Jugos Acapulco with Wings
Mexican-flavored and ultra-hot chicken wings were the specialties of this Santa Ana bar
As lifelong fans of chicken wings – Buffalo wings, American fried chicken, Korean-style, or otherwise – we love seeing places experiment with fried chicken, though in our experience, there’s a lot more room for experimentation than success. It takes a lot for us to actually want to recommend “yet another wing place,” but Jugos Acapulco with Wings was an actual standout thanks to some wild flavors and great burgers.
One of its creations was a wing with one of the spiciest sauces we’ve ever tasted, based on Taca-Bron hot sauce (@tacabron_hotsauce), which traced back to an obscure website and is guaranteed to light up even the most heat-resistant mouth. We’re convinced that there has to be an interesting story behind how Jugos Acapulco wound up in possession of this sauce and decided to use it for wings, because it would have been eating competition-worthy if it was properly marketed.
What we really loved here was Jugos Acapulco’s use of Mexican flavors, including chocolatey mole, tamarind, and pineapple habanero, which tasted exactly as one would expect from their names, bringing new flavors to the chicken wing world (even though they are familiar to fans of Latin cuisines) and rewarding adventurous wing fans. There were also more conventional choices.
Jugos Acapulco with Wings was an offshoot of a small chain called Jugos Acapulco, adding the “with Wings” concept to see how a bar and wing shop would do. It closed after roughly three years, but remains one of our favorite Orange County wing establishments.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2020
Closed: 2023
Addresses
307 E. First St. Suite 1-C
Santa Ana, CA 92701
Instagram: @jugosacapulcowithwings