The Bristol Marketplace across the street offers a variety of food options, ranging from Carl’s Jr., Taco Bell, Chipotle and Starbucks among others. The plaza brings convenience to students in the area, and to those who like to eat with their friends after school. Just a few weeks ago, Epic Wings, a new hot wings restaurant, opened its doors and is eager to welcome new customers.
Hot wings have become a popular food item, and those who love them tend to frequent the successful restaurant, Wingstop. It’s difficult to find a wing place just as good. But, as hot wings enthusiasts, my friends and I decided to give Epic Wings a try.
When I opened Google Maps to check the new place out, I was surprised to see a near-perfect 5 stars, and I immediately had high expectations. Online pictures of the food appeared appetizing and multiple reviews insisted the food was amazing, and the staff there were very respectful.
On a Monday afternoon, I brought along five friends who would be food critics: Seniors Manuel Granados, Katherine Alderete, Magaly Silva, Dulce Fuentes and Luis Gomez.
On that day, at that hour, the restaurant seemed rather unbusy and was nearly empty except for two seated customers. Right off the bat, we noticed how clean and spacious it was. Multiple TVs hung on the walls playing sports at a low volume to not disturb the calm environment.
As we were deciding what to order, we were surprised that a flock of about a dozen people walked in, indicating that the restaurant does get plenty of customers throughout the day.
Epic Wings offers a total of ten wing flavors with the choice of either ranch or blue cheese for dipping sauce. The first flavor is buffalo which is up to the customer to choose the level of spice: mild, medium, hot, extra hot and atomic hot. The other five flavors are garlic parmesan, original BBQ, honey BBQ, lemon pepper and sweet chili.
Manuel Granados was the first to order. He got the #2 combo, which consists of “epic fries” and a soda. The epic fries are fries with cheese, chicken tender cut into chunks, chipotle ranch, and your choice of sauce, which in his case, was hot buffalo.
“I would rate them a 7 out of 10, overall mid but not bad. The taste was very average for every piece, from the chicken to the fries to the buffalo sauce. I paid $15 for it, which was a bit higher than I would have liked. The serving was definitely big but it was also expensive. I would not choose it over somewhere like Taco Bell in the Plaza. I think it’s a place that’s good to try to get the experience of it, definitely not somewhere that you should outright avoid,” Granados said.
The next to order was Luis Gomez. He got the #1 combo which consists of three chicken tenders, two breadsticks, a side of fries and a small amount of vegetables.
“For my combo, I chose my sauce to be hot buffalo, which was not very hot but smelled extremely acidic. Even just bringing it to my face to eat it burned through my nose. Aside from that, the tenders’ flavor was pretty underwhelming, and they got cold oddly quickly,” Gomez said.
I can confirm that Gomez’s chicken tenders cooled really fast. Near the end when most of us were done with our meals, the bone-in wings were still warm but the tenders felt like they had just been taken out of the refrigerator and were no longer enjoyable. As for the acidness of the sauce, I took it upon myself to give them a whiff, and yes, they burned my nose.
“The breadsticks on their own were pretty underwhelming as well. It tasted like plain but fresh bread which was refreshing from the toxic tenders, but they, too, had next to no flavor. They did have garlic seasoning, which tasted really good, but it was so little you could barely enjoy it. The fries alone without sauce were fine; they were crunchy, salty and warm, so they were at least the best part of my meal,” Gomez added on.
As for Alderete, Silva, Fuentes, and myself, we ordered a family pack to divide among the four of us. The family pack includes 24 wings and costs $45. They can either be a singular flavor or the customer can choose up to three flavors. We got the garlic parmesan and the mild and hot buffalo flavors. I also ordered the epic fries with garlic parmesan for the choice of sauce. They were about $13 on their own.
Alderete, a huge fan of anything spicy, mainly ate the hot buffalo flavor wings. She is also a hot wings expert, so her words of criticism should not be taken lightly…
“I rate the wings 6 out of 10. I miss my Wingstop. I liked the taste at first, but it was so saucy that the very hot buffalo sauce got all over my lips, and they burned a lot. The smell of the spicy wings overwhelmed my nose because the sauce was so acidic. I think the price is pretty reasonable but more on the expensive side. I wish we got more sauces and wing flavors for the family pack though. I think it’s good but I am loyal to Wingstop. The breadsticks were yummy, and the epic fries were also really good. If someone paid for me, I would come here again. I think it’s worth trying,” Alderete said.
All in all, Epic Wings may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely a spot you should try at least once with your friends or family. My friends and I can collectively agree that the epic fries were the most delicious item on the menu. If we were to return to the restaurant, getting the fries would be a must. Just a word of advice, if you get any buffalo-sauced wings, don’t inhale as you take a bite.
