Anchor owner Schane Gross, feeling confident about her wings.
I’m baaaaacccckkk. My basement is no cleaner, but my tan is a bit bronzer and should last at LEAST until Halloween.
Lots of food stuff happened while I was gone, including both the Midwest Beerfest, which I attended, and the Wichita Wagonmasters Downtown Chili Cookoff, which I did not attend because I was out of town. (But I will have the results here later.)
I return with news about The Anchor, 1109 E. Douglas, which not only swept THREE categories at the Midwest Beerfestchicken wing contest a week ago but also is putting on a little beer fest of its own this weekend.
First, the wings. I was one of the judges at the chicken wing contest, and the entries were better than ever this year. We had a hard time picking the best wing because they all were so good. Judge Jason Febres of Taste & See was particularly enthusiastic about a wing with a chocolatey sauce made by Tallgrass Country Club chef Ben George. And we all loved George’s Asian-y, sesame-seed coated wing, too.
Chicken wing judges, from left: Harrison Schenk, Guy Bower, me and Jason Febres.
But in the end, the best wing was a pan fried, crispy, straight forward version served by The Anchor. Owner Schane Gross told me it was just the restaurant’s standard wing recipe, and if that’s the case, I’ll be at The Anchor for wings soon.
A sampling of the competing wings.
The Anchor also won the People’s Choice award. George and his sesame wing got “Most Creative,” and The Anchor also won “Spiciest.”
On Saturday, the bar also is putting on its annual Strong Ale Fest, which offers samples of super potent beers. It’s from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, and admission is $15, which includes a souvenir glass. You can see a list of the beers that will be included on the Strong Ale Fest web page.