Recently I was at Buffalo Wild Wings in Sioux Falls. And like folks do when you go to BDubs, you order a plate of wings.

The hot wings were served at the table with some Bourbon Honey Mustard Sauce, Bleu Cheese Dressing, and the lame cousin of the vegetable family, celery. Why celery?

Loved the wings and dips, but what's up with the celery?

Why is it a 'thing' that traditionally when you order hot wings which have such savory flavor that you also get celery which are just little sticks of disappointment.

So I Googled it: "Why do they serve celery with hot wings?" Here's what I found from Quora.com:

The history of buffalo wings is slightly murky, but the celery seems to have been a part of it from the beginning. As far as I know the Bellissimos (purported inventors of it) never explicitly said why they served celery with the wings, but it makes culinary sense:

  • They allow you to eat a bit of mouth-cooling blue cheese without the hot sauce.
  • The crunch is a nice contrast to the chewy wings.
  • They can serve as a palate-cleanser from the greasy wings.
  • They put a bit of greenery on the plate (both pretending to be a vegetable and giving a bit of visual contrast)

OK, I guess that makes sense. Oh, and FYI: BDubs won't let you substitute your celery with an order of Onion Rings. Just so ya know.


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