After spending six days away from home, and returning on Sunday to a house that was intact but without power, and being emotionally wrung out, I considered bailing on this week’s Friday Food Fight. But then I thought, “Wait a second. Am I going to let something like the aftermath of a major hurricane deter me from the completion of my appointed rounds?” I quickly came up with an answer: Hell no!

Chicken wings came to mind as an expedient food choice. Twenty months ago, I pitted Hooters against Buffalo Wild Wings in a showdown of wing chains. I’ve since wanted to feature a couple of local restaurants.

But first I had to find a couple. As I’m sure you know, a lot of places are, or were, closed.

After some online research and phone calls and driving around, I landed on The Horse & Jockey in South Pasadena and Whiskey Wings Sports Bar & Grill in St. Pete. It should be interesting to see how a British pub fares against a restaurant with “Wings” in its name.

THE HORSE & JOCKEY

It didn’t matter that the restaurant had a limited menu on Monday night — we were there for wings and they had ’em.

The Horse & Jockey was hummin’ at 7:30. Way busier than usual, I suspect. After a short wait, we were seated in a booth. Tight quarters, but we had no complaints. The place was loud — several groups were cuttin’ loose, post-Milton — but our party of three was able to chat comfortably.

The service team was hustling to keep up. I ordered 8 Smoked Wings ($13.50) with garlic seasoning (instead of Buffalo, sweet chili or nuclear), tacked on a side of fries ($4) and got a pint of Harp ($6.75).

Appearance

Looked like a tasty plate of wings. It was not accompanied by bleu cheese or another dipping sauce. We eventually asked and received bleu cheese dressing. Carrot sticks instead of celery seemed to me to be a step up.

Texture and Taste

The wings came out hot — hot hot, not spicy hot. I nibbled gingerly to start. The garlic sauce was baked in, so the wings were not dripping, which was a good thing. The char was spot-on, offering a crispy-chewy beginning to each wing. They didn’t have much smokey flavor, but I didn’t mind. The garlic quotient was just right.

The wings held together well — and they were not tough or gristly — making for pleasurable bites. I ate four — slowly, savoring them. (I once knew a guy who’d put a wing in his mouth, chomp down and pull out the naked bone. Um, no thanks.)

The large bowl of fries were actually “chips,” seeing as this was a British-themed restaurant. They came out hot-hot too, but were ultimately too thick and soft for my liking. I only ate a few.

WHISKEY WINGS SPORTS BAR & GRILL

Whiskey Wings — on Roosevelt Boulevard just north of Gandy — is five miles from my home and I’d never heard of it until this week. The place has been open five years. Furthermore, there there are four other locations in Pinellas County. That’s what I get for not being a wings (or sports bar) guy, I guess.

As we walked from the parking lot on Wednesday at 7, it was wonderfully cool and breezy, a respite of sorts from post-hurricane stress. The restaurant’s outdoor deck was buzzing, with a boisterous crowd at the bar and a guy with a guitar strumming and singing. Preferring quiet, we opted for indoors.

Quite a stark contrast. A server whisked by and told us to sit anywhere, so we grabbed a booth. Two others were occupied. A black ceiling and TV-lined walls accented by bright red booths and chairs made for a dispiriting vibe.

Our server was covering a lot of real estate, but she was pleasant and efficient. We ordered 10 wings ($17.99), naked, with garlic parmesan sauce, plus a side of curly fries ($4.99). I got a Bud Light draft ($5).

Appearance

The restaurant fries its wings, so they lacked the inviting char of the ones at Horse & Jockey. As the menu promised, they were a golden color. A container of bleu cheese sauce was on the plate.

Texture and Taste

The skin had an acceptable level of crispiness, but also some flacid parts that felt a bit too much like … skin. The garlic and parmesan provided an adequate flavor combo. The meat inside was juicy and tender.

Like two nights previous, I ate these wings slowly. Bonnie and I split the 10, and brought four home. We discarded the wings on Thursday, and put another unnecessary hinged-foam container into the trash.

Kudos to the curly fries. They were long and lightly fried. Not too crispy, and not greasy. We — mostly me — finished the ample portion.

And the Winner of the Chicken Wings Battle (Post-Hurricane Edition Vol. 2) Is …

Horse & Jockey.

A pretty impressive helping of wings for a restaurant more known for fish & chips, bangers & mash and cottage pie.

And finally, a reminder: Stone crab season has begun! Lots of local restaurants will be serving them.