If you don’t already have plans to host your own Super Bowl party—or attend someone else’s—you’re probably banking on catching the big game in one of the city’s numerous watering holes. But when it comes down to it, a place that serves great food is almost as essential—if not more—than a place with a wide selection of good booze. And of course, when it comes to the pub grub game, wings reign supreme. Below, DCist writers name their favorite places to get wings and other pub grub around the D.C. area.
Photo used under a Creative Commons license with scaredy_kat.
SMOKE & BARREL’S VEGAN WINGS: “Vegan Wings? WTF? Wings can’t be vegan! Name them something else! I hate vegetarians!” (Now that that’s out of your system…) I’m a vegetarian who loves me some sauces, and buffalo wing sauce is on the top of that list. I would eat buffalo wing sauce on cauliflower or pretty much anything and it would be delectable. The team at Smoke & Barrel have perfected the buffalo blue sauce, and it’s so freaking good, I might have to go tonight because I’m salivating writing this. The buffalo blue sauce is not vegan (it has cheese in it), but vegans can pick between dry BBQ, wet BBQ and muddy BBQ, which are also good. I always stick with the buffalo blue and hope the waiter shows up with a vat of it. The vegan “wings” are meaty and textured enough to sop up the sauce, and the “meat” is wrapped around a little wooden handle so you can pretend you’re not making a mess while devouring. These things are so good, even two very picky meat-eating friends once quipped, “pretty good, I’d eat that.” Okay, maybe not a ringing endorsement, but the SAUCE!
Second Place: Boundary Stone’s vegan wings are more like seitan vittles than “wings,” and also damn tasty. — Lynne Venart
Smoke & Barrel is located at 2471 18th St. NW.
FRIED CHICKEN WINGS AT PETWORTH CITIZEN: Petworth Citizen’s eclectic menu tends toward the more elevated side of bar food, with queso fundido and chips sharing the page with a butternut squash salad and a roasted beet sandwich. But the one item not to miss is the fried chicken wings. A lot of bar wings have a thick exterior of breading and sticky sauce covering up some pretty bland meat. Petworth Citizen has solved the wing conundrum by marinating their birds in a mixture of soy, ginger, and garlic. The result is an Asian-inspired party in your mouth as the salty, garlicky flavor permeates the meat down to the bone. There’s no clunky layer of breading or gobs of sauce, but it’s no matter; these wings shine on their own, swaddled in a crisp, brown layer of fried chicken skin. — Alicia Mazzara
Petworth Citizen is located at 829 Upshur St. NW.
THE WINGS AT DUFFY’S IRISH PUB: Duffy’s has been the gold standard of ‘best of wings’ lists in this city for years because of how unique they are. They aren’t buffalo wings with a typical hot sauce and butter blend. Nor are they smoked with some thai or asian-style blend. Their traditional sauce—a secret, house-blended, peppery mix—is ladled gently atop the chicken. Start with the most heavily sauced ones, and as the others sit and get pushed around, they’ll roll around through the excess sauce and to get a perfectly coated consistency. Note: Duffy’s says on their website that orders for take-out for the Super Bowl must be placed by this Friday so they can keep pace with demand. Plan accordingly. — Josh Novikoff
Duffy’s Irish Pub is located at 2106 Vermont Ave. NW.
THE WINGS AT NANNY O’BRIENS: While many of the local “Irish” pubs in the area offer subpar fare—along with the obligatory Guinness pints plus generic American swill beer for the recent college grads to suck down while singing along to a painfully mediocre version of some Jimmy Buffet atrocity—Nanny O’Briens sets an example for a quality Irish-inspired bar with great food, and a solid beer list to match. But the highlight of this Cleveland Park neighborhood gem is their wings. With three heat levels of buffalo sauce to keep the purists happy and the wings really shine when other sauces or rubs lose flavor. A vibrant Caribbean jerk gives a subtle heat and still lets the quality of the chicken wing shine through. The cherry pepper sauce gives a sweetness with mild heat while still staying bright and lively. Meaty wings that taste great and stay crispy? Even I’ll make the trek over to Cleveland Park for that. — John Fleury
Nanny O’Briens is located at 3319 Connecticut Ave. NW.
BOUNDARY STONE: There are few places in D.C. that manage to pull off serving slightly upscale, quality pub fare without coming off too pretentious. Luckily for us, Boundary Stone pulls it off and they pull it off well. Bar bites like deviled eggs (often prepared differently from day-to-day) and fried pickles don’t weigh you down like they often can. Wings with a balanced honey-based hot sauce are a crowd pleaser and also come as a vegan option. Even carnivores (myself included) would be impressed with the crispy goodness of the seitan “wings” and I think that is indicative of the quality throughout all of the menu items. For those wanting more of a meal, indulge in burgers with Balsamic caramelized onions, pickled beets, and locally produced bleu cheese. There’s also the DC Brau can-roasted chicken sandwiches, and locally-made half smokes from 13th St. meats. Everything makes for solid meal choices at this Bloomingdale watering hole. — John Fleury
Boundary Stone is located at 116 Rhode Island Ave. NW.
DC9: As much as DC9 is known as a revered music venue it’s celebrated for their excellent menu, which can best be described as “traditional pub grub with flare.” Hush puppies, fried pickles, and garlic fries highlight DC9’s small bites portion of the menu, but the bar’s true claim to fame is its burgers. I’m a big fan of “The Herbert,” which combines fried green tomatoes, applewood bacon, and Tabasco aioli atop a plump patty, but the “Black Smith”—rubbed with Cajun spices and topped with bleu cheese, caramelized onions, and blacken aioli—is a close second. Next time your at DC9—for a show or whatever—make plans to grab dinner beforehand. It’s worth it. — Matt Cohen
DC9 is located at 1940 9th St. NW.
Photo by Ronnie R.
GALAXY HUT: This legendary bar was once the center of Clarendon’s bustling music scene in the ’90s and early aughts, hosting an array of indie bands over the years. Although Arlington is no longer the hub of local music as it once was, Galaxy Hut is still going strong. That’s due in part to their solid menu, which includes a long list of specialty grilled cheese sandwiches, cheesesteaks, frankfurters, and—my personal favorite—eggplant fries. Seriously, I could eat those eggplant fries all day if I had to. — Matt Cohen
Galaxy Hut is located at 2711 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va.
LOOKING GLASS LOUNGE: The Looking Glass Lounge’s food isn’t fancy or unique, but it’s good and dependable, and what more could you ask for from a bar? There’s a well-made BLT (though with avocado it can almost be too big to eat), the chicken sandwich on ciabatta with avocado and sprouts is tasty and seems vaguely healthy, and the club sandwich is the best club sandwich I’ve ever had. They also have curly fries, and it’s hard not to like curly fries. — Andrew Wiseman
Looking Glass Lounge is located at 3634 Georgia Ave. NW.
THE WINGS AT COMET PING PONG: I’m not a huge fan of wings (I know, I know, what the hell is wrong with me?), but, holy shit, Comet’s wings are unlike any others I’ve had. They’re rubbed in this smokey blend of cracked peppercorn, vinegar, and a bunch of other spices that I’ve contemplated many times. I think there’s some garlic in their, molasses even? They’re spicy, but not overbearingly so. To boot, there’s a delicious horseradish dipping sauce that compliments the wings beautifully. Get into it. — Matt Cohen
Comet Ping Pong is located at 5037 Connecticut Ave. NW.
