Our readers have spoken: This metro Detroit restaurant has the best chicken wings in 2025
It's winner, winner, chicken (wing) dinner time.
Thousands of chicken wing aficionados around metro Detroit have spoken on which metro Detroit restaurant has the best chicken wings through our monthlong 2025 Chicken Wing Challenge.
Right from the beginning, when we solicited nominations for the 16-restaurant bracket, we knew it would be close — real close. Once we finalized the field of 16, readers voted over the course of four rounds to get down to one restaurant, with many races decided by only a handful of votes.
So the winner of the 2025 Chicken Wing Challenge is ...
Well, wait. Let's first give a big shout-out and thanks to all the readers who participated. Dozens of places were nominated and thousands of votes poured in each round, all the way up to the championship, which pitted No. 2 seed The Charlevoix in Grosse Pointe Park up against No. 5 seed Woodpile BBQ Shack, whose Madison Heights location cooks up the nominated wings.
That brings us to the winner. Drum roll, please ...
Woodpile BBQ Shack is the winner of the 2025 Free Press Chicken Wing Challenge!
To get to the final round, Woodpile BBQ Shack edged out the always popular Sweetwater Tavern in the "Savory Four" to get to the finals. Meanwhile, The Charlevoix edged out Detroit favorite Zeek's Wings.
The Charlevoix also was a runner-up in the 2023 Chicken Wing Challenge, but lost to One Under Craft Beer + Eats in Livonia.
The Charlevoix's wings are one of the main choices on the menu of the neighborhood restaurant and bar. More than a half dozen styles are listed, including salt and vinegar and Thai.
Woodpile BBQ Shack is owned by Tim Idzikowski, Zac Idzikowski and Brandon Hannish. The Madison Heights location opened in 2019, four years after the Clawson joint opened.
Tim Idzikowski said they were very thrilled to make it through to the final round.
'We beat some pretty big competition,' he said.
Idzikowski's daughter, Kelly, added that they also had great support from the community.
'We had a little bit of a ground game reaching out to all our friends and family but, beyond that, we just had some great support in the community,' Kelly Idzikowski said. 'We do our best to have a good presence in both Clawson and Madison Heights, and I'm hoping that that's what showed up. We had the support for the community and the community had our back in this bracket as well.'
Woodpile's wings have a unique three-step process. They use wings, flats and drums, first getting a soaking in a sweet tea brine. Then the wings are wood-smoked using oak, then fried, Tim Idzikowski said.
Kelly Idzikowski said developing the wings was a little bit of trial and error.
'But we also wanted to pay a little bit of homage to the southern style as much as we can,' she said.
While the wings are only on the menu at the Madison Heights location, the Clawson location runs them as a special at times.
Woodpile BBQ Shack will be awarded a trophy for its victory in the 2025 Chicken Wing Challenge.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on X.
Support local journalism and become a digital subscriber to the Free Press.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: This metro Detroit restaurant has the best chicken wings
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