Mistakes You Might Be Making Ordering Chicken Wings At Chain Restaurants

Regardless of whether you whip up a simple batch of chicken wings in your air fryer or make a fancier option like Thai honey chicken wings, these little crispy treats are absolutely delicious. Americans love chicken wings so much that they're popular at any time, whether for a weeknight meal after work or a special event, like a Super Bowl Sunday.

Since not everyone has the time or energy to make wings at home, plenty of folks instead get their fix from their favorite local chain restaurant. But when it comes to ordering restaurant chicken wings, although it may seem like a pretty straightforward task, there are plenty of small mistakes that you could inadvertently be making. They may not seem like blunders from the get-go, but remembering these things can actually make your wing run much smoother. 

To help with that, we've put together a list of mistakes you could be making when ordering chicken wings at any chain restaurant, together with what you can do instead to make your ordering experience easier. From not getting combo deals for large crowds to skipping the dips and sauces, you'll be surprised by the little things that have so far been coming in the way of a perfect wing outing.

While many folks don't have much preference, quite a few seem to be part of the age-old debate of flats versus drums and which is best for dipping. If you're one of the latter, you're bound to be on one side — so if you have never checked if you can order only flats or drums at your favorite chain restaurant, you've been making a mistake. In case you didn't know, most chain restaurants that serve chicken wings actually offer their customers the option to order just one type. Once you check this at your favorite chicken wings spot, you won't need to order and eventually eat a piece that you don't really like.

It's worth keeping in mind, though, that chain restaurants offering this will usually charge extra if you'd like to order just flats or drums, but that shouldn't be worrisome, as in most cases, they only charge a couple of dollars more for this customization. Luckily, the extra charge should normally be listed on the menu. In case a chain restaurant hasn't mentioned this option upfront, you can always check with the staff before placing your order.

It's really easy to order a big serving of wings and devour all of them in one go, because they're pretty delicious. But that's not really the best idea. To go into detail about why this is a mistake, you should first know that experts advise that an adult should consume an average of somewhere between 1,600 to 3,000 calories and 1,500 to 2,300 mg of sodium in a day. Of course, these numbers can vary from person to person, but this is the ballpark figure that's typically recommended. When buying chicken wings from chain restaurants, in most cases, the smallest portion of six wings will give you 400 to 600 calories. At some places, this could include the sauce or dry rub, and at others, sauces and dry rubs add another 50 to 150 calories.

As for sodium, the wings themselves may be fine, but the sauces and dry rubs that they're coated with are often packed with heaps of it. Sometimes, they can easily contain over 900 mg of sodium, which can bring the total up pretty quickly. If this is how many calories and sodium you'd get just out of a small portion of wings, that means it's easy to go over the recommended amount when you order too many for yourself. It's better to get a small portion, along with some healthy sides, to make your meal balanced and filling.

Sure, you wouldn't want a combo meal all the time. But if you aren't ordering one even when you're with a large crowd, that's definitely a mistake to avoid on your next visit to your favorite chain restaurant, because a combo can work out a lot cheaper than ordering several individual portions of wings.

To get a better idea of how much you can save, it's worth taking a closer look at the prices. At Buffalo Wild Wings, for example, the most basic combo meal consists of a portion of six bone-in wings along with fries. Surprisingly, if you order a portion of six wings just by themselves, the price is the same as the combo meal! So, for the same amount of money, you can actually get a side of fries as well, which is a steal. At Wingstop, you'd have to pay a couple of extra dollars for a combo meal as compared to what you'd pay for a usual portion of wings, but that little extra money will get you a side and a beverage. Meanwhile, at Popeyes, the combo also turns out more cost-effective, but what's even better is that you can choose a couple of different flavors of wings in the same order. 

Of course, these are just basic options, and if you're ordering for a larger group, you can also get larger combos, which also work out cheaper. All in all, a combo is a great choice when you want more food for your money.

Since a lot of chain restaurants don't offer complimentary dips along with wings, some diners skip getting them altogether, thinking they don't need them anyway. There's a reason why wings, especially hot ones, are always served with certain dips, though. Have you ever wondered why Buffalo wings are always paired with blue cheese and celery? One reason is that this is how these wings were originally served, so the tradition is carried on till today. But there's also a practical factor behind the whole thing.

Keeping the celery aside (we get it, not everyone wants to chew on raw celery while enjoying their wings), blue cheese dip can actually help temper the heat of your wings, thanks to its mild flavor. This is also why the other dip option served alongside wings is usually ranch, which also has a pretty mild flavor that works exceptionally alongside extra hot wings.

In short, you're likely better off paying a dollar or a few extra dollars to get those dips on the side. Of course, you could also go for slightly hotter dips, if that's what you'd like. When getting extra hot wings, though, buying a few dips is sure to improve your eating experience.

Have you ever ordered chicken wings and decided to eat them later, but by the time you actually get to them, they've turned into a soggy mess? This happens more often than not, especially if you get takeout or delivery, and the mistake many diners make is not ordering their sauce on the side. Yes, you can actually ask the staff to serve the sauce on the side, so you don't have to toss your wings into it until you'd like. Many chain restaurants also offer this option when you're placing an order online.

While not ordering sauce on the side is an easy mistake, there's one more thing that you should know — some restaurants may give you a smaller portion of sauce when you order this way, which is quite a bummer. Disappointed diners have discussed this online, with one Reddit commenter saying that the sauce you'll get is "not even enough to cover a single wing." Others mention the same thing. If you're unsure about this, the best thing to do is ask the staff to give you some extra sauce on the side, which is still better than getting stuck with soggy chicken wings.

It's easy to think that boneless wings are actually just deboned wing meat, but that isn't really the case. If you've been ordering boneless wings expecting actual chicken wing meat, then you aren't getting what you would have been hoping for. The obvious question is, if boneless wings don't contain any wing meat, what are they made of? It turns out, they're made from chicken breast meat.

Interestingly, the Great Recession actually helped create the boneless chicken wings we know now, because at the time, they worked out cheaper than serving real wings. Even today, boneless wings end up being more cost-effective for restaurants, which isn't really a downgrade from serving wing meat without bones. It's also less time-intensive to make them with chicken breast, rather than actually removing bones from chicken wings and then prepping them. Some folks also seem to think that this process makes them essentially the same as chicken nuggets, but that isn't quite true either. There's a difference between chicken nuggets and boneless wings, and that's the fact that nuggets are made with minced meat rather than whole chunks.

Boneless wings may not be actual wings, but that doesn't mean you should avoid ordering them. Just remember that if you prefer the taste and texture of wing meat, you won't be getting the same thing with this, and knowing what you're buying can help avoid any potential disappointment.

Although this may not outright seem like a mistake when you're ordering chicken wings at a chain restaurant, it's something to be careful of. It's easy to assume that boneless wings should never have any bones, and that's probably why you might be ordering them. So when you dig into one of these wings and find a tiny bone, that's going to cause some disappointment. Plus, if you aren't already aware of the chances of small bones being present in these wings, you might even end up biting into one — or worse!

It's easy to think that this is a mistake on the restaurant's part, and action should be taken against them for such a situation. As it turns out, back in 2016, one man from Ohio did file a complaint against a local wing restaurant, after actually choking on a small piece of bone in a boneless wing. You might think a court would rule in his favor, but that didn't happen. They instead said that the customer should have been aware and vigilant about the fact that even boneless wings can sometimes contain bone fragments. So it's a good idea to be careful when you're eating boneless chicken wings, and keep in mind while ordering that boneless may not necessarily mean completely boneless.

When it comes to chicken wings from a chain restaurant, you'd expect them to taste the same at every location. Sadly, though, that isn't always the case. You may wonder why the flavor and quality of wings can differ at various locations, when chain restaurants follow the same recipe everywhere. Sure, that's true, but what's also true is that there are many things which can affect how your food is prepared before it reaches your table. 

Talking about chain restaurants in general, a Reddit commenter explained, "One location may be a corporate location which generally strictly follows corporate guidelines leading to better quality while the other location may be a franchisee location which depending on the owner may cut corners to save cost." They, together with other commenters, also pointed out that the quality of your food can vary depending on which restaurant employees were preparing it. This is true of any restaurant so, of course, all these factors apply to chain restaurants that serve wings, too.

Ultimately, it's a good idea to go through reviews of the location you'll be visiting. That way, you can try and save yourself from making the mistake of expecting the same taste and experience everywhere. If the reviews aren't good, it's better to go somewhere else.