New wing king, Amici reigns supreme

 
    The aroma of wing sauce and the sound of familiar guitar hero songs filled the air on GCSU’s Front Campus between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m on Monday. Despite the chill in the air, the “War of the Wings” fundraiser, hosted by the Kappa Upsilon chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha, was a huge success.
    The mission of the fundraiser was to raise money for the sorority’s philanthropy: Breast Cancer Awareness and Education.
    Five dollar tickets were sold to students and Milledgeville locals who wanted to sample wings from different local restaurants and take part in a voting that would determine the town’s best wings. Along with a Coca-Cola vender, seven wing venders were placed in a semi-circle. They included Amici Italian Cafe, Applebee’s, Buffington’s, Chili’s, Pickle Barrel, Velvet Elvis and Zaxby’s. Participants received a punch card and ticket to vote for their favorite wing.
    Emily Beatty, Zeta co-chair fundraising coordinator and freshman marketing major, was in charge of the event.
    “We have a different voting system this year,” said Beatty. “Instead of choosing any ten wings from any vender, you have to take one wing per vender. This allows for a fairer voting.”
    Zeta Tau Alpha’s fundraising goal was already met before the “War of the Wings” contest. A campaign raised $3,000 by sending letters to friends and families of the sorority.
    Senior mass communication major Lauren Edwards was at the fundraiser representing student radio station WGUR 88.9, which provided merchandise such as bottle openers, cups and music for the event.
    “This wing contest was a huge success last year, and I couldn’t wait to sample the wings again this year,” said Edwards. “This is a lot of food. You basically get the same amount in a restaurant for the same price of a ticket here.”
    Tables were color-coordinated and matching toothpicks were placed in the wings, so when participants sat down to enjoy their meal, they could easily match the wing they liked best to the vender that provided it.
    Some vendors provided more than just regular wings. Teriyaki, barbeque and honey hot were some of the other flavors offered.
    “We only had one flavor last year,” said Sara Bradford, assistant manager at Applebee’s. “This year we have three, and it is going over really well. The participants are huge fans of the Teriyaki.”
    The wings eventually ran out, and the venders were constantly gathering more to toss in their special and unique wing sauce.
    Amici won the contest with votes in the high 60s. Pickle Barrel, the 2007 “War of the Wings” champion, came in second.
    As for my personal favorite? Give me XX wings and extra blue cheese from Amici, and I am one happy camper.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Apr 11 2008. Filed under Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry