Weakness for wings

As a foodie, I should never admit that I have a real Achilles’ heel for deep fried chicken wings. As trashy, greasy and unhealthy as they are, I can’t stay away from a good platter of crispy, salty, piping hot wings, even if it means doubling my daily workout just to shed the extra calories. Life is too short to skip out on wings. Two incredible eateries for wings in Vancouver are Ebisu on Robson Street (their sake is pretty weak but the wings are scrumptious) and  Phnom Penh on East Georgia on the edge of Chinatown.

Maybe it’s the messiness involved in eating chicken wings or the unsophisticated cooking method but chicken wings have never really climbed the ranks up the menu to reach haute cuisine status like sliders (served at both the New York Four Seasons Hotel and the Ritz-Carlton in Chicago, albeit they use Kobe beef) and yam fries (both staples on any cocktail bar menu), even though I would happily gobble down a pound of wings with a chilled glass of Zinfandel on any night of the week.

Frenching is a unique but occasionally time-consuming method to prepare chicken wings which may reduce the messiness for eating, especially if you plan to serve chicken wings during your next Oscar or Emmy party. The method is to expose part of the chicken bone by cutting and pulling the flesh clean away from the bone, creating a sort of chicken lollipop. This is best illustrated on the Sinner Magazine website. Frenching can be done with chicken drummets and chicken wings. With the wings, just be sure to remove one of the bones and pull the chicken meat back on the one remaining bone to create the lollipop effect. Who knows? Maybe dressed up, frenched chicken wings will find their way to your next fancy wine and cheese party with a side of creamy blue cheese dressing and a fresh, pretty sprig of flat leaf parsley.