(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
(Credit: Steve Thurston, 2023)
Davidson Brothers Brewery of downtown Glens Falls and Papa’s Diner of Queensbury took home the top prizes at this year’s Glens Falls Wing Fest, held on a rainy Saturday April 29.
Sean Thomas of Ballston Spa took home the Mike DuBray Inferno Hot Wing Eating championship, ousting last year’s winner, Phil Hollis by well over a minute.
Dickinson’s Delights took home honors for best meatless wings. The competition included 14 restaurants. The event is hosted by the Glens Falls Collaborative.
Davidson Brothers won both the People’s Choice award and the Celebrity Judge Award, also called “The Abraham” (like “The Oscar” or “The Grammy”), in honor of the founder of the city, Abraham Wing. (Glens Falls was originally called Wings Falls until, one legend goes, Wing lost the city to Colonel Johannes Glen in a card game.)
The judges for The Abraham best wing contest were a collection of local TV anchors and reporters along with Billy Trudsoe, the executive chef of Basil & Wicks in North Creek, and a 2022 contestant on the reality TV show Hell’s Kitchen.
Davidsons also took home the people’s choice top honor as measured by votes taken online during the competition from the visitors to the festival.
Papa’s Diner of Corinth Road won for best newcomer and best “visitor” restaurant as judged online by people at the event. The visitor category included restaurants that do not have a downtown location.
Owner Chris Smith said he went through about 110 pounds of wings during the day and ran out about 2 o’clock. The festival ran from opening ceremonies at 11:45 on Glen Street to about 4 p.m. in City Park after the winners were announced.
“This was a great time,” Chris’ wife Donna Smith said. Both she and Chris said they plan to compete next year.
Chris said he will be looking to the weather next year, and if it is sunny, he plans to bring about 160 pounds of wings.
Davidson Brothers donated the wings to the inferno hot wing eating contest and the Beef Jerky Outlet of Lake George donated the hot sauces used in the competition. The Outlet also gave the winner a $25 gift certificate to the store.
The competition included nine wings, six at about 500,000 Scoville heat units, or SHUs, much hotter than the hottest wing offered in most restaurants. The final three wings were covered in sauce measured at about 6 million SHU.
Not only do the competitors have to eat all nine, they also have to lick their fingers clean and then wait three minutes of “burn time” before they can use paper towels or drink milk.
Winner Sean Thomas told his father that he was taking home a trophy, and he did.
“I went into this expecting that it wasn’t going to be too hot, but then Phil [Hollis], the winner from last year, was telling me how hot, how many Scoville units, the wings were, and I got a little nervous,” Thomas said shortly after the win. “I put my head down. I knew if I had stopped I wouldn’t go any further, so I just kept going.”
Hollis took second place this year. He won last year and used that win to enter the national competition in Buffalo where he took third place. Roger Guglielmo took third place this year.
“I’m going to help him get into Buffalo,” Hollis said of Thomas. “He can do it.”
Editor’s Note: Foothills Business Daily is a member of the Glens Falls Collaborative, and Editor/Publisher Steve Thurston was co-chair of the Wing Fest committee with Phil Hollis and collaborative President Nancy Turner.