Kisling’s Tavern

On my way back from the DC area, I made it a point to swing into Baltimore to try out the Kisling’s Tavern’s wings. I have been hearing only great things about them, and with the numerous awards for “best wings,” this place had me excited to give them a try.

Now the first thing I want to say is how nice the harbor side of Baltimore was, not only with the views but the people as well. Example: I parked in a spot that I wasn’t certain I could stay in, and just before I went to move it, a lady was shouting out of her car to let me know that I was fine (all while holding up traffic). It may not seem like much, but when have you seen anyone do that? Maybe it’s my charming good looks 😉

I made my way into this tiny corner bar, plopped down near the end stool, and grabbed a menu. The wings here come in a bunch of varieties, but the Original sauce was “award winning” so that’s what I ordered. I asked for the 10 count naked which confused both me and the bartender as apparently “naked” here means “without sauce” as opposed to “breadless” like I’m familiar with. Once we got past that hurdle, I finished off my order with sides of both “Hot” and “Atomic.”

The wings came out and smelled fantastic. You could see, just by looking at them, that they mixed a lot of stuff into this sauce. Each wing was sprinkled with garlic bits, and judging by the remnants left on the plate, you could tell that this was no ordinary sauce. I bit into the chicken to find that it was SUPER juicy but not as tender as I hoped even though they just came out of the fryer and were piping hot. I had to wait a second to not burn my tongue, but when it cooled down enough for me to take a bite, I got to taste all the yummy goodness of the sauce. The chicken wasn’t anything fancy, but the sauce (oh man, the sauce) carried this dish with its original flare and great flavor.

I dunked the next wing in the “Hot” sauce to try and get a little more heat… and that’s exactly what I got: a little more heat. The sauces here were totally the stars of the meal and the “Hot” took it a step further by adding some (not overwhelming) smokiness to it which was nice.

Lastly, I cracked open the “Atomic” thinking this was going to rock my socks, but instead it fell a little flat. I guess the first give away was that the color was more orange than the Hot, which normally means less heat. But I was fooled by the huge chunks of jalapeno peppers mixed throughout. And even though I knew jalapenos weren’t extremely hot, I still expected some kick. I even went as far as chewing on those chunks to see if that’s where all the heat resided, but to no avail. So, if you’re looking for extreme heat, you may want to keep looking.

All in all, Kisling’s Tavern has some pretty standard wings, but cooks them up crispy with a killer sauce. That in my opinion is why they have all those wing accolades: THE SAUCE. And they know it, which is why it is available to be purchased by the bottle. So, if you are searching for fantastic flavor with a punch of heat, then this is the place to go.

Kisling’s Tavern
2100 Fleet Street, Canton, MD 21231
(410) 327-5477