To prove the point, this woman bought one serving of chicken wings at Buffalo Wild Wings and another at a local restaurant. The difference in the size of her wings is amazing.
In a viral TikTok with more than 1.5 million views as of Sunday, Audra (@becomingaudra) took it upon herself to see if Buffalo Wild Wings or Gator is a better value destination.
“I’m a little bored again today, so why don’t we go to another chain that serves us?” she said as she pulled up to Buffalo Wild Wings.
For Audra, this is personal, she said, since she worked at one of the chain stores during her college years.
“Lo and behold! This is the last time you’ll ever see me because I’m never going to order Buffalo Wild Wings again,” Audra said as she cradled a bag of wings in her car.
After a stop at a local restaurant, Gator’s (also known as a competitor to Buffalo Wild Wings in this case), she takes a box of wings home and sets them out on the table.
It looks like we have a winner even before we open the box, and it’s very clear once we open the box.
To the right is what can only be described as a pile of chicken wings slathered in sauce. Gator even took care to line the to-go boxes with aluminum to keep the wings warm in the car on the way home.
The box of Buffalo Wild Wings is on the left and looks quite small and unappetizing by comparison.
In contrast to the wings Audra picked up from a local restaurant, the wings look noticeably smaller and soggy.
Watch on TikTok
It’s also not like Buffalo Wild Wings were significantly cheaper to justify the difference in quality.
Audra said she paid $20.03 at the chain restaurant and $17.09 at Gator’s. (Both orders apparently came with fries and ranch.)
“[Buffalo Wild Wings] It’s the home of microwings,” Audra says at the end of the video.
This evidence solidified Audra’s contention that people are likely to get better value (and support small businesses) when they eat out at local restaurants rather than chain restaurants.
“Here’s the chef. Thank you for this. There’s great food everywhere if people take the time to look for it,” one commenter wrote.
Last week, another woman pointed out the outrageous difference in size between Costco’s frozen chicken wings and Sam’s Club’s. When she cooked, the Costco wings were about twice the size of the Sam’s Club wings.
However, viewers were divided on which wholesaler to buy chicken from. On the other hand, smaller wings may mean they’re not chock-full of hormones that consumers don’t like. Wing lovers, on the other hand, generally prefer those with more meat than bone.
Audra’s video received a lot of feedback in the comments section.
“The entire food industry, grocery stores and fast food chains have turned into scammers! They are reducing the size of food and raising its prices,” the top comment read.
“Chain restaurants are so cheap that they now basically serve fast food in glass plates,” one commenter wrote.
“The neighbor who runs the local diner needs your $20 lunch order more than the corporate place that serves microwaved food,” one person pointed out.
Audra agreed and said, “That’s right!” Money for real families, not corporate machines. ”
The Daily Dot reached out to Audra and Buffalo Wild Wings via email and the Gators via Instagram direct message.
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*First published: April 14, 2024, 5:00 PM CDT
Stacey Fernandez
Stacey Fernandez is a freelance writer, project manager, and communications specialist. She worked at the Texas Tribune, the Dallas Morning News, and was in charge of social media at the New York Educational Trust. Her favorite hobby is finding hidden gems in her thrift store. She loves good audio books and is also a chocolate lover.
