ISLAMABAD: Residents of the federal capital no longer have to make do with a side order of wings. Wild Wings, on Bhittai Road in F-7 Markaz, is now offering chicken wings in serving sizes of between five and 50 in three categories - traditional, boneless and naked wings and come in varying levels of spice, from mild to blazing hot.

The restaurant also offers other items such as wraps, burgers and sandwiches. The new eatery-cum-sports lounge is located in a spacious basement next to Roosters and Third Wave. Customers will face parking problems as this portion of the market has become a mini food street of sorts.

Customers climb down the stairs to an airy basement with many LED screens, foosball tables and an extended bar with wooden stools. T-shirts with logos of various teams and pictures of legendary sportspeople have been put up on the walls, making for a comfortable, casual environment with seating for about 150 people. Diners can choose to sit at the bar or in a booth to have some privacy.

The menu offers a plethora of choices to be made regarding wings. Other than the serving size and the type of wings, they have to pick from the spice gauge which goes from sweet and tangy to wild and mild and then suicidal, Escobar Wrath being the most challenging of the wings.

The wings come in a paper basket on butter paper to soak the oil. The Escobar Wrath wings carry a red alert warning with them. The wings are juicy and well seasoned. Waiters give diners plastic gloves so they do not get sauce on their hands.

The garlic parmesan wings come covered in smooth, silky cheese sauce and are mildly spices.

The BBQ wings are a medley of flavours with smoky meat, the tangy and sweet BBQ sauce complimented by the chillies. The wild wings are a twist on the traditional sweet chilli chicken wings.

“We will soon be introducing grilled wings and BBQ wings. For now, all the wings are fried,” said Faraz Gul, one of the co-owners of the eatery. He said they were inspired by the Buffalo Wild Wings in Dubai.

All the wings, in all their categories and spice levels, are worth trying. They are crispy and crunchy and some are deliberately burnt to give them a smoky quality. They are meaty and are generously fried to give a kick in every bite. Customers can wash them down with one of the lemonades or smoothies from the bar or the Brooklyn Bridge Shake, which is a creamy Nutella shake with chocolate frosting and a fudge cake topping.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2018