The Battle Over Buffalo Wings

This game day staple has a messy history

Every year on Super Bowl Sunday the nation scarfs down 1.4 billion wings, according to the National Chicken Council. Drums or flats, everyone has their preference, usually doused in butter and Frank’s Red Hot (or another vinegar-based hot sauce) are the standard, but the humble wing has moved from sports bar staple, to more elevated spaces, with varieties of sauces and preparations far beyond the famous Buffalo-style.

Of course Buffalo’s don’t have wings as Jessica Simspon famously once said, the name comes from their city of origin, and along with Rick James, Vincent Gallo, and the Goo Goo Dolls, they are easily one of the city’s most famous exports.

As with any iconic food, it has a popular origin story, as well.

Legend has it that on March 4th 1964, Teressa Bellissimo, who with her husband Frank, owned the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, improvised the snack when her son Dominick had friends arrive late that Friday night after his bartending shift had ended.

Wings, which were usually reserved for things like soup stock, were thrown into the deep fryer and coated in a vinegar based hot sauce and butter. And the late night guest lost it over Teressa’s genius concoction. Buffalo wings were added to the menu, became a huge hit, and the rest is history. At some point blue cheese dressing and celery were added to the mix. The Anchor Bar became widely recognized as the origin point for elevating the trash wing to something exquisite, what some have called “beer-drinker’s caviar.”

If you go to the Anchor Bar Website this achievement is proudly displayed all over the place, with official looking seals and everything

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While you can’t patent a recipe, they did trademark “Anchor Bar” and have sued for trademark infringement, one big case being the Florida spot called The Anchor Bar who sold wings. They’ve put a lot of work and energy into cementing the legend that they not only created Buffalo wings, but remain the gold standard. Reddit boards claim they are mediocre at best, and residents of Buffalo will surely point to their own favorite spot as being superior. People have opinions!

But if you’re at all familiar with American history, there is an alternate to the Bellissimo story. If you go to Buffalo’s Eastside, which is a predominantly black area due to public policies that led to Buffalo’s extremely segregated geography, something that exists to this day, you’ll hear a completely different origin story. This one involves a black man named John Young.