OK. These are most definitely NOT wings. What we're talking about here is something else entirely: a plateful of deep-fried sliced chicken breasts covered in a sweet, sticky, raspberry chipotle glaze, served atop a warm flour tortilla, with the minimal (but all important) sides of jicama and blue cheese dressing.

Now, for those of you that know me, I have a tendency to avoid cooked fruit -- any fruit in fact -- in my main dish fare. So, while I've been frequenting Carlsbad for over 2 years now with on-again-off-again regularity, I've always avoided ordering the wings, and instead always opted for the sliders. Mistake.

Wow. This dish is simply amazing. The trick (and the reason I thankfully changed my mind), as the bartender Jake informed me, is to order it "spicy". By doing so, they dump a bunch of habanero aioli in the mix -- and oh man -- now we're cookin' with gas!

The best part of this dish? When you come to find, sadly, that there's no more chicken to devour, the jig ain't up! All that hot, sweet glaze? All that blue cheese dressing that's been dripping as you transfer the chicken to your mouth? It's all right there on that tortilla. Have no fear, accept no shame -- roll that baby up, and enjoy all the sweetness and habanero hotness that it has to offer.

Caveat #1: You need to wait until 10PM because it's strictly a late-menu dish.

Caveat #2: A gutful of habaneros right before bedtime is ill-advised. Eat at 10, but go to bed at 2 (hey, that also happens to be last call -- what are the odds).

Upshot #1: Mostly chicken and jicamas, so it's high in protien and low in carbs. Then again, it's fried. But somehow seems better than eating a greasy burger and fries so late at night.

Upshot #2: (Er ... possibly a caveat) My rear balcony overlooks the parking lot of Carlsbad. If you wanna hang out call me up, and if i answer my phone, I'll meet you there!