Sometimes the world of books meets the corner office of casual lunchtime dining. We enjoyed that novel experience recently at a booth inside the high-energy, soccer field-size Buffalo Wild Wings, where we lost count of the TVs tuned to sports.

Bestselling legal-thriller author John Lescroart of Davis was explaining a fitness app on his smartphone, one that keeps track of caloric intake and expenditure. "I gained four pounds the first week I used it," he said. Then he shared a picture of a paella he had cooked at home. "I lived in Spain, so ..."

"I'm a baker," said Borders book-seller Vicki Lorini, a frequent visitor to the annual Wurstfest in New Braunfels, Texas. "I do appetizers and desserts, like the Crown Royal ice cream I made for a friend's birthday."

Tom Hedtke, manager of the Borders on Fair Oaks Boulevard, added: "I spend most of the summer cooking in the backyard over a Weber grill."

Lescroart has written 20 books in three series. In some of them, his characters dine at two San Francisco restaurants – the fictitious Lou the Greek's and the real-life Sam's Grill.

"I just finished my next Wyatt Hunt book, 'The Hunter,' " he said. "I moved Wyatt into (lodgings) above the best restaurant in San Francisco, but I'm not going to tell the owners until the book comes out."

We paused to cruise the menu ($1.99 to $35, for 50 wings). It shows "sharables & sides" (deep-fried pickle chips were tasty; the onion rings and french fries were standard), burgers, sandwiches, wraps, salads, children's meals and lunch specials.

Of course, the main event is the seasoned wings, as it is at two other national chains with units in our area – Wing Stop and Buffalo Wings & Rings. At Wild Wings, choose from four dry seasonings and 14 sauces, ranging in heat from "smilin' " to "screamin'." We mixed and matched a heap o' wings with three sauces (mango habanero, Parmesan garlic, Caribbean jerk) and three rubs (chipotle BBQ, desert heat, Buffalo). We added "glazed and grilled" pork ribs and popcorn shrimp.

As we waited, we created spontaneous dialogue destined to appear in John's next novel, though nobody mentioned that to him.

John: "The key to popcorn shrimp is using real rock shrimp from Santa Barbara."

Vicki: "Popcorn shrimp were invented in Natchez, Mississippi."

John: "Is that the same place where nachos were invented?"

Me: "Is it loud in here?"

Tom: "Not compared to Chuck E. Cheese."

John: "I spotted (country singer) Randy Travis at a (Sacramento) seafood restaurant the other night. Nobody else recognized him."

Me: "Anybody recognize you?"

John: "Two fans came up to me at the end of the meal, but there's a misconception that authors are celebrities."

Me: "Uh, who are you again?"

When the dishes arrived, the heat from the rubs and the sauces set the table on fire – but what's a wing without the burn?

The crunchy popcorn shrimp were flavorful (until they cooled off), and the meaty, juicy ribs got a round of verbal applause. Though the wings were surprisingly smallish and drier than they should have been, the mélange of flavors impressed.

We ended lunch with a trivia game: A whole chicken wing has three parts. What are they?

A: The drummette, the wingette and the flapper, the tip at the end. Now we know.

BUFFALO WILD WINGS GRILL & BAR

WHERE: 6301 Sunrise Blvd., Citrus Heights. A sister store is at 2759 E. Bidwell St., Folsom, (916) 496-8700

HOURS: 11 a.m.-1 a.m. Mondays- Thursdays; 11 a.m.-2 a.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 11 a.m.- midnight Sundays

FOOD: 2 1/2 stars

AMBIENCE: 3 stars (if you like sports bars)

HOW MUCH: $$

INFORMATION: (916) 729-9464, www.buffalowildwings.com

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