Restaurant Scene: Wing Wednesday at Basecamp should be a citywide holiday

It’s hard to hide behind a pile of classic Buffalo wings. At its best, the sauce has no more than a few ingredients: cayenne pepper-based hot sauce and melted butter being the most significant. (Margarine is not acceptable.)

When properly alchemized, the concoction produces a Nickelodeon-orange sauce with an easy-going heat, a twang of acidity and a creaminess that only butter can provide. This recipe isn’t far from the one chicken wings are tossed in at the legendary Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York. This is where, in 1964, according to food lore and the National Chicken Council, Teressa Bellissimo invented the dish. Not to be confused with John Young’s legendary “Mumbo wings.”

I applaud the flavor spectrum from one end to the other. From the pineapple habanero flavor at Pizza Bros. to the garlic Parmesan combination at Touchdown Wings. However, when I want to decipher the hoopla and get down to the nitty-gritty, the classic Buffalo wing flavor is always my tried-and-true litmus test.

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It’s understandable how 1885 Grill and its wings have won just as many Scenic City Wings contest trophies as the San Francisco Giants have won World Series championships. I understand its wings come from antibiotic-and-hormone-free chicken raised happily at Springer Mountain Farms in nearby Baldwin, Georgia. I know they’re seasoned with small-batch Alchemy Spice Co.’s “All-American” blend and doubled-fried before being slathered in a Carolina Gold barbecue sauce. I understand why they’re sitting comfy on the throne of Chattanooga’s wingdom.

Sure, Basecamp has a barbecue flavor, a dry rub and another flavor made with local favorite Hoff Hot Sauce, but Basecamp’s house-made Buffalo wings speak to my soul and ace my litmus test.

The wings are brined for 24 hours, slightly charred from being grilled and then they’re flash fried — a culinary technique that assures the meat stays moist on the inside, while the skin has a nice crunch. Then they’re tossed in a sauce that’s a shade or two darker than the Nickelodeon orange I’ve grown to associate with Buffalo wing perfection.

The results: a finger-licking, crispy, tender, evenly coated wing. The butter dilutes the hot sauce just enough to be considered “spicy.” Then there’s that smoky undertone, hence their name, “campfire wings.”

For me, blue cheese exists for the sole purpose of being the Buffalo wing’s sidekick, and I notice by the chunkiness and funkiness that Basecamp makes its blue cheese in-house as well. There also always seems to be Narragansett (the beer from the movie “Jaws”) readily available, which makes this experience that much more special.

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Above all else, at 85 cents a wing on Wednesdays, Basecamp might be home to the most economically friendly food proposition in Chattanooga. Even before everybody could blame everything on inflation, the chicken wings at your average bar and grill were between $1.75 and $2 apiece. I’ve seen 10 wings for $12.95, plus tax, at one local eatery and the same number for $16.95 at a chain.

Wing Wednesday at Basecamp is superior to Taco Tuesday or Thirsty Thursday combined. This is why I’m half-way serious about requesting a proclamation from Mayor Tim Kelly to make every Wednesday a citywide holiday to be celebrated at Basecamp. If Jan. 14 can be National Hot Pastrami Sandwich Day, or if National Hug A Vegetarian Day is observed on the last Friday of September, anything is possible.

P.S. There’s no such thing as a boneless wing.

Contact Andre James at ajames@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Sign up for his weekly newsletter, “What to Eat Next,” at timesfreepress.com/eat.