Shark Bite: A Review of Harrison’s and Jinsei Sushi’s Wings

Wesley Brown and Charles Matranga share more than the fact they are both first year law students at Ole Miss: they both have a love for wings.

The two first met during orientation at the Ole Miss School of Law. Having an instant connection, the two grew from classmates to friends and now wing aficionados.

Brown and Matranga share five decades between them of eating wings. With this much experience, the two decided they would be the perfect judges of Oxford’s wing scene.

The idea originated from a concept Brown and a friend created when he was living in Maryland. He created a spreadsheet where he would rate restaurant’s wings in various categories. Now, with a new partnership with Matranga, Brown has brought the concept to Oxford.

From sauce to wing quality, these two law students are on the hunt to find Oxford’s best wings. 

Brown and Matranga’s Review
sharkbiteoxford@gmail.com

Jinsei Sushi’s Wing Review
Overall: 6.5
Price: $0.50 each (Wing Wednesday)

Jinsei Sushi’s tebasaki wings are $0.50 each on Wing Wednesdays. Photo via Jinsei’s Instagram.

For a sushi place, these were some great wings. These could be the move if you ask your girlfriend where she wants to eat and she says, “I don’t care” to which you respond, “Perfect, let’s get wings” and she hits you with the classic, “I’m feeling sushi.” (Why didn’t she just say sushi in the first place? She was clearly thinking about getting sushi. We never eat where I want to eat. Honey, I hope you’re reading this.)

At first we were extremely skeptical of what we were about to experience. Ordering chicken wings at a sushi restaurant is about as appetizing as ordering a Philly cheese steak at IHOP. It immediately triggered our fight or flight response to avoid this impending threat to our stomachs, but being the stone-cold professionals we imagine ourselves to be, we overcame those primal impulses.

After eating numerous wings in search of the best buffalo wings in Oxford, this was a welcome change of pace. These weren’t Buffalo wings, and they didn’t even offer ranch. Instead, we got tebasaki wings and the in-house spicy mayo. We are Buffalo and ranch guys, so giving a fair rating was a challenge. Wing size was appreciable and combined with their 50-cent wing special they made for a satisfying meal. The saving grace here was how the wings were cooked. On the outside, the wing had the crunch of a potato chip, while the meat underneath was savory and thoroughly cooked. The in house spicy mayo was terrific. Tangy and spicy, it was the destined companion for the teriyaki glaze.

Walking up to the restaurant we realized that the only side item available might be sushi. Our stomachs (and wallets) winced at the thought of how many Zantacs we would have to swallow to make it to class the next morning. We were pleasantly surprised to see onion rings and their signature “green bean sauce” on the menu. Onion rings are not the prototypical side item to a chicken wing, but this wasn’t your prototypical wing experience. However, tasting the onion rings raised the same question as watching Dom miss a 4th quarter free throw: “How could you mess this up?” The onions were slightly undercooked, but the green bean sauce ended up bailing them out.

We could never recommend this spot to someone looking for Buffalo wings, but if you’re stuck at a sushi place trying to eat wings, they’ll do.

Harrison’s Wing Review
Overall: 5.6
Price: 12 wings for $10

Harrison’s offers $0.50 wings on Fridays from 5-9 p.m. Photo via Harrison’s Instagram.

These wings were clearly designed to taste the best at 11 p.m. on a Friday night post- dropping $60 on vodka shots “because you can’t feel it yet” and pre- pouring yourself into an Uber after the bar closes.

Although our overall wing eating experience was subpar, the Buffalo sauce was memorable. It had a tangy, but hot flavor which is usually hard to do. More often than not your sauce is either going to be tangy and sweet or straight up hot; it is rare to have a mixture. We managed to eat 6 wings before we had to clean and sip- the true sign of a decent sauce.

A big plus in this review was the sheer size of the wings we were served. I don’t know what Barry Bonds chicken farm these guys managed to snag their wing supply from and frankly it may be better to let it remain a mystery. But unless the last time you ate was during the Bush Administration, expect to leave a wing or two in the basket when you decide to call it quits.

Wing quality suffered as some wings were cooked more thoroughly than others. These wings are not for the faint of heart, (warning vegans) you will be breaking some chicken tendons/ligaments. If you happen to wear glasses, bring some windshield wipers because buffalo sauce will inevitably splatter across your face as you bite and tear your way through the ACLs of these genetically enhanced chicken wings.

While the wings themselves were decent, they were absolutely ruined by the foul-tasting substance the bartender told us was ranch. You know you’re dealing with bad ranch when someone says, “Are we sure this isn’t Blue Cheese?” It was super watered down, so we had to use our wings as spoons to even taste it. A peel-off ranch cup would have actually been better.

The “spicy fries” and “spicy ranch” offered as a side item would likely be the only part of this meal we would order again. They cost extra, but the price was justifiable considering the wings were too hot to handle for the first 5 minutes. Ultimately, if you’re just taking sauce, price, and size into account, these wings are worth a try the next time your BAC exceeds your GPA when you’re out on the square.