The Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York, is famously credited with inventing Buffalo wings, a dish now beloved across the United States and beyond. The origin story of the Buffalo wing dates back to 1964.
The tale begins with Teressa Bellissimo, who co-owned the Anchor Bar with her husband, Frank Bellissimo. One evening, their son Dominic and his friends arrived at the bar hungry. In a moment of inspiration, Teressa decided to make a snack using chicken wings, which were typically discarded or used for making stock at that time. She deep-fried the wings and then tossed them in a tangy, spicy sauce made from hot sauce and butter. To complement the wings, she served them with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing, which were originally meant to cool the heat of the sauce.
The dish was an instant hit. The wings' unique combination of crispy texture and flavorful sauce quickly gained popularity, leading to the Anchor Bar becoming a culinary landmark. Word of the delicious wings spread, and they soon became a staple at bars and restaurants throughout Buffalo.
Buffalo wings gained national attention in the 1980s, becoming a ubiquitous item on menus across America. They are now enjoyed in various forms, with different sauces and preparations, but the classic combination of hot sauce, butter, celery, and blue cheese dressing remains the hallmark of traditional Buffalo wings.
The Anchor Bar continues to operate and remains a pilgrimage site for wing enthusiasts wanting to taste the original Buffalo wings where they were first created. The bar's legacy is cemented in the culinary history of the United States, and Buffalo wings have become an enduring symbol of American bar food culture.