Central New York is home to some of the best, if not THE best, chicken wings in the state. We could pit wings from Change of Pace, Shifty’s, Swallow’s and Nibsy’s against Buffalo’s best any day.

But we have oh-so-many more than just those popular Syracuse bars. Over the past two weeks, I sought out to find killer chicken wings that you might not know about. I asked readers on our Where Syracuse Eats Facebook page for recommendations and was shelled with more than 200 responses. During my search, I found some others.

Some of these places are known for food other than wings. Some are just grocery stores. And some are neighborhood bars that have known all along that they prepare what they consider the best wings in town.

A few of you may already visit these places, and others might have a favorite not on this list. Let me know about those so I can write a sequel to this story down the road. Email me or leave a comment.

To get us started, here are 12 places I found that fry up amazing fresh—never frozen—wings that I’m guessing you’ve never heard of. They’re listed in the order of my visit. Click on the address link for directions because some are hard to find.

Midway Express

Tim Perkins just pulled these wings from the fryers. All of the wings are spoken for by customers waiting patiently at the Midway Express market on West Onondaga Street. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 380 W. Onondaga St., Syracuse

This is one of the best kept secrets in Syracuse. I mean, who would ever order chicken wings at a convenience store in the city? People who like good wings; that’s who.

About 90% of the chicken wings sold here are breaded. They’re so popular that cook Tim Perkins coats them and tosses them into the fryer as they’re ordered. He says he rarely stops during his shift.

Midway Express sells wings in groups of five for $3.50. On this particular Monday evening, it was a revolving door of customers ordering wings. Darrell Gerald of North Syracuse stopped after work to get wings to bring home. (They don’t have a spot to eat in-house.)

“I’ve been coming here for years, and the lot is always full of people getting wings,” he said as he waited for his set of 10. “The secret is to order when they don’t have any already made. You have to get them fresh out of the oil.”

Several dozen wings are in the fryer for customers waiting. Midway Express market on West Onondaga Street. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Midway Express has sat on this corner for the past 20 years. Owner Mike Hussein and his brother, Magid, created their seasoned breading recipe back in the ’90s and haven’t changed it. Each order comes with a side of bleu cheese and a cup of sweet-and-sour sauce.

It’s that recipe that keeps Kimberly Johnson coming back. She waited patiently as her 20 wings danced in the oil. “I come in two or three times a week,” she said. “The guys are friendly, and they know how to make wings. Look at those. I’m hungry just looking at them cook.”

Original wings at Midway Express market on West Onondaga Street. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

I ordered 20 wings, 10 regular breaded and 10 non-breaded tossed in sweet & sour sauce. The breaded wings here are the way to go. They’re crispy on the outside and moist on the inside.

Wing purists will argue that these aren’t real chicken wings the way they’re meant to be eaten. I get that. They’re not traditional ‘Buffalo’ wings with Frank’s hot sauce and butter, but they are delicious.

Ze Mart

David Sampson, the morning cook at Ze Mart on South Salina Street in Syracuse, boxes up some regular wings. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 2030 S. Salina St., Syracuse

It’s 10 a.m. on a Tuesday morning, and six people are standing in line for wings at this South Side convenience store. (One is just there to grab a cup of coffee and a pack of smokes, one is there for a bag of Doritos.)

Like Midway Express, most customers here prefer the breaded wings, but they also sell a lot of hot Buffalo style as well as sweet & sour and barbecue.

Yazid Saleh opened Ze Mart four years ago and has been serving wings for two. He started with hot wings and then created a seasoning for the breaded wings. Those quickly became his most popular.

The three varieties of wings we got from Ze Mart on South Salina Street in Syracuse. Regular breaded (left), hot Buffalo and sweet & sour. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Dailiek Shepherd, a 19-year-old student at Onondaga Community College, waited at the counter while daytime cook David Sampson prepared his order. He was getting breaded wings with the sweet chili ‘Ze’ sauce. Yesterday, he dipped his breaded wings in the house-made honey mustard.

“I could eat these wings every day. I pretty much do eat these wings every day,” Shepherd said. “All the food here is good, but I just love these wings.”

He suggested I try the breaded wings, but I wanted to sample a few flavors. I got three orders of five wings ($3.50 each): regular breaded with the ‘Ze’ sauce, hot Buffalo, and sweet & sour.

The wings survived the 15-minute drive to the office in Styrofoam boxes. They were still hot and crispy, and they tasted as good as they smelled.

Kitty Hoynes

The Guinness BBQ wings at Kitty Hoyne's in downtown Syracuse. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 301 W. Fayette St., Syracuse

This popular Armory Square pub is the place to go for a perfectly poured Guinness or a top-shelf Irish whiskey. Owners David and Cindy Hoyne also pride themselves on serving fine food made with local ingredients.

Critics and customers have lauded Chef Damien Brownlow for his Bangers & Mash, Reuben fritters, Irish meatloaf and clam chowder. TV chef Guy Fieri featured the restaurant on his Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2012.

With all that fine food on the menu, you’d never think to order chicken wings at Kitty’s. They have four flavors: Buffalo, Guinness BBQ, garlic parmesan and tequila lime. You get eight meaty wings with celery and bleu cheese for $11.

It just wouldn’t be right to come to an Irish bar and not order wings made with Guinness. Brownlow uses no fewer than 14 ingredients in the Guinness BBQ wings. They’re slightly sweet and carry a subtle pepper spice.

Tip: Pair these wings with a pint of Guinness. “What else would you drink with them?” David Hoyne said as we sipped and chewed.

Garlic parmesan wings with a little of the medium Buffalo sauce mixed in at Kitty Hoyne's in downtown Syracuse. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The bartender during our lunch visit suggested the garlic parmesan wings with a little of the medium Buffalo sauce mixed in. Great recommendation! It brought two flavors together in one delicious wing.

The garlic on these wings was obviously freshly minced and not overpowering. The hot sauce turned out to be the perfect antidote to afternoon garlic breath.

Dang’s Cafe

Dang's Cafe in Syracuse. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 1828 Butternut St., Syracuse

Why would anyone order chicken wings at a Vietnamese restaurant when you can load up on fresh spring rolls, steamed dumplings and stir fry?

When you see the wings at Dang, you’ll know why. They start like any other wing mentioned in this story: large, fresh and deep fried for about 16 minutes to a mild crispiness. But then the unique flavor enters the scene. They offer eight flavors. The owner, Anh Dang, said he’ll be adding more soon.

The Kick Butt wings at Dang's Cafe in Syracuse. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Jacob Pucci, syracuse.com’s food writer, and I ordered six wings of three different flavors at $5.95 each. I like spicy food if it’s done right, so my favorite was the Dang’s Kick Butt wings. These are the spiciest of all the flavors. The wings are coated in a sweet glaze and topped with sliced jalapeño peppers and Thai bird’s eye red chili peppers.

The Rocking BBQ wings at Dang's Cafe in Syracuse. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

If those sound too hot for you but you still like a little spice, go with the Rockin’ BBQ wings. These also start with a sweet chili sauce but have some hot peppers mixed in. Dang tops them with sesame seeds.

And for you lightweights out there, get the ginger lemongrass wings. While these were sweeter than the others, they weren’t messy or sticky. The coating was light, clean and mouthwatering.

You should pair these wings with one of the many Asian beers offered or a fancy tea. The coconut bubble tea did the job cooling me off from the wings that were kicking my butt.

Zebb’s Deluxe Grill & Bar

Carissa Harrington serves up two orders of wings at Zebb's in Mattydale. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 2803 Brewerton Road, Mattydale

Zebb’s is known for its hamburgers. Actually, it’s probably better known for the toppings bar that was built for its hamburgers. But this burger bar and grill serves some solid wings.

The basic hot wings (left) and Zebb's original wings at Zebb's in Mattydale. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The menu details 10 wing flavors, ranked by the different levels of hotness. We ordered 20 wings ($23.99), 10 regular hot and 10 Zebb’s Original.

The afternoon bartender, Carissa Harrington, recommended the Zebb’s Original. It’s a combination of cajun seasoning, garlic and bleu cheese. It’s a very sloppy wing, but it’s worth the mess. The hot wings are the basic Frank’s Hot Sauce coating, but they’re not too wet.

Before I forget, Zebb’s also serves oversized milkshakes that can feed two people.

The Clam Bar

The Clam Bar in North Syracuse. The secret wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 3914 Brewerton Road, North Syracuse

This restaurant looks like an old-fashioned New England clam shack. It’s been here since 1954, and it’s still got the wood paneling on the inside walls and nautical decor throughout.

It only makes sense that you’d come here for a dozen steamed clams and some chowder. That’s what longtime customer Ryan Jones of Syracuse does. But before he dives into the steamers and crab cakes, he gets an order of the house wings ($12.49 for 9 wings).

“These are unlike any wing I’ve ever had, and I eat a lot of wings,” he said last Saturday. “It’s the only wing that’s served on top of Italian bread.”

"Our Famous Clam Bar Wings" at The Clam Bar in North Syracuse. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

He speaks the truth. The house wings, also called German wings, aren’t saucy. They’re presented like a dry wing, coated in a secret combination of spices and a touch of oil.

The bread below soaks up the seasoned peanut oil and becomes the perfect after-lunch treat.

Mexican Lime Garlic wings at The Clam Bar in North Syracuse. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Erika Campbell, the daytime bartender, suggested I also try the Mexican lime garlic wings. I figured these would resemble the garlic parm wings I had at other stops. Wrong. These look like a lighter red Buffalo wing but without hot sauce. They do have a subtle spiciness to them, but they’re zesty.

“You can have bleu cheese if you want it, but the flavor on our wings will make you forget to even ask,” Erika said.

Tip: Happy hour at the Clam Bar starts at 2 p.m. Domestic beers are buy one, get one free. It’s a beeracle!

Fast Eddie’s

Garry Shoff, the daytime cook at Fast Eddie's in Lyncourt, delivers two orders of wings. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 3898 New Court Ave., Syracuse

This Lyncourt tavern used to be Pat’s Bar & Grill until owner Patrick O’Connell died last March. Some customers and friends bought the place and have kept it going.

And the wings are just as good as ever, I’m told.

Cajun wings (left) and sweet chili wings from Fast Eddie's in Lyncourt. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Fast Eddie’s serves your basic pub fare and your basic bottled beer at low prices. They also have a few fancy wings and plenty of craft beers.

Megan Black of Syracuse has been tending bar here for five years. “It’s one of the great little dive bars in Syracuse,” she said. “It’s like family here. We have great customers.”

They also have great wings. You get 10 wings for $9. (And a Miller High Life for $2.25!!!)

The sweet chili wings were wet, messy and delicious. The cajun variety was a dry wing that finished with a slightly hot kick.

Be careful when you pop in here. You’ll lose all sense of time. When I arrived, five guys were sitting at the bar watching golf on TV as the Grateful Dead’s “Althea” played on the jukebox. An hour later, we were still there, having been joined by 10 others. Time to move onto the next wing place.

Kelley’s

Terrence McRae, the executive chef at Kelley's, brings out char-grilled wings. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 5076 Velasko Road, Onondaga Hill

I eat chicken wings no fewer than two times a week, and I’ve been getting wings at Kelley’s for about 25 years.

This family restaurant known for large char-grilled burgers and nightly high-end specials serves decent wings. But the best wing here is one that’s not on the menu.

You see, Kelley’s has sponsored my city-rec softball team for many years. We always visit the bar after each game (usually a loss) and order hot wings. One night in the ’90s, we asked the chef at the time, Chris Slater, to add a little extra jalapeño to the mix. A few weeks later, we asked if he could use some barbecue sauce, toss in some different spices and finish them over the flaming grill.

After months of going back and forth, we finally had what we all could agree was our official team flavor.

That was the birth of the P-S Barbecue chicken wing.

The P-S Barbecue wings at Kelley's Bar & Restaurant on Onondaga Hill. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

These wings are not on the menu, but the flavor exists in the restaurant’s point-of-sale system. The current chef Terrence McRae has perfected the recipe. I suspect it’s the smoked paprika he finishes them with.

You won’t be disappointed with these. If you are, blame the media.

Tip: Tuesday is wing night at Kelley’s. You get 20 wings for $15.

Bosco’s Village Pub

Michelle Wright serves the sweet chili wings at Bosco's in Solvay. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 201 Cogswell Ave., Solvay

Bosco’s is dangerously welcoming. This neighborhood bar has been here since 2004, and it’s almost too comfortable.

I walked in during lunch, and I knew right away I wouldn’t want to leave. It was cold and crummy outside, but it was toasty warm inside Bosco’s. The regulars at the bar were hospitable and offered suggestions on what to eat and pointed to the specials.

I was there for wings, so I went to the owner for advice.

“I will cook them however you want them," Steve Bosco said from behind the bar. “Just pick your flavor. I’ll make them crispy, extra crispy, less crispy.”

The basic hot wings at Bosco's in Solvay. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The traditional hot wings are anything but traditional. All the sauces are homemade here at Bosco’s. They carry a unique flavor, and they have more black pepper than usual. They were spicy, but they weren’t offensively hot. They come in orders of 10 for $8.75. The next time I head to Bosco’s, I’ll be getting at least two orders of these.

The sweet chili wings are pleasing as well. I considered them a dessert wing because they were sweet and sticky.

Tip: Wings are $7 on Wednesdays. (Boneless wings are $5.) Craft beers are also discounted during the special.

Green Hills Farms

Garlic parmesan wings from Green Hills Farms supermarket. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 5933 S. Salina St., Syracuse

Is there anything Green Hills Farms DOESN’T do well? A few months ago, they led the charge with their large yet artistic sandwiches and the best potato salad in town. And now they’re being written up for serving exceptional chicken wings.

“Our wings here are the BEST because we put a lot of love into each one of them,” said Kati Kautz, who was taking deli orders while making a breakfast pizza.

The nice thing about getting wings from a supermarket is that they’re open early. I ordered 15 wings at 9:30 a.m. and shopped for dinner during the 18 minutes they were frying. (We had baked chicken and broccoli with an Asian chopped salad for dinner that night, in case you’re interested.)

Wings at Green Hills are 75 cents each, and you have to order at least 10. You choose from 10 flavors, including teriyaki, honey mustard, sweet chili and lemon pepper. I went with garlic parmesan and plain old medium Buffalo.

The garlic parm wings were covered in a silky sauce loaded with garlic. Be prepared to have pungent breath for the rest of your day. The wings were soft yet crispy, and the sauce tasted like someone made fresh in the store.

Regular medium wings at Green Hills Farms supermarket. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The medium Buffalo wings were a solid basic wing. It just proves that you don’t have to get wings from a pizza shop or bar. These wings travel well, too. They were still warm and crispy by the time I got back to the office. That’s a good 17 minutes.

Dark Horse Tavern

Jimmy, the daytime bartender at The Dark Horse in DeWitt, serves up an order of the maple bourbon barbecue wings. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 4312 E. Genesee St., DeWitt

Here’s another one of those places known for something other than wings. The Dark Horse is a fancy pub that serves fancy food. You should have seen some of the entrees people here were eating the other day at lunchtime.

“We’re not a pizza and wings type of place,” said Jimmy, the daytime bartender. “We serve high-quality food in a dark pub atmosphere.”

Indeed. In addition to the Mediterranean sirloin salad and the Harvest salmon salad, the Dark Horse does serve chicken wings. And let me tell you: These are the biggest, fattest wings I had in all 12 places I visited for this story. It wasn’t even close. These wings have girth.

You can get traditional Buffalo wings covered with a house-made hot sauce or the maple bacon barbecue. Each order of 10 is $14. I got both.

An order of Buffalo wings from The Dark Horse in DeWitt. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The barbecue wings are messy. It’s a good thing Jimmy offered unlimited wet-naps. The sauce is sticky, and there’s plenty of it coating these horse-size wings. In this case, sticky is good. You get a slight hint of bacon flavor, but the barbecue sauce takes the spotlight. It doesn’t taste like a store-bought sauce either.

The Buffalo wings were unique because they didn’t taste like the normal Frank’s hot sauce. These were much better than that, and they weren’t too wet. They carried just enough sauce to give the wings the extra flavor.

Kudos: The Dark Horse rewards its customers with extra-large cups of cold bleu cheese dressing. They envelope these behemoth wings beautifully.

Wally’s Belvedere

Wally's Belvedere in Lakeland. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

Address: 863 State Fair Blvd., Syracuse

There was a time—back in the 1970s—that Wally’s Belvedere was known as “the No. 1 workin’ man’s bar in Onondaga County.” Guys from Crucible, General Electric, Price Chopper and other nearby factories and warehouses would stop in, cash their paychecks and down a few beers before heading home. The Lakeland bar also served more than 100 lunches in a day back then.

The Belvedere has been around since the 1930s, and it’s always carried that name. It could be older than that, says owner Rick Gaworecki. He and his brother, Wally, bought the bar in 1968. Wally now runs the Western Ranch Motor Lodge down the road, and Rick runs the Belvedere.

I had featured the Ranch on syracuse.com here as a Hidden Gem of CNY last month. The chicken wings there were so good that I figured Wally’s wings must be equally fine.

The butter hot wings at Wally's Belvedere in Lakeland. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

As luck would have it, I was right. Wally’s bar offers mild, medium, hot, butter hot and garlic parmesan. If there’s a wing flavor that you want that’s absent from the menu, Rick will make it. You want them extra crispy? No problem. You want salt & pepper wings? Whatever you want. You get 10 big wings for $8.75, including tax.

“I have a guy who makes his own sauce with the hottest peppers you can buy. Ghost peppers? Reaper peppers? Whatever,” Rick said on Wednesday. “He’ll bring it in and I’ll make him wings with it. I’d never eat it, but he really likes them.”

I was interested in the butter hot wings, so I gave them a shot. It’s a basic Buffalo-style wing with Frank’s hot sauce, but Rick adds extra butter, some vinegar and a few other secret ingredients. These were crispy and not too saucy like so many of the wings out West in Buffalo.

Garlic parm wings at Wally's Belvedere in Lakeland. The secret chicken wings of CNY. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com)Charlie Miller

The garlic parm wings were equally good. They were oily, just like any others I had tried, but they didn’t taste greasy. These were fresh, almost creamy. Next time, I think I’ll have Rick add a little more hot pepper to the mix.

This could be an ongoing experiment.

READ MORE

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Secret Sandwiches of CNY, Part 2: 12 great spots you shared (pass it on)

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Hidden Gems of CNY: If there’s such a thing as gourmet diner food, I found it

Hidden Gems of CNY: Mexican food in an Irish bar

Hidden Gems of CNY: Fresh fried chicken and a killer steak sub

Birthday freebies: Here’s everything I ate and drank for free

Charlie Miller finds the best in food, drink and fun across Central New York. Contact him at (315) 382-1984, or by email at cmiller@syracuse.com.

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