Pluckers: A big ol' pile of wings

So many wings, so little time.  As you can see below, we recently tore into a big ol' pile of wings at Pluckers off 75 in Dallas.  They were delicious.  Bold claims were made about the Fire in the Hole Challenge.  But let me rewind a bit to how we arrived at this point.

Mid-week last week I decided to hit up my old gang of friends to see if they wanted to hang out Friday night.  I hadn't seen them in a while and had kind of fallen out of the loop of things with everyone.  So as we're talking and getting a plan together, it is decided that Gilly, Erik, John, the Queen and myself will meet up for dinner on Friday.  We usually hang out around Macarthur and 635 in Irving because its half-way-between-us-ish, and the normal debate took place.  Buffalo Wild Wings?  Bostons?  7 Salsas?  Hunan?  We typically go to one of those places, so I figured nothing would be different.  It was decided upon Buffalo Wild Wings.  The United Wingdom rejoiced.  Then it was decided to go to Boston's.  The United Wingdom decided that would suffice since I want to try their wings.  Then at the last minute it was decided.  If we are getting some damn hot wings, WE ARE GETTING SOME DAMN HOT WINGS.  PLUCKERS IT IS!  Now we just have to hope we can get a table on a Friday night.

As we arrived, we get lucky and find a parking spot, and get on the list.  There's a group of ultimate bros ahead of us who think they are actually going to get an inside table for 8 on Friday night at Pluckers in Dallas without a long wait.  Good luck bros.  We got our name on the list, and while waiting decided to have a drink.  I get one of my usuals, the 32oz Dos Equis.  The Queen gets what will surely be one of her usuals, the 32oz Psychedelic Frog.  If I recall correctly, the ingredients are the following:  Malibu Rum, pineapple something, and green.  It is quite delicious, and will get you a good buzz.  Recommended.

So as we finally get a table and get settled, my friends ask what the occasion is.  I didn't know there was an occasion, I just wanted to hang out.  The following is a completely true story.  My friends legitimately thought I had invited them out to eat miniature fried chicken wings and drumsticks at a bar on Greenville to announce to them that the Queen and I had gotten engaged.  These are people with masters degrees from prestigious universities and high paying jobs, and they thought this was how I would make such an important announcement.  They were mistaken, but you bet your ass when the time comes to announce the engagement, it will now be done at Pluckers.

Anyways, we look at the menu and decide rather than all get a bunch of separate orders, we could get a big order and split it.  This immediately sent me into an anxiety attack as I try and figure out how many of what sauce I want.  We decide that we are going to get 55 wings.  Ten a piece of Spicy Lemon Pepper, Garlic Parmesan, Buffalo Hot, Hallelujah, Spicy Mandarin, and five Fire in the Hole just to really punctuate the night.  Then there were harps heard playing and the skies parted as the following platter arrived.

The wings are sort of hard to see, so look hard.  It came with celery, ranch, blue cheese, and we got some Lemon Pepper fries, some regular waffle fries, some sweet potato fries.  Oh and we had fried pickles as an appetizer.  I really don't need your judgement.  I have already reviewed Fire in the Hole and Spicy Lemon Pepper HERE so those will not be reviewed again.  ON TO THE WINGS!

Our first flavor was Buffalo Hot.  It claims to be their second hottest sauce on the menu, and since the Fire in the Hole sauce isn't really a buffalo sauce, the Queen and I were very interested to try this.  I've been looking around for a real buffalo sauce that also has some real heat to it.  I will have to keep looking.  The wings themselves are always great at Pluckers, but this sauce was pretty generic.  It didn't have that vinegary kick I like in a buffalo sauce, and didn't have any impressive heat.  My friend Erik, who is well known to not handle spicy foods well, even said they weren't that hot.  The sauce is still good, but there's other places I will have to go if I really want that buffalo flavor.

Buffalo Hot:

Flavor: 7

Heat: 6

Overall: 7

The next flavor was Garlic Parmesan.  I was a little iffy when we ordered these, because the Garlic Parmesan wings we had at Wingstop were pretty unimpressive.  However, where Wingstop fell short Pluckers delivered.  These had a nice crispy finish with a dusting of parmesan cheese on top, but the difference was that they actually had a pretty good garlic flavor too.  I don't always go for wings of the garlic or parmesan variety, but these were some of the better ones I've had.

Garlic Parmesan

Flavor: 8

Heat: 0

Overall: 8

Our third flavor was Spicy Mandarin.  Normally the Queen is not a big fan of Asian-inspired chicken wings, but she was pleasantly surprised with this sauce.  I pretty much agree with her, so I'll let her do the talking here.  She summed them up by saying "Delicious, but not so spicy".  She thought it tasted like a slightly spicy sweet and sour sauce.  They really didn't seem spicy to me, but it was still enjoyable and will border on the regular rotation at Pluckers for me.  Definitely heavily sauced which is always dangerous with me.  All I could ask for is more heat to them.

Spicy Mandarin:

Flavor: 8

Heat: 3

Overall: 8

Our final flavor was one called Hallelujah.  When we ordered this one, our waiter actually said "Now you're finally getting to a real sauce".  Apparently he was a big fan of this sauce.  We had to ask what it was, and it turns out that Hallelujah sauce is basically some type of BBQ sauce kicked up with Serrano peppers.  This had a good sweet BBQ sauce flavor, and actually had a little bit of decent heat to it with those peppers.  You can actually see the pepper seeds on the chicken, which is ALWAYS a good thing.  I personally thought these were spicier than the Buffalo Hot, which were advertised as hotter.  I really enjoyed this sauce, which is surprising because I'm not necessarily a big fan of getting chicken wings in a BBQ sauce.  I like to keep my chicken wings and my BBQ separate, but sometimes I find something unique like Hallelujah sauce which impresses.  These will probably be in the regular rotation for me.

Hallelujah:

Flavor: 8

Heat: 6.5

Overall: 8.25

So all in all, this was a pretty successful evening.  After everyone took a Fire in the Hole wing to finish dinner, someone mentioned going out for a little FroYo, and once ice cream or frozen yogurt has been spoken of, it is too late to avoid it.  So we went across the street to random FroYo place to stuff our faces just a little bit more.  Once again, I'm not on trial here, and I didn't come here for your judgement.

Pluckers: Fire in the hole!

So recently in the Wingdom there has been a lot of big talk among some members of the royal court about being able to join those of us who are members of the Pluckers Wall of Flame.  What does this mean exactly?  To achieve this level of greatness, one must eat 25 wings at Pluckers tossed (i.e. drowned) in their famous "Fire in the Hole" sauce; the hottest sauce they offer.  Not only is it their hottest sauce, but Pluckers also boasts some of the largest wings available just to make things a little more fun.  Since there was some serious trash talk being exchanged about who could or could not accomplish this feat, when it was decided that the Queen's entourage (her work buddies) needed to go out for a well-deserved cocktail after work on Friday, the decision was made to roll out to Pluckers for a test run.


For those of you who are unaware, Pluckers is a wing bar started in Austin and found around Dallas, Austin, and a few other scattered locations.  I happen to be a proud member of the Wall of Flame down at the original location in Austin (accomplished back in 2004, who knows if the picture is still there).  If you ask anyone from Austin about hot wings, they will be quite offended if you suggest anything could come close to Pluckers when it comes to wings; similar to if you mention Rudy's BBQ, Chuy's mexican food, or Round Rock donuts (regardless of how awesome they might be, these are not even up for debate with the Austinites I know).  Pluckers is a great place with great wings, but I still think Sauced is better.  Pluckers has big wings (naked), they make them crispy, they have a wide variety of flavors (19 from my count), and are decently priced.  Mondays are all-you-can-eat wings for 15.99.  Its a smallish location, so getting a table for a big crowd can be tough during the busy hours.  We had a group of about ten, and luckily it was one of the three nights of the Texas summer where it is very pleasant outside, so we sat on the patio.  As usual, we split 20 wings across four flavors, and here they are.

Our first flavor was Spicy Lemon Pepper.  We weren't sure what to expect upfront, and what these actually are are lemon pepper wings tauced in one of their spicy buffalo sauces.  This is a great tangy combination with a bit of heat to it, but not overpowering.  The two flavors go together very well, and these were probably my second favorite of the bunch.  They were somewhat crispy, but not as much as the others due to the wings being double sauced.  I really enjoyed this, but as always, I wish for more heat when something is advertised as spicy.  This probably had a mixture with their medium sauce, and I wish they would give you the option to kick it up to the spicier buffalo sauce.


Spicy Lemon Pepper
Heat: 5
Flavor: 8.5
Overall: 8


Our second flavor of the evening was Spicy Ranch.  These were the next crispiest of the bunch, and they had some type of ranch seasoning added on that was almost like a dry rub added after being sauced.  They weren't really spicy at all, which is a downer, but they had a great flavor.  The Queen liked the flavor better than the Spicy Lemon Pepper, I think I preferred the lemon pepper over these, but it was close because they were both good.  Same as above, I wish there was more heat to something advertised as spicy, but I'll still take it.


Spicy Ranch
Heat: 3
Flavor: 8
Overall: 7.5


Our third flavor of the evening was Cajun.  These were the crispiest wings of the bunch, which makes me all happy inside.  The Queen and I both thought these were the best of the bunch.  We had a very tough time picking out individual flavors for the seasonings.  I think it was likely a secret blend of Cajun magic with bits of real gator and bayou water.  The other possibility is that it was a blend of generic cajun seasonings applied and then the wings being tossed in some type of flavored oil.  Like I said, hard to say, but the flavor was fantastic.  These weren't spicy at all, which is the only downfall, but still absolutely great.  We will be getting these again for sure.


Cajun
Heat: 2
Flavor: 9.5
Overall: 9


Our final flavor was FIRE IN THE HOLE!  This was the reason we came ladies and gents.  Those members of the royal court who have been talking the trash were able to gauge their abilities before committing to such a task.  One member described it as "like some kind of Mexican sauce".  I think the sauce might be buffalo based, but it is easily overpowered by the peppers.  You can see in the photo there are lots of pepper seeds, along with diced up bits of jalapeño and habanero pepper.  One member of the court had to go for the milk, and the early reports were that some members had a rough night after partaking in these wings (maybe why they call them Fire in the Hole?).  Others of us are the King of the Wing and find them delicious.  These are easily the heaviest sauce, but I think they likely do that as an extra kick in the crotch for those who want to have their hottest wings.  As I recall, when doing the challenge they sauce them up even heavier.   These wings are definitely hot, so don't be fooled.  These are probably the hottest wings of the handful I've reviewed so far, but the flavor of the peppers isn't lost in the spice at all.  Stay tuned, because we will be fully documenting any and all attempts to get a picture on the Wall of Flame by members of the royal court of the United Wingdom.


Fire in the Hole
Heat: 8.5
Flavor: 7
Overall: 8


If you haven't been to Pluckers, it is a must for wing destinations in DFW.  In fact, it has earned a new seal of approval from the King of the Wing: SAUCESOME!!!*


*Saucesome courtesy of new member of the royal court Daniel.  Thanks Daniel.