My experience with chicken wings and the whole dining experience was limited to rare visits to Sunrise Buckets, random bars that served "wings", some home made ones, and the occasional food shows wherein Adam Richman or another American took on extreme chicken wings challenges in mom-and-pop stores all around the US. The experience of eating wings is oftentimes a messy one: the sauce sticks to your hand as you grab, bite, suck and grapple with whatever meat is left on the bone; all this is happening as your mind blazes into high gear thinking about what flavor or combination you should try next to complete the whole experience of eating wings. The same can be said for Wing Stop - Taft, when I was faced with 20 pieces of wings in varying flavors that tickled and also bored my taste buds.
The restaurant sits on the second floor of the University Mall just beside the V. Cruz Station of the LRT, it used to be the old Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf which bowed out of university life existence about a year ago. In its place a bare, utilitarian and near-industrial ambiance takes its place to entice students and commuters alike to try 6 flavor combinations of chicken wings.
Like many of the chicken wings type of restaurants in the metro, the choices in the restaurant aren't so bad. There are the mild flavors and the atomic hot ones that beg for a Man vs. Food challenge if there ever was one. For our lunch, we took the option of having three flavors (hickory barbecue, garlic parmesan and the Louisiana rub) on 20 pieces of chicken wings and a paper bowl of chipotle rice.
The meal itself was a simple affair, no fuss and frills whatsoever, just a simple paper place mat with the requisite plastic gloves to protect our fingers from the onslaught of sauce mixtures that would inevitably stick in all places. Out of the three flavors we chose, I enjoyed the hickory barbecue more than the other two; the garlic parmesan was boring and did not warrant seconds or thirds (I was hungry and therefore went back for the seconds and thirds), while the Louisiana rub held some promise for having a spicy kick but later on fizzled out before it even started a fire.
With its flavors and affordability, Wing Stop, certainly works for college students who need a break after the long haul of exams, papers and boring classes. But for those who need a little flair and a little something more, Wing Stop isn't the place to get your chicken wings fix, there are certainly better options and those with a better options.
Wing Stop - Taft can be found on the second floor of the University Mall, beside McDonald's - Taft.
Wing Stop can be reached via land line at (02) 708-4649.
Wing Stop can be reached via land line at (02) 708-4649.