1559 Kalamazoo Avenue SEPassing up a Wing Heaven is not something I do often. It seems like the places never stay open in the same location under the Wing Heaven banner very long, but I’ve always been really happy with the food at any of the locations I’ve been to.
A few months ago, I noticed another one had opened up. This time, in the Oakdale Neighborhood on Grand Rapids Southeast Side. The building is right on the corner of Kalamazoo Avenue and Boston Street. The last thing I remember it being is Boston Square Fried Chicken, but that was about three years ago.
The building now shares space with another restaurant that I will write a separate blog post about at a later date. How can I pass up a place called Hall of Fame Burgers. I don’t want the two places to get lumped in to one post if I didn’t eat something from both of them, so at some point in the near future, I will go back and try a burger.
Anyway, parking for Wing Heaven is pretty much wherever you can find it on the street surrounding the building. I lucked out and found a spot right out front, but still had to walk to the corner because snow was piled up so high at the curb. Nothing they can do about that though.
The restaurant is big enough for around a half dozen tables. The order counter is near the front and the place looks much cleaner and brighter now than I remember Boston Square Fried Chicken being. There were several people sitting at the tables when I walked in, but everyone was waiting for carry-out
I scanned the menu but I really didn’t need to. My order is almost always the same at Wing Heaven. Twelve traditional wings with a Parmesan Garlic coating and a half pound of fries with just salt.. The cost was about $12 and I put it on my card.
I didn’t wait as long as I thought I was going to when I sat down. There were several people in front of me, but a little over five minutes after I sat down, my order number was called. I got up and grabbed the bag and headed back to the office.
The wings and the fries were in separate Styrofoam containers so I dug through the bag to find the one with the fries. There’s really nothing special about Wing Heaven fries, but they’re a good compliment to the greasy wings. The fries are cooked to a deep golden brown which makes them crunchy, but they’re not really greasy. They have a variety of seasonings to add on, but I stuck with salt and they put a lot on it. Almost too much. The fries were really salty and I didn’t have anything to drink in the car with me as I was driving. I powered through though because I was hungry and there were a lot of fries there for a half pound.
The fries were gone by the time I got back to the shop. I went to find a quiet spot where no one would try to take my wings. The smell just seems to waft throughout the building and someone usually finds me and begs for food.
I must have accidentally ordered only the wing dings. That’s totally fine with me, but I didn’t do it on purpose. I noticed on my receipt after the fact that it was marked on there. There was one or two of the wings portions, but most of the pieces in the box were the drumstick part.
All of the chicken in the box was plump and juicy. I’ve always thought Wing Heaven has the best wings. Some places may have better sauces, but Wing Heaven’s wings are always much meatier and much juicier than the competitions. These wings had a nice coating of the Parmesan Garlic on them with that pool of butter that drips off in transit. I don’t think I’ve ever had a meal I wasn’t happy with from a Wing Heaven franchise.
Wing Heaven has been my go-to when it comes to Wings in the Grand Rapids area ever since I started working here six years ago. I still don’t understand the structure of the franchise or why a lot of them can’t seem to stay in business very long…or just change the name after a year, but there’s really no other wing place that compares in West Michigan.
