When I was a student in Ithaca, New York, I enjoyed my weekends immensely. I could sleep in and wake up and drive to a street lined with a variety of fast-food joints that I loved patronizing.

At one of the regular places I would visit, I would order a double beef burger plus an additional two orders of fried clams sandwich (without the bun), some fries and sauce tartare on the side. At another joint—KFC, or Kentucky Fried Chicken then—I always ordered an eight-piece dark meat combo. It only offered the regular kind, since the crispy kind hadn’t been invented yet. Once, I asked if they had wings; during those days wings were almost always given away, since they were not part of the menu. Here, the wings were being sold at a cheap 10 cents a piece.

I went back to that place on many weekends, bringing my buddy Francis Manglapus along with me, and had my fix of 10 wings on each visit. I absolutely love chicken wings!

Dining discoveries

Miel is the daughter of a badminton friend and is a student at the Ateneo de Manila. She is familiar with all the dining joints across the school, and she was the one who gave me a tip about a chicken wings place she swears I would enjoy.

My daughter Ali and I are like two hounds constantly sniffing around for new dining discoveries. She is particularly on the lookout for burger joints. I mentioned to her Miel’s tip about this place along Katipunan in White Plains. She didn’t take too much convincing.

As we sat down at Flaming Wings, I was intrigued because the place was full! It has a hip vibe, giving you the impression of being in a New York diner.

Of course, we ordered the specialty—chicken wings! I enjoyed the Buffalo wings coated with the sauces “Original” and the spicy “Wild” the most. The wings are extremely crunchy and tasty. I actually prefer them as is, with just the sauce coating. The dips? My daughter and I agree they needed to be worked on a bit.

It is in places like these that you discover the most unexpected. There are many interesting items on the menu, for instance. My gaze focused on the Lettuce Wrap, which is crispy rice noodles with minced chicken, water chestnuts, shitake mushrooms and some sauce. How to eat? You mix the filling, scoop some into the lettuce and use the lettuce as your wrapper. Mmm, crispy and delicious! We loved that dish.

Just a few days after, we were back to order it again. Reminds me of a dish I just learned at ISCAHM cooking school. Healthy pa.

Interesting dishes

Another dish I enjoyed was the Tuna Melt sandwich. I loved the bread—light, crusty and, as you bite into it, the tuna and cheese ooze out of the sides. Also healthy.

There’s also the Linguine in Clam Sauce, which I liked but felt it needed just a bit more sauce.

The Pink Lemonade is thirst-quenching. Other interesting dishes on the menu are from the Comfort Zone, Sandwiches and Pasta Choices lineup. To top the meal off, my daughter and I shared a Warm Brownie ala mode. That disappeared in an instant.

I still love KFC’s wings even if they’re no longer 10 cents a piece. But there are other options now. Thanks to Miel, we have a new favorite dining place.

Flaming Wings, New York Buffalo wings is along Katipunan in White Plains. Call 7381263.

Happy Eating!