Every Friday through the end of 2018, the Rant will feature a dish that stands out among Lee County’s restaurant scene. We’ll usually focus on lunch, but there aren’t any rules – we just want to let you know (if you don’t already) about the many dining options we have that are owned and operated by people right here in Lee County. Today it’s the chicken wings at Goodfellas. Yes, this is our third entry regarding fried chicken. What of it?
Chicken wings are like the most popular food in America or something. They’re not only easy to find – whether you’re in a chain restaurant like TGMcCrappleGarden’s, any number of mom and pop restaurants, or even the supermarket – they’re also hard to do wrong. It’s chicken wings. What are you gonna do, not like chicken wings?
The wings at Goodfellas are truly special. Let’s dive in.
THE DISH: For starters, these aren’t your average wings. They’re huge. You can also order them plain (“naked,” it’s called) and sauced or spiced, or breaded (which we recommend) and sauced or spiced. $4.95 gets you four of them – it’s more than enough, if you were thinking that seems small – while $8.95 gets you eight. You can get 12 for $12.95. Sauces and spices (you can mix them, we think) include hot, medium, mild, BBQ, teriyaki, honey hot, lemon pepper, old bay, and garlic parmesan. That last one is our go to, with more than a few healthy dollops of Texas Pete for spice. As is customary with wings, though, you’re not gonna find a bad topping. These wings would even be good plain. And as is customary with wings, you get your choice of blue cheese or ranch. Those are great, but don’t overdo it either. The crunch of the bread coating and the tender white meat beneath do more than enough on their own.
WHAT ELSE TO TRY: To be quite honest, we’ve been stuck on the wings. But the loaded nachos ($8.45 for a small portion, $12.95 for large) look really good, as do their variety of salads (ranging from $3.95 to $9.95) if you’re looking for something a little more leafy. You can also get the chicken as bites or tenders ($6.95), which sounds good if you don’t like bones. There’s a full menu of bar-type food, all of which looks great, and we keep hearing about a $4.95 chicken livers and gizzards special (you know you’re curious) that we’re going to get into one of these days.
Goodfellas is located at 2709 Lee Ave. in Sanford and can be reached at (919) 776-2510. Visit their Facebook page here.
