11891 Main, Newstead, NY 14001
Web: Braun's Family Restaurant
Phone: 716.542.2425
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Chicken Wings Newstead
"It's the Mini Hawgs that we'd order again at Braun's: they're closer in size and texture to chicken wings, with a better ratio of sauce to meat, but less meat relative to the bone."
Located in the Town of Newstead, NY - seven or so miles past Clarence Center - Braun's Family Restaurant may not be the most convenient restaurant to visit for a Western New York specialty - it's also not the fanciest, the best known, or the least expensive place you'll read about on Buffalo Chow. But if you want to find the place that lays claim to creating the Hawg Wing, a grilled pork shank alternative to Buffalo's considerably more famous chicken wing, you'll find yourself taking a long drive down Main Street to this understated venue.
As mentioned in our coverage of WingFest '08, we were already fans of the Hawg Wing before we'd even heard of Braun's; Pesci's Pizza & Wings served a great version at the Festival, though a less impressive one when we ordered directly from the restaurant in Clarence. And we've recently tried without success to make them ourselves: restaurants are clearly better equipped to do the necessary grilling during the winter, and we learned that not just any cut of pork - even a really good one - will do. True Hawg Wings are shanks, leg bones, served by Braun's either in full-size form or as Mini Hawgs, roughly half-sized versions. They have a lot in common with the formerly undesirable wing parts of chickens, and are similar to riblets, only they're not taken from the ribs.
It's the Mini Hawgs that we'd order again at Braun's: they're closer in size and texture to chicken wings, with a better ratio of sauce to meat, but a lower percentage of meat to bone. The sauciness is key - as with the full-sized Hawgs, you can choose between barbecue, "Kickin'-Q," sweet apple, and spicy cajun versions, the latter essentially a medium Buffalo wing hot sauce, and the first two highly similar dark brown barbecue sauces. Our Minis came with the standard "Braun-B-Q" sauce, which made them literally finger lickin' good - better than the similar ones we'd had at Pesci's, thanks to Braun's stronger sauce and more thorough grilling, which collectively produced a taste somewhere between great barbecued wings and juicy pork chops. Braun's sells them by the half-dozen as appetizers for $8, or as entrees of 12 ($16) or 24 ($32), both with a significant undercarriage of fine french fries. Like super jumbo wings, they're meaty enough that the average person wouldn't need more than a dozen to walk out stuffed.
By comparison, Braun's standard, larger Hawg Wings are closer to chicken legs in size, and therefore sell at a premium: the appetizer plate gives you two for $7, while the entree versions offer four for $13, eight for $23, and 12 for $31, each with fries. Due to a mix-up with our order, we'd initially planned to order 12 of the Minis in all four flavors, but wound up getting the full-sized versions instead, properly divided by flavor and apologetically served at no extra charge.
As the full-sized Wings are huge, we were faced with way too much to finish eating, but we enjoyed as many as we could take. Unlike the overly thin "Buffalo Hot" hawg wings we had at Pesci's, Braun's spicy cajuns were closer to real Buffalo chicken wings, their sauce possessing a superior, thicker viscosity and a little more peppery punch. We found the two barbecue sauces hard to tell apart, but the "Kickin'" version was a little spicier than the standard, yet generally the same in tangy sweetness; these were our favorites of the bunch. The only flavor we didn't like was the Sweet Apple, which other than its cinnamon brown coloration looked and tasted basically like applesauce, failing to coat the wings as completely or fluidly as the others. Those tasting this flavor would never understand why Hawg Wings are so interesting; so served, they're closest to grilled, fatty pork chops with an apple glaze.
On a related note, it would be easy to write off the whole of Braun's based on initial impressions; a crock of French Onion Soup ($4) we ordered as an appetizer was unimpressive, with goopy, sparing cheese, too few croutons, and a slightly off-putting sweet broth that we didn't feel like finishing. And similarly, though the place is billed as a "family restaurant," the wall paintings of sports stars and teams, combined with the crowd and edgy music playing over the speakers make it seem more like a sports bar. We walked in to hear the uncensored versions of Eminem songs playing loudly on a whole-restaurant audio system, F-bombs dropping within seconds of entry, and the music continued at loud volumes throughout the entire meal.
Thankfully, Braun's Mini Hawg Wings and friendly, quick service were enough to make us want to pay another visit in the future. We may issue a full rating when we've had a chance to sample more of the decidedly American, steak, sandwich, salad and pasta menu, but for now, we can say with confidence that this is a great place to go for the signature dish, assuming that you're looking to try an up and coming Buffalo favorite.
