Original wings live up to hype, other items just so-so at Anchor Bar

I'll freely admit that, not having spent time in Buffalo, N.Y., I've never had Buffalo wings at the original Anchor Bar, which reportedly is where they were created. But like most of the world's greatest chefs, Anchor Bar has beat a path to Las Vegas' door, setting up shop a few months ago in the food court at The Venetian.

As you might imagine, I was consumed with curiosity. It's not that I eat Buffalo wings on a regular basis, but as a bar food, they're pretty ingenious, turning something that once was routinely pushed aside (the Anchor Bar's seminal wings reportedly had been destined for the stock pot) into a spicy, crunchy, buttery snack that people actually pay to eat.

And so, the verdict? Yes, they're really good, mostly because they're larger than average, which makes them meatier, both more appealing and easier to eat. Of the mild, medium, hot, spicy hot bbq, or suicidal, my friend chose mild, as a combo with fries and a soft drink ($14.50), prompting me to fear that maybe she'd wimped out.

As it turned out, I was rather glad she did. While they were indeed mild, these wings had a respectable kick, which got us thinking that maybe "suicidal" wasn't an exaggeration.

Like just about every place else these days, Anchor Bar has branched out from its main mission, offering Wings Around the World, from which I chose teriyaki-sesame, wings only ($12). Like the regular wings, they were a serving of about 10, and I got only about halfway through them because the overwhelming flavor here was that of salt.

The salt and vinegar seasoned fries that my friend chose as part of her combo also were mostly salty and not very vinegary, leading me to feel it was the Anchor Bar that had wimped out this time.

But you know what were the major disappointments? The two things that would contain mayonnaise, although in this case I'm guessing it was some variation thereof. Cole slaw ($2 for small, which we had, or $4 for large) was cold and crisp, but the dressing was oily, without flavor. And the blue-cheese dressing/dip was much the same way, some unctuous substance with lumps of blue cheese.

The menu said the slaw was Teressa Bellissimo's recipe, and I'm assuming the dressing/dip is as well. If that is indeed the case, I'd like to suggest they let go of those traditions, and simply honor, as the menu says, "the phenomenon" she created in 1964, because bar owners and beer drinkers everywhere owe her a debt of gratitude.

— Las Vegas Review-Journal restaurant reviews are done anonymously at Review-Journal expense. Email Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at reviewjournal.com and bestoflasvegas.com, and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.