Wingstop: Garlic Parmesan

There comes a time in every king's reign where there is a crisis in the kingdom which must be dealt with.  King Louis XVI had to deal with the French Revolution, King Richard had to deal with the Crusades, and now the King of the Wing has had to endure his own upheaval in the United Wingdom.  What could be the reason behind this?  Wingstop's Garlic Parmesan wings.

Let me back up first.  I decided to meet up with the Queen after work because we had acquired some tickets to see a traveling band of minstrels known as "Boston" at Verizon theater in Grand Prairie.  We agreed that in order to celebrate such an occasion, wings were in order.  Luckily, there is a Wingstop near her place of business, so it was agreed upon.  The only new flavor we tried this time was Garlic Parmesan.  How could it go wrong?  We like garlic!  We like parmesan!  Unfortunately, these wings were not as advertised.

We had imagined something along the lines of this:  a nice wing, fried to a crisp, then tossed in a garlic sauce and dusted in a parmesan cheese mix to finish it off.  What we got was basically a handful of plain naked wings with no sauce (and almost no seasoning) with a cup and a half of powdered parmesan cheese dumped on top.  This was quite disappointing because I thought I had heard good things about this flavor.  Maybe I was confusing it for the garlic wings at Buffalo Wild Wings or somewhere else.  The Queen and I were both quite unimpressed with these wings.  They had no detectable garlic flavor of any kind, and the parmesan topping seemed very much like the powdered can of parmesan cheese one might put on pizza.  Its a very rare thing for the King to dislike a wing, but unfortunately these did not pass the test.  Their only positive was that they were pretty crispy, which is enough for a few points in my rankings, but that's about it.  They will not be in the regular rotation.  Luckily, Wingstop has plenty of other flavors for me to stuff my face with.

Garlic Parmesan

Heat Index: 0

Flavor: 3

Overall: 3

Wingstop: Louisiana Rub & Teryaki

So yesterday the King was at work takin' care of business, doing whatever regal things kings do, and business was slow so I went home early.  I decided an impromptu celebration was in order, and what better way to celebrate an early start to the weekend than a little Wingstop?


As you know, Wingstop is the closest wing join to my house, and I enjoy them very much.  You can see my first Wingstop post here for more details and thoughts about the restaurant itself.  This trip, I went with my usual 10 wing combo and two flavors.


Our first flavor was Louisiana Rub.  This is a newer flavor they've been advertising over the last few months, and wanting to try something new, I decided to shake things up and give it a whirl.  As expected, this is a rub, not a sauce (shocking, I know).  These were very crispy (bonus points) and had good flavor.  It is comparable flavor to the Cajun wings at Pluckers, but the flavor isn't quite as good as Pluckers.  What these wings DO have going for them, is that they have a good bit more heat than the Cajun at Pluckers.  It isn't too intense, but a noticeable kick from the black pepper and cayenne I believe made up part of the rub.  It is a very warming flavor.  I recommend these as something to try out, and they will likely be in my regular rotation in the future.


Heat: 5
Flavor: 8
Overall: 7.75


The second flavor I went with was Teryaki.  I'd always seen these on the menu, but never got around to trying them out.  Well, the verdict is in and unfortunately these are probably my least favorite wings at the Wingstop so far.  They were a tad bit sweet.  The problem is that they weren't sweet enough to have that tangy goodness like the Sweet Thai Chili wings at Sauced, and they weren't really salty enough to be a strong flavor.  They were sort of bland to be honest.  The other problem is that it appeared they tried to fill up the entire wing container with Teryaki sauce.  I don't think I've ever seen such a high sauce per wing ratio.  Maybe they were making up for the flavor with extra sauce.  Too much sauce just makes the wings hard to grip and can send them flying across the room into people's faces on occasion (see the Queen for more details on this).  The Teryaki wings at Wingstop will not be making their way into my regular rotation, but hey, you can't win 'em all.  Wingstop will still be getting plenty of my paycheks.


Heat: 1
Flavor: 5

Overall: 4

Wingstop: Original Hot, Lemon Pepper

Good afternoon everyone.  We're back today with a little update for you.  I was starving all day at work and didn't get a lunch break, so I decided to give in to the craving and make an unscheduled stop at Wingstop on the way home (the Queen didn't make this trip, she was still at work).  Wingstop happens to be the closest wing joint to my house, so it is frequently in the regular rotation, and I happen to be a big fan as one could imagine.

There's a lot of little pluses at Wingstop that I am a fan of.  They serve beer, which is great since it is more of a fast food joint in my mind than a sit-down restaurant.  They have 50 cent wings on Mondays.  The combos come with a big ol' pile of fries, and their fries are great.  They are fresh cut and fried, and have a blend of seasoning that is slightly sweet.  In the commercials, Troy Aikman says he goes to Wingstop for the fries (not the fat check they write to him apparently) so you know they must be good.  I also love their blue cheese dipping sauce.  I actually use it more for the fries, because the wings themselves are quite tasty and not spicy enough to need the soothing relief of the dip to calm the burn.  The final thing that I love about Wingstop is that I often get lucky at Wingstop (hmm that didn't come out right).  Sometimes I'll get a five-strip combo, and BAM! Six strips!  And if you carefully examine the photos below, you'll see a ten wing combo WITH ELEVEN WINGS!  As we speak, I was telling the Queen the story about the eleventh wing, and she said she went to Wingstop for lunch today too (match made in Heaven obv).  She too got an extra wing.  WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?  I don't know, but this is a great day for all Americans.  On to the wings for today.

The wings themselves are of average size, they are naked, and they are fried.  The first sauce I went with was Original Hot.  It is a buffalo style sauce, but I feel that it lacks that little buffalo punch you can get in sauces at other places.  This is pure speculation but it tastes like it has more buttery flavor in it than the vinegar kick I like in a buffalo sauce.  This is the third spiciest flavor they offer, but is doesn't have much spice at all to me.  The sauce itself is slightly on the thinner side, so they are a bit slippery in texture.  I personally prefer a crispier wing, but to each his own.  This is still a tasty sauce, and my Queen usually gets it when we go to Wingstop.  As a result, Original Hot is a flavor I get to enjoy regularly.

Original Hot

Heat: 5

Flavor: 7.5

Overall ranking: 7.5

The second half of my order was Lemon Pepper.  This is easily my favorite of the flavors at Wingstop.  I'm pretty sure the sauce itself is some type of lemon butter, but there's more to it than the sauce.  These wings come out very crispy (hallelujah!), and after the sauce is applied, I think they sprinkle on a lemon pepper.  These wings have no real heat to speak of, but what do you expect from a lemon pepper wing?  These have a tangy and rich flavor that doesn't leave me asking for more heat like I do on a lot of wings.  The Queen says they are "citrusy and refreshing" and she enjoys dipping her fries in the leftover lemon pepper sauce.  The flavor, the texture, and the seasoning makes this one of my all-time favorites at any wing joint.

Lemon Pepper:

Heat: 1

Flavor: 9

Overall ranking: 9