Great Family Eats, Wings and Rings

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. 

I dine out with my family on a pretty regular basis and had the opportunity to share our experience with you. Our experience at Buffalo Wings and Rings was really great -- use #BuffaloWingsandRings to find more tasty chicken wing recommendations from neighbors near you!

I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, you guys. I mean A LOT. So at least once a week I have to have to HAVE TO have a break.

I usually take my break on Fridays; I clean the kitchen, turn my brain off, and make Chad figure it out. Mostly by Fridays as long as there's wine or margaritas involved I'm good to go. Occasionally I take a break on weekdays when disasters happen or the grocery store feels like a place of impending doom. Breaks from cooking are necessary. Because I spent so much of my life working in restaurants my boys know the drill, and we really look forward to sitting across the table from each other and taking the opportunity to just chill a little bit. As they've gotten older that time has gotten even more enjoyable.

The downside to me having spent so much time working in restaurants, is that I am hyper aware of things like service and food quality and whether or not my empty dishes are removed. I can't stand sitting at a table with dirty dishes! #petpeeve  So when I was invited to dine at Buffalo Wings and Rings in Charlotte to check out their updated menu and store design, I was both thrilled to know I had a night off coming, and worried about what I'd do if I was disappointed.

Fortunately, there was not one single scrap of disappointment. In fact, we had a terrific time with great service, really great food, and an atmosphere that lent itself to relaxing with great conversation.

I let my boys run wild with the menu and the first thing they insisted on were fried pickles. You guys know I am picky about pickles. These were so good I had to physically move the basket away from me to avoid a real life face plant. No joke.

The beer menu was extensive. I can't do chicken wings without beer -- it's like un-American or something. Chad and I ended up with two different Oktoberfest picks that were totally perfect.

We all ordered buffalo wings (duhhhh). I cook chicken at home pretty often and chicken wings are near the top of my other half's list of favorite foods, as evidenced by this recipe. And this one. And this one, too. So we have high expectations. The menu selection actually exceeded my expectations with a zillion {translation: 13} sauces that you can order at any heat level you want. Chad likes to melt his face off with hot sauces but I talked him down from Atomic to Hot. They were slightly spiced and perfect.

We also ordered a burger at the manager's recommendation and holy wow am I glad we went down that road. The Big Pepper Burger is where it's at.

We enjoyed Buffalo Wings and Rings so much! I cannot say enough great things about the service [for which I am kind of a stickler]. I was going to ask our server to take a photo with the boys, but Chad told me to stop being weird, so I put the camera down and ate more pickles. And buffalo wings. Plus a few more fries. We all left with full bellies a box of delicious leftovers and I seriously can't wait to go back.

Great Family Eats at Buffalo Wings and Rings you HAVE to try:

• Peach Habanero Wings
• Cool Wasabi Wings
• Sweet Thai Chili Wings
• Fried Pickles!!!
• Big Pepper Burger
• Vanilla Creme Brulee Cheesecake

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Next time I'm craving chicken wings you should totally join me.