Battlin' Hot Wings

For as long as I can remember, I’ve loved spicy foods, especially hot wings. I’ve always embraced the painful sensation caused by eating them and now I’m seeking out Rhode Island’s most unbearable and excruciatingly spicy hot wings. I’ve already gotten off to a good start.

Wings Over Providence on Hope Street has a flavor of hot wings called “After Burner,” so spicy the server told me I was a “brave man” for ordering them. When they came out, the wings, drenched in a thick, dark red, pepper-laden sauce, stared at me as if ready for battle. I ate the first two with relative ease and questioned what the big deal was. But the wings are definitely true to their name, and after the third wing I felt their wrathful kick. Soon thereafter, my nose started running and eyes started watering, both clear signs of a satisfying hot wing experience. It felt like battle once I was done.

For those who aren’t feeling quite as daring, Wings Over Providence offers four milder levels of hot sauce and eighteen non-buffalo sauces like West Texas Mesquite and Mustang Ranch. At about $5, their smallest portion size (seven wings) makes for a great late-night snack.