If you are a fan of the wing, you must (or should) know about the fabulous Fire On The Mountain. FOTM has fantastic wings, a great neighborhood feel, and an equally fantastic selection of small Oregon craft beers. That’s not to say it doesn’t have problems. Wings are the focus, and they are done fantastically well. Still, you might crave a well drink instead of a beer to wash ‘em down, and you’d be out of luck. Also, FOTM’s prices lean towards the spendy side. For awhile there, FOTM was the only real game in town, but a couple of competitors have raised their heads. There’s a place out on 82nd (I haven’t been there and the name eludes me at the moment), and a new wings joint downtown.

That joint is called Buffalo Wild Wings. Having gone there, I can say that it does some things very right, but Fire On The Mountain is in no immediate danger of having their “Best Wings in Portland” award taken away any time soon.

First off, it must be noted that Buffalo Wild Wings is a chain, and has a chain restaurant feel to it. If that turns you off, then you are not going to have a good time. That said, for a chain, it’s alright. There are a number of large TVs with various sporting events going on. There are those little hand-held consoles that allow patrons to play trivia (and Texas Hold ‘Em) against each other. The beer selection is admirable (full disclosure - any bar that has Anchor Steam on tap gets an automatic “thumbs up” from me). There is a full bar, including foofy “specialty drinks” that all of these kinds of places seem to have. There’s a pretty kick-ass happy hour ($3.00 wells and $3.00 mini corn dog baskets - sold). It’s fairly antiseptic, but it has all the stuff a decent wing joint/sports bar should have, so no harm, no foul.

But where it counts, the wings, it falls short. They’re certainly cheaper than FOTM’s, but nowhere near as good. I ordered six of the “spicy BBQ” and six of the “Wild”. The “Wild” sauce is ranked just beneath the “Blazin’” sauce (if you eat six “Blazin” wings in less than six minutes, you get your picture on the wall). The spicy BBQ was actually pretty good - but it just reminded me of how much better FOTM’s BBQ sauce is. But the “Wild” sauce wasn’t hot at all. It was actually pretty mild - which is fine, but don’t tell me I’m getting the second hottest sauce on the menu when it’s actually not hot at all. The wings were also pretty small - not the big, meaty portions you get at FOTM.

If you want to meet up with some friends after work and grab a couple pints and some wings, Buffalo Wild Wings will do the trick - you can get some inexpensive drinks (including wells), have some yuks playing Hold ‘Em, and get some perfectly adequate wings. But if wings are your focus - you simply can’t beat Fire On the Mountain. Sure, they’re spendy - but if you want the best, you gotta pay.

Related posts:

1. Fire on the Mountain Buffalo Wings
2. The Wing Wars Continue
3. Men and their Wings
4. 25c wings for Tax Day - Fire on the Mountain
5. Fire On The Mountain Burnside Location Now Open