Wingstop (Comstock Township)
5911 Gull RoadThe time from about Mid-November to Christmas gets really, really busy. There’s a lot of skating going on and a lot of that time is spent at Wings Event Center which is on the other side of town for us.
Our big synchronized skating competition takes place the weekend before Thanksgiving. The lead up to that is pretty hectic. J is on the club board and the organizing committee for Kick-Off Classic so she has a lot to do in the weeks leading up to it.
The competition is on Saturday and Sunday but team start coming to town on Friday for practice ice. It’s so nice having three rinks at Wings Event Center because the club can sell a lot of ice time but it also takes a lot of volunteers to make everything run.
My kids love to volunteer. B will run skate guards for teams and L loves to play music for teams practice sessions. J has to be there anyway. The original plan was for J’s parents to pick B up from school and just stay at home with him but he really wanted to volunteer so J just decided to take him.
I had a few errands to run right after work then I was going to go pick B up. He was at about his limit and ready to go home.
I was hungry though. He had already eaten food from the hospitality room so I just needed to feed myself.
For some reason, I was in the mood for wings.
I chose to go to the Wingstop on Gull Road. This is the third Wingstop in the Kalamazoo area. The other two are in Oshtemo Township and Portage. This location is in a small shopping plaza on Gull Road just to the west of 26th Street. It shares the property with Penn Station East Coast Subs and Rollup Ice Cream and Tea. This space was a Sprint store for quite a while. Not sure if there was anything in there between when that closed and when Wingstop opened earlier this year though.
I ran my errands then stopped at home to drop some things off. This Wingstop is about 20 minutes from my house so I put in my order as I was sitting in my driveway hoping it would be ready when I got there.
Sure enough, it was a little over 20 minutes when I pulled in to the parking lot. I headed inside where I was met at the counter right inside the door. I told the guy I had an online order and he went back to the kitchen to grab the bag.
I should have just sat down at one of the tables and ate there. There isn’t a lot of dine in space but there are a few tables along the wall opposite the order counter.
I took advantage of the 10 piece classic combo which comes with 10 bone-in wings (2 flavors), fries, a drink, and one dip. I upgraded the fries to VooDoo Fries and I never know why I do that. They’re delicious, but messy.
The VooDoo Fries are fresh cut fries topped with cheese sauce, ranch, and VooDoo seasoning (essentially a Cajun seasoning). These fries are probably best to be eaten in the restaurant as the longer thy sit, the soggier they’re going to get. I ended up opening them up in my car sitting in the parking lot and once I remembered how messy they were, I just sat there and ate them. I had to run back inside to grab a fork and some napkins. The fries are delicious. I’m not even a very big fan of ranch dressing and I still think it works on these fries with the cheese sauce. I have to remember that I’m going to need a lot of napkins if I decide to order these again (which I do every time and always forget).
I always get the wings split up in to two flavors. The first one I almost always get in the Garlic Parmesan. I like my wings hot but if I don’t get hot wings, Garlic Parm is my go to. Wingstop’s Garlic Parm isn’t a thick creamy sauce like one of it’s competitor. It’s more of a garlic butter sauce with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. I’m always pretty surprised at how big Wingstop’s wings are. I feel like I’m not paying a whole lot but getting a lot more meat than I expected.
The other five wings I went with Original Hot. The sauce is a classic Buffalo hot sauce. I have a pretty high spicy tolerance so when I say these are not overly hot, I’m pretty much just talking for myself. They’re hot but they’re the kind of hot I really like. I do always go second with these though because they do burn off a few of the taste buds. I still want to enjoy the Garlic Parm in all it’s glory then go for their peppery goodness that I love in wings.
The cost for the wings and fries, plus a 32 oz fountain drink, was right under $20. I feel like it’s hard just to get 10 wings for that price at many places and this combo is more than enough for a big guy like me.
I’m pretty happy Wingstop decided to open some stores in Kalamazoo. I love wings but they’re not always something I can splurge on. We have some absolutely delicious wings at some local bars in Kalamazoo….and Wingstops don’t hold a candle to them, but price wise, I can get more food and still get that burn that I crave from Buffalo wings.
SW Michigan Dining 