The Single Most Overpriced Item On Buffalo Wild Wings' Menu
Buffalo Wild Wings has been around nearly 40 years, and has now become so much a part of our landscape, both cultural and geographical (since there's one in practically every strip mall everywhere, right next to the Applebee's), that it's even earned its own nickname: B-Dubs.
Opinions seem to be divided as to whether BWW is a too-expensive, too-generic version of a neighborhood bar, or whether it's actually a decently-priced fun night out. One former employee on the IGN Boards said the chain is "a total ripoff." Many were in agreement, calling the wings "darn pricey" and the drinks watered down. Others noted that the real attraction may be all of the widescreen TVs tuned to every sports channel imaginable, with comments like, "It's just extra that they have food there." Whether or not you're a B-Dubs fan, though, there is one item on the menu that is undoubtedly overpriced — those boneless wings they keep promoting since they're a lot cheaper for the restaurant to produce than the bone-in kind (i.e. real wings).
Boneless wings
Foodbeast calls boneless wings a "marketing scam," even quoting Wingstop CEO Charlie Morrison as saying they are "a little less expensive for us" than are regular wings. The fact that boneless wings are constantly being pushed is a ploy that seems to be working, since Buffalo Wild Wings sells more of these than they do traditional wings. According to Delish, the chain sells around one billion boneless wings each year, a higher number than the 768 million traditional wings that also fly out of the kitchen.
So why are they such a ripoff? Well, because as Foodbeast points out, boneless wings aren't wings at all, they are actually just glorified chicken nuggets. They say that the re-branding seems to imply something more grown-up, but is really just a matter of semantics: "By using that naming convention, chains are essentially duping you into choosing their experience while eating a cheaper item."
In other words, a nugget by any other name is still something you can get off the dollar menu at Mickey D's. Sure, BWW's sauces are a lot better, but they do sell those to go, or you can even cook up some pretty decent knockoff versions at home and use them to doctor up your McNuggets. If you still want the B-Dubs experience complete with crowd sounds and sensory overload, that's cool, but you'll get more bang for your buck by ordering just about anything else off the menu.