Burgers "N" Things

It's a little known fact that in addition to scenic views and family-owned wineries, the Shenandoah Valley is widely celebrated for its chicken wings. The reason it's a little known fact is because I just made it up. But having spent my birthday weekend with friends in a cabin near Shenandoah National Park, a stop for burgers and wings on the way back to DC seemed like just what we needed to take the edge off an impending Monday. Burgers "N" Things is purely a roadside takeout, and looking up at the menu board I found "wing dings" listed under "hot sandwiches", below the chili-cheese fries and just above the apple pie sticks. As usual when I sample wings off the beaten path I didn't know what to expect.

A wooden takeout shack in the mountains, BNT is enticingly idyllic. There's picnic tables out front, thick milkshakes on offer, and cheeseburgers for less than $2. No seating: you order at one window, step down and pick up your food at the next, turn around to grab your condiments off the counter, then go out to the picnic tables or return to your car. Oddly there are plastic bags of water hanging above the doors and windows. I asked about these when I asked about the wings, and was told that they're supposed to keep flies away and that the wings come breaded with sauce on the side. Both were significant causes for skepticism.

They came in a paper basket hot from the fryer, breaded as promised, crispy and wrapped in wax paper, adorned only with a plastic ramekin of Franks Red Hot (or something very close to it). Jake remarked that "they're very DIY" as he dipped one into the sauce. (Emily added that she was enjoying her veggie burger, and I duly ignored her -- wrong website.) For breaded wings these were not bad. I liked being able to take bites dripping with hot sauce and while the meat was a bit salty it was hot and fresh. Kerri called them "Crusty on the outside but... quite tender on the inside. And juicy." So sure I'll recommend them. What more can you ask for on a crisp fall day in wine country? Try these wings with a chilled glass of your favorite Virginia Chardonnay.