I Ate Pumpkin Spice Wings And Lived To Tell The Tale
Pumpkin spice wings—scary or must-try?
Pumpkin naysayers, get ready to cringe: pumpkin spice wings have landed in Portland, courtesy of Erica Montgomery, owner of Erica’s Soul Food.
As soon as Montgomery posted a photo of Megan Thee Stallion wearing all black and a gold necklace that said “Hot Girl,” lounging on a hotel bed with a remote control in her hand and a jack o’ lantern on her head, I knew something was up.
“BOOH, BIH!” Montgomery wrote, followed by a ghost emoji. “Wing flavor of the week is Pumpkin Spice! This is not a joke lol.”
I immediately began to plan my Friday around these pumpkin spice wings. If anyone else were to make pumpkin spice wings, I’d run away and cleanse my eyes and ears and tastebuds. But this is Erica Montgomery we’re talking about, named by PoMo contributor Jordan Michelman as the maker of the best wings in Portland. She’s got nine or so wing flavors, including peach sriracha, buffalo bacon ranch, Montgomery Burn, and her signature ATL-style extra-wet wings drenched in buffalo and lemon pepper sauce. If anyone can pull off pumpkin spice wings, it’s her.
“Tell me you’re here to try these wings,” Montgomery said as I walked up to the cart. Indeed, I was—and to grab a slice of red velvet cake, too.
The smell of pumpkin spice wafted through my car as I got home. Yes, there is real pumpkin in these wings, Erica assured me. I opened the takeout container and found relatively innocuous-looking wings, the sauce looking just a little more orange and thick than usual.
Pumpkin spice wings from Erica's Soul Food
Image: Katherine Chew Hamilton
But the taste? Magical. The slightly sweet pumpkin mingles with a hint of spice, warmed up with what I think is cinnamon. I don’t think I would have guessed that there was pumpkin in them if I hadn’t known beforehand. Something about that sweet-salty mix makes them hard to stop eating.
Portland’s greatest wing maker has done it again. Get over there this weekend while they last. If enough pumpkin lovers turn up, Montgomery says she might make them again next week. After all, it's October, so you might as well get in the spirit of the season and try something that scares you.
