This Sunday is the biggest football game of the year, and that means one thing... it's time for wings!
The National Chicken Council estimated that more than 1.4 billion wings were eaten during the 2020 Super Bowl weekend — and that number keeps going up year after year.
My family is no exception in our love for wings — and we found several local restaurants that know how to make wings so delicious that we couldn't help but devour them down to the bone!
We ordered our wings with the sauce on the side when that was an option. The standard buffalo wing is always a hit, but our tasting tour really opened our eyes to the sheer variety of flavors available.
Here are our favorites (listed in alphabetical order)...
The Chicken Shack
11211 Dransfeldt Rd., Parker • (720) 504-5044
The Chicken Shack offers breaded, unbreaded, and boneless wings. They've got 26 amazing sauces to choose from, and for a little extra (59¢ per container of extra sauce), you can order as many as you want. If you like spicy, their "Damn Hot" sauce was the hottest of all the sauces we tried. The wings were crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, with plenty of meat on the bone.
To try: Order a "3 Wings & 3 Fingers" combo plate with Damn Hot and Honey BBQ sauces on the side.
Golden Flame Hot Wings
363 Village Square Ln., Castle Pines • (303) 663-3716
16524 Keystone Blvd., Parker • (720) 708-5834
Golden Flame has 17 specialty sauces, including four gluten-free options. For those who enjoy buffalo wings but can't handle much spice, try the Cool Flicker, a milder version of their signature sauce. I absolutely loved the Shanghai Sizzle, which had an Asian flair, a spicy kick, and great flavor.
To try: Order a 6-piece with BBQ Blaze and a side of Mile Hi Fries. Take a bottle of Golden Flame home with you.
GQue Championship BBQ
8433 Park Meadows Center Dr., Lone Tree • (303) 729-2506
GQue offers dry-rubbed or buffalo wings plus a "wing of the week" (which may only change every other week, depending on popularity). They've got several beers from local brewers on tap, and all their meats are free of hormones and antibiotics.
The buffalo and wing of the week (a cherry BBQ) were juicy and delicious, but we were absolutely bowled over by the flavor of the dry rub (available for purchase so you can take it home). It was everyone's favorite, without hesitation.
To try: Anything with the dry rub. Seriously! And take some home with you too!
Great Divide Brewery and Roadhouse
215 Wilcox St., Castle Rock • (303) 955-5788
Great Divide has an extensive menu, so wings may not be a diner's first choice but it was one of the places specifically recommended to me for wings — who am I to argue? We weren't disappointed! In addition to the traditional buffalo flavor, they've got five other unique flavors. The Chili Lime BBQ Rub was my personal favorite, followed closely by the Hot Honey.
To try: Order a half dozen each of the Chili Lime and Hot Honey — and a Titan IPA!
Grillin' Wings & Things
9447 Park Meadows Dr., Lone Tree • (303) 799-6095
Sure, you've had chicken wings. But have you ever tried... pig wings? They are mini pork shanks, "Special Grilled" the same way the chicken wings are. Wings are deep-fried, sauced, finished on the grill, then sauced again. They've got 16 sauces available for wings, tenders, shrimp, or sliders, and almost all their sauces are gluten-free. The wings (both chicken and pig) are extra tender and succulent, with plenty of flavor in every bite.
To try: Since you won't find them anywhere else, get the pig wings with the Asian Bite sauce.
Wingin' It
8200 S. Quebec St., Centennial • (720) 207-2435
Technically, this place is just outside Douglas County (a little north of C-470 and Quebec), but it came so highly recommended, we couldn't pass it up. Wingin' It has more than 50(!!!) sauces and several dry rubs, so you could eat here every week for a year without any repeats. Their wings are never frozen, and they were the biggest wings of all the restaurants we tried. Sauce pints are available, which is good because some of our top-rated sauces came from here.
To try: For a kick, go with the Spicy Garlic — a favorite with everyone. If you're looking for no heat, the BBQ Mango was outstanding!
Z'Abbracci
312 Wilcox St., Castle Rock • (720) 535-4151
Z'Abbracci might be a pizza place, but their wings are delicious! They only have a few options — spicy buffalo, cajun dry rub, garlic parmesan rub, or homestyle bbq — but they have perfected what they offer. Bonus: they've got 20 Colorado craft beers on tap, so you can eat local AND drink local too!
To try: Get a half-pound of the cajun dry rub to go along with your pizza and beer!
