Lord of the Wings

16 Houston restaurants compete in CultureMap's Ultimate Wing Showdown

Nothing says getting together to watch sports with friends quite like a big plate of wings. As part of this year’s edition of The Tailgate — our all-out party devoted to everyone’s favorite way to get in the gameday spirit — we’re asking a simple question:

Which bar or restaurant in Houston serves the best wings?

To answer that question, we’ve created the Ultimate Wing Showdown. CultureMap editors have selected 16 nominees that we think have a shot at the title. Just like we do for the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards Best New Restaurant tournament, we’re asking readers to vote in a bracket-style, head-to-head tournament that will produce Houston’s ultimate wing joint.

True to the diversity of Houston, the nominees cover a wide range of styles and cultural influences — everything from double-fried Korean wings to pizzerias that serve wings and a neighborhood bar that’s owned by a Buffalo native. Read on for more about the nominees, then click here to vote for your favorites.

People may vote once per day, and the results will be closely monitored to ensure a fair outcome. We’ll reveal the winner on stage at The Tailgate event on Monday, November 11 at 8th Wonder.

The night will also include celebrity appearances, games, food from local restaurants, and drinks from the event’s sponsors. Read more about it here, and follow all the details in our special editorial series. You won’t want to miss it, so get your tickets today.

Here are the nominees in the Ultimate Wing Showdown:

Winnie's v. Nickel City
This matchup features two bars that serve great wings. At Nickel City, co-owner Travis Tober’s Buffalo roots are on display with its buttery, spicy sauce, and its Austin roots are on display with sauce from Franklin BBQ. Winnie’s jumbo wings are satisfying enough to make a meal out of, and the ability to order “lemon pepper wet” — a sly nod to the cult-favorite TV show Atlanta — gives diners the must-have combination of Buffalo and lemon pepper. Both establishments also serve a well-made cocktail, but only one will advance to round two.

Pluckers Wing Bar v. Big City Wings
In this matchup, we’re pitting a hometown favorite against an Austin import. With 12 locations (and four more coming soon), Houstonians can get their fill of Big City’s 20 different sauces in just about any corner of the city. Pluckers counters with eight locations of its own and 20 flavors, including fan favorites such as Dr Pepper barbecue sauce, Baker’s Gold, and Spicy Mandarin. Both offer a sports bar environment that’s ideal for watching all the day’s action, but only one will move on in this tournament.

Nonno's Family Pizza Tavern v. Betelgeuse Betelgeuse
Let’s consider these two Montrose pizzerias. Nonno’s only serves one flavor of wings, but they’re tossed in a spicy Italian chili crisp and served with first-rate homemade ranch. Betelgeuse Betelgeuse has four flavors, including a sweet and spicy mango-habanero. Usually, people would pick based on their different styles of pizza, but today it’s all about the wings.

Gold Tooth Tony's v. Dream Wings
It’s the Heights versus Garden Oaks in this matchup. Gold Tooth Tony’s oversized wings come in four flavors, including a classic General Tso’s. With flavors like garlic-parmesan, honey sriracha, and “Nightmare,” Dream Wings may be a food truck, but it caters to wide array of tastes. Both restaurants are popular on Reddit, but only one will make it to round two.

The Breakfast Klub v. Stuff'd Wings
Two prominent Black-owned establishments face off in this matchup. People line up every day for The Breakfast Klub’s signature waffle and wings, which are packed with Creole flavors. At Stuff’d, diners will find wings filled with one of three different boudin-style rices or an extra gooey mac and cheese. Both restaurants utilize Louisiana flavors, but only one will see round two.

Feges BBQ v. Little Rey
Both of these restaurants recognize that a little smoke is good for a wing’s flavor. Not only do Feges’ wings spend time in a smoker, but it’s also home to Hay Merchant’s legendary PB&J wings. Little Rey’s spicy salsa matcha offers legitimate heat that punches through the wing’s smoky flavor. Both restaurants are led by chefs who worked at Brennan’s of Houston, but only one will advance.

Dak & Bop v. Crawfish & Noodles
Admittedly, Korean and Vietnamese food don’t have much to do with each other, but these two restaurants are united in their commitment to serving crispy wings. Dak & Bop fries its wings twice and tosses them in a sweet-and-savory soy garlic sauce. Crawfish & Noodles’ fish sauce wings have become almost as well thought of as its signature Viet Cajun seafood. Both restaurants have plenty of compelling non-wing options, but only one will see round two.

Courtesy of Feges BBQ

Feges BBQ's wings are smoked then sauced.

Nando's Peri-Peri v. Roostar Vietnamese Grill
Our final matchup recognizes the value of global flavors. Like all of its chicken, Nando’s flame-grilled wings come in six different flavors that deliver increasing levels of heat. Wings are a complement to the the banh mi and noodle bowls at Roostar, but the signature whole shebang — a compelling combination of garlic and lemon pepper — keeps people coming back for more.

Made up your mind? Vote here for your favorites.

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The Tailgate is sponsored by Verizon, HOWDY, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Houston Powder Coaters, Holey Moley Golf Club, Mizzen+Main, Shipley Do-nuts and more to be announced.

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in like the rose

Elevated Mexican American cocktail bar blooms in historic downtown space

Courtesy of Concrete Rose

Concrete Rose is now open in downtown Houston.

The creative mind behind Monkey’s Tail and Trash Panda Drinking Club is stepping things up for his new project. Concrete Rose, the new bar from Greg Perez, is now open in downtown Houston.

Located on the ground floor of the historic Purse building (1701 Commerce), Concrete Rose is an elevated cocktail bar that’s inspired by Perez’s heritage as a Chicano and first generation Mexican American. It’s a big change for the bar owner, who’s best known as one of the founders of Mexican American sports bar Monkey’s Tail and the proprietor of Trash Panda Drinking Club, the Lindale Park bar known for its quirky sense of humor and creative pop-ups.

Perez tells CultureMap that’s Trash Panda’s success paved the way for Concrete Rose. With the bar running smoothly, he was able to travel for the first time in five years. When the property’s owners presented him with the ability to open a new concept, the inspiration from those travels helped fuel the design, menu, and overall direction of Concrete Rose.

“After my London trip, I started to feel comfortable with executing an ambitious project. I decided to go back to what I know best, which is myself,” Perez says. “When you walk in, you’ll see a lot of callbacks to me and Trash in a very elegant way.”

Rather than a conventional bar, Concrete Rose takes much of its design inspiration from streetwear boutiques. Framed photographs honor different aspects of Chicano culture, such as low riders and religious imagery.

“We have a really dope picture of an altar. It’s a little bit of a show stopper,” Perez says.

That streetwear theme continues with Concrete Rose’s cocktail menu. Styled after a lookbook, it uses lifestyle photography that shows the drinks but doesn’t make them the image’s sole focus. One section consists of eight, “boundary pushing” cocktails that are inspired by The Rose That Grew from Concrete, a posthumous collection of poems written by Tupac Shakur. For example, the “No One Else Cared” puts a spin on guacamole by using avocado ice cream, fried avocado skins, and tomato.

Another section, dubbed “Kickbacks,” features more familiar flavors, including one drink inspired by the guava danish at Perez’s favorite bakery in Mexico City. Classics are just that,r efined versions of staples like the margarita and ranch water.

Soon, the bar will roll out a food menu of dishes that blend various global culinary traditions with Mexican flavors and techniques. It’s created by chef Fernanda Alamilla, who worked for Perez as sous chef at the short-lived, critically-acclaimed Mexican American restaurant Chivos. Dishes include beet tacos, fish crudo, and the “BJ Sandwich.”

“The execution is there. And the creativity is there. You won’t see us trying to catch a trend. We put a lot of attention into the details. There’s a lot of Easter Eggs,” Perez says.

Concrete Rose won’t be Perez’s only new concept at the Purse building. In the coming weeks, he’ll introduce Uncle Charlie’s Athletic Club, a Mexican American sports bar that applies the lessons he learned from Monkey’s Tail in a new format.

Courtesy of Concrete Rose

Concrete Rose is now open in downtown Houston.

“I wanted the feeling to be your cool uncle’s bar,” Perez says.

For now, bar goers can head downtown to meet Concrete Rose, which is open daily from 4 pm-1 am.

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