Louisiana Places 2 on Southern Living’s Best Wings in the South List

(KMDL-FM) Is there a more magical combination than playoff football and hot chicken wings? No, I don't think there is, and this weekend we are guaranteed at least one of those things will occur. Now, if you want to make sure the "wing thing" happens as well, you might want to consider visiting one of two Louisiana chicken wing joints that earned a spot on Southern Living's  20 Best Spots for Chicken Wings in the South List.

Over the course of my lifetime, I have seen the lowly chicken wing go from almost a throwaway piece of meat from Sunday dinner to a primetime featured snack and gourmet treat for today's heartier and flameproof palates.

READ MORE: Southern Living Reveals Louisiana's Best Vacation Spot

I personally don't care for chicken wings that are so emboldened with pepper sauce that your lips, tongue, and teeth go numb on the first bite, and then your backside burns like fire some 24 hours later. That's not my definition of a good time or a good chicken wing.

I don't mind a wing with a little heat as long as it has a lot of flavor. Which is what seems to be the prevailing sentiment behind the choices that made Southern Living's list. There is also quite a bit of Asian influence on the list. Asian cooking traditions do wonderful things with chicken wings, so don't get stuck in the hot sauce, ranch dressing, celery, rut, okay?

Get our free mobile app

Where is a Good Place to get Chicken Wings in Louisiana?

There are certainly no ruts being created at Bayou Hot Wings, which is one of the establishments in Louisiana that made the Southern Living Best Of list. Bayou Hot Wings is located on South Claiborne Avenue in New Orleans. It's very near the campuses of Loyola and Tulane.

READ MORE: 3 Acadiana Towns Earn Spot on Best Small Towns in Louisiana List

The restaurant has already received accolades from the Travel Channel as well as other food and travel media outlets. The Bayou Hot Wings promise is simple: "make the kind of wings we want to eat, with bold flavors, house-made sauces, and no shortcuts".  The words of Chef Allen Nguyen, as quoted by Southern Living.

For those who enjoy watching others suffer, Bayou Hot Wings has a food challenge. It's called the Bayou Beast Challenge. It's ten spicy wings consumed in under five minutes with no napkins, no drinks, and no breaks. Survivors get a t-shirt and their name on the wall.

What's The Place in Thibodaux, Louisiana, With Good Chicken Wings?

The other Louisiana wing joint making the Southern Living list of Best Wings in the South was a joint in Thibodaux. The folks at Southern Living gave some love to Kajun Kidd Burgers and Wings on St Mary Street. The article specifically mentioned the fun flavors like Sho-Nuff and Click-Clack Parm-a-medics.

As you can see from the picture of Kajun Kidd Burgers and Wings, it's like an old-fashioned drive-in style restaurant. Evidently, people came for the burgers and came back for the wings. It's always cool to see businesses such as this get their proper recognition in national and regional publications.

If you'd like to peruse the entire Southern Living 20 Best Chicken Wings in the South, the list is available. If you get hungry after chicken wings and want some gumbo, we have another list you need to peruse.