Vindicktive Wings & Bar, Belltown, Seattle

This one starts with Rick wanting wings and me wanting Thai food, which is honestly a pretty normal night for us.

We were in Seattle for a weekend, a Christmas gift I gave Rick that was also very much a Christmas gift for me because we both love Shane Gillis. I found my Thai food fast, grabbed it to go because we were eating in the Airbnb obviously, and Rick found Vindicktive. It was packed. They were incredibly nice, he got his wings and a free sticker, and when he went to the bathroom he discovered it was fully Christmas themed. Which, again, this was not Christmastime. Just a permanent Christmas bathroom. He talked about it for a while after.

So a few months later we're on a plane to Maui, another trip, and I'm sitting there realizing the wifi works the entire flight. All five and a half hours. And I thought, well, I could scroll mindlessly for five hours OR I could do something with my time. So I started sending cold pitches from the sky. I'm pretty sure Vindicktive was the one I remember most clearly. They said no at first. Then they said yes. And I was just floored. Except I wasn't. I was in the sky. I was excited though.

Turns out, very cool people. They gave me my first Seattle restaurant gig and when I popped back in a couple months ago just to grab a jar of their blue cheese for Rick (previously a blue cheese hater, now a man who wanted a full jar of the stuff), they remembered me and gave me a hug. That's the kind of client relationship I'm always chasing.

Okay, the actual wings. Wildly crispy, bold flavors, buffalo and wet lemon pepper and mango habanero and salt and vinegar. Blue cheese only, no ranch, and once you try their housemade version you won't even think about ranch again. Rick is proof of that. What started as a pandemic era apartment pop-up from two homesick brothers from Upstate New York who couldn't find decent wings in Seattle is now a full brick and mortar bar in Belltown that is consistently packed and for very good reason.

The Christmas bathroom is still there. I have a reel on my Instagram of me laughing on the toilet with joy and I regret nothing. You can find it if you scroll enough.

Go to Vindicktive.

xoxo Chelsea