Chicken wings and Atlanta go hand-in-hand as shown in hit shows like FX's "Atlanta" and First We Feast's "Food Grails."
Expect for the delicacy to be celebrated like only Atlantans know how to at the second annual Springer Mountain Farms Southern Wing Showdown produced by Taste of Atlanta on Aug. 20.
Wing lovers will descend onto The Foundry at Puritan Mill, 916 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd NW, Atlanta, for a chance to nibble on eats served up by some of the most renowned restaurants in the south.
Here's what you need to know about this year's irresistibly tasty Southern Wing Showdown.
Expect high-brow wing selections.
The festival will not feature run-of-the-mill chicken wings. The 20,000 chicken wings provided by Springer Mountain Farms will be cooked by 25 high-end chefs and restaurants from Atlanta, Nashville, Charleston, Charlotte and Savannah, Taste of Atlanta Marketing & Media Manager Skye Estroff said.
"They are showcasing their take on a cool gourmet, funky wing. So it will not have just straight up buffalo wings at this event," Estroff said
Some Atlanta restaurants and wings include Bhojanic's Mango Chili wing and Canoe's Pimento Cheese Chicken Wings with Green Strawberry Kimchi, which showcases creative takes on the classic food option.
Keep a look out for the Sweet T Brined Cola Glazed + Spicy Peanut Wings from Hampton + Hudson, along with Jerk Wings with Mango Pico served from City Winery's chefs.
Watch out for the wing competition.
While taking a break from chowing down on the wings or from listening to the sounds of live music from Battlefield Collective, venture out to watch the chicken wing battle unfold. Each attendee will receive a token that allows them to cast their vote for their favorite restaurant. Once the tokens are tallied, the restaurant with the most ones will bring home the Best Wing Trophy.
"It's a big deal. These are some of the best restaurants in the south competing against each other. For something that seems as a simple food item as a chicken wing, they really put a lot of heart and soul and time and thought into these wings. And they're fighting it out at the event," Estroff said.
Grab your ticket before it's sold out.
Estroff said they expect around 1,500 people, but tickets are limited. Currently, tickets are selling at $30 until Aug. 19 while they last. If there's still space in the showdown during the day of the event, tickets will be available for $40. Entrance includes admission into the event at 2 p.m. Tickets can be bought online here.
The festival benefits non-profits.
Any food remaining from the event will go to Second Helpings Atlanta, which is a local non-profit that saves food from food donors and gives them to those in need. Open Hand, which provides nutrition care to people with chronic diseases, is another beneficiary of the event. The festival will pass on the chefs' gently used Green Eggs to Open Hand for auction.
"Both of these beneficiaries have a food tie in. So we have a common bond," Estroff said. "That's just a lot of wings and we have some hungry attendees but for some reason they can't eat all of them."
Free parking will be available.
No cost parking spots will be offered at The Foundry, along with some parking decks around the event's location. More parking information will be added online during the week of the event.
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