It Gives You Wings

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PHOTO BY AMANDA MACLAREN
PHOTO BY AMANDA MACLAREN

Heavenly Buffaloes | 1807 W. Markham Ave. | 919-237-2358 | heavenlybuffaloes.com

Have your moist towelettes at the ready, because Heavenly Buffaloes is serving up some truly addictive wings. For the quintessential game-time dish, head to the Markham Avenue spot owned by Dain Phelan(also of Dain’s Place), his wife, Jenn, and business partner, Mark Dundas. “Somebody was saying, ‘I didn’t know Durham needed a chicken wing place, but I now know that Durham needed a chicken wing place,’” Jenn says. “We love the response that Durham has given us.”

With close to 20 wet sauces and six dry rubs to choose from and the option of N.C. cage-free, bone-in; boneless; and even local soy vegan wings, the combination possibilities are plentiful. I tried one of their wet sauces – the Peri Peri – on an order of bone-in wings, the Ol’ Vinnie on a half-pound of boneless, breaded nuggets, and the signature Heavenly Buffalo dry rub on a hulking portion of waffle fries.

Peri Peri is a North African hot sauce that’s traditionally made with a pepper of the same name, but since that variety is hard to source, habanero peppers of comparable flavor are substituted and turmeric is added. That spice meets sweet with a little added sugar for a simple but powerful blend. The Ol’ Vinnie had a nice pop to it, too – a great vinegar-based recipe from Dain’s mom with a touch of Worcestershire and ketchup. The chicken is as tender and succulent as you’d expect from a local source, and the fact that it’s never frozen certainly helps!

Of course, Heavenly Buffaloes also supplies a mild, medium and hot sauce and other variations of barbecue for its wings. You can enjoy your meal on-site at a few picnic tables, but the eatery is billed as takeout and delivery (and that includes beer!). So sit back, flip on a game and call in an order already.

Ed. Note: This article first appeared in the December/January 2015 issue.

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Amanda MacLaren

Amanda MacLaren is the executive editor of Durham Magazine. Born in Mesa, Arizona, she grew up in Charlotte and attended UNC-Chapel Hill, majoring in journalism. She’s lived in Durham for eight years. When she’s not at work, you can usually find her with a beer in hand at Fullsteam, Dain’s Place or Bull City Burger or getting takeout from Guasaca.
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