As much as folks in Memphis love our famous barbecue, the Bluff City does chicken wings just as well.

In fact, according to Memphis Tourism, Memphis has more chicken wing establishments — 200-plus — than barbecue joints, of which we have around 100.

Places such as Ching’s Hot Wings, The Wing Guru and Crumpy’s are well-known stops for hot wings. But there are dozens of small, family-owned hot wing spots in town you need to add to your list.

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One of my favorites is Mike’s Hot Wings & Such at 7730 Wolf River Blvd. in Germantown.

My husband raved about Mike’s Hot Wings for more than a year before I finally popped in to try what he calls “his favorite hot wings in town.” One bite of Mike Davis’ wings, and I knew why Mike’s had become one of Paul’s favorite lunch spots.

Davis cooks his party wings until nice and crispy, with tender and juicy meat. He then tosses them in your choice of his signature sauces or seasoning blends. 

He makes three signature dry seasoning blends, which he also sells in containers for customers to use at home. The flavors are: Lemon Pepper, Spicy Seasoning and Jerk.

You have your choice of whole wings, party wings or boneless wings.

My go-to order is the lemon-pepper party wings. I even served them at my birthday party this summer.

Davis’ lemon-pepper seasoning has just the right amount of tangy citrus with a mild peppery kick. Order them with a side of honey gold barbecue sauce to dip them in, and you have the best of both worlds — dry and saucy!

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Davis’ favorites are the party wings, as well. He orders them with his spicy dry seasoning and then drizzles a little of his signature hot sauce over the top. 

He also told me that for his boneless wings, he hand cuts and batters the chicken. 

“No short-cuts and only real chicken meat — it’s not processed chicken nuggets like you find at some places,” he said.

Davis opened his first wings restaurant 10 years ago on Winchester Road. Then he opened a second location in Germantown in 2021. But he closed the Winchester store this past February to focus on the 3,000-square-foot, 55-seat Germantown location.

“I just couldn’t find enough employees to work at both locations,” he said. 

Davis himself has worked in restaurants since he was 15. 

His first job was at Godfather’s Pizza on Summer Avenue. Over the years, he also worked for Exlines’ Pizza and what is now D’Bo’s Daiquiris. 

“I learned about wings from David Boyd,” Davis said. “I used to open D’Bo’s stores for him.”

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For his own restaurant, Davis wanted to focus on wings.

“I like the atmosphere of a wings spot, and I knew I could make a good product,” he said. 

But it’s not just wings on the menu. The “such” in his restaurant includes pizza, burgers and fried Mississippi catfish.

He is especially proud of the pizza, given his time working with Godfather’s and Exline’s.

“I like to see people eat and have a smile on their face,” Davis said.

Last thing, I would be remiss if I also didn’t give a shout-out to Davis’ smoked whole wings. Order them with a side of his secret recipe hot barbecue sauce.

Mike’s Hot Wings & Such, located at 7730 Wolf River Blvd. in Germantown, is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Mondays through Saturdays.