Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Old-fashioned chicken wings, True Thai style


A friend just forwarded me a funny story about chicken wings from the New York Times. Many restaurants are now selling "boneless" chicken wings. The funny part is that they are not chicken wings at all, but "a little chunk of chicken breast that is fried and sauced."

Chicken wings are messy to eat and the cheaper ones have little meat on them. That is why they have traditionally been very inexpensive. But because they have been so cheap, restaurants have worked very hard to make them tasty. We have them in our lunch buffet every day, and some customers fill up their plates with just wings and sauce. Hey! Vegetables are good for you, too!

I think restaurants have been too successful at promoting chicken wings. Wings now cost more than chicken breasts! If that were not true, no one would be selling fake "boneless chicken wings." Not that this is a new thing. One famous chain whose name I will not mention calls their batter-fried boneless pieces of chicken "nuggets."

I do not think True Thai will be selling boneless chicken wings any time soon. We are very happy with the jumbo chicken wings we get from our suppliers. Our "Yummy" wings are covered with a delicious house sauce, and our "Fried" wings come with a spicy chili dip. Our wait staff can always bring you a finger bowl and a towel if you find the sauce to be a little messy.