Hot honey barbecue wings from Grapevine Pizzeria and Restaurant.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
Whether you like to watch football or not, the 2026 Super Bowl arrives on Feb. 8, which means watch parties will be filled with a plethora of food and drinks.
As the big game approaches, the Reminder Publishing news team visited some local restaurants to try an iconic Super Bowl delectable; chicken wings.
On the Jan. 30 episode of “So That Reminds Me,” Dennis Hackett, Chris Maza and Ryan Feyre sat down to discuss the results and share some recommendations.
Brickhouse Tavern, Indian Orchard — Dennis Hackett
Dennis prefaced that Brickhouse Tavern is one of his parents’ favorite restaurants, so there have been plenty of occasions when they have ordered buffalo and garlic wings for takeout.
For the review, he ordered 10 wings, half coated with a Cajun rub, which Dennis said was “pretty good,” and the other half with Carolina Tangy Gold, which is a sweet and tangy mustard base barbecue sauce.
Dennis said the Carolina Tangy Gold is “by far” his favorite due to the combination of honey mustard and barbecue sauce.
Although Dennis mentioned he sometimes enjoys wings with a little heat, he prefers the Carolina Tangy Gold because of the uniqueness.
Other flavors that Brickhouse Tavern has for their wings include ranch, lemon pepper, buffalo, old bay, teriyaki, sweet chile, mango habanero, buffayaki and General Tso’s.
In case you are not a fan of wings, Dennis also tried the Tavern’s cheesy tots, which were seasoned with black truffle sea salt, garlic and parmesan cheese and served with hot fondue cheese sauce. He dipped the tater tots in the cheese sauce like it was beer cheese and said it was pretty good.
Rail Trail Ale House, Southwick — Ryan Feyre
Ryan said he could not wait to talk about Rail Trail because it his favorite restaurant in the area. The wings reflect the overall ambience and quality of the place, according to Ryan, and he said the wings are some of the best in the area because they “hit on all cylinders” in terms of proportion of meat, the amount of sauce and flavor of the wing.
Ryan stayed classic and got the buffalo wings. He also mentioned that the chicken tenders at Rail Trail are marinated overnight in their “everyday dressing,” dredged in eggs and breadcrumbs then fired to a golden brown.
Although Ryan mentioned he is unsure if the Rail Trail does the same with its “Wicked Wings,” he believes they do because the flavor of the wings seep into the entire wing, yielding a burst of flavor.
Ryan also said that Rail Trail offers a great atmosphere to watch this year’s Super Bowl.
The Hangar Pub and Grill, multiple locations — Chris Maza
Reminder Publishing photo by Chris Maza
Chris checked out The Hangar Pub and Grill in West Springfield. Although the restaurant has gone through changes over the years and is now a local chain, he said they still have “good quality wings.”
Hangar Pub and Grill, which offers 26 flavors and features a list of “Best Of” awards, proclaims to be the “King of Wings.”
On Chris’s family’s recent trip to the restuarant, they ordered four different wing flavors to try, including Cruisin’ Altitude — which is essentially the restaurant’s standard buffalo — mango habanero, garlic parmesan and cajun teriyaki.
Chris shared that he is a big fan of their mango habanero due to the sweet and spicy combination that “hits the spot every time.”
The Cruisin’ Altitude is a safe option for a Super Bowl party because it is the restaurant’s standard buffalo with a little bit of a kick.
Chris, who mentioned he is a big fan of garlic, would have liked a little more garlic taste to the garlic parmesan wing. He described the dry rub as more of a garlic salt as opposed to minced garlic.
Initially, Chris also was not sold on the idea of a cajun teriyaki wing, but said he was “pleasantly surprised” when he tried it thanks to the wing’s richer and more complex flavor.
Besides the flavor of the wings, Chris also commended Hangar for the size of their wings.
He said the restaurants pump out a lot of volume in terms of the takeout business, so they are primed for a watch party. He recommends them because of how many locations encompass the region.
Grapevine Pizzeria and Restaurant, Longmeadow — Tyler Garnet
I ordered 10 hot honey barbecue wings from Grapevine Pizzeria and Restaurant in Longmeadow. As soon as I picked up my online order, I was excited to try these wings because I could smell the flavor from outside the container and the bag they came in. The wings were sizable, and the order included a nice mix of drums and flats. I really enjoyed the flavor and was happy with the amount of sauce on the wings. The sweetness of the barbecue and hot honey element went good together, as neither of the flavor profiles outshine the other; the wings weren’t too hot or too sweet.
I would have liked the wings to be a little crispier, but I also had to wait 30 minutes after picking them up to eat them due to my commute, so I would be open to trying them again in the restaurant.
I liked that you could ask for them well done, which is how I prefer to have them cooked. Other flavors at Grapevine include buffalo, barbecue, honey barbecue or plain. You unfortunately could not mix or match, so I decided to go with honey hot barbecue, and I was happy with my choice.
Pizza Shoppe, East Longmeadow – Peter Tuohy
Peter tried the mild wings at The Pizza Shoppe and said it was one of the best wings he had in a long time. This was his first time at The Pizza Shoppe, so he said he was excited to see that the wings were “hefty and were filling, making a real bang for your buck.” Peter said he is usually an “as spicy as possible” person, but he settled for mild so he could get the best judge of flavor.
The meat fell right off the bone and there was not a bone in the batch left unfinished. The blue cheese also added a delicious extra touch to complete. He mentioned that The Pizza Shoppe’s mild wings included a minimal mess and a delicious and tender flavor.
Peter said he will be back to try out the hot and barbecue wings soon.
Other places that the news staff shared as honorable mentions included La Cucina di Hampden House in Hampden, E.B’s in Agawam, Theodore’s Blues, Booze and BBQ in Springfield, White Lion Brewing Company in Springfield, Nadim’s Downtown Mediterranean Grill in Springfield and Vanished Valley Brewing in Ludlow.
This list from the news staff is not definitive. If you have your favorites, be sure to let us know by emailing news@thereminder.com.
To hear the full episode , visit thereminder.com/our-podcast or search “So That Reminds Me” on your favorite podcasting platform.
You must be logged in to post a comment.