GREATER SPRINGFIELD – Over the last few months The Reminder reporting staff has had the opportunity to go on a series of food and beverage related tours. First, it was reviews of coffee at local, independently owned shops. Next, members of the staff toured various ice cream shops in search of sweet treats and unique flavors.
This week we decided to spice things up.

In honor of football season, the staff spread out across our communities in search of the best buffalo chicken wings: both mild and hot–no barbeque allowed.

“If a buffalo wing is defined as a fried chicken wing served with a sauce developed by the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, NY, there are still a lot of variables when you order wings from seven different establishments,” Mike Dobbs reminded the staff.

We traveled to Wilbraham, Hampden, East Longmeadow, Chicopee, Springfield, Agawam and West Springfield in search of the ultimate chicken wing. Each member of the staff purchased two sets of wings from each establishment, one hot and one mild, brought them back to the office and we held what I have affectionately referred to as “the great wing competition.” What resulted was not necessarily a favorite or least favorite venue altogether, but rather different versions of buffalo chicken wings that could only be described as “the best” based on personal preferences.

Pafumi’s To Go (Or Stay)

Nestled in Crane Park in Wilbraham, Pafumi’s To Go (Or Stay) offers pizza, calzones, specialty sandwiches, salads, grinders, gourmet dinners and most importantly: wings.

Pafumi’s offers a 10 piece of wings for $10.50. Not only do they have mild and hot flavors, but also they’re also available naked, barbeque, spicy barbeque and teriyaki. In addition to 10 pieces, wings can be purchased in 20 pieces as well.

When I picked up the wings from Pafumi’s and placed them in my passenger seat, my car was instantly filled with tangy wing aroma. My mouth began to water and I wondered if anyone back at the office would notice if “just one” went missing.

The wings overall looked appealing, with a light amount of sauce covering both the hot and mild flavors. The mild wings were truly mild with only a slight spice. The hot chicken wings, on a scale of zero being not spicy and 10 being spiciest, we ranked these wings between a five and six. There was certainly spice involved, but they weren’t as hot as they could’ve been.

Overall, we felt that the wings were a good pick and were a tasty pick for Wilbraham’s wing connoisseurs.

Pafumi’s is located at 1 Crane Park and can be reached at 279–3303. Pafumi’s is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. They’re closed on Mondays.

Gio’s Pizzeria

I’ve been buying pizza with my family for years from
Gio’s and have never been disappointed. However, I hadn’t had the opportunity to try their wings. In addition to pizza and wings, Gio’s serves gourmet grinders, calzones, assorted appetizers, salads, Mexican flare and seafood. Gio’s is located in the plaza next to Dunkin’ Donuts in the center of Hampden at
9 Allen St.

Gio’s offers 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 piece sets of wings. We purchased a 10 piece of mild wings and a 10 piece of hot wings, which are $12.99 a piece. In addition to mild and hot, Gio’s offers barbeque, sweet & tangy, sweet red chili and teriyaki wings. For an extra charge of $2, boneless wings can be purchased.

I have to hand it to Gio’s, as far as looks are concerned; many of us thought their wings had the most appetizing and photogenic appearance. They looked saucy and delicious. Upon taste though, we realized that Gio’s mild wings appeared to be smothered in barbeque sauce. While they were delicious, they were reminiscent of barbeque wings–not a mild buffalo wing. This was disappointing for some, however as a barbeque wing enthusiast, I was quite pleased.

“I did notice that Gio’s wings were redder in color and actually tasted sweeter than the others. Both the mild and hot wings had strong notes of barbeque, which
I found satisfying,” Jordan Houston shared.

Gio’s is open for regular business hours Sunday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and on Friday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Gio’s also offers additional lounge hours Monday through Thursday until 12 a.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays until 1 a.m. Call 566–8015 to place an order.

The Pizza Shoppe

Giving us a small break from 10 piece wing sets, The Pizza Shoppe at 134 Shaker Rd. in East Longmeadow offers wings in eight piece, 12 piece and 20 piece sets. For $7.75, 8 piece wings can be purchased. We bought The Pizza Shoppe’s “classic mild” and “hot sauce” wings. Other flavors the shop offers include barbeque, teriyaki or the shoppe gold sauce.

Upon opening our wing containers we all immediately noticed that The Pizza Shoppe’s classic mild wings looked quite crispy and a little dry. After a taste, I really enjoyed the mild wings, however there didn’t appear to be any sauce. It simply tasted like fried chicken! I was happy with this discovery, however as a group we felt there should have been some sort of mild spicy sauce involved.

Overall, The Pizza Shoppe’s wings were my favorite. I thought the chicken was of great quality and the mild wings were crispy and crunchy without being too juicy for my taste.

“The runner up for my palate were the wings from The Pizza Shoppe. Though not as golden brown [as Pizza Choice] these wings still boasted a rich, crispy texture and moist meat,” Debbie Gardner said of the offerings.

The hot wings were crispy but had boasted a good sauce ratio. Fran Smith, general manager of Reminder Publishing, decided that while there was spice on The Pizza Shoppe’s wings, they simply weren’t spicy enough. After discussion with the staff, we realized that Fran might be difficult to please when it comes to spice as he noted that he enjoys extremely spicy food.

The Pizza Shoppe is open seven days a week. On Sundays they’re open from 12 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. To call and order, The Pizza Shoppe can be reached at 525–2470.

Pizza Choice

Next in the lineup was Pizza Choice at 445 State St. in Springfield. Mike offered the staff a history of wings in Springfield, explaining that the late and lamented Quicky’s was the local restaurant chain known for its authentic wings, with the sauce recipe, according to local lore, from the original Buffalo recipe. For Mike, Pizza Choice is the only restaurant that comes close, in fact almost identical, to the wings that Quicky’s used to offer.

A six–piece wing order from Pizza Choice costs $8.50 and comes with the traditional blue cheese dressing and celery sticks. We noted that the wings are hearty in size and the hot wings had just enough heat to make one’s lips tingle without overwhelming the taste of the chicken. In appearance, the hot wings looked a bit wrinkly but packed a punch. The mild, however, were quite saucy. Pizza Choice received an extra point for packing napkins for the messy affair.

“Of the seven offerings we tried, I was partial to the mild wings from Pizza Choice. They were a rich golden brown, had a crispy texture and the spicing was flavorful, but not overpower. Oh, and the meat was succulent and moist,” Debbie said.

Aside from their delicious wings, Pizza Choice makes gourmet pizzas, grinders and pitas, wraps, calzones and Stromboli’s, soups, burgers, salads, pastas, dinners and assorted appetizers.

Not only was Pizza Choice a favorite for Debbie, but it was a favorite for Mike too.

“I will admit a certain prejudice as I order from
this establishment so much
they know my name and preferences!” Mike laughed.

To give Pizza Choice a call, the number is 739–5511. Pizza Choice is open seven days a week, Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 12 a.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sundays from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m.

E.B’s Restaurant

E.B’s, which has been in business since 1986, is located at 385 Walnut St. Ext. in Agawam. E.B’s offers “jumbo” on the bone wings in 10 piece for $9.75, 20, 30, 50, 100 and 150 piece sets of wings. They’re sold in buffalo styles mild, midway, hot or TNT, with TNT being their hottest flavor. Additionally, E.B’s sells 24 karat gold, siracha gold, Cajun, red hot ranch, teriyaki and garlic parmesan.

While E.B’s is well–known for their wings, they also offer salads, entrees, desserts, grinders and wraps.

The staff agreed that E.B’s mild wings were saucy and delicious. The TNT wings were the spiciest wing we had all day, but we didn’t necessarily enjoy the taste. New Reminder Publishing staff writer and Go Local editor Stephanie Trombley said that of the wings she had that day, E.B’s was her favorite venue. E.B’s was a close second for Mike.

E.B’s is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and Sundays 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. E.B’s is closed on Tuesdays. To call to place an order, E.B’s can be reached at 789–3525.

Boston Bay Pizza

Located at 515 Montgomery St. in Chicopee, Boston Bay Pizza offers a variety of flavored wings, though we stuck to their hot and mild options. On top of those flavors, they offer barbeque, garlic, teriyaki, honey barbeque, suicide, bourbon molasses, red chili, honey mustard, smoky barbeque, citrus chipotle, mango habanero and garlic parmesan.

Boston Bay’s wings come in six piece, 10 piece, 20 piece, 30 piece or 40 piece, with the six piece costing $6.79. Aside from a variety of wings, Boston Bay sells appetizers, salads, quesadillas and nachos, burritos, grinders, homemade pitas, homemade Panini’s, burgers, melts, fried and baked dinners, Italian specialties and desserts.

The appearance of the mild wings looked saucy, and the hot wings looked wrinkly and a bit shriveled, which we noticed was a common theme among most of the hot wings. At this point I think our group experienced a bit of sensory overload, having tested out 10 wing varieties at this point. In any case, we did not feel that Boston Boy’s wings were standout, however they were sufficient for a wing fix.

Boston Boy’s is open seven days a week. On Sundays their hours are 12 p.m. to 10 p.m., Monday through Thursday from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fridays 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. To order, call 888-3000 or 888-3333.

Liquori’s Pizza

Liquori’s Pizza at 659 Westfield St. in West Springfield offers 10 piece, 15 piece and 25 piece wings. A 10 piece of wings will run you $10 with your choice of plain, mild, hot or barbeque. All wings come with fries.

Liquori’s offers assorted appetizers, chicken nuggets, fried dough, focaccia, calzones, bread sticks, pizzas, wraps, grinders, dinners, soups, salads, Italian ice and ice cream.

While Liquori’s does offer plain, mild, hot or barbeque wings, these flavors are in seasoning and spices, not sauce. The store doesn’t typically offer buffalo, however they took their seasoned dry–rubbed wings and rolled them in buffalo sauce for our experience.

Out of all of the wings tested, Liquori’s were Jordan’s favorite.

“The buffalo flavor wasn’t too overpowering, so in all honesty they tasted like a beautiful matrimony of buffalo wings and chicken tenders,” she explained.

Liquori’s mild wings were crispy and the chicken tasted mouth–wateringly delicious. The wings tossed in buffalo sauce were a little spicy, but not too spicy.

Liquori’s is open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., and then 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. On Fridays Liquori’s is open from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., then 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturdays from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sundays 3:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. To call and order, Liquori’s can be reached at 737–9690.