BadaBing Wings Zone
4754 N. Clark StreetWings and BBQ. That was going to be our tailgate for our once a year trip to see the White Sox plate at Rate Field in Chicago.
I’ve been doing this trip for 17 years now with my dad, my brother, and one of our best friends from elementary/middle school. It started with my bachelor party in 2009 and the only year we have missed was last year…but we made up for it with a Bears game instead.
We have always done wings as our tailgate. It started on that first trip in 2009 when I found Wings Around the World East 75th Street on the southside. We did that for a couple of years then they closed and we had to find new spot. I picked Wingz It Iz in Calumet Park but those weren’t the kind of wings we were used to. They were whole wings so that only last a year.
The next year, I met the guys along Cicero Avenue not too far from where my in-laws used to live in Oak Lawn. That year, I stopped at this new wing joint called Wingstop in Crestwood. That was the first time I had ever heard of the now pretty popular wing chain.
The following year, I found my original wing place again. It was now called Chicago Wingz Around the World. It was still on 75th Street but in a new location. We had a few more years there then they closed again.
Our stopgap became Buffalo Wings and Rings not too far from the park. We did that one for a couple more years then back to the original shop. Another Chicago Wingz Around the World opened up on East 47th Street. We did that for a year then we switched the Bears game. That tailgate was too early so I actually grilled some wings at home and brought them to be reheated at the stadium.
This year, my brother really wanted BBQ from Smoque BBQ on the Northside. It was kind of out of the way but I hadn’t eaten at Smoque in a really long time so I said I’d go get it. I knew my dad isn’t a huge BBQ fan and he really likes the wings tradition so I suggested I do both. I’ll pick up BBQ and then try to find a wing place nearby and get those as well.
I did some digging on Google and came up with a place about 20 minutes away in Chicago’s Uptown Neighborhood.
BadaBing Wings Zone is on North Clark Street south of Lawrence Avenue. The restaurant is on the southern end of a two story red brick building that shares space with a coffee shop. There is street parking all around and I was easily able to find a spot just up the street. I had tried putting an order in online but it wasn’t accepting online orders. I got really nervous my plan had fallen apart and when I pulled up to the restaurant, it didn’t really look open either. I didn’t see anyone inside or any kind of open sign, but when I pushed on the door, it opened so I went in.
There’s a nice big order counter about halfway into the space. The menu is hung above it but I had pretty much already picked out what I was going to get. There were two people working in the kitchen who never acknowledged me. I was still thinking maybe they weren’t open but they didn’t say anything at all. Not that they weren’t open. Not asking to take my order. They just ignored me and kept on doing what they were doing.
I was about to speak up when I noticed the order kiosk on the side of the desk. I didn’t see that at first but once I did, I clicked on the first screen to get my order started.
I put in an order for 36 traditional wings. It gave me the option for four flavors so I chose Gambino Buffalo, Dillinger’s Garlic Parmesan, Garlic Buffalo, and Jack Daniel BBQ. They’ve got a pretty good list of flavors which is what really brought me towards this place. Most have gangster themed names but all the classics are there. The cost was a little over $50.
There is a decent sized dining room in the restaurant. It’s a big U-Shaped rail seating with pub chairs pulled up to it.
The decor is all gangster related. The walls are exposed brick and they’re covered with photos of famous gangsters including Chicago’s very own Al Capone.
It only took about ten minutes for two aluminum to be bagged up and handed over to me. I still had about a 25 minute drive to the ballpark which would get me to the parking lot just as those gates were opening.
Once the rest of my group got to the parking lot, we busted open the bags and dug in.
I started with the Gambino Buffalo first. It’s a pretty classic Buffalo sauce. A little bit peppery and a little bit spicy. The wings were nice and big and crispy. I think I probably ate the most of these wings. I really like Buffalo sauce.
The other Buffalo sauce was Garlic Buffalo. I could have branched out a bit more but Garlic Buffalo is what I make when I make wings at home. These had that same tasty Buffalo sauce but with bits of garlic mixed it. I could have went a little heavier on the garlic but they were still pretty tasty.
The third flavor was Jack Daniels BBQ. I think this may have been the least popular of the four. The wings were covered in a sweet, thick, sticky BBQ sauce with a little bit of tang to them. They had good flavor but they were really messy. Fortunately, my dad had brought a big roll of paper towels. They were definitely needed for these.
The final flavor was Dillinger’s Garlic Parmesan. Over the years, my dad has really come to like garlic parm wings. The places we usually go to use a garlic butter sauce and sprinkle them with Parmesan cheese. These wings were in a creamy garlic parm sauce. They still had a good butter, garlicky flavor to them but I think we all prefer the garlic butter sauce to these. They still didn’t last very long in the pan and were probably the wings everyone liked the most…it’s just not what we usually prefer.
I accomplished both of my goals when it came to this tailgate. I got BBQ for my brother and wings for my dad.
BadaBing Wings Zone did what we needed it to do. It delivered on some big, juicy, crispy wings. Seeing how this place is closer to Wrigley Field than it is to Rate Field, it probably won’t make the short list of wing places for our tailgate but I was glad I found it on this weekend.
SW Michigan Dining 