The third annual Lord of the Wings contest raising funds for Discover Pacific Beach, the community’s business improvement district, will be Saturday, Aug. 17 from 1 to 5 p.m. in Maverick’s Beach Club’s special event parking lot.
Nine local eateries will be competing in this year’s event at 860 Garnet Ave. Guests will vote for the contest winner.
Participating restaurants include SD TapRoom, Pacific Beach Shore Club, Bub’s at the Beach, Tavern at the Beach, Maverick’s Beach Club, Moonshine Beach, SandBox Pizza & Pints, The Local Pacific Beach and Duck Dive.
A $25 ticket, $30 the day of the event plus a $2 service fee, entitles guests to chicken wing samples from all participating restaurants and one drink ticket. More drinks are available for purchase. There will be local craft breweries and drink options for all.
“Come out and sample nine of PB’s hot spots and decide where you are going to spend your football Sundays based on who has the best wings,” said Sara Berns, Discover PB’s executive director. “Proceeds from all of our events, including Lord of the Wings, are how we raise money to clean the sidewalks, provide additional trash cans, basic maintenance and graffiti removal in the district.”
Added Berns, “As the Clean and Safe program in all its glory is no longer, we still do maintain the ‘clean’ portion of it four days a week. Our ultimate goal of course being to increase our cleaning days to six days a week and bring back the safety ambassador.”
The origin of deep-fried chicken wings goes back to 1964 at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, N.Y. Anchor Bar co-owner Teressa Bellissimo cooked leftover wings in hot sauce as a late-night snack for her son and his friends. They liked them so much, that the Bellissimos put them on the menu the next day. Served with celery slices and bleu cheese sauce, “Buffalo Wings” were an instant hit.
Dick Winger, who sold hot sauce to Anchor Bar, went on the road with Dominic Bellissimo, the owners’ son, to promote the item and sell hot sauce. The item gradually caught on with restaurant operators around the country.
Tickets and information are available at pacificbeach.org/event/lord-of-the-wings.