Everyone knows about Hooters wings. They are breaded and up until recently were available in just the normal flavors of naked, mild and hot. But, Hooters has recent debuted some new wing flavors such as Cajun, Samurai, Spicy Garlic, Parmesan Garlic and BBQ. WIBIA and I decided to make a visit for $10.99 All You Can Eat Wing night (this is a running promotion on all Wednesdays) on a recent Wednesday night to give a couple of these new flavors a shot.
And since it is Wednesday and some of you may be having these same thoughts of going, here’s our “timely” review:
Samurai Wings
First up was the Samurai wings. These wings were the standard Hooters breading coated in a layer of teriyaki sauce. What was odd about this sauce is that it was VERY thick and mildly sweet, yet somehow also very bland. Personally, I thought these wings were just okay, but if you don’t want to have sauce everywhere and don’t generally like thick, sweet sauces, this is not something that you want to order.
Cajun Wings
Next up were the Cajun wings and these were unlike any wing that Hooters serves. Normally, Hooters wing breading is very compact and tightly held together. These wings had a flaky and greasy breading. It was so greasy in fact that WIBIA was using paper towel and squeezing the grease out of the wings before he ate them. That’s not exactly the most appealing visual to have before you eat the wings, but hey, that’s why we try these things for you!
Anyway, despite the disgusting visual, I will say the taste wasn’t all that bad. You could obviously tell that they had used one of those spicy/hot dried creole seasonings like you would buy at the grocery store, but the taste of the seasoning was not overpowering at all. I felt odd sitting at Hooters eating these wings because this is definitely not something that is normally on their menu and they just seemed out of place. Despite this, the taste was somewhat appealing.
Would I Buy It Again? If I was there on another night that was not all you can eat wing night and was only having a regular meal, then I would not buy these again. If I was there for all you can eat wing night and had the option of mixing it up with different flavors with no additional repercussions (a higher bill), then I would maybe order a plate of these just to fulfill my curiosity.
Regardless, I will still go back to Hooters because there’s one thing that you can’t match anywhere and that’s the old reliable hot wings. Often imitated, but never duplicated, the Hooters hot wings are the best.
Hot Wings
WIBIA can add his feelings in the comments because I know he had a differing opinion on at least one of these flavors, so you can check that out once he posts.
-IndianapolisEater
WIBIA
indianapoliseater
EatHSE
9 Comments
11/11/2009 at 7:47 am
Hooters’ wings are good enough that they don’t require any sauce. Gotta love the good ol’ original wings.
11/11/2009 at 8:07 am
WIBIA, so I’m assuming you like Hooters hot wings better than BWW? I’ve been to Hooters a couple of times over the years, but never had the wings. I am in love with B-dubs wings, so I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to cross over and try the competition…
It’s funny, these two new sauces are apparently nothing special, just like BWW’s last venture into new sauce territory
11/11/2009 at 8:18 am
WIBIA and I both like the Hooters hot wings better than anything that Buffalo Wild Wings puts out.
11/11/2009 at 8:02 pm
@Adam Yup, +1 Hooters, -1 BWW. Not a big fan of them at all.
I thought that IE did well with this post. Teryaki was just plain bad. Really sweet thick glaze, I didn’t like it at all. The cajun spice I enjoyed quite a bit. They were a little salty and greasy (you could almost ring the grease out of it…) but I liked the flavoring.
Hooters AYCE is a great idea before you go..and a bad idea for about 2 days after. I hit it up about 3 times a year and that is enough for me.
11/11/2009 at 11:56 am
As an old coach of mine used to say, “stick with what works!” Sounds like that’s the mantra to Hooters as well.
11/12/2009 at 9:15 am
Hmm, I’m sure I’ll give Hooters wings a try someday. I just don’t think the idea of breading on the wings sounds appealing at all. Maybe someday…
11/12/2009 at 3:08 pm
I’m a creature of habit, so I’ll probably never try the new flavors. Still, it sucks to hear they’re not very good.
I have yet to try our local BWW. It’s been here for two years, and I still haven’t gone. We have a Quaker Steak & Lube that opened up as well. Thing is, when I get the urge for wings, I either make them myself, or get them from Hooters(or the local sports bar RJ’s).
11/14/2009 at 11:39 am
Those flavors have been in southern California for a few years so I have tried them all. I like the Samurai and Cajun, but not the others. (I usually get boneless wings, I like them more.) I once tried the 3 Mile Island sauce on their buffalo shrimp and it made me sick, so no more of that.
11/19/2009 at 3:38 pm
Wingstreet Crispy Bone-In wings put Hooters to shame. Yes, I said it.