4 Wing, Mumbo Sau, Fry, Sal, Pepa, Ketcha

(click pics to see the enlarged goodness… don’t be scared )

For those of you who aren’t natives of the DC area or familiar with our carry-out restaurants, let me clarify it for you. That’s 4 chicken wings with mumbo sauce, a side order of French fries topped with salt, pepper and ketchup. If you’ve never had the opportunity to have wings laced with mumbo sauce, then you’re missin’ out!!! First of all, it’s probably one of the most economical meals you’re ever gonna have. That combo cost only about 3 single $1 bills and 3 quarters. Take one chicken wing off and it’s about three dollars. Add another wing and it’s about fo fiddy. Now, you’re probably asking “What the hell is mumbo sauce?” and the answer is “I can’t tell ya”… but it’s good!!!!! To me it’s like a combination of ketchup, sweet & sour sauce & duck sauce. It’s tangy and sweet and is slammin’ on some wings. Best believe that I get extra small cups to take to the crib for those special occasions. Fry up some chicken fingers or nuggets and dip em right in the sauce. The taste of mumbo sauce is somewhat close to Chick-fil-A’s Polynesian Sauce. Close, but still quite far away. Ask around and ere’body has a different opinion of what exactly makes up mumbo sauce. Yeah, I wish I could find a recipe to make it, but whatever. I’ll continue to eat it until…

Now each person will tell you that their favorite carry-out has the best sauce. NW DC has their spots. NE DC has their spots. SE DC has theirs too. I dunno about SW DC, not too many carry-outs around the Capitol Hill area. I spent most of my time on Georgia Avenue aka Uptown, so that’s where I go. Andy’s is my spot. Yes indeed. Their sauce is like dat!!!! So, on my way home one night recently, I made my occasional stop on the avenue. With the quickness I placed my order and within seconds I heard the lady in the back holler back “4 Wing, Mumbo Sau, Fry, Sal, Pepa, Ketcha” and I nodded my head. But hold fast, no order from the carry-out is complete without a 20oz Rock Creek soda. So I glanced over the selection. Did I want the pineapple, the grape or the peach? I went ahead and copped me a peach soda. Yesssiree bob. Rock Creek sodas are like the founding soda manufacturer for all carry-outs. Leaving without one is just impossible. So I sat around for a few minutes and rapped to the fellas in the spot. I eventually got my order and rolled out.

That drive home was difficult. It’s been a while since I took it back to old school and got that combo. I used to get it on the regular when I was in HS. I didn’t go to school in DC, but where I was in MD wasn’t far away from Uptown. MD carry-outs have the fake me out mumbo sauce. It just isn’t the same. So I was always forced to go to the District to get it. I now live like 40 minutes away from the carry-out and the smell was killin’ me as I drove home. Seriously I wanted to rip the bag open and straight devour those wings and fries. But I didn’t wanna try to eat and drive at the same time though. Hell, I just got out of an accident. Didn’t wanna cause one by Driving While Black. I finally got to the crib and you know what I did right? Nope… not that. I ran upstairs to the bedroom and grabbed my camera to capture the moment. Took a few pics and then got to eatin’. Yeah, I know… crazy. I can’t help it. For some reason I take tons of pics of food. Maybe there’s some kinda therapy for that. Gotta follow-up on that one. I’m gone…

Oh yeah… for those who have had the pleasure of partaking in wings and mumbo sauce, what do think? Love it, just okay to you or just hate it? What would you say the sauce is a mixture of? If you got a good recipe, I’m willing to be the guinea pig… but only with one chicken wing. Can’t be wasting the good wings on some lackluster sauce. I’m gone fa real this time…

Peace-N-Love

G. Mo

16 thoughts on “4 Wing, Mumbo Sau, Fry, Sal, Pepa, Ketcha”

  1. That looks so good.

    We have a place here that uses “secret sauce” on their wings. They also put the sauce on the fries too and it’s the bomb. You don’t need no ketchup for the fries.

  2. You are SOOOO wrong for posting those pics. Haven’t had wings and mambo sauce since Christmas Eve. Got mine off of Alabama Ave in SE DC. The wings were fried HARD!! LOL! I guess they know that’s how black people like their chicken.

  3. OH you have just made me so homesick. I’m in slower lower (Eastern Shore, Delaware area) and NO ONE around here knows about mumbo sauce. I can just taste it right now wit some fries.

  4. Dang, you brought back some memories for me. It was a place like that back home in TX called Rudy’s Chicken it was the BOMB!!! Now since I am in Chicago I might get a little Harold’s Chicken every now and then. But I have never heard of mumbo sauce.

  5. Those wangs look hella good. Never had Mumbo sauce but got me wanting to try it now!. I know I saw a bottle on sale( 2 for $3) in the grocery store last week ad I was wondering what the hell? Now I may have to check it out and give it a taste.

  6. now being born and raised in the aeerrraaa myself you KNOW i had to comment…

    i love 4 wings and the sauce-HA! and i would like to say it just depends on what part of MD you go to get your wings from because Capitol Heights/District Heights had that good stuff…now where i live now in Bowie, TOTALLY FAKE! I can’t do it…

    aww the good ol days…

    and ROCK CREEK soda! my boyfriend was like, i know you from the hood because i keep a ROCK CREEK soda in the house…smh…too funny!

  7. I got people in the DC ‘urrea’, PG County to be exact, and they introduced me to the wonders of Mumbo Sauce. They usually get their wings from Danny’s Carry Out I think. I like it. You can’t find Mumbo sauce to save your life down here in the A.

  8. I’m a DC expatriate currently living in Brooklyn.
    And as much as I believe friedchickenwingsmambosaucefriessalpeppaketchup is part of the secret conspiracy to kill Black folk one clogged artery at a time (why come ain’t no kerrrryouts in the white neighborhoods?), I can’t lie — that picture makes me wanna get on the New Jersey Turnpike right now and head straight to my old spot offa Georgia Ave.

  9. damn, we were just talking about mumbo sauce last weekend. people were like, “whaaaaaaat?”

    yeah, i’m eating better these days but some days i do miss my fries and steroid chicken wings wit mumbo sauce from Yum’s!

  10. The sauce in your pictures is not the TRUE mumbo sauce. The color is too red and the consistency isn’t thick enough. That stuff is the cheap, knock-off, watered-down “mumbo” that has sprung up in recent years. The true mumbo sauce is more orangish in color and has a thicker consistency like boiled-down duck sauce or something.

    You can find it at:

    “Wings N’ More Wings”
    1839 Benning Road, NE
    Washington, DC 20002
    (202) 397- 7062.

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