Wing Dinged

There are a few (well, many) perks that come along with my parents working in the "biz".  And by "biz" I mean the only biz that might be dying faster than newspapers.  My dad works for Clear Channel, which happens to sponsor a lot of charities and organizations as a copy writer and my mom is a voice talent/radio station manager (KBEM 88.5) who happens to like to talk a lot.  So, combining their radio powers, my dad donates his time to write PSAs for an organization called Tubman Family Alliance and my mom lends her voice for the spots.  The point is, my boyfriend and I got a free night of eating wings and desserts at an event called Wing Ding.

What a concept?  For the 17th time, the Wing Ding brings together local restaurants at the Depot in Downtown Minneapolis to showcase their wings, various rubs, sauces and even homemade blue cheese sauces.  Don't worry ranch lovers, there was plenty of that too.  Throw in some desserts, beer, root beer, a silent auction and live jazz music, and you got yourself a really fun event for a really good cause.


Now, for the wings.  I am not a particularly huge wing person because I don't like to eat food that requires a lot of work and they tend to be messy/sticky/gooey, but these wings were worth it.  There were about 20 or so booths of food and we tried something from just about every one of them.  The wings ranged from Asian sesame to honey barbecue to one so spicy it made my boyfriend cry (well, his eyes were watering).  I leaned toward the less spicy flavors to avoid ruining my tastebuds.

One of my favorites from the event included an absolutely delicious carrot cake muffin (I had two) from Ray-Js.  This little muffin did everything you want a carrot cake to do; creamy, moist, sweet, crunchy, salty and a wonderful bite after a spicy wing.

I also enjoyed a wing that was kind of unique from moto-I.  It was sweeter, and the guy said the sauce had plum in it.  I have wanted to try this restaurant for a while now because they the first place to brew sake outside of Japan.  I thought it was kind of funny that they added a little cilantro to the top of their wing to make it look fancier.  Or something.

The only free non-alcoholic choice, but it was perfect with the wings

Herkimer's offered a nice plate assortment with a spicy wing, a bbq wing, blue cheese and celery

Lyon's Pub uniquely flagged their wings

Green Mill had a Jim Beam wing that actually tasted like Jim Beam

Mini strawberry shortcake from Joe's Garage.

So I overbid on a Minneapolis print (whatever, at least it was for a local artist and good cause), we lost on a bid for 4 VIP tickets to the Daily Show, left completely full of enough wings my stomach could hold, and Tubman raised a lot money.  Can't wait for next year.