The Princess & The Chicken Wing

Little Miss Fussy has never been a “princess”. But it’s amazing how strangers will address young girls. Even as a baby, I remember there was a nurse who called her “princess”.

If that’s your thing, I’m not judging. But it’s just not ours.

Just this past weekend at the Jewish Food Festival, one local jeweler donated a girl’s birthday party to the silent auction. It included jewelry making, 7-Up sipping, and pizza eating. But one of the big draws was that the birthday girl would be able to wear a $25,000 diamond tiara during the party. But when I asked LMF if she would be interested in such an event, she turned it down.

The idea of wearing something whose worth was equivalent to a new car on top of her head would have been too stressful too allow her to enjoy herself. She’s got a good head on those shoulders.

And it’s been a pleasure to teach her things as she’s grown up, not just about inequality, gender, and society, but also about food, pleasure, and regional customs.

So there we are, at The Lounge at the Glen Sanders Mansion for Yelp Restaurant Week. The two of us are out for a father and daughter meal while the young man is off at religious school, and the old lady is working.

My daughter is on that cusp of leaving those last vestiges of childhood behind. But she looks over the children’s menu regardless. However, after all is said and done, she really enjoys buffalo wings.

This was learned at another dinner we shared together at 20 North, where I explained to her that most of the other wings she would eat in her life wouldn’t be as good as the ones she just experienced. That was an important act of level setting.

It was also the first time I taught her how to eat the flats.

Well, when her plate of medium wings arrived this week, the first thing she did was pick up a flat and looked for the rounded edge. She remembered this was where the small bone was located, and that it would be the easier one to remove.

She did struggle a bit pulling out that first bone. But after that, she was good to go.

The joy and pride I had watching that kid tear through a plate of wings was palpable. She was getting all up in there, and even had to request a second napkin. This was also the first time that she tried dunking the wings in a blue cheese dressing. The one at The Lounge was thick with more of a sour cream and buttermilk base, and lacking those dreaded mayonnaise tones.

As a side note, the menu says they are extra crispy, so we didn’t specify for them to be crisped up further. However, they did not arrive crispy. It’s a good reminder to always verify the crispiness of your wings before you order. Lesson learned. Again.

Still, she didn’t mind. Her expectations were that these wings would be good, but not as good as 20 North. So as a result she was perfectly happy with them, despite their lack of crispness. And if she’s happy, I’m happy.

Heck, even if she wasn’t happy, I would still be simply delighted just based on the fact that my girl knows how to eat wings like a boss. It’s an important skill in these here parts. Although, with the increasing price of chicken wings, it may not be for long.

Fortunately, Korean Fried Chicken drumsticks are just fantastic. Unfortunately, I still don’t know where to go for ones that can impress me as much as the ones at Bonchon Chicken. Eventually. Eventually.

For now, there are only two more days remaining in Yelp Restaurant Week, and I hope to make the most of them. Have a great weekend.