Full disclosure: Our tasters are highly concentrated in South Minneapolis so Memory Lanes has a leg up as a local spot. That said, the wings we had at our latest visit make us feel totally justified in recommending a 12-er from this classic American bowling alley.
We brought a group of eight (our biggest tasting party yet) to the dining room and really put the wing cook through their paces: The results? Our orders came out hot, nearly perfectly cooked, and with the right amount of their traditional buffalo sauce to satisfy sauce lovers without leaving the rest of us in slop-town.
The high marks speak for themselves. These are just good wings. Meat quality could improve in a few tasters’ eyes, and one taster complained of slight sliminess on texture, but on the whole complaints were nearly non-existent. Bonus: When you’re finished you can moist-towelette off and hit the lanes. Or just order more wings.
THE VERDICT
81/100
Texture: 8/10
Flavor: 8/10
Meat Quality: 7/10
Value: 9/10
Experience: 8.5/10
Total: 40.5/50 possible points
SCORE BREAKDOWN
Alex
Texture: 10
Flavor: 9
Meat Quality: 8
Value: 8
Experience: 9
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: Memory Lanes makes some of my favorite no-nonsense buff wings. Certainly not going to win any awards, but they are so consistent in every category they are have to be ordered any time you find yourself here.
Allison
Texture: 8
Flavor: 7
Meat Quality: 6
Value: 10
Experience: 8
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: Memory Lanes never disappoints. Meat quality could be higher, but texture was on point.
Andrew
Texture: 8
Flavor: 8
Meat Quality: 7
Value: 8
Experience: 9
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: Damn, Gina.
Blake
Texture: 8
Flavor: 9
Meat Quality: 7
Value: 10
Experience: 10
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: I love MemoryLanes wings. They are the standard for what a classic buffalo wing should be. No frills, no gimmicks, no breading, and no pretension. Just a deep fat fried piece of chicken covered in a mixture of hot sauce and butter.
Esther
Texture: 7
Flavor: 7
Meat Quality: 6
Value: 8
Experience: 7
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: My wings had a weird gamey taste. A sign of lower-quality meat?
Greg
Texture: 7
Flavor: 7
Meat Quality: 7
Value: 7
Experience: 7
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: Average. Nothing special.
Laura
Texture: 6
Flavor: 9
Meat Quality: 8
Value: 10
Experience: 9
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: Their ranch tasted like bleu cheese to me.
Michael
Texture: 10
Flavor: 9
Meat Quality: 6.5
Value: 9.5
Experience: 7.5
Presentation (Pass/Fail): Pass
Notes: My only complaint on this batch was that the meat was slightly sub-par – a bit too much of the grizzly nasty bits to make it an all-around A+ experience.
The Depot Tavern – Downtown Minneapolis – Twin Cities Buffalo Club
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