Labor Day 2009... my favorite weekend of the year.  Because it signifies the end of a hot summer and me sweating?  No.  Because I get Monday off from work.  No (in fact, I worked Monday). It's my favorite weekend of the year for one reason and one reason only: The National Buffalo Wing Festival.  This year I was joined by my good friend and fellow comedian RIck Matthews, and we brought a camera along to share the experience all of you.  It's actually a 2-part episode... part 1 is more of a build up to the actual wing eating and chronicles the anger of Rick Matthews... part 2 is where we get to the eating.  You can view the videos by visiting my YouTube channel, youtube.com/TheChetWildShow, or by viewing below.

After trying wings from dozens of locations, Rick and I actually chose our favorites.  Despite choosing different wings, we actually chose wings from the same location - and this was no coincidence.  Pesci's Pizza and Wings was hands-down the winner across the board.   Even though it's a restaurant from the Buffalo area, it was the first time Rick and I had both heard of it.  Rick chose the Maple-Cinnamon chicken wing, which is basically what you would want in a chicken wing if you would like to eat them for breakfast.  I chose the Wild Turkey Bour-B-Q, a BBQ wing with a sauce that has a base of Wild Turkey Bourbon.  

A few honorable mentions: Pesci's (again) for their AWESOME "hawg wings"... basically, they're pork short-ribs thrown on the grill and covered in wing sauce.  If Jesus likes BBQ, this is what he eats.  Also, Danny's Restaurant for a kick-ass chicken wing mac-n-cheese.  And lastly, my favorite from last year, Arooga's out of Harrisburgh, PA.  The Sudden Death made our camera man tear, and the Kangarooga and Almost Everything wings were amazing!

Also, don't forget about Rust Belt Comedy Presents: Open Mic Comedy Night at Merge this Wednesday.... 9:30pm sign-ups, 10pm show. 

Additionally, Thursday is an actual Rust Belt Comedy show at The Blue Wall in South Buffalo.  9:00pm show, $5/door, and special guests Nigel Larson, Eric Lingenfelter, and Dan Rice will be doing sets as well.  It's going to be a great night!

Lastly, I recently had sit-down interviews with comedians Mike Dambra and Rich Vos, so be on the lookout for some very intriguing future episodes of Behind The Funny.  Thanks for all the support!

CW