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| - 51 Wings sits on Route 51, an area that is experiencing a slow renaissance after years of underdevelopment.
51 Wings' name also refers to the 51 (!) varieties of chicken wings they offer. That they sell no pizza whatsoever is enough to make them a refreshing addition to this long-neglected South Hills corridor.
As we walked in to the grey-walled storefront, we were greeted by a bubbly blonde who was eager to serve us and was tickled to know that we only came because our first choice, Edgar's Authentic Mexican, is closed on Mondays.
Their wings come in oddball quantities of 6,13, 26,and...51! Without much thought, we requested 13 of the Old Bay Ranch flavor and were surprised to get a bowl full of crispy clucker parts that were covered in actual ranch dressing (as opposed to having it served on the side) and dusted with Old Bay after the fact.
A scrumptious mess it was, the chicken remaining brittle and moist despite the nigh-overload of creamy white mother sauce, the aforementioned spice given just enough room to kick me in the tongue.
Kay had a Bowl of the Breaded Chicken persuasion with honey mustard. her meal came in a wooden salad bowl and included fries, mozzarella, a wing sauce and her choice of meat. I had to finish it for her, and found it to be a not-quite-fully-realized type of poutine, not that it tried to be, which is what made this jumble of ideal shoestring fries, tender poultry nuggets, and cheese intriguing and perhaps...accidental?
My Bacon Cheeseburger was doughy, moist, gooey, and rich and tasty all around, the meaty, smoky, severely savory bacon stealing the show from a patty I wished was medium-rare instead of well-done.
From there, we bid the gracious staff adieu and headed towards Sugar & Spice for dessert.
Based on our visit, it would seem that 51 Wings may have...wings, meaning that they deserve a fighting chance. Don't dismiss this part of Pittsburgh. Fly down to Area 51 and get your wing thing on.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzh9WEeRACE
P.S. 51 Wings delivers to Brentwood, Whitehall, Carrick, Overbrook, Brookline, Castle Shannon, Baldwin, Pleasant Hills, and parts of West Mifflin.
P.P.S. The wings we had reminded me favorably of an old recipe I found once for a "white" BBQ sauce, its main ingredient being mayonnaise.
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