Lahore's Buffalo Wings and Rings lets you make a meal out of appetisers
Just last week, a new American restaurant was launched in the city. Although it had been opened to public a while ago, maybe a ‘launch’ was a better way to make your presence felt.
Located on the top floor of a shopping mall on the busy M.M. Alam Road, Buffalo Wings and Rings offers a variety of fast food, but of course claims chicken wings and onion rings as its specialty primarily, as the name suggests. Besides a large indoor space, there’s also a patio that overlooks a petrol pump and some designer stores across the road.
Upon entering, what immediately strikes is the sporty interior. And very soon you realise it’s been designed like a sports bar, which is the concept behind the original eatery back in the States. But since here they can’t offer us the most essential item at sports bars, we’ll just have to do with the food only along with a local version of Bloody Mary, though there is a ‘bar’ at one end of the restaurant.
The interior is simple and not fussy: neatly arranged wooden tables and chairs; posters on walls with quirky quotes about hot sauce, wings, Buffalo; a stage and a ‘wall of flame’ set up adjacent to the ‘bar’ for gigs, performances, hot sauce competitions to be introduced soon; flags representing American football teams covering the windows, and several screens that will play whichever sports tournament is going on at a certain time.
The menu has been designed keeping the ambiance in mind, and they want you to know, through notices on the walls, that “table manners are strongly discouraged”. From the starters, the first thing I tried was the onion rings, of course, which did not disappoint. Large crunchy, golden onion rings, fried in a crispy, thin shell and served with ranch dressing: a pleasant start, indeed.
Next among the starters was the Buffalo Chicken Quesadilla. This is a soft large flour tortilla, stuffed with tender chunks of grilled chicken with tomatoes and onions, loaded with cheese and lots of hot sauce that drips when you take a bite – this is the messy part, and sprinkled with shredded cheese. It is served with your choice of blue cheese or ranch. Not sure why this is placed under ‘Starters’ because with its size and generous filling, it can easily be had as a main.
Another interesting starter I tried was the Spinach and Artichoke Dip. A thick concoction of spinach, artichoke and Parmesan and mozzarella cheese served with flash-fried triangular slices of pita that are sprinkled with shredded Parmesan cheese, this was finger-licking delicious. The cheesy dip will make you want to go back for more even though you can barely taste the spinach.
The mini beef burgers (sliders) brought back childhood memories of the very popular Mac Burger that shut down years ago.
On to the main course, which first comprised house specialty, the wings. The first step is to choose from traditional wings, boneless wings and tender chunks. Then there are around 10 sauces to select from, and lastly, the level of heat in your wings: from atomic to mild. Frankly, the wings weren’t as fresh and succulent as I’d have liked them to be, but the sauces were flavoursome and could blow your top, as almost all of them were loaded with hot sauce, which in some flavours hits you with the very first bite. My recommendations are the buffalo, sweet and sour, and sweet BBQ flavours -- however hot you want them. All of the wings are served with either blue cheese or ranch.
Buffalo Wings and Rings also claim to have introduced to Pakistan the American version of Greek gyro. Soft chunks of meat, diced tomato and sliced onion wrapped in a thick pita served with cucumber sauce. We’re so used to shawarmas here that some might mistake this gyro for a shawarma.
The menu also includes a variety of 200g and 100g burgers, wraps, sandwiches, salads and drinks. As for dessert, there’s something different every day for which the menu suggests one check with the waiter. Most of the items on the menu might be a bit heavy on the pocket: 10 little wings for Rs700 (exclusive of taxes) is a bit too much. So is the artichoke dip for Rs500 without tax, to name a few. Except for burgers, wraps and sandwiches. And with another restaurant claiming to specialise in wings, established on the same road, this new eatery might have to make some effort to get noticed.
Originally published in Dawn, March 27th, 2017