By Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

This version originally ran on Feb 1.

Americans love to wing it. The average American goes through 18,000 wings in his/her lifetime; more than one billion wings are consumed every Super Bowl Sunday alone.

Today is National Chicken Wing Day, dedicated to the food we surely cannot do without.

It may be wing heresy, but most bar wings are nothing special, gooped and gunked with the same old buffalo wing sauce. Nine times out of 10, I already know what they're going to taste like.

There are a few traditional buffalo wings on my list of N.J.'s best wings. But most of the places on my list make wings that stand out, and they're all over the map — sports, craft beer and neighborhood bars; barbecue joints; Korean and Thai restaurants, and more.

I did similar lists in 2017 and 2018, but every year the list is updated. For this one, I drove nearly 1,000 miles, sampling wings at 23 previously unvisited spots around the state. Several wing legends were dropped from last year's list; tough decisions had to be made. In all, 11 places make their first appearance on this list.

(Note: The list is unranked and in no particular order.)

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Buck Hill Brewery & Restaurant, Blairstown

Buck Hill opened in June 2016. The food has already drawn raves. There are about 20 beers on tap. The Bud's Resume DIPA is highly recommended. The surprise at Buck Hill were the sauces — there are just four kinds, but the two I sampled, Spicy Asian and Smokey Honey Chili, were standouts. I tried plenty of Asian-flavored sauces on this mission; Buck Hill's Spicy Asian was the best.

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Broadway Bar & Grill, Point Pleasant Beach

The Broadway Bar & Grill serves my favorite Shore wings - plump and crispy, first deep-fried, then finished off on the grill. The building housed Neilley's Long Bar for 50-plus years. The funky houseboat-like interior, and those wings, set the Broadway apart.

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Local Bar & KItchen, Gibbstown

Never heard of Gibbstown? The town, part of Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, is home to one of the nation's oldest log cabins. And Local Bar & Kitchen, formerly Babe's. It's not quite as old as the log cabin (the bar opened in 2007), but it's a homey little locals hangout. You can tell the wings are different just by looking at them: crispier than most and seriously seasoned. The buffalo sauce is not the usual assembly-line variety; it's hot and vinegary.

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Buffalo's Chicken, Wood-Ridge

Wood-Ridge is becoming a casual dining destination, with Adrian's Jersey Pizza Co., Mob Burger, Thai Corner and Buffalo's Chicken within walking distance. Buffalo's Chicken is an unassuming ribs/chicken joint with a friendly staff. Despite the name, Buffalo's Chicken is not a shrine to buffalo wings. Sauces include sweet Thai, lemon pepper, jerk (my favorite), urban bourbon and Misery, made with ghost pepper chiles. The wings, supremely crunchy and crispy, may be the best plain wings I've had in the past two, three years.

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Cheek's Chicken & Waffles, Fords

A newcomer on the chicken block, Cheek's opened several years ago in Fords. Right now, it's a mini-chain, with one location in New Jersey and four in Connecticut. The chicken is "fresh and never frozen, with a touch of Southern flare,'' according to the website. Wings don't need lots of goopy sauce gunked all over them to be good; Cheek's is proof of that. The plain wings boast a great crisp and crunch. All three sauces I sampled were first-rate: the Reaper, sweet Thai chile and mango habanero.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Back Bay Ale House, Atlantic City

Back Bay Ale House is indeed a house (see photo), a cozy hangout at overlooked Gardner's Basin, where you'll also find Gilchrist's, the Atlantic City Aquarium and a personal favorite, Kelsey & Kim's Southern Cafe. At Back Bay, there's a downstairs bar, upstairs dining room and a patio, where you'll want to be in weather much warmer than what we're now experiencing. No assembly-line buffalo wings here; there are just jerk wings, dry-rubbed with Jamaican spice. Get them dry or with JuJu sauce, a hot, peppery, tomatoey delight.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Savage Bistro, South Amboy

It looks more like a no-frills luncheonette than a bistro, but no matter; Savage Bistro serves top-notch wings. Sure, you can get buffalo wings here, but I really liked the lemon-peppery dry rub, and the Sticky Asian, a mildly spicy Thai chile sauce. The menu also includes chicken sandwiches, burgers, pastas, tacos and enchiladas. A recent special: southern fried pork tenderloin served over an apple jalapeno slaw topped with horseradish aioli and sauce on top of hand-cut fries.

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Golden Nugget Tavern, Berlin

The Golden Nugget is a lively neighborhood bar that takes wings seriously; check out the Wing Wagon in the parking lot. The Golden Nugget's buffalo wing sauce is one of those that dares to be different; it's more peppery than most. Also recommended: the honey jerk wings.

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Jimmy Geez, Haledon

Jimmy Geez is a sports bar legend, where Yankees and Mets memorabilia provide the decor and wings are consumed in prodigious quantities. There are a dozen wing varieties at Jimmy Geez, from Wimpy (you don't want to go there) and Medium to Hot and Nuclear. Eat 40 Nuclear wings "down to the bone'' in one sitting, and get inducted into the bar's Nuclear Wall of Fame.

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Dominic's Tavern, Bellmawr

Dominic's Tavern is a popular neighborhood bar that was especially boisterous last Super Bowl Sunday since the Eagles won. Instead of the usual sad, scrawny bar wings, the ones at Dominick's are nice and plump, with good crunch and crisp. There are 11 sauces; the fat daddy, a vinegary buffalo, is a must-try.

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Chicken Kitchen, Shrewsbury

Chicken Kitchen is a bare-bones strip mall chicken wing joint open 30-plus years. They're also open seven days a week. At Chicken Kitchen, get your wings sauced or just plain fried. The latter wings are fat and crunchy; I could eat them all day. And night. There are seven sauces, including "911 - Call Your Doctor.''

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Mama Chicken, Palisades Park

Mama Chicken opened in October 2016 in Palisades Park, known for its Korean restaurants and markets. Dishes include Bool-dak chicken ("super-spicy'' chicken with veggies on a hot stone plate topped with cheese), don katsu (breaded pork cutlet topped with brown sauce) and ginseng chicken soup. I love Korean fried chicken; the twice-fried pieces are big on crunch and crisp. Add the familiar Korean wing flavors, and you have super chicken. I ordered 16 wings three ways - crispy, spicy soy garlic, and sweet and spicy. My favorite? All three!

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HOB Tavern, Bordentown City

HOB - for Heart of Bordentown - is a cozy little hangout in one of New Jersey's great small towns. Nine wing sauces are available. One of the sauces at the HOB Tavern is peanut butter and jelly. Yes, PB&J. The flavor is more jelly than peanut butter and chances are you'll like it more than you'll admit. My favorite wing sauce here: the jerk.

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Jersey Shore BBQ, Belmar

One of my favorite barbecue joints in the BBQ wasteland that is New Jersey (another favorite, Local Smoke, is minutes away in Neptune), Jersey Shore BBQ has some of the plumpest wings you'll find anywhere. At Jersey Shore BBQ, try the jalapeno honey, mango habanero, Kayla or habanero apricot, which packs some nice fruity heat.

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Marley's Gotham Grill, Hackettstown

No one takes wings more seriously than Bruno Pascal (in photo), the head chef and co-owner of Marley's Gotham Grill. There are 220 wings (and counting) on the menu. "I don't sleep at night. I've got to keep coming up with new flavors,'' Pascal says. The wings at Marley's are big, fat and creatively if not wackily seasoned and spiced. My favorites include the Kickin' Chicken (crushed red garlic, orange peel, red bell pepper, onion), Bang Bang (sweet Thai and sriracha sauce) and the Bea Irish Man (Baileys, Jameson's, butter, brown sugar).

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Pattenburg House, Pattenburg

The Pattenburg House is a lively roadhouse minutes from the interstate with friendly staff, live music - and really good wings. Choose from nine sauces. My favorites are the Gold Rush and Mango Magma.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Pop's Chicken, Wharton

Call Wharton the wing capital of New Jersey, with three standout wing joints - Hot Rods BBQ, Knotty Pine Pub and Pop's Chicken. The first two were on previous lists and just missed repeating here. Pop's opened in May 2017. Fat, plump wings are always a good start — Pop's doesn't scrimp on size. The Hot Cajun wings are not particularly hot, or Cajun-y. Go instead with the sweet and spicy Asian wings. Eight sauces in all are available.

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Jug Handle Inn, Cinnaminson

The Jug Handle Inn, which opened in 1912, was once known as "the hole in the wall.'' It's bigger now, and the outdoor Creekside Bar & Grill is the place to be in warmer weather. (And check out the resident roosters.) At the Jug Handle, you can't split up a 10-wing order by sauce unless you get the wings on the side, but no matter; they're supremely crispy/crunchy wings, although the hot sauce is your basic buffalo. Get 'em naked; they're that good.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Shore Fire Grille, Manahawkin

Shore Fire Grille, which started in Barnegat and now has locations in Surf City and Manahawkin, was one of 10 finalists in our N.J.'s best burger showdown. They make great wings, too, or they wouldn't be on this list. About 50 kinds of bread, cheese, sauces and toppings are available with Shore Fire's burgers, so you know there'll be plenty of wing options. There are seven kinds of sauces, and you can get the wings smoked or fried, or both (tip: get them smoked and fried).

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Roosterspin, Westfield

A welcome addition to the Korean fried chicken scene, Roosterspin is located in the former Cheeburger Cheeburger space. The 50s kitsch has been turned into a brick-walled, wood-floored restaurant, with the owner's 7,000-plus LPs on display. There is another location in New Brunswick. Peck Peck is still my favorite Korean fried chicken joint, but Roosterspin's wings are light, crispy, subtly spicy.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

TSTBBQ, Leonardo

Good wings and barbecue at a miniature golf course? That's the deal at TSTBBQ, headquartered at Hole in One Miniature Golf on Route 36 eastbound, The golf course has been open 20-plus years; TSTBBQ the past two. The menu includes burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, ribs, bacon wrapped onion "wrings'' and more. Recommended: the burnt ends, available weekends only. For the wings, there are five dry rubs and seven sauces. The wings are nice and plump, and I really liked the honey hog hot rub and cherry moonshine sauce.

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Dolsot House, Cherry Hill

The Dolsot House is not a house but a small, popular strip mall restaurant specializing in Korean food. If you've never tried Korean fried chicken, you haven't lived. At the Dolsot House, you can do an order of 10 wings half one way, half another. The soy ginger and spicy wings are equally tasty - big, crispy, crunchy.

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Sharky's, Clifton

Sharky's is a perenially popular neighborhood bar, and a wing legend — they go through about 20,000 a week. Here's a video of my wing eating adventure at Sharky's during our N.J.'s best bar showdown. There are 20 kinds of sauces at Sharky's. My favorite is the blackened, a no-nonsense type. A must-try: the homemade bleu cheese.

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Mount Royal Inn, Mount Royal

Mount Royal is a section of East Greenwich, Gloucester County, and the Mount Royal Inn is a rambling locals hangout with loads of history; it's been open since 1762. The buffalo wings (photo) are among the most distinctive anywhere - peppery, smoky, savory.

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Hope you all had wonderful Memorial Day weekends! We have some talented friends! Thank you for all your support and can't wait to see you. Posted by Peck Peck Korean Fried Chicken on Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Peck Peck, Teaneck

Peck Peck is my favorite Korean fried chicken joint. I picked them as my favorite restaurant of 2013. Peck Peck is a charming little place, with a handful of tables, compact menu and an older couple at the helm. Korean fried chicken takes a bit longer to prepare, but your patience will be rewarded.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Wings Over Rutgers, New Brunswick

There are Wings Over locations in 16 states, from Georgia to Vermont and New York to Madison, Wis. There are a mere 19 sauces and six dry rubs on the menu. The wings are nice and fat; no scrawny bar wings here. I tried the mango habanero sauce and the West Texas Mesquite dry rub. The latter was one of the two best dry rubs on this entire mission. There are also sandwiches, salads, ribs and wraps on the menu.

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Olive Branch, New Brunswick

Olive Branch just celebrated its 20th anniversary, but I remember this bar when it was Patti's, a beloved hangout for Rutgers students and Hub City residents a block from College Avenue. Wings come in nine varieties; I tried the chipotle citrus and spicy BBQ, both good. Even better: the grilled wings. Oh, and they're not in the menu; just ask for them.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Tim's Po-Boys & Wings, Hawthorne

Tim's Po-Boys & Wings is an interesting hybrid - Cajun classics such as po-boys, gumbo, and jambalaya, plus Korean, buffalo and barbecue-sauced wings. The buffalo sauce is standard-issue, but the Spicy Gochujang (chili pepper paste) and Spicy Carolina are standouts. The gumbo made for a tasty side dish when I got home that night.

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Big Papa Smok'em

Big Papa is Mario Chape; I remember when his smoker was parked behind a strip mall in Chatham. His storefront in Bogota has since closed, but you can find his Big Papa's Notorious P.I.G. rig at pop-up events. On Sundays, he's at City Perch Kitchen + Bar in Fort Lee. I'm not sure how many N.J. wing joints offer Alabama white sauce, but the number can't be many. Big Papa's version includes mayo, brown sugar and cayenne. The other sauce sampled, spicy barbecue, lives up to its name, with a smooth tomatoey base.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Taphouse 15, Wharton

Taphouse 15 is a casually stylish restaurant, part gastropub, part sports bar, dedicated to innovative dishes and craft beer. There are 24 rotating taps; current Jersey brews include Kane Brewing's Mexican Brunch. You can get the wings smoked/char-grilled, in bourbon buffalo sauce (highly recommended) or with sauces - buffalo, Bang Bang, honey BBQ, garlic parmesan, maple chipotle and sriracha lime.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall, Atlantic City

Tennessee Avenue Beer Hall is part of a revitalizing stretch of street that includes Hayday coffee shop and Made Atlantic City Chocolate Bar. The beer hall is not spacious, but more than makes up for it with a eclectic, engaging craft beer selection. I can't wait for Stone Grapefruit Slam IPA and Yards Chocolate Love Stout on Nitro to go on tap. You've got to love a bar that groups Miller Lite, Bud Light, Yuengling and Pabst under "The Cheap Stuff.'' The TK wings are your basic buffalo; ask for the sweet soy chipotle wings - not on the menu. Other eats include lobster tater tots, a Marvin Gardens Salad, Boardwalk Clam Chowder, burgers and homemade cheesecake. And dig the beer kegs-turned-urinals in the men's room.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Kinyobi, Hackensack

I can never get enough Korean fried chicken; four KFC spots are on this list. Kinyobi - it means Friday - is not traditional Korean food but food the owner likes to cook for his friends and family. "Easy Korean Food'' is the slogan. The menu includes Ugly Ramen (with teriyaki chicken, vegetables, and spicy sriracha mayo), spicy pork tacos, bulgogi (marinated beef) burritos and kimchi fries. The wings come two ways - sweet and spicy, or sweet tare, a marinated soy sauce, the latter highly recommended.

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Peter Genovese I NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

What are your favorite wing places?

This is one person's list of the best wing joints in N.J. What are your favorite places? Who did we leave out? Let us know in the comments section.

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N.J.'s best fried chicken: The 25 most delicious spots across the state

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