Wicked Wing Co.
Whether you like your chicken wings wicked crispy, wicked juicy, or wicked spicy, you should come ready to to grip it and dip it at Wicked Wing Company in Worcester. The wicked creative duo behind this culinary concept is Nick Norton and Andy Norton, a couple of brothers who combined their lifelong obsessions with sports and everybody’s favorite gameday food.
Nick Norton – Owner: “Wicked Wing Company is a take on a modern sports bar with a rustic industrial feel to it. A lot of wood, a lot of industrial lighting, but plenty of TVs so you can watch any game and don’t miss any of the action.”
Andy Norton: “Wicked Wings to me is something that my brother and I really worked a long time for, Our wings. Boneless wings, the freshness of it. I think that’s kind of what separates us from the competition.”
Nick Norton – Owner: “We serve a lot of wings. Bone-in and boneless are our specialty. We also have other items, sides, salads, sandwiches, smoked items such as ribs, and smoked wings as well. Our beer selection, we try to go with as many craft beers as we can, local. It’s just something that goes with sports. We’re huge sports fans, have been since we were kids. There’s nothing better than having some wings, beers, it’s just perfect. It goes hand in hand.”
And the entire menu was designed to be eaten with your hands. There are Wicked Nachos overloaded with housemade queso, jalapenos, and smoked chicken. A crispy chicken sandwich drenched in sticky sriracha. Awesome burgers dripping in their Wicked secret sauce. Even a Grilled Bacon Mac and Cheese sandwich stuffed with creamy, cheesy pasta. Plus, there are maple bacon chicken skewers, a hearty plate of Chicken and Waffles, and racks of slow-cooked, dry-rubbed, applewood-smoked, fall off the bone ribs. But let’s be honest, at Wicked Wing Company, wings are the thing.
Nick Norton – Owner: “Wings was something that my brother and I have always had a passion for. For bone-in wings, we offer three different styles. Our naked, which is just with the skin. We have dressed, which is battered, and we actually have smoked wings as well. We have 22 total sauces, 15 wet, 7 dry. Pretty much there’s gonna be something that everybody’s gonna like.”
Andy Norton: “What makes a good wing to me, is something that’s real juicy inside, with a crispy exterior. I think with the use of the pressure fryer we have, that really captures that. Pressure fryer is basically a regular fryer, but you just kind of lock it in, seal it up.”
Nick Norton – Owner: “It’s unbelievable how great it is.”
But a wing can only be as good as its sauce. So Wicked Wing Company has come up with some doozies, including the signature Maple Bourbon Bacon Barbecue.
Nick Norton – Owner: “The maple bacon bourbon barbeque is our most popular flavor out all 22 that we have, so once the wings come out, we toss it in the sauce and then once we go to plate it, we sprinkle diced bacon on top of it as a garnish. Once you bite into it with the bacon on top of it, it just all infuses together. It’s just unbelievable how good it is.”
For a more traditional sauce experience, there’s the Wicked Buffalo.
Andy Norton: “My favorite flavor is the buffalo. I’ve always been a buffalo guy. I do the wicked buffalo, which is our mildest one and that’s enough for me.”
Nick Norton – Owner: “You can see many ingredients in the sauce, including pepper, horseradish, a little bit of garlic. You can actually physically see it, instead of it’s not just an orange sauce that the wings are tossed in, you can see that there’s a craftiness to it. It’s got some kick to it. It’s not, I wouldn’t even classify it probably as mild, but it is our lowest level of heat, but it really has just some incredible flavors. You don’t just taste the buffalo, you can taste some of the other ingredients in it.”
And for a taste of the tropics, check out the Mango Habanero wings.
Nick Norton – Owner: “Mango habanero is a good option for people that want a little bit of spice, but also want a little bit of sweet. The habanero obviously is a hotter pepper, but it’s very mild in the sauce. You will get a little bit of kick on your tongue from the heat. Again, that’s garnished. We actually put some mangoes on the top of it too to give you a little bit of extra fruit flavor to it when you bite into the wing.”
You can also order up some smoked wings, which have a completely different flavor and texture than anything you can get out a deep fryer. Or, check out the Buffalo Chicken Dip, made with a blend of three cheeses, cream cheese, lots of chunks of chicken, and fresh fried tortilla chips for dipping.
But whether you like bone-in or boneless, spicy or mild, you’re guaranteed to have an experience that’s gonna be wicked good.
Nick Norton – Owner: “We really wanted it to have that feel that if you came in, you were at home just as much as you are here. It’s clean, but very simple. Walking in, you get the Edison bulb lights, which has that industrial feel with the pipe light fixtures. Just the way we designed signage, our logo throughout the restaurant, just has a different feel to it.”
Andy Norton: “Just a comfortable environment. I think when we were building this, that’s really what we focused on, a place they could come feel comfortable and wanna stay for the whole game.”
