I’ll go back to Wingsville … and eat another wing

Wingsville
119 W. Lee St.
Chickasaw, AL, 36611
251-456-0502

You did it. You survived Mardi Gras, a party that partied harder than usual, compounded by last year’s absence. The theme of 2022 Carnival should have been “You’re Drinking for Two.” It definitely brought new meaning to the phrase.

The best part of this was the weeklong break Lucas lazed through from his ASMS curriculum. This meant a little father and son time as many of my students were skiing, visiting Grandma and feeding the mouse at Disney World. With hours to kill, the boy and I took in what we could of the nearly closed-down city, and found ourselves enjoying the wonderful Archimedes exhibit at the Exploreum.

With the place to ourselves, we did all of the interactive demonstrations from simple machines that became more complicated the farther we trudged, but we really worked up a sweat and an appetite keeping our hands in our pockets at the “Do Not Touch” sections.

About the time our conversation turned to downtown restaurants closed for the day, I got a text from Lagniappe Music Editor Steve Centanni. He was singing the praises of Wingsville in Chickasaw. We took it as a sign and left Church Street for West Lee just off the interstate.

There is a small, but very clean, dining room at Wingsville, but not more than a few tables. I thought it best we order enough for three people and head to the house. We hit them a little later than Steve, and it took a little while to get the food out of the kitchen.

Lucas had a Chicken Sandwich Combo #7 ($8.99). Iceberg lettuce and tomatoes sat atop chicken tenders on Texas toast. If you want mayo or other condiments, ask. You can season your sandwich with any of the wing flavors. Lucas chose the dry rub lemon pepper. With a side choice of breaded okra, well done in flour so as to have a nice crunch, this combo was rounded out with a can of Sprite.

Next up was the Wings and Tenders Combo #2 ($13.50). With five wings, three tenders and a side, this is a hearty meal. You may order the wings breaded or naked (I chose naked), and of the 10 sauces, I felt I should go with their namesake Wingsville sauce. The flats barely outnumbered the drummettes, which I liked, and the sweet Wingsville sauce could be even better with a touch of heat. Just a dash of hot sauce helped tremendously.

My tenders (battered, of course) were about the same size as the Foo and really took to the sauce. Next to them was a good handful of onion rings I was proud to have at the table. I never even reached for the ketchup. My unsweetened tea took the place of my beloved Diet Dr Pepper, so far proudly not a part of my Lenten intake.

Just because this is a wing house, it doesn’t mean we can skip on the regular fried chicken. Our 3 Piece Dark ($4.69) came with a pair of legs and a thigh. Not underdone by any stretch of the imagination, the crispy batter was even fried dark. The thigh always comes first with me, juicy and tender with a good, crusty skin. It’s not one of those doughy, falling apart batters that annoy me. The legs were enjoyed later, and though I don’t eat a lot of bread, the little roll that came with it was nostalgically good.

Most places are going to fry wings pretty well. It usually boils down to what sauces you prefer. What is the most heavily contested menu item from one wing place to another is the French fries. There is a balancing act between which fries are used and how many toppings are employed. Wingsville is doing it right.

Here you can order any side item under their “Loaded Mess” heading of the menu topped with chopped meats, cheese, jalapeños, barbecue sauce, ranch and Wingsville sauce. We went fairly deep down this rabbit hole and ordered French fries Supreme Loaded ($10.95). This is the larger Styrofoam container slammed full of crinkle cuts with all of the above toppings, plus chopped chicken and beef normally used for their Philly cheesesteaks. One step further and we’d have added pork with the fearsome Ultimate Loaded Fries.

With so much going on, I was a little worried the barbecue, ranch and signature sauces might clash, but the very crispy fries didn’t get bogged down in the mush. It’s definitely kid-friendly with just a sprinkle of pickled jalapeños on the center top, and the beef and chicken are chopped small enough for little mouths.

I’m willing to go on a fry tour if anyone wants to put in their two cents on who all has good ones (I know a few), but as far as dressed-up French fries go, this place is a contender. Normally I don’t consider leftover fries good for anything other than hash browns, but these were great two days later after a short blast in the oven.

For dessert, my growing boy had a choice of cakes. He wanted the pound cake ($2.25) more than the red velvet, though I hoped he’d choose the latter. The bite he left behind made me think he’d chosen wisely as it reminded me of my grandmother’s.

I think we pretty much touched the bases here. My next trip would probably be phoned in. I would also like to try some of their hotter sauces and explore the dry rub wing situation. Just a mile or so east off of I-65, Wingsville is easy to find, and only 15 minutes from my house. If dining in, the earlier you get there, the better. It jumps in popularity as the day rolls on.

Thanks for the tip, Steve. In a post-Mardi Gras citywide recovery program, it’s exciting to find gems hidden in plain sight to our north. I’ll be back.