Leff’s Lucky Town – Wauwatosa

It’s been a while since the gang has all got together for a wing day. A friend of mine from High School, Kyle, happened to be in town though and he said he really wanted to get out and get some wings with us because he digs the site. So a dozen or so texts later to the guys and we were all set for Leff’s Lucky Town on Tuesday night for their wing night. Leff’s has been recommenced to us by a couple people. I actually remember people telling me to go their for wings years ago and I just never made it there for that reason. The last time I was at Leff’s was when I lived 12  blocks away, and wow have things changed. Leff’s is 3 times the size it used to be. There used to be a gas station on the corner next to them but was torn down and now they added on to the bar itself (doubling that) and added a huge outdoor patio. The latter being something I’m sure their happy to have now that Milwaukee’s smoking ban is in place.

Like I said Leff’s has come highly recommended by numerous people over the years, some since this website has been around and some before. So I’ll admit my expectations were pretty high. First and foremost they have 5 different flavors; mild, medium, hot, Ass-kickin, and BBQ Cajun. On Tuesdays they have a wing special which is $.50 wings or 7 for $3 from 4pm to close. We met up at 7:15, wandered around the bar looking for a place for 8 people to sit and eventually found a spot.

Quick side story, shortly after I got there I realized I forgot my wallet in my car and I don’t even bother ordering a beer without my ID. So I ran my happy ass back to my car 3 blocks away and scooped up my wallet. About halfway back to my car though I realize I that the $40 I had in my pocket, was gone. I quickly realized it must have fell out when I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Major bummer. I checked my car, and it wasn’t in there. On my way back to the bar I scoured the ground where I walked and pulled my phone out. No luck. Kyle decided to help me look for a minute, and still we came up empty. And just when I thought it was hopeless a guy sitting on the patio waved me over and said, “You look distraught. Like someone who lost $40 on the ground.”. He pulled his wallet out and gave me my $40 back. Super nice guy. It’s nice to know there are still honest people out there. I bought him a drink to say thanks. I didn’t catch his name unfortunately. But if he happens to read this, thanks again!

So back to the wings.

Since there were only a few flavors it was easy for us to order up all the flavors and give them a try. I think everyone ended up getting 14 wings, two different sauces. I ordered Hot and Medium. Like I’ve said in the past I’m not much for a BBQ flavor wing even though I’m a big BBQ fan. For me BBQ by definition low and slow cooking. Not just putting BBQ sauce on something. But that’s just me being anal about food terms.

None of us had had wings there before so we didn’t really know what to expect. Luckily (no pun intended) these weren’t your regular run-of-the-mill wings thanks to the seasoning they sprinkle on the wings after they’ve been tossed in sauce. Size wise they were average. And in my opinion, that’s a good size. I personally don’t like giant, humongous wings. The doneness was of the wing was very good, and the skin was nice and crispy. However I noticed that after the wings sat for a few minutes the bottom side of the wings got a little soggy while the top stayed crispy. Maybe they could crisp ‘em up a little more? But again, the real kicker here is the seasoning they sprinkle on top of the wings. Usually I have a pretty good taste for spices and can pick out  particular spices but I couldn’t really pick out anything specific. I must have been having an off night. What the seasoning adds though is a blast of flavor right when you bite into the wing. The seasoning is on the salty side, but I’m a fan of salt, so I didn’t mind. One side effect to the extra seasoning however was it made the wings less saucy. So if you prefer a more saucy wing, the wing that would appeal to you here would be the Cajun BBQ which didn’t have the seasoning on it. Probably because the seasoning is more geared towards a buffalo style wing taste. Individually the Mild was exactly that, mild, little to no heat. If you aren’t a fan of spicy buffalo wings, these are the wings for you. The medium is a very average medium on the heat scale, but the flavor was rock solid. The Hot had some heat, obviously, and again with the addition of the extra seasoning stood out to me as the best flavor. While I only tried a taste of the Cajun BBQ, I’d be inclined to say it tasted a lot like other BBQ flavor sauces and I didn’t really get any specific Cajun flavor. Over-all we all agreed the wings were Good. Not the best we’ve ever had, but the uniqueness of the added seasoning make them stand out in the crowd. What I will say is that you can tell Leff’s actually WANTS to have wings on their menu and that shows by them doing something different. So props to them on that. It’s not just a throw-away wing night they have because they are a bar and have to have it.

What about the Ass-kicking you say? One of the managers, Mallory, stopped by our table and we exchanged introductions and afterward she asked if we tried the Ass-Kicking.  I informed her we plum forgot to order some. She said if we wanted to try them they were on her. Hey, a group of wing connoisseurs isn’t going to pass up some free wings, even if they potentially have the capability of ruining your day, and the next. Now lets face it, a lot of places that serve wings all claim to have a Super Hot wing. Legend Larry’s Scary Larry was hot, but damn tasty. Magoo’s in West Allis has Tough Guy which are damn good, but not really that hot. So the level of heat of a Super Hot wing can very from place to place. So Mallory was kind enough to bring us out 7 Ass Kickin Wings, which was just enough for 7 of us brave souls to try one. I grabbed a wing, and passed the wings around so everyone could take one. Smelling these things you could tell it was going to be bad. Looking at them you could tell it was going to be bad. These were definitely going to be on the hotter side of the Super Hot Wings. After a few deep breaths we all dove in. Instant freakin heat and insanity. We’ve had hot wings that creep up on you, but these were right-in-your-face hot. We all ate the damn thing as fast as we could. The sooner the pain would be over the better. My face was beat red, my eyes were tearing, my lips on fire, and my entire body uncomfortable. And then something strange. I actually got light-headed. Like, seriously lightheaded. I’ve never had that sensation before while eating food or doing anything “legal” in my life. The pain was relentless. Beer obviously doesn’t help take away the heat but damn sure if we didn’t all try. Yes, I’m dead serious, these were that hot. Hotter then Blazin Wings at BW3′s. Hotter then Quaker Steak’s Atomic, and hotter then Legend Larry’s Scary Larry. And not only were they hot, they tasted terrible. BW3′s Blazin wings aren’t very good either, but Legend Larry’s Scary Larry actually does taste good for a wing with that heat. These though were just bad. I actually picked up medicinal undertones. Like I just chewed up an Aspirin. We would not recommend trying those wings unless 1) it’s a dare, 2) you are sadistic and 3) like to eat things that taste bad.

So all in all, we all agreed that Leff’s had good wings. They don’t really lose points on the Ass-Kickin wings being so hot, just that they don’t taste good. The rest of the flavors were good as well. I think we all agreed that it’s nothing to write home about (but apparently enough to write a blog post about), but if we were in the area and wanted some wings we’d definitely go back. The atmosphere and size of the place is a definite plus as well. As were the prices, and friendliness of the staff and patrons.