Wings and Things Review
If there’s a certain food item I just love and don’t talk about enough, it is wings. Whether it’s spending a Sunday afternoon watching football with a bucket of wings in front of me or a post golf dinner getting my hands all messy, I’ll rarely ever pass up an opportunity for wings. I like them so much, I was able to talk my friends into having a wings cook off competition amongst ourselves. Of course, my lack of culinary skills led me to buy some store bought Tyson brand, which needless to say, finished near last place.
This summer a new wings restaurant was opened in East Wichita by current NFL defensive end and Wichita Northwest product, Kamerion Wimbley. I’ve read about many restaurant failures by athletes and was interested to see what this new place called “Wings and Things” would be like.
2800 E. Central Ave
Wichita, KS 67214
Phone: (316)-260-1926
Store Hours:
Monday – Thursday: 11am – 9pm
Friday – Saturday: 11am – 10pm
Sunday: 11am – 8pm
Wings and Things is located at 2800 E. Central between Grove and Hillside on the north side of the road, not exactly an area known for its culinary greatness. A few friends and I stopped by there after a golf outing over the weekend to see if how it compared to other wing restaurants in Wichita which are mostly major franchises.
The actual building is very well designed. We all liked the interior, set up and just overall feel of the place. They had about 9 four tops inside and a couple flat screen TV’s that had ESPN airing. All the employees welcomed us when we walked inside very warmly. It was a great way to start the “Wings and Things” experience. We glanced over the menu which included hot dogs, wings, and an assortment of fried items like shrimp and fish.
One of my friends ordered a 6 piece order of bone-in wings, half BBQ and half Val’s sauce with a side order of fries. Their Val Sauce was suggested by an employee there. She described it as a little bit spicy, a little bit sweet. My brother went with a 6 piece order of Cajun boneless wings. Since I hadn’t eaten all day and wanting to celebrate my best round of golf ever, I ordered a 12 piece order of bone-in wings, half Cajun, half Val. Then we all split an order of shrimp with a side of Val sauce.
It did not take long for our orders to come out especially compared to a place like Buffalo Wild Wings which seems to take an eternity. The very first thing we all noticed was the size of the wings. They aren’t like your regular size of wings you’re accustomed to seeing at BWW or Hooters. They were the large sized ones with lots of meat on them. Upon seeing them, I instantly knew I ordered too many wings. We also didn’t realize the shrimp came with coleslaw and a side of fries. We weren’t sure if our appetites were fully prepared for the challenge ahead of us but we’ve also never turned down a challenge when it came to eating food.
My brother regretted ordering the Cajun boneless wings as the bone-in wings were bigger in size. After eating the Cajun wings and the shrimp he described his experience as OK but would go again. My friend who had the half Val/half BBQ wings liked the BBQ wings and had trouble with the Val wings. It was not only raining outside but it was also raining from his forehead. He too described the wings as OK, compared them to Hooters and made a comment about too much sauce and his hands getting dirty. (I know, its wings. You’re supposed to get your hands dirty. That’s why we call him “Picky”.)
I actually liked it all. Tried one of the BBQ wings and it packed a good flavor and would be a good go to for anybody who doesn’t like spicy items or even for kids. The Cajun wings were alright, not sure if I’d order them again. My favorite was the Val wings. It’s their signature sauce and packs a good amount of flavor with a small kick unless you do not like spicy foods then it may be pretty spicy. I love spicy and will likely try one of their hotter sauces next time. The shrimp was nothing extraordinary; having the Val sauce to dip it in was nice to have though. The fries were alright, better with the seasoning they have at the cash register to sprinkle your fries with but at the point all the fried food was starting to get to me.
As I said earlier, the service was very friendly. Timing of food order to delivery was great. Two of the three of us thought it was OK, I thought it was great. I would definitely recommend this place to anyone.
Since I ordered too much, I had the rest in a to-go container and stopped by my parents’ house and let them try it out. All were impressed in the size and quality of the wing. Even my mother who very rarely eats out and one of the pickiest eaters I know, took her first bite and said they were very good. She even stressed the word good. I told her the restaurant was owned by an NFL Football player and she instantly thought it was Barry Sanders as that is her favorite football player of all time. Sadly I had to tell her no, but she still was a fan of the wings. I was tempted to tell her that Barry Sanders already owns a wings restaurant called KFC and his nickname is Colonel Sanders but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
Happy Dining all.
