This Midlands wing restaurant rules the roost. Here’s who readers picked as their favorite
The chicken wing madness has come to a close, and one Midlands spot rules the roost.
After a month-long bracket and multiple rounds of voting, The State’s readers chose Carolina Wings & Rib House as their favorite restaurant for chicken wings in the Midlands area. In a razor-close final round of voting, Carolina Wings picked up 51% of the votes, just edging runner-up Wings & Ale, which garnered 49% of the ballots.
More than 2,000 total votes were cast over four rounds of voting in The State’s 2024 Chicken Wings Bracket, which started with 16 restaurants from across the Columbia and Lexington County area.
The victorious Carolina Wings & Rib House has been a player on the local food scene for nearly three decades. It currently has four locations in Lexington County, according to the company’s website, including spots in Ballentine, Cayce, Lexington and Red Bank.
“When the first Carolina Wings & Rib House opened for business in 1996, people soon realized there was something special about this new, local wing joint,” the company’s website notes. “As word got out about the great food, personable service, and fun atmosphere, business took off. ... Today our menu includes over 20 wing sauces, fresh-cut wing-chips, and a variety of appetizers and entrees that include everything from burgers to salads, sandwiches, ribs, and of course wings.”
Wing sauces highlighted at Carolina Wings & Rib House include honey BBQ, teriyaki, buffalo Cajun ranch, hot honey mustard and many more. The restaurants also have chicken tenders and boneless wings, per a menu on the Carolina Wings website.
Carolina Wings & Rib House, as the name suggests, also is known for its ribs. It offers small and large racks of baby back ribs, which are slow-cooked for 12 hours.
