Atlantic City Wing Fest will be a clucking good time at Golden Nugget

Atlantic City Wing Fest

By Scott Cronick

Atlantic City Wing Fest will be all it’s clucked up to be. How can it not?

Pair 18 of South Jersey’s finest restaurants offering the best and most creative wings with awesome music, fun contests, awards, craft beer, cocktails and more, and it’s impossible not to have a good time.

It all goes down noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, in the Ballroom at Golden Nugget Atlantic City. The event is completely sold out.

Those who were wise enough to buy their tickets early will not only be able to eat wings that range from Asian-inspired to sweet to spicy and everything in between, but The Anthony Krizan Band, featuring the former lead guitarist of The Spin Doctors, will be joined by South Jersey harmonica legend Sandy Mack for a bluesy rock concert that is worth the price of admission itself. (See sidebar.)

Those who bought Early Admission Tickets get to arrive at noon, giving them a jump on those with General Admission tickets, who will be able to join the festivities at 1 p.m.

Golden Nugget will offer a stellar bar featuring specialty cocktails and craft beer, including selections from “Frasier” star Kelsey Grammer’s Faith American Brewing Company.

Please remember to support all of these fabulous bars and restaurants with wing orders for the Super Bowl. The good news is that you can choose your favorite wing of the day as every attendee will also serve as a judge. Attendees will receive a poker chip to vote for your fave. Just drop it in the token box at the restaurant’s wing booth, and they will be all counted to see who wins three Eaters Choice Awards.

There are also several special awards, including Best Overall Dipping Sauce, Fancy Pants Dipping Sauce, Fancy Pants Wing, Damn, Those Wings Are Hot!, Best Wing and Dipping Sauce Combo, Most Dapper Display and Best Classic Wing.

And now for the most important awards: Three judges (see sidebar)

Where: Ballroom, Golden Nugget Atlantic City

When: Noon to 4 p.m. for Early Admission Ticket Holders, 1 to 4 p.m. for General Admission Ticket Holders

Price: Sold out! No tickets will be sold at the door.

Sponsors: WMGM Rocks103.7FM, Visit AC, OceanFirst Bank, Golden Nugget, Paris Produce

Online: Like Atlantic City Wing Fest on Facebook from the Philadelphia area will rate all of the wings in a blind judging procedure that will determine the Top 3 Judges Choice Awards, including ultimate wing supremacy.

Atlantic City Wing Fest will certainly be one for the culinary ages. Here are the 18 wing contestants and their offerings so you can do a little homework before the big day.

Bill's Bar & Burger at Golden Nugget

Sometimes, you have to just go with what works. And that is exactly the case with Bill’s, which has fared very well in previous wing contests with their traditional buffalo sauce. The awesome American comfort joint inside Golden Nugget may be best known for their burgers, but

↘Continued on 28 their wings are killer, too. A little sweet thanks to the honey in the recipe, Bill’s wing has that perfect balance of sweet and savory with a little kick to it for good measure. Bill’s will keep it old school with their dipping sauce, too, providing a simple but scrumptious blue cheese for your pleasure.

(Bill’s is located inside Golden Nugget Atlantic City Hotel, Casino & Marina. Go to GoldenNugget.com) teams of three had a wing-off, and the winners were second-semester students Lola Sarni, Bill Fence and Julio Gomez, who came up with East Meets West Wings, a conglomeration of Italian and Latin wings featuring tomato juice, brown sugar, honey, chipotle sauce, orange juice, adobo and roasted garlic. They paired it with Lola’s Secret Sauce, a dill-based ranch concoction for a great combo. Now, the students will work at Wing Fest where they can be proud of their creation, and yes, have fun!

(Careme’s is located at the Academy of Culinary Arts at Atlantic Cape Community College, 5100 Black Horse Pike, Mays Landing. Go to Atlantic. edu/aca/Caremes) came up with Orange is the New Pink wings featuring cherry pepper vinegar-brined wings seasoned with rosemary, oregano, salt and pepper. They are oven roasted until crispy and tossed in Chef Freddy Stipa’s house-made wing sauce featuring apricot and plum jam, garlic, ginger and some secret ingredients. If that wasn’t enough, dip those suckers into Primo Freddie’s Asian-inspired Blue Cheese featuring buttermilk, sambal, green onion and more for that perfect combination. aren’t known for their Asian food, Essl’s Peking Chicken Wings with chili sauce, hoisin, soy, brown sugar and hot sauce will once again redefine what Essl’s is all about. Sprinkled with sesame seeds, they are pure goodness.

(Cuzzie’s is located at 131 S. Tennessee Ave., Atantic City. Go to CuzziesPizzeria.com.)

(Essl’s is located at 7001 E. Black Horse Pike, West Atlantic City. Go to EsslsDugoutNJ.com)

Careme's Restaurant at Academy of Culinary Arts Academy of Culinary Arts Adjunct Professor Georgeann Leaning had a great idea: Show the students there is more to learning knife skills and mastering the mother sauces. Show them that the food industry can be fun, too. So Leaming, with the guidance of Academy Director Joe Sheridan, asked students to compete for the best wing recipe at the school. Six

Cuzzie's Pizzeria Kitchen

Leave it to Cuzzie’s, the new pizza and sandwich joint on Tennessee Avenue in Atlantic City, to come up with something out of the box. Co-Owner Lee Sanchez and his crew