I don't remember my first baby back ribs or my first milk shake. But I do sorta-kinda recall my first beer: My dad used to give me small sips of the then-exotic Lowenbrau, which might explain a lot about how I turned out .

And I vividly remember my first Buffalo wing, as in "like it was yesterday." I had just moved to Atlanta in May 1983, and my friend Albie insisted that we go to a place called Taco Mac. Not for tacos, but for this thing called Buffalo wings. Which were not from buffalos (duh) but had been invented in the city of that name.

The first bite was pure bliss. The second bite was better. These babies had the perfect amalgam of tender meat, crispy coating and beyond-delicious sauce. I sensed right away that I had a new favorite food.

I returned to Taco Mac scores of times during my 3 1/2 years in Atlanta, mostly for the wings but also for a promotion to drink the 200-plus beers on the menu and earn an "Around the World" T-shirt. The wings and the beer rarely disappointed, and I eventually got my T-shirt, thanks in part to a waiver because quite a few of the beers were not available.

The premise proved popular, and soon there were Taco Macs all over that sprawling city and even 100 miles to the north in Chattanooga, Tenn. But my destination then, and in annual visits after I moved to the Twin Cities in 1986, was the original location, at the corner of Virginia and Highland Avs. a few miles from downtown.

Buffalo wings also soared in popularity nationally, and after moving up to Tundraland, I searched mightily for wings as good as Taco Mac's without much luck. Runyon's and the Champps on West 7th came the closest, but at most places the sauce was way off or the wings were too big and chewy, or both. I now enjoy the wings at Bunny's (completely different style) and Lone Spur just for what they are: good food.

But this fall, I returned again to my very own Capistrano of Buffalo wings, and Taco Mac's were as delicious and supple as ever. The place has changed a bit -- there are a lot more TVs, and most of the patrons are the age I was back then (actually that's not a change, in hindsight). But the beer program is intact, now called (groan alert) Brewniversity, and the wings are made just like they were nearly three decades ago.

That's the kind of non-change I can believe in.