Fire Wings

Over the past 20 years, chicken wings grew from regional obscurity to national ubiquity, largely thanks to entrepreneurs who exported and built upon Buffalo’s traditional hot sauce and butter recipe by offering alternate flavors. Few chains cared as much about getting the traditional sauce “right” as finding marketable alternatives to draw people in, so there’s a lot more variability in “Buffalo wings” outside Buffalo than within it. At the same time, the multiplication of wing chains and increasing demand for wings worked together to drive up wing prices, despite the fact that much of what was now being served was not particularly good.

Fire Wings is one of only two chains we’ve found in Orange County that offers truly authentic Buffalo wing sauces, a feat that’s even more impressive because its other flavors are equally compelling in flavor. Bone in or boneless, its spicy satay-like Peanut Butter wings manage to have just enough true peanut flavor without tasting gloopy or gross, Saigon Street is a scallion, honey, and fish sauce bomb, and Thai Chili wings similarly evoke the best sweet and spicy elements of Thai chicken dishes. While not every flavor is a hit, these (and others) are so delicious that even a former Buffalonian can order them alongside authentic wings without complaints. We aren’t as enthusiastic about the chain’s uninspired dry rub wings, but they’re only 1/3 of the 21-flavor menu.