Chicken Wings and More!

Laurie and I are always looking for new places to eat… If a restaurant had to count on our regular visits, they’d go belly up.  Even our most favored reasonably priced dining restaurants probably don’t see us more than 5 to 7 times a year.

We do like chicken wings!  We also have a couple of favorite restaurants that serve up quality versions of this popular bar/snack food.  Our favorites have been Wild Wing Café in Farragut Tennessee, (http://www.wildwingcafe.com/locations/knoxville-tn) and Mexi-Wing III in Madisonville Tennessee. (Despite the fact that there are at least 7 Mexi-Wing locations in East Tennessee, they don’t seem to have a website)

So, a little over a year ago a new ‘wing’ focused restaurant opened in Farragut Tennessee.  This is Big Kahuna Wings.  The good news is that it’s right on our way to Knoxville’s Turkey Creek Shopping Area.  Still, it took us more than a year to finally stop and try out the food.

The interior is a little industrial but the look is softened with the dark wood ceilings.  Both the outdoor patio and the dining room were busy and it’s obviously become a popular local destination.

BKW Seasonings which operates the restaurant is a family-owned business. Starting in the early 1960’s, the seasoning was created to produce a unique buffalo-style wing that the family used for years cooking wings for friends and customers at football games, parties, and gatherings.  Then they opened a small take-out restaurant near the University of Tennessee campus called Big Kahuna Wings.  Two weeks after opening, the company competed with more than 2 dozen local, regional and national wing restaurants!  The result was that they were voted as the “Best Wings” in Knoxville at the annual “War of the Wings.”

I’m of the opinion that BKW…aka Big Kahuna Wings would like to grow into a regional or national chain.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see some new company owned locations or franchised operations in the not too distant future.

The menu isn’t just about wings!  On the other hand, we couldn’t try out their menu without sampling their specialty

. 

Customers must choose between “Traditional Wings” (cut into 2 parts), Boneless “Wings”, or the “Famous Big Kahuna Wings”.  The latter consists of whole wing sections instead of the common cut up wing segments.  Your second decision is whether or not you’d like them rubbed with the original BKW spice mixture or the “Fire Blend Seasoning”.  As anyone who follows us on this site would know, we went with the Fire Blend!

We ordered 10 of the Traditional Wings. ($10.99) Note that the middle part of the wing and the tip are attached.  The carrot stick and celery looked tired but the wings were big, plump and juicy. 

The wings were just right but as far as we’re concerned it’s all about the flavor.  Both Wild Wing and Mexi-Wing deliver wings to the table that have been fried with your choice of sauce already coated on them. 

At Big Kahuna Wings, it’s all about the dipping sauces.  With 10 wings, you get one free dipping sauce.  Extra sauces are 50 cents each.  You can chose a pre-set ‘flight’ of 4 sauces or you can make up a flight from the restaurant’s list of 17 different varieties.  From the one’s we selected, we liked the Spicy Garlic and the Sweet Chili Lime the most and the Fiery Cayenne the least.  The latter was just about heat and we thought that it lacked any distinctive flavor.

Bottom Line… Big Kahuna serves really good wings and it’s now part of our East Tennessee “Chicken Wing” restaurant “Trifecta”!

Now to move on beyond the namesake chicken wings… Laurie ordered the Garlic-Ranch Wrap. ($8.99) This sandwich is described as follows: “Classic golden brown chicken tenders seasoned with our Original seasoning, juicy tomatoes, fresh cheddar cheese, and our Spicy Ranch sauce.  Wrapped to perfection in a garlic-herb tortilla.  Served with side of choice.”

Laurie decided to try the BKW chips as her side.  In our opinion, the chips are nothing special.  However, Laurie loved her wrap!!  After eating 5 of those big wings she could only finish half of her sandwich.  The good news is that the remaining half was just as good the next day for lunch!

I ordered the Jalapeno Bacon-Cheddar Burger with Kahuna Fries. ($10.49) It is described as a “Half-pound Certified Angus Beef burger topped with our homemade cheddar cream cheese blend, Applewood bacon, crisp lettuce, juicy tomatoes and jalapeño slices.”

Despite the fact that the burger was a little overcooked for my taste, it was still fairly juicy and flavorful.  This was a balanced burger in that I could actually taste the bacon, the cheese and the beef.  The bun was a good quality as well… The cheddar cream cheese spread is a “brilliant” mix that really enhances this sandwich!

As with the BKW potato chips, we weren’t dazzled by the Kahuna fries either.  They were OK but they weren’t special.  I’d asked for mayonnaise on the side but it was slathered on the sandwich.  Nevertheless, this was a very positive casual dining experience.  We will return…with company in tow!

Big Kahuna Wings is located at 12828 Kingston Pike in Farragut Tennessee. Phone: 865-288-7891.  Website: http://www.bigkahunawings.com/.  

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave