20th Annual Easter Seals Wing Ding- Posted 8/26/08
Holiday Inn Expo Center
The Chicken Wing. Grilled, bbq'd, boneless, naked, spun, fried, battered. It doesn't matter we all love them. The 20th Annual Easter Seals Wing Ding was was a blast! All you ould eat wings from many of mid-Missouri's best restaurants.
The fanfare was brought down a bit when some of the contenders underestimated demand and ran out of wings. However others stepped up with enough wings to satisfy everyone. Throw in the live music, karaoke, a room full of men, women, and children covered in wing sauce, and you have a recipe for a great time. 
The Wing Ding brought out the best from Lee's Famous Recipe, Truman's Bar & Grill, The Sports Zone, Bennigan's, Hemingway's, Outback Steakhouse, Smokin' Chicks, and Hooters. Many of the restaurants offered up at least two different styles.
Lee's brought boneless, breaded, and naked wings. Two choices for flavor; a spicy sauce that kicked and a teriyaki wing with a slight sweetness. Both were excellent choices brought by Lee's.
Truman's Bar & Grill had the most choices and what seemed to be the longest lines. They offered Hawaiian, Berry Hot and Thai on fried wings. I'm a big fan of spice in general, but anytime you can mix a fruit with some kick, I'm in. The Hawaiian and Berry Hot caught my attention and I went back for seconds...maybe thirds.
The Sports Zone had the most interesting wing, a fried green chili wing. The consensus was you either liked it or you didn't. I did, but not at first. It was a sneaky jolt that pushed its way into your senses after a few "that's not so bad" seconds. A unique and clever wing that I will try again.
Bennigan's came to the Wing Ding with two choices. The first was an orange glazed boneless wing that was topped with sesame seeds. It had a refreshing citrus zing that teamed well with a savory spice. Bennigan's second offering was their famous Guinness glazed wings. Always a staple at the restaurant, these boneless wings are meaty, sticky, and full of taste.
Hemingway's, Outback, Hooters and TGI Friday's filled out the rest of the field and each brought their own unique take on one of America's favorite finger foods. When all the votes were tallied, here is who came out on top.
Best-seasoned wing went to Hooter's while best BBQ style wing was picked up by Truman's Bar & Grill. The meatiest wing was awarded to TGI Friday's. The judges had more "hard" work to do by picking tastiest wings over all. 3rd place for tastiest went to Truman's Bar & Grill, 2nd to TGI Friday's and Tastiest Wing over all was awarded to Smokin' Chicks. Of course the most coveted award might be the People's Choice award and the big winner was Truman's Bar & Grill.
Women have their diamond rings and men have their chicken wings. The bigger the better and the good ones we show to our friends. Of course nobody needs to save two months salary for a wing. The 20th Annual Easter Seals Wing Ding was a great success with a lot of money raised, a lot of wings eaten, and a lot of saucy smiles from full bellies all across Columbia.
You be the judge...tell us who had the best wings!
Click on your choice below to write a review.
Adam L.
Food Evangelist
foodevangelist@midmodiningguide.com
MidMoDiningGuide.com
From time to time, we are going to spotlight an area restaurant. Let us know who we should spotlight. We'll also take into account which restaurant has the highest overall rating from you, our guest.
