for some made-to-order chicken wings. So, I went to Wings Over Columbus for dinner. It's a small place that's literally an order window, a three-seat booth, and a small TV surrounded by vintage pictures of airplanes. To go with the whole airplane theme, combinations of wings were named after famous planes such as the "DC-10" and "F-16." Additionally, they also sell ribs and wraps.

For my meal I ordered three flavors of wings: sweet onion BBQ (sauce), garlic parmasean (dry dusted), and mustang ranch (dry dusted). The wings were large, plump, and very juicy. However, I was quite disappointed by the lack of distinct flavor of the sauces and how much I could still taste "just the chicken." In fact, I couldn't tell the difference in taste between the garlic parmasean and mustang ranch and thought for a moment that I was only given two flavors. It was only the contrasting colors of seasonings that confirmed that I indeed had three flavors. For sides, I think they could've done better with their french fries. It was obvious that they were frozen, and they look like the same ones served by Raising Cane's Chicken Fingers.

I ate at the small booth; I was on a motorcycle and was pretty hungry. My hands were a little grungy after delving into the chicken and standard paper napkins weren't enough. I was surprised that they were unable to supply me wet towelettes or even a cup of water (they were going to charge me $1 for a bottled one). So I guess this place was truly for "take-out" only. I would've expected a place that sold wings and ribs, or any food place that serves messy food for that matter, to have those BBQ-eating necessities.

I will still stand by my opinion that the Wing Stop chain has, by far, the best tasting wings anywhere that I've been. If you're looking to feed a crowd at a tailgate, this place would work just fine; they offer wing deals for large parties. However, for extra-tasty personal indulgence, there are many other wing-based restaurants out there to enjoy with better tasting wings and flavored sauces. Looks like I'm going to have ride 165 miles north to Mentor-on-the-Lake, OH for a tasting of the good stuff at Wing Stop, the only location in the entire state of Ohio; that or just go back to one of the over 50 locations in CA.