The process of making something unique out of something that has been made a million times before is a painstaking one. It requires attention to detail. You have to look at it from every side and experiment. This is the approach William Gundrum, a student of the art of crafting chicken wings, took when he opened a Double Dub’s truck in Milwaukee.
Gundrum, a pharmacist and lifelong resident of Milwaukee, decided to open his wing truck after having tried wings all over the United States, and never quite finding “above-and-beyond” wings in his home city.
“I have had many, many wings in my life, and there have been times that my favorite spots don’t hit the mark,” Gundrum says. “Most of the time the sauce is the same but the quality of the wing may be different, or the cooking is off, and that leaves me disappointed and unsatisfied. My goal is to provide quality and consistency, so by focusing equally on the cook of the wing and the saucing, we will always hit the mark for our customers.”
Double Dub’s can be found all over the city, mostly at breweries, and the best way to find them is by following their Facebook or Instagram pages, where schedules are updated every Monday. On August 18, they will be at the Puerto Rican Festival of Wisconsin in Veterans Park, where they will debut their sofrito-flavored wing. Sofrito is an herbed and garlic-forward slurry that is used in a majority of popular Puerto Rican dishes; now it will be presented in a form where it will be highlighted, front and center.
“I see us continuing to establish ourselves as a go-to wing spot in the city as we travel around to different spots so that more and more people can enjoy our food, and not be limited to a single location as if we had a brick and mortar,” Gundrum says.
The realm of bar and “party food” is something that has taken on a different life in recent years. It has become more baroque, and people are willing to venture out and make experimental things like braised short rib sliders or Dr. Pepper-soaked bánh mi. Gundrum has vowed to keep his concept simple, perfect what is already widely approved, and honor the ritual of eating said delicacies.
“Wings have always been a big part of my life, whether that be a Thursday-night ritual with friends at Johnnie Hammers for football and wings, spending quality time with my daughter traveling around Wisconsin to try the best-rated wings in the area, or all of the countless get-togethers with JJ’s wings as the feature,” Gundrum says. “Wings are one of my favorite things to eat, and a source of community in my life, so if there was any food truck I would consider opening, it was destined to be wings.”
There is a specific cook time that is applied to all Double Dub’s wings, and the sauces are created with an imagination that simmers and bubbles over into the endless creativity of flavors. “The perfect wing to me is fried to a crispy skin that gives a good bite with the meat still being juicy, doused in a flavorful sauce with a kick, and topped with a seasoning that pairs with and enhances the sauce’s flavor,” Gundrum says.
Double Dub’s best-selling wing is the garlic Alfredo, which tastes like it would pair well with fettuccine, but the flavor mixture is always up to the customer. The “cinna-bee,” which is a cinnamon honey sauce, is a close second. The spicy pickle, which has fresh dill sprinkled on it, really pops with a brine-y tang that will have you nodding and muttering “goddamn” under your breath. It has become my definite go-to.
As for the future of Double Dub’s? “I see us opening a second truck to be able to make it to more locations and events, as we have already been unable to make it to some due to being booked already,” Gundrum says. “I also see us hosting our own events to bring the community together and share the love for wings.”
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