The Great Chicken Wing Hunt

There may be more noble causes in the world than identifying the best chicken wing in upstate New York, but there's no denying the fervor with which a busload of “judges” set about that quest in the documentary The Great Chicken Wing Hunt. Led by an eccentric former Reuters journalist named Matt Reynolds (who also directed the film), the volunteer tasters are determined to find the ultimate wing in the U.S. region where it was born: Buffalo, and surrounding environs. Reynolds's mission begins, curiously, in Slovakia, where he introduces friends and a future fiancée to his own wings recipe, as well as his passion for the dish. Reynolds looks at the origins of Buffalo wings, including the Sicilian restaurateurs who, in 1964, found a way to make use of chicken parts that were ordinarily tossed away as useless. Going from eatery to tavern to specialty wings joints, Reynolds and his team taste hundreds of recipes, rating and hotly debating everything they try. While this feels like a fun novelty for a while, it soon grows a little tedious: for most of us, there's only so much interest we can muster about chicken wings. A strong optional purchase. Aud: P. (T. Keogh)