Wing-Off supports breast cancer research

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They came, they ate, they voted. Maple Pointe Assisted Living of Rockville Centre held its annual Wing-Off on Thursday, Oct. 10, supporting Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital’s Center for Women’s Imaging. More than 100 people attended the event, sampling wings from more than a dozen restaurants from Rockville Centre, Oceanside and Island Park.

Usually held in the courtyard, the Wing-Off took place under a tent in the parking lot this year, due to stormy weather predictions. Within the tent, attendees paid $25 for a chance to sample wings from the 14 participating local restaurants and vote on their favorites. EGP emerged as number one, while R.J. Daniels won second place and MacArthur Park —which has won twice in the past — took third place. Each winner received a trophy to display at their restaurant. Other participants included Arooga’s Tap & Kitchen, Bowery Bar & Fare, Cabo, Croxley’s Ale House, Dark Horse Tavern, Burgerology, GM Burger Bar, Monaghan’s Restaurant & Bar, Parlay Gastropub, Snaps American Bistro and J. Paul’s Terrace Café.

In addition to the wings, there were T-shirts for sale and a selection of raffle baskets, which will be raffled off at Maple Pointe’s next fundraiser. On Oct. 24, Maple Pointe will host its annual Bowling for Breasts fundraiser, which also supports the hospital. Between the two fundraisers held every October, the facility has raised more than $100,000 for the cancer center, according to Maple Pointe Executive Director Tammy Marshall. Last year, they raised $23,000 and hope to reach $25,000 this year.

Marshall said she began organizing the fundraiser nearly a decade ago because she knew a lot of people, including some close friends, who were affected by breast cancer.

“It seemed like everywhere I turned,” Marshall said, “someone was affected. It was too big not to do something.”

She wanted to hold a fundraiser that would bring the community together and decided to get the restaurants involved. With the abundance of restaurants in the area serving wings, she thought a wing-off would be a good fit. Plus, she said, “Everybody loves wings.” Now, the annual wing-off is an event the community plans on each fall.

“People start asking me about it in August,” Marshall said. “They look forward to it, so we continue to do it.”

“Mount Sinai South Nassau Gertrude & Louis Feil Cancer Center is grateful for the annual support we receive from Maple Pointe. Funds raised each year support patient care services for the more than 230 breast cancer patients we treat annually,” said Tim Matejka, Executive Director of Development at Mount Sinai South Nassau. “We are thankful to Tammy and her team for the continued partnership.”

This was the first year that EGP participated, after learning about the fundraiser through an employee who also works at Maple Pointe. Staff members said it was a lot of fun and they were thrilled to take first place for their special recipes, the Karate wings and the Buffacue wings. The wide variety of flavors made it hard for attendees to choose.

“Everything was delicious,” said Leticia Natoli.