Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Is there any better place to celebrate National Chicken Wing Day than Buffalo, where the wing is king?
The Anchor Bar in Buffalo is credited with creating the original buffalo wing recipe in 1964. Buffalo Mayor Stan Makowski officially proclaimed July 29 as Chicken Wing Day back in 1977.
"I've been doing the Wing Fest for 24 years now, and every time National Chicken Wing Day comes up, it's unbelievably new and exciting. But I guess it is, because this is what we're known for," said Drew Cerza, founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival.
Cerza told WBEN what he thinks makes a good chicken wing.
"The biggest thing, and this goes for any food, is that you have to have someone in the kitchen who really cares," he said. "Staffing issues are so tough now. You have to have the right culture in the kitchen and the right person behind the fryer. Fresh wings are key, never frozen or par-cooked. You have to pull them out and shake them before you pull them out for good. And you have to use fresh oil. If your oil is dirty, the wings are not going to be good. There are a lot of factors that go in before you put the sauce on them."
The Buffalo Wing Coalition, (yes, that's a thing), goes out and tests wings, but they won't rate a wing unless they've been there two or three times.
Has Cerza had a bad wing at a Buffalo-owned restaurant?
"I've had a couple terrible wings over the years, but for the most part, the wings in Buffalo are really solid," he said.
The 2025 National Buffalo Wing Festival is coming up Labor Day weekend, Aug. 30 and 31, at Sahlen Field, where the festival started after being at Highmark Stadium for the last four years.