Published: August 28, 2008 09:58 am      

DINING: Wing fling back in Buffalo

Calorie-counters, be warned.

Downtown Buffalo will be converted into a gluttonous poultry paradise this weekend as the National Buffalo Wing Festival takes over Dunn Tire Park.

In its seventh year, the festival has continued to grow with each turn of the calendar. A record 74,000 people came in 2007 to consume 25 tons of wings — that’s 500,000 of them.

“Last year was such a huge growth year,” said Drew Cerza, the festival organizer. “We’ve been on the Food Network, ‘Throwdown with Bobby Flay’ ... all of that really added up to more popularity and more exposure.”

Not all of the festival visitors will actually exist, as the latest edition of “Archie’s Pal Jughead Comics” features the Riverdale gang making a trip to Buffalo for the event. Cerza bought thousands of copies of the comic and will have them on sale throughout the weekend.

Whether human or cartoon, increased crowds create a need for increased space, so this year’s festival will expand into the baseball stadium’s back parking lot with a separate entertainment pavilion. Eight more commercial fryers will be added this year, as well, which Cerza said will increase the festival’s cooking capacity by 40 percent.

Also new this year will be boneless wings, the chicken nugget-type appetizers that now make up about 30 percent of wing sales at restaurants nationwide. And just in case anyone becomes “chickened out,” O’Connells American Bistro of Kenmore will offer Buffalo wing macaroni and cheese at the event.

“Mac and cheese is a popular item on our menu, so we decided to create something special for the festival,” said Kevin O’Connell Sr., co-owner of the eatery. “It will taste like something nobody has ever experienced.”

O’Connells and Blues — the southern restaurant at Seneca Niagara Casino and Hotel in Niagara Falls — make up the Niagara/northern Erie County contingent and will both debut at the festival this year. In all, about two-thirds of the 30 participating restaurants are from out of town, with area staples such as the Anchor Bar rounding out the Western New York portion of the eatery list.

Having been in business for three years, O’Connell said getting involved with the festival in 2008 was an easy decision.

“We’re a small business, but I think image is very important, and we have an event here that allows us to keep our image consistent but also promotes our area,” said O’Connell, who said that the specialty dish will be added to the restaurant menu if patron interest warrants it. “I’m a native Buffalonian, and I like things that make our community look fun and family-oriented.”

As for the out-of-towners, many of them fall into one of two groups, Cerza said — either they’re former Buffalonians who couldn’t get good wings in their new hometown and opened a restaurant, or they visited Buffalo and loved the food so much they took it with them. Either way, the national presence of the wing is undeniable, he said.

“It’s a fun food. You’re never at a funeral eating chicken wings,” said Cerza, who’s rounding out his busy schedule this week by starting his new job teaching an event management class at Niagara University. “I love chicken wings. I can eat them for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Cerza’s love for the finger food led to him founding the festival in 2002. Despite his poultry passion, the idea wasn’t his — the Bill Murray movie “Osmosis Jones” featured the main characters traveling to a fictional wing fest in Buffalo, and organizers decided to make life out of art. In addition to a celebration, the festival serves to benefit local charities and has raised more than $100,000 for such causes to date.

His affection for wings — combined with the pride Cerza has in his hometown — has led to what has become the ultimate labor of love.

“I always liked chicken wings, but I always loved Buffalo. This really gave me a chance to promote the city I love,” he said. “I didn’t sign up for this, but it’s taken on a complete life of its own.”



IF YOU GO

* WHAT: National Buffalo Wing Festival

* WHEN: Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday, noon to 7 p.m. Sunday

* WHERE: Dunn Tire Park, Washington and Swan streets, Buffalo

* MORE INFORMATION: Visit buffalowing.com