CHICKEN WING PRICES ON THE RISE!!!

Wingmen and wing nuts everywhere: the days of cheap chicken wings may be ending. After a year when chicken-wing prices were surprisingly mild, wings are especially hot in demand now, and prices are expected to remain at or near record highs for months to come.

Unlike crops, there’s no particular “harvest” season for animals. Nonetheless, there are particular times of the year when prices spike for certain meat products. Bacon, for instance, soars in demand — and therefore, also in price — during the mid- to late summer, which could otherwise be known as “BLT season.” People want bacon more then because that’s when tomatoes are the freshest, the most delicious and also the cheapest (especially if you grow them in your backyard).

The demand for — and therefore, also the price of — chicken wings, on the other hand, doesn’t spike because of its relationship to the cycle of any vegetable or fruit, but because of human habit, and the grumbling desire of American sports fans. When do chicken-wing prices soar? Well, we’re at the height of the wing season right now, actually.

Peak season for chicken wings is, by no small coincidence, also peak season for many sports lovers. It’s January through March, a span when the NFL Playoffs, the Super Bowl and March Madness take place. The National Chicken Council estimated that 1.25 billion chicken wings were eaten on Super Bowl Sunday, and that 23% of people who watched the game ate wings — a few, or perhaps a few dozen, each.

A steep rise in demand for chicken wings took place three years ago, when, it’s been reported, the average wholesale price of wings was $1.47 per lb., up 39% from 2008. Adjusted for inflation, that was the highest price for wings since the 1970s.

Last year was an exceptionally affordable one for wings, which averaged 99¢ per lb., dipping below 80¢ in May and June (wings’ low season, apparently). Since the fall of 2011, though, wing prices have flown sharply northward, doubling over the six-month period ending in mid-January. At their peak last month, wing prices hit $1.99 per lb.

Industry publication Nation’s Restaurant News (NRN) reports that through March 2012, wing prices will remain at least 30¢ per lb. more expensive than last year.

How does this translate into the price of a dozen wings at the local pub or chain restaurant? As NRN points out, some wing-specialty chains, such as East Coast Wings and Quaker Steak & Lube, locked in purchase prices for wings last year, when they were low, to hedge against the likelihood of soaring prices. That strategy should help them keep menu prices down, at least for the near future.

Despite the sharp rise in wing prices at the end of 2011, the Buffalo Wild Wings chain wound up riding the popularity of wings to a 33% increase in fourth-quarter earnings, prompting shares of the company to rise 16% last week. If any restaurant understands the importance of sports — football in particular — for wings sales, it’s Buffalo Wild Wings. Last summer, when the NFL lockout was still in effect, the chain started a “Save Our Season” petition on Facebook. Anyone who signed the petition would be entitled to six free wings if the lockout ended by July 20. (Turns out, the lockout ended just a few days after that deadline.)

In any event, it’ll be hard for Buffalo Wild Wings to repeat its 2011 performance, especially because wing prices by the pound have hit the ceiling — and price increases on restaurant menus seem inevitable. At the beginning of last year, Buffalo Wild Wings’ menu prices were hiked 2.4%, and that was while wing prices remained low. For the sake of wing-loving diners everywhere, let’s hope the price hikes this year, which could be major, take place until after March Madness is over.

Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME.

Read more: http://moneyland.time.com/2012/02/13/chicken-wings-are-hot-and-chicken-wing-prices-are-hotter/#ixzz1mW1jFBc3

SUPER BOWL FOR CHICKEN WINGS

Super Bowl Sunday is synonymous with football, entertaining commercials and food. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) says that Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest food consumption day of the year, behind Thanksgiving.
And what is on just about every menu? Chicken wings.
The National Chicken Council (NCC) says that Super Bowl weekend is the biggest time of the year for wings. More than 1.25 billion wing portions will be consumed during Super Bowl weekend in 2012, totaling more than 100 million pounds of wings, according to the NCC’s 2012 Wing Report.
If the wings were laid end-to-end they would circle the circumference of the Earth— more than twice—a distance that would reach approximately a quarter of the way to the moon, according to the NCC. But we all know that they would be eaten before the wings would be put end-to-end.
NCC Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Bill Roenigk on the NCC website said that chicken wings will be consumed by three times the number of Americans on Super Bowl Sunday than a typical Sunday throughout the year. About half will be ordered from restaurants and half purchased from retail grocery stores. (For a full list of Batavia restaurants and retail shops, click here.)
A chicken has two wings, and chicken companies are not able to produce wings without the rest of the chicken. Therefore, the supply of wings is limited by the total number of chickens produced. When the demand for wings is stronger than the demand for other chicken parts, the price of wings will go up.
Wing prices always go up in the fourth quarter of the year as restaurants stock up for the Super Bowl and prices usually peak in January during the run-up to the big game, according to the NCC.
In the Midwest, for instance, the price of wings (whole) for the week of Jan. 16-20, was $1.96 a pound wholesale, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Poultry Market News Service. This represents a 50 percent increase in price from six months ago in July 2011. The USDA estimates that the cost for frozen party wings in the Midwest cost $1.60 to $3 per pound.
“The good news for consumers,” said NCC’s Roenigk, “is that food service and retail outlets generally plan months in advance for the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl Sunday, meaning that increased wholesale costs for the most part aren’t passed on to consumers’ plates.”
Consumers looking for great chicken wing recipes can find them on the National Chicken Council website at eatchicken.com.

Delran FOP police wing eating fundraiser

Delran FOP lodge #230 presents
Sunday March 4th 4-7pm , Throwbacks Bar and Grill , 2929 Rt 130 Delran Nj 08075

10$ all you can eat wings , proceeds benefit the high school .

Kobayashi Wins WingBowl 20

Kobayashi eats 337 to set new wing bowl record and takes home 20k and first place

odds for wingbowl 20

Rick The Manager: 100-1
Snack Jack : 75-1
*The Ukraine Train: 75-1
Freak Of Nature: 50-1
Hot Pockets: 50-1
*Elmer Fudd: 50-1
*The Rooster: 40-1
*King Kong: 35-1
Not Rich: 35-1
*Mr. 1%: 30-1
Nick Papagorgio: 25-1
Damaging Doug: 20-1
Kenso Kevin: 20-1
Iceman: 20-1
Oink Oink: 18-1
Boring John: 15-1
US Male: 10-1
Gentlemen Gerry: 9-1
*Skin & Bones: 8-1
*Stevil Kanevil: 8-1
*Eaterama: 7-1
Quazy: 5-1
El Wingador: 4-1
*Chilita: 3-1
*Takeru Kobayashi: 2-1
Jonathan ‘Super’ Squibb: 2-1

Kobayashi prepares for wing bowl 20

(Takeru Kobayashi) (credit: Dor Cassell)
By Joseph Santoliquito

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Takeru Kobayashi doesn’t look like a bottomless gullet by any means this weekend afternoon. The international eating star is serenely sitting with his hands folded over his knees in a barren hotel dining room with no food in front of him. For once.

Call this the calm before the Kobi storm.

He’s traveled the world, devouring everything in a frantic, world-record pace from spaghetti, to rice balls, pizza and hamburgers, to lobster rolls and sushi. Oh yeah, and raw cow brains. He’s most famously known in the United States for his hot dog-eating exploits at the annual Nathan’s July Fourth Hot Dog Eating Contest, but Kobi is about to take on a new challenge, in a completely different venue than he’s ever encountered before, as the star attraction of Wing Bowl 20. And that includes a new food group — Buffalo wings.

Kobayashi, 33, has come light years from the fresh-faced college kid who defied a friend’s challenge to ingest a menu that included curried rice. He found this odd passion by happenstance after displaying his amazing ability on a Japanese TV show. When he’s not jamming large sums of food into his mouth, he’s actually a highly refined food connoisseur.

Today, he’s arguably the second-most famous pronounced “Kobi” in the world, right next to that “other” Kobe with the Philadelphia roots. On Friday, he’ll try to unseat three-time Wing Bowl champion Jonathan “Super” Squibb, while testing venerable warhorse Bill “El Wingador” Simmons, last year’s runner-up and former three-time champ and five-time overall winner who last won Wing Bowl 13 in 2005.

The trio of favorites may be distinctly diverse in background, but you’ll find one glaring similarity about them: They’re all in tremendous physical shape, like highly tuned athletes.

It’s a basic misconception many outsiders looking in fail to see. Don’t let Kobayashi’s cool veneer fool you, either. Underneath the approachable smile under his thick lock of jet-black hair lies a fierce competitor ready to uncoil. Kobi was once buried under slabs of muscle, some 75 pounds heavier than he is today.

“It is very close to power lifting and weightlifting, which are two things I’ve done in the past,” said Kobi, through manager Maggie James. “You need to train and convince yourself that you can do this. You have to trick yourself mentally that you can, because your brain isn’t telling you that you can eat all these wings for 10 days. For me, it’s always about going after your own records. I try to look for that equal counterbalance where physically and mentally you’re equal to the challenge. It’s all a matter of conditioning yourself.”

So Kobi has been conditioning. He’s eating 200 wings a day and honing his technique for what will probably be the most unusual eating contest in which he’s ever competed.

Squibb and Simmons are certainly looking forward to facing the legend. Squibb currently holds the record, 255, which he achieved last year. The 26-year CPA who competed for Rutgers’ crew team will not easily relinquish a title that’s very important to him.

“I’m aiming to be the first one in history of Wing Bowl to win four straight; I like this challenge,” Squibb said. “I don’t shy away from it. I try to embrace it. It’s why I think it’s funny when people tell me about ‘my eating hobby.’ I don’t treat it like that. To me, it’s like an Olympic sport. If you think about it, it’s one individual who prepares and has one shot at it.

“Ask any Olympic athlete, they’ll say it’s 70-percent mental and 30-percent physical. I used to be a competitive rower for Rutgers and I competed at a high, Olympic-level. There’s that athletic side of me that comes out.

“I’m not discounting Kobi in any way. I only met him once, but from what I see in the media and reading in the blogs, a lot of people are claiming he’s the greatest eater in the world. Wings are a specialty and my best food group, so that gives me a shot at going up against one of the best in the world. It’s a great opportunity to prove myself against someone who has a great history of competitive eating. But this is my city, my town, my event, and I’m going against someone who is trying to take that away from me. I’m confident in my ability and know my opponents. I know Kobi is the headliner. So call me the underdog, though I’m the favorite. At the end of the day, it comes down to who eats the most wings.”

Simmons, 50, has competed against Kobi before, at the Glutton Bowl in 2002. But Simmons, popularly known as El Wingador, may be in the best shape he’s been in since first competing. He lifts 90 minutes a day, Monday through Friday, and is walking two miles on a treadmill. He knows age is against him, but Simmons views himself as the grizzled warhorse, the looming shadow in the showdown between Squibb and Kobayashi.

“Just call me Secretariat, the warhorse,” Wingador said with a bellowing laugh. “I have the advantage of being the veteran and Kobi is coming in as a rookie. I respect him as an eater, but I don’t know if he’s going to be able to negotiate these wings. I know Kobi is training like a madman. He’s going to study this and figure out the best way to compete.”

But Simmons added that the ambience of Wing Bowl will be far different from anything Kobi has ever previously encountered. It could be a vulgar frothing-at-the-mouth crowd, a far different lot than the masses he’s eaten before in New York City, which loves Kobi.

“This is a whole new ballgame,” Wingador said. “Don’t get me wrong, Kobi has been in a lot of big shows. But he’s going to have people yelling at him. I don’t know what this will do with his psyche, because this is Philly, and after all, Philly is about feeling. When I’m eating, I feel the energy from the crowd. That’s the only thing that bothers me is how Kobi will be received. I love him; I consider him a friend of mine. I want him to be well received. That’s important to me. I hope Philly represents itself well.”

Though Kobi has never eaten wings competitively, he’s eating 200 wings a day. He’s been watching videos of how Squibb and Simmons eat. He plans on putting on a show for the ages—making Wing Bowl 20 the most memorable.

Kobi is preparing a Philadelphia-themed entourage and float, with special Philadelphia sports celebrities as guests, his usual theme song, “Eye of the Tiger,” blaring and a surprise entrance featuring an august Philly staple leading him on to the Wells Fargo Center floor Friday morning.

“I’m practicing every day eating wings,” Kobi said. “It is true I never experienced what eating at the Wing Bowl is like, but I was there last year. To me, I guess there are ways that I consider myself an artist, in the sense that athletes and artists are alike. They are people that go to extreme places, and have extreme personalities. I’m entering this very, very focused.

“I’m coming here to bring this contest international. I’m hoping that Wing Bowl and Philadelphia shows itself in a good favor. I love Philadelphia. I’ve always enjoyed myself here. When I was up in New York last week, I didn’t have a really good idea of what the 20th anniversary of Wing Bowl might be like, but it’s becoming more and more real, and I’m getting real excited about how big and important Wing Bowl 20 will be. I’m ready. In my imagination, I hope to show the fans that I can shock their imaginations and make news on a new kind of level. Depending on the judging, I hope that I can eat over 300 wings.”

Wing Bowl Bus Trip 2012

Wing bowl is Friday, February 3rd this year. We are offering our American Wing King package once again. Unfortunately, we ran out of tickets so fast this year. If you need one, your best bet is to get one off stubhub, (they're about $16) We will be doing the bus, drinks , t shirt and wings again. Anthony has 4 tix left, 1st come, first serve. $65 for ticket and package,or with ticket it's $50 for bus, drinks, t shirt and wings. Pre and after party will be at the Faunce Street Pub, aka Johnny's house in Delran, address to follow. Email us at americanWingKing@gmail.com for tickets for the bus trip . Or add us on FB

FUEL PIZZA - CHARLOTTE , NC

By: Staff Writer Jay Pennell

Fuel Pizza – Charlotte, NC

A local pizza joint in Charlotte known as Fuel Pizza has some of the best slices around town – something hard to find in this town – but is also known for its chicken wings. Boasting three styles of wings that are Charlotte Wing Fest Award Winners, I stopped in earlier this week to try them out.

Fuel Pizza has eight locations across the Charlotte area, but I stopped into their place at the intersection of South Blvd and East Blvd. All the restaurants are done up to look like old service stations (hence the name) and have a great atmosphere inside of them.

Proud of their pizza, Fuel also has no issue boasting their “Charlotte’s best” title, indicated by the multiple signs in the windows, along the line to order your food and on the menu board itself.

You can order wings in three sizes, a nine-piece for $7.49, an 18-piece for $14.49, and 45 wings for $33.49. They have numerous flavors of wings, but three of which won the Charlotte Wing Fest Award – the Hot Honey BBQ, Medium Buffalo, and Inferno (which they put “Yikes!” next to on the menu).

I opted for a nine-piece basket of the Hot Honey BBQ, while my three-year-old daughter Abigail went for a slice of cheese pizza

When the girl brought the nine-wing basket to the table (two drums, seven flaps, first thing I noticed was the delicious smell of the sauce covering the wings. With steam coming off them, it was clear these were freshly made, as advertised. I also got four celery sticks and a cup of blue cheese dressing – both of which went right to Abigail.

The wings had a crispy skin to them, with hot and juicy meat in each bite. The sauce complimented the meat and crispness of the skin very well, was not overwhelming or carrying the taste. I even found myself dabbing the wings in the extra sauce at the bottom of the basket, not because there wasn’t enough on the wings, but because the sauce was that good.

Overall, I was more than happy with my decision to go with the Hot Honey BBQ. They were tasty, fresh and the sauce was what set it over the top. I will have to go back and try the other award winners, as well as the other flavors. These go perfect to compliment one of Fuel’s great pizzas or simply on their own.

Now, the big question, did they live up to the title of Charlotte’s best wings? Not in my opinion. While they were very good, I still feel there are better wings out there.

WWW.FUELPIZZA.COM

1801 South Boulevard

Charlotte, NC 28203

704-335-7375

WING BOWL 20 TICKETS ON SALE WINGBOWL 2012

BUY YOUR 2012 WINGBOWL TICKETS HERE WWW.COMCASTTIX.COM/WINGBOWL

WE WILL BE PUTTING TOGETHER A WINGBOWL PACKAGE TOGETHER SOON FOR AMERICAN WING KING . IT WILL INCLUDE BUS RIDE, TICKET ( IF YOU DONT ALREADY HAVE ONE ) T SHIRT , WINGS , FOOD AND REFRESHMENTS!

Dazzy-O's - Hammonton, NJ aka Southside Pub and Grill

by : A. Cicali III

Today the wing crew and myself went out on a lunch adventure. We brought along two rookies, Kevin and Baby Finn. We decided to check out Dazzy-O's Bar and Grill . Also known as Southside Pub. Located right off Rt. 73 in Hammonton Nj.

The bartender was very cool with us bringing in the little wing princes Cam and Finn. We sat at a booth and each table has a mini Tv. She brought over a scooby doo dvd and put it in for the kids to keep them entertained. I was starving so play time was over and time to eat . Owen , Kevin and I placed our order. They offered 6 flavors, so obviously we ordered 10 of each. Flavors as followed : Sweet and Savory, Spicy Ranch, Texas Tangy, Jamaican Jerk , Garlic Parm, and BBQ. 60 wings for 29.99 . Not a bad deal. The wings were average when it came to "meatyness" I liked the Texas Tangy the best, Kevin preferred the Sweet and Savory. Nothing w

as really too spicy. All the sauces were about mild .

The place offered a nice clean atmosphere . They had two pool tables and a bunch of flatscreen Tv's all over the place. Great place to check out some Sunday Football. Dazzy-O's offered a $2 sandwich special as well. Overall not the world's best wings, but a nice little lunch outing with the boys and some decent wings.

Dazzy-O's Pub

http://southsidepubandgrill.com/

50. s. Rt 73 Hammonton NJ

609-561-5222