These wings could straighten up, fly right

WE’RE being smothered in hot wings. In recent years, these addictive delights have been showing up on menus all over town, and everywhere you turn there’s another Hooters staring you in the face. Not that I’m complaining.

It was only a matter of time before wings got “Yum-ified.” Yum Brands Inc. owns Pizza Hut, KFC, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and now (drumroll, please) WingStreet! Two years ago, Yum began equipping some of its Pizza Huts with deep fryers, and the result is a combination Pizza Hut/WingStreet outlet. There are now more than 500 nationwide. L.A. got its first co-branded store a few months ago, and there are currently 26 locally, with 150 expected by March.

WingStreet wings come in three styles -- “traditional” (unbreaded), “bone-in” (breaded) and “bone-out” (boneless, breaded strips).

There are also eight sauces, including Cajun, chipotle BBQ, teriyaki, garlic parmesan, and -- because the hottest wings need a silly, dangerous-sounding name -- “Flame Thrower.”

Unlike most wings joints, WingStreet specializes in delivery and carryout, and they’re also a little cheaper at $6.49 for 10 “traditional” wings and $5.99 for the “bone-in/bone-out” varieties. But are they any good?

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WingStreet hot wings

Taste **

The sauces are tasty, especially the garlic parmesan, but the wings themselves aren’t. They go straight from the freezer to the deep fryer. The slightly more expensive “traditional” wings are somewhat more flavorful than the “bone-in/bone-outs,” which are pre-breaded and bland.

Diet Watch **

Because WingStreets share space with Pizza Huts, those Pizza Huts can’t carry the original Pizza Hut brand of wings. Too bad for dieters: The WingStreet bone-out “Flame Thrower” has 104 calories per wing, while an original Pizza Hut hot wing -- which is oven-baked and unbreaded -- has only 55.

Portability **

The packaging is good, but visits to three stores averaged a wait of more than 20 minutes. By comparison, Hooters usually gets your order out in less than 10 minutes.

Hype-o-meter 0

Don’t expect WingStreet to advertise in L.A. until early next year, when they’ll have a delivery store in most every area. Hopefully, by then they’ll also have a better product.

* Ratings are on a scale of zero (lowest) to four (best).