FREEP – Winner, winner, chicken (wing) dinner. We have a champion in the 2023 Free Press Chicken Wing Challenge.
It was close. Real close. For the last ten days, readers voted to narrow down the best independent chicken wing restaurants in metro Detroit. After getting suggestions from readers and voting to finalize the field of 16, readers voted in four rounds to get to just one.
So, drum roll, please, the winner of the Chicken Wing Challenge is …
Well, wait.
First, we need to give a big shout-out and thanks to all the readers who participated. The chicken wing aficionados spoke up by nominating places, thousands voted in each round and more than 1,700 voted in the final round.
And now, in our final round, which ended up being east side vs. west matchup, a winner was crowned.
One Under Craft Beer & Eats in Livonia is the winner of the 2023 Free Press Chicken Wing Challenge. The Livonia spot was up against The Charlevoix in Grosse Pointe Park in the final round.
How close was it? One Under Craft netted 51% of the more than 1,700 votes that came in.
When the contest started both places were underdogs. We needed to narrow the initial suggestions and both were voted into the contest through a play-in round.
One Under Craft Beer & Eats was nominated for its oversized chicken wings with a variety of sauces. One reader wrote that “One Under checks all the boxes,” and praised them for the wings that are “large and crispy with really good sauces.”
The Livonia spot at 35780 Five Mile Rd. in front of Idyl Wyld Golf Course is owned and operated by the Tominna family. It’s not only a restaurant and bar but is also has a banquet facility and has an outdoor patio with heated seating and fire pits.
The restaurant opened in 2007 and the wings, Brian Tominna said, have been made the same way since then.
Tominna said the wings are noticeably big. The wings are not breaded, rather “dusted,” with the restaurant’s signature blend of spices. From there the wings are fried and served with a choice of sauces.
“We go through a lot of chicken wings each week, about 400 pounds. We sell a lot of wings,” Tominna said.
To get to the finals, One Under beat 342 Bar & Grill in Dearborn Heights in the first round, then decisively beat Side Biscuit in Ann Arbor and Detroit’s Sweetwater Tavern, the two most suggested restaurants when we called out for nominees.
ABOUT
Featuring hand-made sauces and dressings, we pride ourselves on developing a menu from family recipes and traditional values. From fresh brioche sandwich buns to our award-winning chicken wings, we try to think of every detail that our guests would enjoy…We believe we got it right.
One Under Craft Bar + Eats is a family-owned restaurant, bar, and banquet facility in Livonia, Michigan. We are conveniently located on Five Mile Road, just east of Levan, in front of the Idyl Wyld Golf Course. We are easily accessible from I-275 or I-96 and located near many hotels and shopping.
WE’RE READY, LET’S PARTY.
One Under Craft Bar + Eats is a family-owned restaurant, bar, and banquet facility located in Livonia, Michigan. We are conveniently located on Five Mile Road, just east of Levan, in front of the Idyl Wyld Golf Course. We are easily accessible from I-275 or I-96 and located near many hotels and shopping.