CLT Eats – A Charlotte Restaurant Review

Main Seating Area

Ever since the untimely demise of the Dilworth Wing Ranch I’ve had a personal quest to find a reasonable substitute. I have to preface this by saying that I wasn’t actually looking for a place to get wings exactly, although I do enjoy wings from time to time. What I was actually hoping to do was find a tasty yet viciously hot sauce replacement AND that place have a particularly appealing blue cheese dipping sauce AND have a particularly well balanced boneless wing that would best facilitate transmitting these two sauces. My quest has lasted literally for years but now I believe that I may have now finally found a pretty darn close substitute.

A friend suggested a little hole-in-the-wall place that I hadn’t previously heard of called Wing King Cafe waaay out S. Tryon at Carowinds Blvd. I agreed, still eager to fill the hot sauce and blue cheese void that has been unsatisfied all these years. I got there a hair early and stood outside admiring the peeling vinyl sign and unimpressive mini strip shopping center in which it was located. I peered in the windows and saw what appeared to be the same clientele that were at the Wing Ranch. All of this was a very good omen.

Once inside and seated I scanned the menu and was able to isolate what I wanted but wanted to ensure that I was getting the hottest sauce available so when the waitress took our order I asked what the hottest sauce was. She informed me that the “Smoke’n Hot” isn’t on the menu but is the hottest sauce they have. BINGO! As I waited for my order to arrive I ran through all of the disappointing replacements I’d tried and began to get a bit concerned that this would be yet another failed attempt. After some time our meals arrived and as the baskets were passed out the familiar eye-watering and cough-inducing vapors were streaming off our orders. I dug in quickly and scarfed down my meal, sniffling and chasing with sweet tea. I felt victorious in finally achieving my goal yet somewhat disappointed that the hunt was over.

Since my first visit the Wing King has become a weekly visit for lunch despite taking nearly 30 minutes to get there. I haven’t strayed from my signature meal although I’ve had some different appetizers such as onion rings, jalapeno poppers, stuffed mushrooms, and cheese fries. The poppers were terrible, even the waitress said so when I stopped a friend of mine from attempting to order them on a subsequent visit. The stuffed mushrooms were uneventful. The onion rings were awesome with a spicy batter over thick-cut rings and come piled up in a large basket. The fries are your standard crinkle-cut variety but are prepared well despite their frozen origins, especially when smothered in cheese. My friends rave about the wings and the plentiful variety of sauces you can get them covered in, especially the Honey Hot.

Aside from being extremely inconvenient to get to for me at lunch the only other downside I can report is that parking is usually pretty slim so it’s best to get there a little early, especially on Friday’s which seem to be always slammed. This is definitely a rough-and-tumble sort of spot to dine but sometimes that’s the only thing that’ll do at the time, and for me that time comes once a week.

Pros

• Great Food
• Great Service
• Great Value
• A little slice of “Smoke’n Hot” heaven

Cons

• Wish it were a little closer in to town
• Parking is typically challenging unless you get there early

Rating: Recommended