Marc L.
Yelp
Best wings I've had in ATL.
Finally got a chance to try this highly touted local spot that even Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms acknowledges is an Atlanta wings institution. Located off 285 just west of Downtown Atlanta and not far from the airport, LT's Wings is worth the extra drive to sample some classic-style wings in a variety of delectable sauces.
With all that being said... this is a mom & pop joint in all of the funny, inconvenient reasons that sometimes come up with these sorts of small businesses. For one, the restaurant is only open Thursday through Saturday, so if you miss the early weekend you're basically screwed. While the listed hours on Yelp are currently 11 am to 10 pm, there's a sign on the door that says they're only open from 12 pm to 8 pm... so the window of opportunity is even smaller than before. To add insult to injury, when I went on a Saturday recently, it wasn't even open at 12 pm. When I got there, one of the employees was waiting in his car in the parking lot and told me the owner hadn't arrived yet; when I asked when he'd be getting there he just shrugged and smiled sheepishly.
Finally, around 12:15 pm, the owner finally pulled up and informed us that it would take about 20-30 minutes to fire everything up. After missing out on LT's Wings the last time I was in Atlanta, what else could I do but bite the bullet and wait? Inside the restaurant they had a small TV showing Law & Order SVU, which you could watch as you sat on some vintage Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics chairs that have been installed inside.
But how about the actual wings? After showing a little persistence, we convinced the cashier to let us order 4 flavors at 5 wings each, so a total of 20 wings at the cost of $33 including tax and tip. We got the House Special, Lemon Pepper, Cajun Lemon Pepper, and Garlic Parmesan. From ordering to picking up the wings, it took about 20 minutes for everything to be ready.
If you've had wings in Atlanta you'll know that wing size can vary dramatically depending on where you go, but LT's were the largest and meatiest wings I've had out of all the places I've visited. The sauces, too, were on point: while the House Special spicy and tangy sauce was a little too messy to eat, the other flavors were all phenomenal. The Garlic Parmesan wings were probably the best rendition I've had of that flavor and the Cajun Lemon Pepper was my favorite: Atlanta's signature Lemon Pepper marinade dusted with Cajun spices.
Would I come here again? I'd say LT's definitely sets the standard for wings in Atlanta for me, but given the finicky schedule, I'd probably want to call ahead with my order instead of driving all the way over to Cascade and Fairburn, only to find the restaurant is closed.
Make sure you ask for extra napkins before you leave... eating wings is a messy business!