Wing Wiz Wins El Paso’s First Wing Belt at Taste of El Paso 2026 at NEEP Collective

El Paso showed up and showed out this past weekend at the 2nd Annual Taste of El Paso Festival at NEEP Collective, and if Saturday night was any indication, this event is well on its way to becoming one of the best food festivals the Sun City has to offer.

The NEEP Collective lot on Dyer Street was packed from corner to corner with El Pasoans hungry for everything the 915 has to offer. Vendor tents lined the grounds as local restaurants brought their best, local breweries poured cold ones right alongside NEEP Collective's own impressive tap lineup, and live music kept the energy exactly where it needed to be all night long. Local art added color to the whole scene, making it feel less like a food festival and more like a full-on celebration of El Paso culture.

The Wing Competition That Gave El Paso Its First Wing Belt

The undisputed highlight of the evening was the wing competition, and your boy Grizz was right in the middle of it as a guest judge. The panel was no joke. Sitting at the judges table were Miss Earth Gia Soleil Espinoza, AJ from El Paso's own The BS Podcast, actor Evan George Vourazeris from the hit series Ozark, KVIA's Isabella Martinez, and one very enthusiastic crowd member who was pulled in as a surprise guest judge. When asked why he was so excited to join the panel, he was refreshingly honest about it: he was broke, and this was free food. Respect.

Wing entries were kept completely anonymous during judging, keeping things as fair as possible. The competitors were Wing Wiz, La Fete Cafe, Border City Alehouse, Broken Rules Brewing, Hooters, Aurelia's Brewery, and Zunillas. All seven brought their best to the table, but when the scores were tallied, one name rose above the rest.

Wing Wiz took it all.

Wing Wiz and the Wings That Earned the Belt

Calling Wing Wiz's winning entry good wings would be an understatement. Their house sauce was an explosion of flavor the moment it hit your palate, bold and layered in a way that made it impossible to put down. The skin on each wing was perfectly crispy, delivering that satisfying crunch while the chicken underneath was so tender it practically dissolved into the sauce. It was every single thing you want in a wing: messy, crispy, tender, and deeply satisfying. The kind of wing that leaves your mouth happy and your hands reaching for another one before you've even swallowed the first.

Wing Wiz was awarded the inaugural Wing Belt, a beautifully crafted, pro wrestling-style championship belt trophy that now belongs to them going into next year. They will have to defend that title at Taste of El Paso 2027 against a new class of wing contenders. That is a storyline worth coming back for.

El Paso's Best Food Festival Is Only Getting Bigger

Beyond the wing competition, the 2nd Annual Taste of El Paso proved that this event has serious legs. More than 20 local food vendors represented the full range of what El Paso's food scene has to offer, local breweries kept the drinks flowing, and the combination of live music, art, and community energy made the NEEP Collective lot feel electric all night.

El Paso has no shortage of events, but Taste of El Paso is carving out a lane all its own by putting local flavor at the center of everything. If year two felt this good, year three is going to be something else entirely.

Taste of El Paso Year 2 Wing Competition

Taste of El Paso Year 2 was huge and at the heart of it all was the Wing Competition! A panel of Guest Judges including Grizz, Isabella Martinez of KVIA, Miss Earth Gia Soleil Espinoza, Evan George Vourazeris from the hit show Ozark, AJ of El Pasos BS Podcast, and a surprise judge pulled from the crowd all crowned The Wing Wiz food truck this years champion!

Wing Wiz won the inaugural Wing Belt! A pro wrestling style trophy belt that Wing Wiz will have to bring back next year to defend against a new group of wing contenders!

Gallery Credit: Grizz

Lost El Paso Paranormal Is Your Year Round Spooky Stop

Lost El Paso Paranormal is a historical society in El Paso that hosts events year round celebrating the haunted neighborhoods, secret tunnels, and everything you can think of when it comes to The Sun Cities weird history!

From Family friendly storytelling events to downtown ghostly bar crawls, Lost El Paso Paranormal has everything.

Gallery Credit: Grizz

2nd Annual Rolling With The Ladies Car Show

From classic cars to lifted trucks, this El Paso event brought together the best rides and a strong community vibe.

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Iris Lopez/Al Garcia