Today we’d like to introduce our newest Buffalo Foodie, 103.3 The Edge’s own James Kurdziel. James has been working at The Edge for 10+ years now and worked his way up from intern to Program Director for the entire station. His show “Rock at Work with James” airs Monday through Friday from 10am to 3pm and he also can be heard on the Shredd and Ragan show, which airs from 3pm to 7pm. Basically if you turn on the Edge, there’s a very good chance you’ll hear his voice on air. On top of his radio gig, he’s also a writer/stand up comedian and has a CD/DVD being released by Buffalo’s Good Charamel Records. The man is busy.
I’d like to thank our previous Foodie and fellow Edge employee/comedian Josh Potter for helping us get in touch with James. Here’s what James had to say about his favorite places to go in Buffalo….
Where do you like to eat in Buffalo?
James: The great thing about Buffalo food is that there are great places regardless of your mood. My current favorite place to eat is Lagniappes. I don’t even care what else they have, because I’m there for the gumbo and that’s it. It’s amazing. If I were ever to get married, I would marry the gumbo from Lagniappes. I know it’d be a non-traditional wedding, but hey it’s 2010! Even the place is super rad. They have interesting artwork on the walls, it’s more of a stand than a restaurant, and you have to look for it. For some reason, I find that pretty charming. I suppose it’s the Buffalo in me. (Buffalo Eats Note: Lagniappes just opened their new location a couple buildings over, it’s now a larger building but still with that nice charm)
Where do you like to grab a drink?.
James: I hang out on Allen as much as anywhere, but I’ve really tried to do a better job exploring my city. I’m trying to hit the north towns more and spend more time on Hertel. I’m not really a patio snob like a lot of people here, but I get it. I’m more into general atmosphere and cool people. That’s why I like to frequent Founding Fathers. Why this place isn’t packed all the time, I’ll never know. The food is awesome, the drinks are great, but the bartender is an absolute local treasure. I’m not going to spoil the fun by telling you why. I just suggest you take a late afternoon or evening, pull up a stool at the bar, order your favorite drink and watch what happens. It’s beyond fun.
If you had a friend visiting from out of town, where would you take them for a good time in Buffalo?
James: I consider myself a pretty good ambassador for Buffalo… almost. The problem occurs when out of town friends come to Western New York. See, I hate chicken wings. Woops. I don’t eat a lot of meat, so beef on weck is out. Uh oh. I’m also not a huge fan of a certain taco eatery that everyone here is obsessed with. That makes me 0 for 3. So I have to find other ways to amuse my friends. Obviously Chippewa and Elmwood are full of good spots, but I like to head off the beaten path as well. Dug’s Dive is a SUPER cool place with a really great story. It’s on the outer harbor. You should check it out. It has a really great signature drink, but its name is escaping me at the moment. It’s also a really cool vibe there. They’re very much into the old Buffalo waterfront story. You know… the one when Buffalo was a crazy tawdry place at the height of the Erie Canal? There are some pretty awesome stories. Pearl Street is a pretty can’t lose proposition if you’re staying in the city, but if you really want out of town friends to get the best of everything, take them to Lewiston for a late lunch and a couple of drinks on the water. It’s amazing up there. Then head in to the city, catch a hockey game or whatever. The point for me is usually to show out of towners how amazing this place really is. There are a lot of examples.
What kind of food memories do you have from growing up?
James: I grew up in South Buffalo, so to be honest; I didn’t get a lot of culinary or cultural diversity when I was younger. There are only a couple of restaurants in my neighborhood and they’re pretty much exactly the same. There has always been a ton of bars though. It wasn’t until I got a little older and started getting out into the area that I realized how great of a place WNY is to eat. I used to wonder why chains avoided WNY until I realized that they’re terrified of their Buffalo-born counterparts. And according to the people who raised me, it’s always been that way. Though I wish I could share some great story of my first chicken wing, but that experience ended with me being sick for a week and not eating chicken wings anymore. I did get to eat Chef’s a lot when I was young though. My older brother worked there for a while so I got hooked up. That was pretty awesome.
What do you wish Buffalo had more of, food wise?
James: I don’t think we’re lacking anything here. I’m one of those people who think there could always be more though. I love options. So get more Italian places, more Thai food, more Irish pubs. I would like to see more creativity though. I go to other cities and see some really interesting things done with food and drinks and it’s very clever, so I find myself thinking that these folks aren’t as talented as my hometown… why don’t we do these kinds of things? Wheel of international beers, food trivia, whatever you want, I just want to see Buffalo places explore their fun side more.
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I’d like to thank James for taking time out of his busy schedule to answer our questions. Along with listening to him on 103.3 the Edge every Monday-Friday, you can also follow him on twitter to learn about his upcoming stand up appearances and his daily thoughts. Also check out his band Agent Me where he plays guitar and sings.
