Wings Over Albany

Back a few years ago, after original Scubbers had closed but before New Scubbers had opened, it was difficult to fill the void of my decade long Buffalo chicken tender addiction. A few places did alright, and on the higher end of that, Wings Over Albany was one of them.

It’s been a while since I’ve checked out Wings Over Albany, so I figured it was worth a shot.

The interior of the restaurant is pretty small. A handful of tables, a counter, a TV, and a soda case. They probably clean up for delivery since the University of Albany is just a few minutes down the road, but there’s one inherent part of the dining experience that I just wouldn’t take the chance on for delivery, even when I lived a few minutes down the road: the packaging.

Everything is transferred, piping hot, into vented black styrofoam containers. The fact that they’re vented would actually help if they didn’t place everything into a plastic shopping bag and then tie the handles together.

Regardless of whether you get delivery, take out, or eat in, this is how your order is handed to you. I prefer the eat in option so that I can untie the bag and open the containers right away.

On this visit, I ordered the “Hang Glider” (Over 1/2 pound of boneless wings, regular fries, and a can of soda – $8.99) and a separate side of onion rings ($2.99). Go big or go home.

The heat level I went with was Jet Fuel, which is a notch down from their hottest, Afterburner. All of their classic Buffalo sauces are named after aviation terms, and it looks like they might have copyrighted the names.

According to the menu, their chicken is hand battered, and it kinds of shows, since some areas have more breading than others. Their sauce is fairly flavorful, but is on the tangier side of Buffalo sauces. With the Jet Fuel, there’s a good amount of cayenne, some crushed red pepper and a lot of vinegar taste. It’s difficult to say if there’s any butter in there to round it out a little, but, if there is, it could use a little more.

The portion of crinkle cut fries that come with the combo is pretty hefty. You don’t see these around too much, so it’s a unique little touch that makes Wings Over Albany unique.

Their onion rings are nothing more than run of the mill battered onion rings. It’s possible they batter their own, but equally possible that it’s done at some central location, since it is part of a chain. Mine were a bit overcrispy, but I kind of like them that way.

Like I said, Wings Over Albany isn’t perfect, but they’re a pretty good deal on that end of town.