First off, during a morning walk with our puppy this morning through Allentown I noticed that Lagniappes seems to be finally getting ready to move locations.  To those who don’t know, Lagniappes, the incredibly delicious New Orleans-style restaurant located on Allen St. right in the heart of Allentown (across from Mulligans Brick Bar/Allen St. Hardware Cafe) is moving on to a bigger and better location about half a block down the street from where they are now.

While it doesn’t seem far (it’s not) it looks like its going to be a great move.  Right now they are located in a tiny spot with very limited space (maybe 4-5 tables tops).  The new place is a block closer towards Elmwood in an old red building that I am assuming was once a restaurant/bar (though it seems to have been empty for a while now).

During the Allentown Art Fest we spoke to the owner or Lagniappes and he was confident they would be moved in “sometime in the next few weeks” pending their liquor license.  It’s been more than a few weeks but I imagine trying to open a new business always takes longer than expected.  Regardless, today I noticed they had put up a sign for The French Quarter Cafe and the door was cracked open and something was going on inside.  All this leads me to beleive the move is getting close and soon we will have a new and improved (and bigger!) Lagniappes.  It’s great to see an old empty building in Allentown getting a new tenant and its also great to see such a fantastic restaurant expanding.

Another thing I noticed on my walk was all the signs for the Buffalo Infringement Festival.  To give you an overview of what that is, here is the description from the website…

Every summer, the streets of the Allentown neighborhood of Buffalo, NY come alive with scores of events by local and visiting theatre and dance companies, puppeteers, media artists, poets, comics, musicians, cabaret acts, digital designers, and miscellaneous insurrectionists. The annual Buffalo Infringement Festival provides artists and audiences of all backgrounds the chance to come together, take chances, push boundaries, and explore uncharted territory because exciting art can happen anywhere, anytime, without a blockbuster budget. (Or any budget at all, for that matter.)

So, basically, its a giant (yet almost hidden) art festival that will be happening for the next week and a half all over the city (though it seems mostly in the Allentown/Elmwood area).  Artists of all means will be showcasing their work, holding workshops, playing music, performing, etc, etc, etc.  I tried to take a look through the schedule but it’s almost overwhelming as there are literally almost 100 different things happening each day at various locations.  Today, for instance, the festival kicks off with a percussion performance at Days Park at 6pm and 11+ bands performing at Nietzsche’s from 7pm-3am.  On top of that many the art galleries in the area will be open with various showcases.  Tomorrow the list grows…see the schedule here.

Another cool thing (at least I think so) is Garden Walk Buffalo.

Garden Walk Buffalo is a free, self-guided tour of more than 350 Buffalo gardens, the largest garden tour in America. Held annually on the last weekend of July, this year it will be Saturday and Sunday, July 24 and 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

I am not sure if its because I live in the city or because slowly I’m getting older and appreciate things like this more, but this seems pretty awesome.  This weekend you can come down to Allentown/West Side/Elmwood and pick up a map and check out over 300 gardens within a three mile radius.  I pass a bunch of these gardens on my walks with the puppy and some are pretty gorgeous.  Not only is this a nice thing to do on a warm Buffalo weekend, but it really helps rejuvenate the area and let’s outsiders (including you suburbanites) know that the city of Buffalo isn’t as horrible as some make it out to be and actually can be a pretty fantastic place to spend a Saturday.  Here is some more information.

Finally, Canal Fest continues through this weekend.  I won’t go into details because a festival is a festival and you can expect the usual array or rides, games, good food, parades, crafts, fireworks, etc.  The nice part about Canal Fest is, well, that its on the waterfront.  As many of us learned in elementary school, the Erie Canal was a pretty big deal a long time ago and its always nice to spend a summer day/evening on the waterfront enjoying the summer weather.

So, bottom line, don’t complain that there is nothing to do this weekend, because there is plenty of stuff going on.  There are plenty of Taste’s still coming up (with the Taste of Orchard Park happening this coming Wednesday) and the Eden Corn Fest is happening the first full weekend of August.  Don’t worry, I will be back before then to remind you.  Also keep a look out for some upcoming Food Porns from the Poppysead and Sakura Sushi as well as some new Buffalo Foodies featuring djDstar.

The Taste of Buffalo has become something bigger then just another “summer event” for us at Buffalo Eats.  A few weeks prior, we carefully look over the restaurants, their menu items, their prices and, near the end, even the layout of the entire festival to map our route.  What I’ve learned over the years is that preparation is key.  We get our list and figure out how many menu items we “definitely want to eat”, “maybe want to eat” and “if we still have cash and it looks good”.  So going into the 27th Taste of Buffalo, we had done our homework.

I hate to sound like an old man talking about the “good times” but this year it really seemed like they had upped the prices and lowered the quantities from years prior.  It could all just be a figment of my imagination but I could have sworn that their were far more 3-5 ticket items last year.  Everywhere I went this year it seemed like all of their menu items were at least 6 tickets and you’d be lucky to find a “taste” of something that was 3 tickets. On top of that the actual amount of food was much lower than even last year (2 tiny raviolis for 5 tickets, really?); obviously, the state of economy is probably at fault here.

That being said we had a really nice time and made our way to Delaware Ave for both days (even though I said I would only go one day this year, since we now live in walking distance we could not resist).  Before you read on for our account of the festival, you can check out our newest staff member Dave and his summary of his trip.

Here are some of the highlights from the two days:

Above were one of the best things I ate this year, the BBQ Pork Ribs from Blasdell’s BW’s Barbeque.  The pork literally fell off the bone when you picked up a rib and the BBQ sauce was literally finger-licking delicious.  I am still ashamed that I lived only a few miles from this place for so many years and I have still yet to walk inside their restaurant and try their food properly.

Our next memorable item was Sakura’s Sushi.  We tried their California Roll and  Spicy Tuna Combo.  Both of which were fantastic; so much so that we just recently visited their restaurant on Union Rd in Cheektowaga and will be writing up a new Food Porn shortly.

Looking back, I really could have eaten everything off the menu for Landies Candies.  Going into the event they weren’t even on our radar but after watching some of Alli’s friends order some freshly made chocolate covered strawberries, we were sold.  Before this I’ve actually never had anything from Landies Candies except a bag of chocolate covered popcorn, but these were delicious.  As was the case everywhere, the strawberries were a little on the small side, but fantastic none-the-less.

Above is the offering of some puffy pita chips and Buffalo Chicken Wing dip from Buffalo Roadhouse Grill.  I’ve been hearing commercials for this place for a few months now.  While I was never a huge fan of Roadhouse before they closed all the locations around the area, I do like the idea of Buffalo residents rallying together and reopening a closed restaurant, even if it was a national franchise.  They make a really good Chicken Wing Dip and I’d certainly be interested in seeing what else they offer, plus getting a coupon for a free appetizer definitely helped too.

We stopped by Torches, being confident they would be serving something delicious (especially after our fantastic meal a couple weeks ago).  We saw French Maid Fries on their menu and thought that sounded interesting.  I can’t remember the exact ingredients but they were covered in garlic and Parmesan cheese and possibly cooked in truffle oil (?).  The next time you are going to for a nice meal, I definitely recommend Torches.  JJ Richert (head chef) does fine dining right.

One of the places we stopped at both on Day 1 and on Day 2 was Depew’s Mazzariello’s Restaurant & Bar.  Above is their Faggotini, which were small pasta purses stuffed with a gorgonzola cheese and walnuts and covered with a blush sauce; Alli definitely enjoyed it.  I tried out their Banana Pepper Dip (think stuffed Banana Peppers in dipping form) which was fantastic and had a really good heat that didn’t overwhelm me.

We visited Papaya during this past springs Restaurant Week, but only had a really small tasting of what they can truly offer.  During the Taste we tried out both their Crab Spring Roll and their Korean BBQ Ribs.  The Crab Spring Roll was literally stuffed with crab and deep fried; biting into it I was shocked with how much they stuffed in there.  The Korean BBQ Ribs were flavored with a fantastic seasoning, and while they didn’t fall off the bone like BW’s they were still quite great and now have Alli and I planning a return visit.

All in all we probably ate less this year compared to last year but that’s probably a good thing.  We were a little more picky and really stuck to our list and budget (we are trying to save for a wedding here).  We did try a few other items (the fried raviolis from Cecilias, fried chicken from Garris BBQ, Sicilian cigar from Bings, etc) but in an effort to not make this post incredibly long we decided to only mention our favorites.  To note, we did a “Beef Pattie comparison” between Caribbean Experience and Niagara Cafe.  Again, we still stand firm that if they could take the more flavorful and ‘sloppy’ inside of the Caribbean Experience pattie and the crispier and more fried Niagara Cafe shell it would be perfect.

In the end we left with more places to add to our restaurant wish list (Sakura, Buffalo Roadhouse, Papaya) and even though I wasn’t asked to be a judge (yet again), I’m OK with waiting a year before I gorge myself again.

Heres the final 2 videos for the season, again put together by the talented Nate Peracciny:

• Nickel City Chef XI: Paul Jenkins (Tempo) vs Jim Guarino (Shango Bistro)
• Secret Ingredient: Pork (Pork Chops, Ground Pork, Bacon) from T Meadow Farms

• Nickel City Chef XII: Krista Van Wagner (Curly’s) vs Mark Sciortino (Marco’s Italian Deli)
• Secret Ingredient: Heritage Chicken from Good Grass Farms.

Tomorrow downtown Buffalo (more specifically Delaware Avenue) will be taken over by tents, massive crowds of people, live music and lots delicious food.  Alli and I are going to break down the menu that was posted a couple weeks ago (check it out here).  Basically, here are two lists; one of food we’ve had and can recommend, and another of items we haven’t tried and really want to.  Feel free to look at our journal from last year (Day 1, Day 2) and get an idea for how seriously we take this festival.

Been there, done that:

• Caribbean Experience “Beef Pattie” – 3 tickets.  This and The Niagara Cafe’s offerings are must try items.  Fried seasoned crus; with ground beef inside, it’s like a delicous hot pocket.
• Cecelia’s “Fried Cheese Ravioli” – 5 tickets.  MUST TASTE - Every year Alli looks forward to the Taste of Buffalo just for these Ravioli’s.  Why they took them off the regular menu at Cecilia’s I will never know.
• Eddie Ryans “Beer Cheese Soup” – 3/5 tickets.  This isn’t on par with Pearl Street’s version, but it’s still worth a taste.
• Garris BBQ “Fried Chicken” – 7 tickets.  MUST TASTE – Hands down my favorite menu item in 2009, so much so that I ventured over to the east side to order this a couple months ago.  Getting it hot and fresh out of the frier is amazing.
• JP Bullfeathers “Jack Daniel’s Glazed Chicken Fingers” – 8 tickets.  Yes, I know Chicken Fingers are boring but the glaze is actually fantastic.
• The Niagara Cafe “Pastelillo (aka Beef Pattie)” – 6 tickets.  See above.
• Orazio’s “Oreo Peanut Butter Delight” – 4 tickets.  I normally don’t get excited for the desserts but this was memorable last year.
• P&R Bakeery “Humming Bird Cupcake” – 5 tickets.  It’s become a tradition to stop by on our way out of the festival and pick up a Cupcake to go.

On our wishlist:

• Bing’s “Crab cake / Sicilian Cigar Combo” – 8 tickets.  What I’ve gathered from my internet research is that a Sicilian Cigar is Swordfish wrapped around nuts, raisins and cheese.  I’m not exactly sure what that is but I’m willing to try it.
• BW’s “Pork Spare Ribs” – 7 tickets.  Growing up in Orchard Park it is a shame we have yet to really try BW’s at their restaurant location.  We had something similar at the Taste of Orchard Park but their reputation is great for BBQ.
• Cecelia’s “Maytag Blue Burger Slider” – 8 tickets.  Blue cheese and Burgers are great, and Sliders are probably the best way to eat a hamburger during the Taste of Buffalo.
• Chester’s Cajun Grill “Grilled Bourbon Tenderloin Tips” – 8 tickets.  Never been to Chester’s but the name of this menu item sold us both.
• Encore Restaurant “Blue Crab Sushi” – 3/6 tickets.  We bailed on Encore at the last minute during this past restaurant week and I was sad I didn’t get to try out their sushi selection.  I am still sketpical, but this is the time to try it.
• Joe’s Deli “Muffaletta Sandwich” – 8 tickets.  My friend Dino swears by this sandwich and it’s time I see what all the fuss is about.
• Mazzariello’s “Fagottini Pasta Purses stuffed with Walnuts & Gorgonzola” – 8 tickets & “Banana Pepper Dip with Dipping Bread” – 6 tickets.  I’ve had a family member talk up this Banana Pepper dip lately and it’s now on my radar.  The Fagottini just sounds delicious and Alli has a serious love of Gorgonzola going on right now.
• Papaya “Crab Spring Roll” – 6 tickets, “Korean BBQ Ribs” – 6 tickets.  Papaya served a really good meal during restaurant week and since I don’t have a lot of cash laying around this is a cheap way to try out more of their menu.
• Torches “French Made Fries” – 8 tickets.  I’m completely sold on Torches and unless this is just a fancy name for a boring ole’ French Fry (I doubt it) then I will put faith into JJ Richert and try whatever they are serving.

Sure there are literally hundreds of other items that you may fall in love with, but we recommend for the average festival attendee to try something new.  Many love Applebees (we actually don’t) and I’m sure that slice of pizza or something from Jim’s Steakout is tempting.  But you will have every day for the rest of your Buffalo life to eat a chicken finger or a slice of pizza.  Step outside the box and try some Indian food from Kabob and Curry or some English/Irish cuisine from WJ Morrissey’s.  Take this festival as a chance to inexpensively take 1-4 dollars and try out a restaurant or menu item you normally wouldn’t.

We will be tweeting on the go, letting people know how it’s going down, where the crowds are and if we find anything amazing.  So incase you don’t already, please follow us on twitter and if you see a guy with a Hartford Whalers cap, come over and say hi!

Since 1984 the Taste of Buffalo started filling downtown Buffalo with thousands of patrons handing over money for tickets, and since the idea has spread throughout the various suburbs.  Here is the lineup that we know about, if I am missing your town please comment below.

• Taste of Buffalo (July 10th – 11th) : If you live in Buffalo and haven’t heard of the Taste of Buffalo already, then you must have lived in some sheltered household or you’ve just moved here.  This year’s lineup hasn’t different greatly from years prior and we will soon have our own analysis of the menu items being offered.  So stay tuned!
• Taste of West Seneca (July 10th – 11th) : Why they would decide to host their annual Food Festival the same weekend as the 2nd biggest food festival in the United States (that’s also 10 minutes away), I don’t know.  The only place I could find information for the event was on a website showing the minutes from a January Town Board Meeting.
• Taste of Hamburg (July 17th) : During the annual Burgerfest (I have some doubts about Hamburg, NY being the birthplace of the Hamburger) , the town of Hamburg will be having their own food festival.  Surely they will have some local restaurants serving up some notable dishes.  As of right now they have not posted any specific restaurants but it will be in the Village Parking Lot between noon and 8pm.
• Taste of Orchard Park (July 28th) : Last year was a good leap forward for Orchard Park’s mini food festival with the addition of Fuji Grill.  Alli and I had a really good time in our hometown and were really surprised on the amount of restaurants that had offerings.  Well, it was so popular that they are lengthening the strip of North Buffalo Road to potentially include more restaurants.  They haven’t announced a line up yet but I will post the roster when I find out.
• Taste of Clarence (August 2nd) : From 4 to 9 pm at the Clarence Town Park will be the 7th annual Taste of Clarence.  Now I personally have never been but I did enjoy Orazio’s offering last year at the Taste of Buffalo and while the write up from Buffalo Chow makes it seem like it is a mad house with some disappointments, some of the restaurants might bring me in.  Also if you like Classic Cars apparently they’ll have a whole bunch there.
• Buffalo Brewfest 2010 (August 6th) : Being held in the HSBC Arena Lobby (I wish it was still at the Central Terminal), $25 will get you a glass, program, entrance to the Arena, and 20 tickets to try a 3 oz sample of whatever beer you’d like.  Being a giant Beer fan that I am, it saddens me to say that I’ve never been to any of the Brewfests but I really want to try to make it this year.  Adding a second level for more breweries will hopefully prevent some congestion issues.
• Taste of Lancaster (August 7th) : Another festival I haven’t been to but after looking over their website, their previous restaurants list is pretty impressive.  Held on Central Ave between Broadway and Pleasant Ave, they’ve had John & Mary’s, Louies, Fireside Inn, and more.
• Taste of Ellicotville (August 7th – 8th) : Some of the Ellicottville restaurants are over priced and there really aren’t a lot of choices.  However, going out to Ellicottville for a day of drinking (EBC’s Blueberry Wheat is AMAZING on draft) and just being in a gorgeous town is probably worth it.
• Taste of Williamsville (August 8th) : We went for the first time last year and had mixed thoughts on the event.  Parking is a little rough in Williamsville and some of the offerings weren’t as great as we had hoped.  However, the area has a pretty decent selection of restaurants.  That said, we were frustrated with the crowd/set up that we ended up not even doing a write up.  Note: normally the festival is held on a Saturday but this year will be Sunday from 11:30-8.
• Taste of Lockport (August 15th) : Again, I am sad to say that I have never been to any of the Taste of Lockport’s (I guess I have a lot of work to do this summer).  Their line up as of right now is very heavy on the desserts and with a couple wineries.  However, out of all the town festivals they have the best website, or at least the easiest one to find.
• Chicken Wing Festival (September 4th – 5th) : I tell myself every year that I’m not going to go but every year I find myself standing inside Coca Cola Field.  The majority of the venders are actually from outside Buffalo and I know that’s neat to have restaurants from all over the United States, but I just want to have traditional Buffalo wings.  What the festival really turns into is a sauce taste contest and the wings end up being soggy and cold.  On top of that there are limited places to actually eat the wings and you end up standing in the middle of the field trying to hold your drink, blue cheese, and bowl of wings while also trying to eat without dripping sauce all over yourself.  The addition of some tables would be a huge help.  If you want to bring the kids, though, they have a good amount of fun entertainment (dipping for wings, eating contests, concerts) and it can turn out to be a nice day downtown.

For the secret ingredient of the challenge both chefs had to use wines from Arrowhead Spring Vineyards located in Lockport, check out the video recap from the challenge below.

1. Japan has square Watermelons, yes they look genetically engineered but they’re not.  I’m hoping to see some the next time I visit the Lexington Co-op.
2. A “starving Yogi” says he hasn’t eaten any food in 70 years.  It kind of freaks me out but I was also shocked to know that a person could go for 3 months without food and not die (with some modifications to their water intake).
3. Not too long ago there was news of an impending Five Guys addition to the Buffalo restaurant scene, so I read this piece on the men who started Five Guys, they have an awesome attitude about running their company and it makes me want to eat there even more then before.
4. I just watched Food Inc the other day and I really think that anyone who eats food should watch this, although for any Foodies out there it might be a little eye opening to see what is going behind the scenes of putting food on your plate.

The following is another video recap of Buffalo’s version of Iron Chef, Nickel City Chef.  For those who weren’t able to make the competition, it was the 5th of this season and it featured Nickel City Chef Adam Goetz (from Sample) and the challenger Chef Steve Gedra (from Bistro Europa).  For the first time in season 2, the challenging chef won over the Nickel City Chef, with Steve Gedra taking home the victory.  Their secret ingredient of the competition was Maple Sugar, Maple Syrup and Maple Vinegar from Baldwin Hills Farm located in Allegany County (about 50 miles south of Buffalo).

Be sure to get your tickets now if you are planning to attend one of these events, there are only 3 competitions left.  Check out the lines on under Upcoming Events on the right side bar for information about buying tickets.

For those who weren’t lucky enough to make it to the Nickel City Chef competition on April 11th, you would have missed Nickel City Chef Krista Van Wagner of Lackawanna’s fine restaurant Curly’s facing off against new comer Andrew Nuernburger of East Aurora’s historic The Roycroft Inn.  Their special ingredient they had to use was dried and frozen Balaton Cherries supplied from Singer Farms Naturals.  Check out the video recap of the event:

Also they posted a slide show from the event if moving images and sound isn’t your thing:

Slideshow from the event:

1. The Recap from Nickel City Chef VI has been posted on YouTube. JJ Richert of Torches (still need to go there) battled against Carmelo Raimondi of Carmelo’s.

2. Chow Chocolat, a very cool dessert shop located on Main Street in downtown Buffalo will be opening a new location in the Walden Galleria Mall.  On March 26th, they will be opening a store near the first level entrance of JC Penney.  They will still be serving their chocolates, coffees and pastries.  Go and check out their location, their hot chocolate is maybe the best I’ve ever had.

3.  Every year in Buffalo a group of restaurants participate in Dining Out For Life, those restaurants  donate a portion of their sales that evening towards charity.  Last year Alli and I ‘donated our appetite’ for the AIDS community in Western New York by going out to eat at Elmwood’s Panos.    Well this year Dining Out For Life falls on April 27th and they have a large list of restaurants that are contributing so schedule your “going out to eat” day around April 27th and eat at one of the participating restaurants.  It’s a Win-Win for everyone.

After watching that video I really really (yes two reallys) want to go to one of these competitions and Alli and I are hoping to make it to one of the later events this year.  So take a look at the video below and check the Events section in the sidebar for future dates and links to buy tickets.

PS: I wanted to say great job to Buffalo Eats friend Nate Peracciny on producing the video above, we love his work.

source: Charles Lewis/Buffalo News

Just a reminder for everyone out there, this upcoming week (March 8th-March 14th) will be Local Restaurant week, meaning you can eat at literally hundreds of places while saving some serious cash.  Every one of their participating restaurants will have a special meal for $20.10 a person (some may even have meals for 2 for the same price!).  We have been going through the list and I’ve narrowed down a couple candidates, and hopefully reservations will be made and we can get to some serious eating.

Also, Food Wars (a new show on the Travel Channel) will premiere March 9th, and the Buffalo Chicken Wing challenge between Duffs and Anchor Bar will be shown at 10:30pm.  It looks like a pretty cool idea and I’m glad that Duffs is finally sharing the spotlight with Anchor Bar, a restaurant that seems to be on Food Network/Travel Channel every other weekend.

Finally, I am severely behind on my Food Porn postings and hopefully this week will post the following restaurants: El Canelo, Captain Jack’s Fish N Chips, Colter Bay, Fank’s Sunny Italy, and The Wine Thief.  So keep on the look out!  And everyone have an awesome week and EAT!

I’m not going to lie, I love Greek food but I’m not in a rush to go and try Sofia’s.  The bread looks great, and I love a good chicken souvlaki but nothing came across as unique or “OMG I NEED IT NOW”.  But who knows, maybe I’ll go there and be completely blown away.  Stay tuned!

I actually tried this sandwich for the first time about 2 months ago, the amount of batter they cover the bologna with is crazy.  At one point I thought I was eating fried dough until I hit meat.

Check out our article about all the other TV appearances Buffalo’s restaurants have been making.

Jeff Feather of Duffs, and Ivano Toscani of the Anchor Bar will be on The Travel Channel

In July of 2009, the Travel Channel’s No Reservations aired an episode about “Rust Belt Cities“.  The last third of that episode featured host Anthony Bourdain following around Nelson Starr through Buffalo.  The reception in Buffalo was pretty divided, but little did we know that this was only the beginning for Buffalo’s time on cable TV (and more specifically Buffalo’s food).  In the last 9 months Buffalo has been featured on No Reservations, 5 episodes of Food Networks’ Diners, Drive-in’s and Dives, had an entry on Travel Channel’s Chowdown Countdown and will be featured on the premiere (I think?) of Travel Channel’s new show Food Wars (above).

So for those who haven’t been watching TV lately here is a recap:

• July 27th, 2009 – Buffalo featured On the “Rust Belt” Episode of No Reservations Part 1 (skip to 4 minute mark), Part 2.  Showcases Ulrich’s Tavern, Schwabl’s and Nietzches.
• October 26th, 2009 – Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives “Dives Worth a Drive” featured East Amherst’s Grovers Bar and Grill.  View the entire episode here.
• November 16th, 2009 – Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives “Legacies: featured Buffalo’s Lake Effect Diner.  View the entire episode here.
• January 11th, 2010 – Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives “Piza, Pork and Paprikash” featured North Tonawanda’s Pizza Junction. View the entire episode here.
• February 1st, 2010 – Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives “Home and Away” featured South Buffalo’s Blackthorn Restaurant and Pub.  View the entire episode here.
• February 15th, 2010 – Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives “And the Kicker Is” features a yet un-named Buffalo diner that “that serves every dish with a side of homemade bread”.  After reading an article from Buffalo Rising, I have a feeling it is going to be Sofia’s.
• March 9th, 2010? – This is the premiere episode of The Travel Channel’s Food Wars.  Not sure when the Buffalo episode will be aired but it will feature The Anchor Bar go head to head with Duff’s in a blind taste test.  For more information check out this awesome article in The Buffalo News.

I can’t find the exact date but The Anchor Bar was voted #17 in the 101 Tastiest Places to Chowdown in the US, so check here to see the next showing for the “20-1 count down episode”.  A side note, Syracuse’s Dinosaur BBQ (many of you are very familiar with the Rochester location) was featured as #61.

This being a blog about Buffalo’s restaurant scene, we are thrilled to get some national attention.  Hell, I didn’t even know Pizza Junction existed until I saw it on TV.  Anytime we can show that we are more then just Chicken Wings (which we still should be proud of) and snow, I am thrilled.  I’m not sure what is left to be showcased or what other shows will come here…maybe Man Vs. Food, but we all know he has had enough chicken wing challenges in his two seasons.  Regardless, I hope that we continue to get some attention from television.

and if you missed Buffalo’s other apparences:

Grover’s Bar and Grill:

Lake Effect Diner:

The only other restaurants that are confirmed to be on the show is South Buffalo’s Blackthorn but I’m hoping there are some more surprises coming.

While you’re surfing, check out Local Food Service’s Western New York site ran by Vince McConeghy.  There are some awesome food articles and a calender of some sweet events coming up.

Restaurant.com never ceases to amaze me by how insane their deals are.  Every day, until the end of December (so that’s only 8 days left!) you can sign up 31 email address a day to get a free $10 gift card to use on their website.  Now if you remember, you can get a $25 gift certificate for several Buffalo restaurants for only $10.  And now you can use the code SANTA and get 80% off that, which means for $2 you can get a $25 gift card.

Buffalo Eats wishes everyone a safe holiday and look forward to Food Porn’s from Left Bank and Tokyo Shanghai Bistro coming after the holiday weekend.

I’m upset I didn’t make it to any of the 4 challenges, but I’m really hoping to go to Season 2.  For more information about the video check out Buffalo Rising’s article or Nickel City’s YouTube Channel.

1. Today is the 75th Birthday of Cole’s, the historic and fantastic Bar/Restaurant on Elmwood Ave.  If you’ve never been to Cole’s you have been really missing out on some wonderful food (as mention by our foodies) and a fantastic beer selection.  Starting at 5pm tonight they will be having drink specials, food specials and even some prizes.  Check out an awesome article about Cole’s from Mary Kunz Goldman of the Buffalo News. (Thanks to Elizabeth for bringing this celebration/article to our attention).

2. If you have been wondering what our friends at True Blue Buffalo have been up to (I do miss their All Access Pass videos), then I have some information for you.  Monday they had a video screening at the Market Arcade Theater for their newest project “Buffalo: You’ll Eat it Up” feature Nelson Starr.  They put together a 6 minute video that showcases some of Buffalo finest foodie stops, you’ll see The Taste of Buffalo, Sea Bar, Schwabl’s amoung others.  It’s incredibly well edited and looks all around fantastic.  They did a great job of creating a pro-Buffalo video that hopefully will do wonders for the tourism industry in Buffalo.  Check out their video below:

Thanks to Dino for pointing this out to me, check out this neat video made by the Visit Buffalo Niagara peoples.

If you are like me, you have noticed that Buffalo based clothing companies are becoming a big trend in this city (note the sidebar full of clothing links).  What’s better then wearing your Buffalo Pride and supporting a Buffaloian at the same time?

My friend Adam has been running his clothing company for over a year now and designs some awesome shirts that every Buffalo sports fan would want.  On his website My Buffalo Shirts they offer tee shirts that pay homage to Buffalo Hockey and Buffalo Lacrosse and coming soon they will have be offering a Buffalo Football shirt (see below for a tease).  Unlike several other clothing companies, Adam uses discharge ink on all of his shirts.  What that means is he spends a couple extra bucks so that the ink is actually embedded into the shirt, instead of laying it on top of the shirt (which can lead to cracking, fading).  To get an idea, think of how bleaching works.  Except his process isn’t harsh to the fabric.  Needless to say, the shirts that you are ordering are top notch quality.

Soon to be revealed: Buffalo Football logo

Right now, for a limited time, if you order either the Hockey shirt or Lacrosse shirt you’ll receive a free MBS Logo shirt, a $20 value!  To get the free shirt, simply add the MBS logo shirt to the shopping cart (along with the other shirt) and enter the code MYBUFFALO.  So head over to the website for the free T shirt, or visit Bay-6 where you can purchase them as well (however you will not get the free Logo T Shirt).

• Amherst Pizza & Ale House
• Buffalo Wild Wings
• L.T.’s Pizza (from Dash’s Market)
• Domino’s Pizza
• Just Pizza
• Mattina’s Pizzeria
• Giannia Mazia’s Pizza
• Riva’s Pizza
• Rizzo’s Restaurant
• Zetti’s Pizza & Pasta

All of the proceeds will be going to benefit the Amherst Senior Citizens Foundation, so not only will you be eating/drinking all of the delicious pizza, wings and beer you can handle.  But you will also be contributing to a foundation that provides senior citizens with various activities and services.  The event is going to be held at the Main Transit Fire Hall, 6777 Main Street.  Hope to see you there!

With the economy getting hit pretty hard over the last year, it’s safe to say that local businesses have no doubt been stuggling.  If you haven’t noticed on our website, I strongly encourage going out to eat at local establishments, and with the exception of a few national chains on our website, we try to showcase only independently run restaurants.

An organization called Scentsy is trying to put together a nationwide economic boost that will hopefully positively impact communities like Buffalo.  On October 12th, 2009 they are asking 100,000 people across the United States to spend $50 at a local business.  You can treat the family to a relaxing Monday night dinner.  Or you can go out to a bar and watch the Monday Night Football Game, I recommend Founding Fathers, Charlie O’Briens, BSG or Colter Bay (and I’m sure there are plenty more) and order some beers (maybe even a local Flying Bison) and some wings and you and your friends will surely be close to $50.

If going out to eat isn’t your favorite thing, check out my selection of Buffalo’s finest local clothing options on the side bar.  Listed are some awesome designers that have everything from a Buffalo themed screen tee‘s to an awesome print of Buffalo’s neighborhoods (just bought one myself).

Together maybe we can help boost our economy (even just a little bit).  And in terms of a long term goal, I recommend giving up your chain restaurant habits and start discovering local restaurants.  We are blessed with an abundance of great restaurants in the area, with a wide variety of cuisines.  When you spend money on local products, those dollars go so much farther than spending them at a corporate level.

Thank you to Melissa for letting me know about this event coming up and if you are still curious about this event, I suggest you check this website for more information.  Happy eating and shopping to you all!

source: Buffalo Rising

This evening I was invited to a special preview night for Local Restaurant Week and I am now more excited for this week then I was before (which I thought was impossible).  From September 21st to 28th over 120 restaurants will be serving dinners and lunches for $20.09 (either individually or for 2).  I can’t emphasize enough how great these deals are for almost every restaurant on the list.  For those of you on a tight budget you can now enjoy a 4 star meal for a 2 star price, what’s not to love?  Click here for the full list of restaurants.

As far as other announcements:

• We are announcing a new addition to the Buffalo Eats staff, our newest writer Adam Pfleegor. He will be adding some new posts in the not so distant future, he has previous experience in the blogging field and has even had some published work and loves beer and food.  It sounds like a perfect match for Buffalo Eats.
• October 6th – Founding Fathers Quiz Night, I have still yet to experience the awesomeness of quiz night with owner Michael Driscoll.  Even if you don’t make it in time for the quiz show, you can go to watch and eat some free popcorn and nacho’s.
• In case you haven’t noticed, we have created a new feature called Buffalo Foodies.  We will continue to contact local personalities so that you can find out where your favorite local writers/radio personalities/musicians eat and learn to be cool like them.
• October 2nd –  First Dog Fish Head Weekend @ Cole’s on Elmwood.  Go and meet up with the Dogfish Head people and enjoy over 10 different styles of their fantastic brew.  Even for those who are afraid to try anything too “wild” they have some beers for even the timid and for the hardcore their 120 minute IPA is crazy good (potentially will have a write up from Adam about this).

That sums it up, but keep checking the site for more exciting Food Porn’s.  We will be going to Prime 490 and Hutch’s this week and I promise to get those up as soon as possible.

From September 21st to September 28th, various restaurants around Buffalo, NY (and the surrounding suburbs) will be participating in the Local Restaurant (discount) Week. If you don’t remember, back in March Buffalo Eats cash in on this deal and visited several restaurants that were participants (Panaro’s, Tempo, and Black & Blue Steahkouse and Crab). Participating restaurants will offer several lunch/dinner deals for 20.09.  Some restaurants (like Panaro’s) will have a two person meal for the price, more expensive restaurants have meals for 20.09 for an individual person.

For anyone out there who doesn’t have the 100+ to spend on going to fancy meal, this is your chance to enjoy a great meal at a fantastic restaurant AND be able to make your car payment that month.  You can find the growing list of participating restaurants here.   As of right now most of the restuarants haven’t posted what the meals they are offering, but keep checking this week.

Last year they extended the week for an additional couple of days, but not all the restaurants participated in the extension so I wouldn’t risk it.  Get out there and try some food!

To end the summer on a bang, this past weekend Alli and I headed to our city’s annual Chicken Wing Festival, held at Coca Cola Field.  For someone who has started a food Buffalo blog it may shock you to hear that I really don’t like the festival (I never really have, and this year was no different).  Sure, they have a crazy selection of wings from all over the United States and it’s a good place to bring the family and enjoy a beautiful summer day in the city, but its usually fairly crowded and hot, there are not many places to actually sit and eat, and (what may be my biggest complaint) the wings are usually never that good.  And by that I am not talking about flavor as much as I am referring to how they are often soggy and cold from sitting in sauce for long periods of time.  And here in Buffalo we usually enjoy our wings fresh and rather crispy.  Regardless of these potential negatives, we went again this year in hopes that I would find something amazing, different, and delicious.

We arrived to the wingfest later then we ever have before (7:30 pm), and we did this for a couple reasons.  For one, to attempt to avoid the daytime crowd.  After going to the Taste of Buffalo this year and almost having a panic attack when I could barely move my arms, we decided later probably = less people.  Of course the only thing that sucks about going later in the night was that every restaurant was running out of everything; the Marie’s Blue Cheese station had no carrots and there were some tents that were just vacated because they had absolutely nothing left.  But we took the situation and made the best of it, and luckily we still got to enjoy some very good wings.

Now this post isn’t your typical Food Porn because, honestly, how many pictures of wings with different shades of sauces can you take?  Also if you haven’t gone, you don’t realize the juggling act that is needed to eat wings, hold a bottle or pop, napkins, a side of blue cheese and try to take a picture at the same time without getting sauce all over your face/clothes/iphone/girlfriend.

I typically try to stay away from local restaurants at the wingfest; I can get wings from Anchor Bar whenever I want, this is an opportunity to try out the wings from out of town.  And, on a side note, I am a bit surprised at the amounts of people who  get anything besides wings at the wing festival…I understand that Bocce pizza is supposedly one of the best in Buffalo, but waiting in a line for 30 minutes to get a tiny slice of pizza at the Buffalo WING Festival?  I feel that was just a waste of your food tickets.

Here is a breakdown of what we ended up trying:

Wing Zone – Buffalo Bleu Wings.  They were fantastic, so much so that we actually ended up getting seconds.  Sure the idea is pretty basic, you take some hot sauce/butter and just throw in some blue cheese (including crumbles), but I am unaware of any place in Buffalo that has this type of sauce as an option.  They were on the higher end of the medium scale in terms of heat, and with that awesome blue cheese flavor added in, they were quite delicious.

Larry’s Legend – Teryiaki.  Now I’ve never been a big fan of Teryiaki wings, but Alli has always enjoyed the version available at East Aurora’s BarBill Tavern.  These wings were particularly saucy, and extremely messy, but (surprisingly for me) I loved them. I was impressed with the flavor and crispy-ness of the wing itself.

Hurricane Grill & Wings – Mango BBQ.  These were interesting.  The sugary sweetness of this fruit combined with the BBQ sauce created a nice flavor, or so I think…it was hard to tell because unfortunately these particular wings were were lacking when it came to the sauce (very sparse coverage).  They were almost like grilled wings and had a very slime-y texture.  Basically the sauce flavor was good but everything else about them sucked.

Like I said, I would have tried more stands, but several places had either closed down for the night or ran out of some item.  I guess I walked away from the festival with the same thoughts as I have every year…the idea of the festival is great and I enjoy having the opportunity to see what else is out there (outside of Buffalo) when it comes to wings, but I always seem to feel I wasted my money.  The lines, the heat (which we avoided this year by going at night), and the process of trying to stand and eat a soggy wing while also trying to hold on to your $4 bottle of water is such a pain; I could have just gone down the road and ordered a fresh order from La Novas, Duffs, Pearl Street, or [enter your favorite place to get wings here].  If you asked me right now, will I go back next year? I would probably say no…but I said that last year too.

UPDATE: apparently this was the 8th one? I don’t know where I saw 6th but I apologize if anyone thought this was from 2007.

]]> http://buffaloeats.org/2009/09/08/the-6th-annual-buffalo-wing-festival/feed/ 6 D Bizzle 1321900420_5e4e90f651-thumb-505xauto-4583 http://buffaloeats.org/2009/07/23/a-preview-of-monday/ http://buffaloeats.org/2009/07/23/a-preview-of-monday/#comments Thu, 23 Jul 2009 16:10:16 +0000 Don Burtless http://buffaloeats.org/?p=1491 Continue reading →]]>

This Monday, July 27th, will be the premiere of No Reservations “Rust Belt Episode” that will feature Anthony Bourdain travels to Baltimore, Detroit and our own Buffalo (If thats the first time you’ve heard this I would be shocked).  There is an awesome write up in the Buffalo News today by Alan Pergament.  Check it out here (spoiler alert).

Twitter is quickly becoming one of the most popular social networks on the internet.  How long this medium will last is debate-able but the speed of spreading information is undoubtedly the fastest around.  You can find out what specials a restaurant has for that day or that hour.  You can find out about events, late breaking news, and it can provide for a great two way communication.

Even for Buffalo Eats, I have been very active and have asked questions to you readers and have gotten back some great ideas for new places to visit and menu items to try.  Below are some local food related twitter accounts that I think every Buffalo foodie should follow.  If you guys have any other suggestions to add, please let me know.

Some twitter accounts of your favorite Buffalo restaurants (updated 7/18):

• @CharlieOBRiens – South Buffalo’s own Charlie O’Briens, known for their Charlie Wings that were reviewed by Nelson Starr on True Blue Buffalo.
• @MERGEBUFFALO – A newer addition to Downtown Buffalo’s restaurant scene, Merge offers a great menu for vegans and vegetarians.  Definitely an up and coming hipster hang out.
• @picassospizza – One of Buffalo’s oldest pizzeria’s, Picasso’s Pizza was my favorite to go to when I was a little kid.  They have locations in Williamsville, Depew, Lancaster and West Seneca.
• @chowchocolat – Chow Chocolat maybe have the greatest Hot Chocolate I have ever experience, they haven’t posted anything yet.  But give them some more followers and you should see some activity.
• @podguy – Pizza Plant’s owner Bob Syracuse has a twitter account that he updates with news about the menu, and suggestions for first time visitors.
• @flyingbison – Buffalo’s only true brewery, Flying Bison, world of the famous Buffalo Lager and my personal favorites Rusty Chain (Thing Sam Adam’s Boston Lager) and Baron von Bisonfest (the best Oktoberfest I’ve ever had).
• @WashingtonMkt – The twitter account for The Washington Market.  A great location for breakfast, lunch in the downtown area.  Check their twitter for updates on lunch specials and deals of the week.
• @Buffaloteas – Buffalo Teas is local tea store that has a location Downtown and in Orchard Park, if you love tea this will become your new candy store.
• @sweet_ness7 – Sweetness 7 cafe is a gorgeous new location on Grant Street, similar to MERGE they are incorporating a lot of local artists to create an awesome hang out.  I still am dying to go there.

Non restaurant related twitters (but still food related)

• @buffalochow – A great source of information in regards to where to eat in Buffalo, NY.  A more professional style food review web site then Buffalo Eats, that touches on the everything form the franchise chains to the finest dining Buffalo has to offer.  Check their twitter for new reviews and updates.
• @LocalRestWeek – This year Buffalo Eats took advantage of the Local Restaurant Week several times, being able to eat at restaurants like Black & Blue Steak and Crab and Tempo and not putting 200 dollars on my credit cards, really was a treat.
• @TrueBlueBuffalo – An up and coming website showcasing Buffalo’s Cuisine and Architecture.
• @EdibleBuffalo – A great source of food information for the Buffalo community as well as some National food related stories.
• @buffalobaker – Libby, the head creator of At The Very Yeast and Buffalo Food and Other Delights, this is her personal twitter account.  Both of which are great blogs talking about baking techniques and some amazing Buffalo restaurants, I even learned of new places to go.

Me, Dino and Nelson

In late May I had the privilege of bringing Nelson Starr and his friend Nate Peracciny (from True Blue Buffalo) to do a piece on my favorite place to eat in Buffalo, Charlie O’Briens.  Now, its no secret that I am good friends with one of the owners, Dino, and that probably makes me incredibly biased.  But I don’t care.  Everyone that I have introduced to Charlie’s has loved the food and came back (or has wanted to) for more.  Well the same happened when Nelson and Nate tried out their first Charlie’s experience, we dinned and ate all night (thanks to Dino’s generosity).  Please check out Nelson’s review he just posted a couple days ago on their blog, and if you haven’t been swayed into trying Charlie’s, check out these gorgeous pictures they took that night.

And once again, please remember that Nelson will be showing Anthony Bourdain around Buffalo on July 27th on No Reservations, found on the Travel Channel.

Stuffed Peppers

Charlie-Style Wings

Spinach Dip

This July, Buffalo is going to be featured on The Travel Channel’s No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain.  If you’re a proud Buffalo-ian like myself, I know you’re excited to see the city shown for the world to see and find out what a famous chef/television star thinks of our city.

Well I have just found out that Anthony Bourdain will be visiting Western New York a couple months afterward, hosting a speaking event in Rochester, NY.  On November 20th, at the Rochester Auditorium Theatre, Anthony Bourdain will be talking about his travels over the world, possibily his cooking career and who knows what else.  I’m guessing it is going to be something like this:

Tickets went on sale Monday, June 29th and run between $37 and $72 BEFORE surcharges and all those other wonderul Ticketmaster fee’s.  Maybe Buffalo Eats will see you there?

For those Food Network lovers out there, I am sure you’ve noticed a new series called “The Best Thing I Ever Ate”.  They’ve broken down the show into a group of Food Network personalities talking about the best meals they’ve ever had and having each show have some type of the theme.

What caught my attention was the fried foods focused episode that aired a couple of weeks ago.  So it got me thinking, what are some of the best fried foods in Buffalo?  Sure we all love wings, but what are some of those unique dishes that stick out in your head that when you hear the name of a restaurant you say “oh, you have to get ____”.

So here’s what some twitter followers came up with:

Wings (of course there was some nominees):

• Gabriel’s Gate
• Duff’s
• Donna’z Pizzeria (an old restaurant in the Falls)

Non Wing Entries:

• Tina’s Italian Kitchen : Fried Zucchini
• Pizza Logs – didn’t give a specific place but I recommend Taffy’s in OP
• Michael’s : Fried Ravioli
• The Como : Fried Calamari
• Ms Goodies : Junkyard Dog
• Broadway Bobby’s : Meat & Cheese Sub
• Kentucky Gregs : French Fries (on a side note, Pearl Street’s loaded fries and Charlie O’Briens would be my votes for best fries)
• Tony’s : Fish Fry
• John & Mary’s : Chicken Fingers

Thank you to the following twitter-ers that contributed, feel free to leave more suggestions in the comments and I’ll keep this list growing.

• JonesRG
• ThomasGidlow
• Slniland
• TonyCityLove
• KevinPurdy
• BuffaloSpree
• CatherineLeach
• brothank

Buffalo is getting it’s own local cook off showdown, Feed Your Soul is producing a competition called Nickel City Chef that will be held in a newly renovated warehouse located on the West Side of Buffalo.  You can now purchase tickets for $20 at Spoiled Rotten or at Artisan Kitchen & Baths for live viewings of these competitions.  There will 4 in all, chefs from local restaurants like Tempo, Curly’s, Torches, Sample (The Nickel City Chefs) will face off against several challengers.  This is a really cool event to be started ain Buffalo and hopefully with it some great restaruatns and chefs will get some well deserved attention.  With your ticket purchase you get a drink and snacks will be served before the event, in addition they will also have a cash bar (if one drink isn’t enough).  Now I haven’t been able to find anything saying if this will appear on some local television station (I’d assume it would appear on the internet atleast), but it seems perfectly made for it.  Here’s the schedule for those interested in buying tickets:

Sunday, June 21st – Krista Van Wagner (Curly’s) vs. Brian Mietus (Bacchus)

Sunday, July 19th – JJ Richert (Torches) vs Joseph Fenush III (Park Country Club)

Sunday, August 23rd – Paul Jenkins (Tempo) vs Bruce Wieszala (Verbena)

Sunday, September 20th – Adam Goetz (Sample) vs Kate Elliott (Juniper)

For more information check out:

Nickel City Chefs Official Homepage

Buffalo Rising

As the beginning of summer is upon us, Buffalo Eats has decided to post a couple events that are coming up that we think the average foodie and Buffaloian should know about.

• May 24th – September 6th, Every Sunday – Sunset Sunday

From May to September, spend the end of your weekend with the finest DJ’s and musicians in Buffalo playing on Pearl Street Patio’s from 8pm to 1am.

• May 28th – July 30th – Thursday In the Square

This year marks the 23rd year for Thursday In the Square, the line up is actually really really good this year.  Sure I don’t want to see more then half the bands, but there is no denying that they are all national acts.  Each week is someone I’ve at least heard of.  Look for me at George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic (July 16th) and at Robert Randolph (June 11th).

• June 5th, 6th, 7th – Greek Heritage Festival

If you enjoy Greek cuisine as much as I do, this is a can’t miss.  Enjoy authentic food imported from Greece, live Greek music, and yes even dancing.

• June 13th and 14th – Allentown Art Festival

Located on Delaware Ave and Allen St, basically a combination of food, art and crafts lining the streets.  I’ve actually never been, but seeing how I plan on living in the area and I work there, it’s time.

• July 11th and 12th – Taste Of Buffalo

Located on Delaware Ave and the Niagara Circle (in front of city hall), there will be ~60 restaurants with almost 200 different items available for eating.  Check out their line up here, menu items to be announced soon.

• July 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th – Sorrento Cheese Buffalo Italian Heritage Festival

Music, Food, Rides and Hertel Ave.  Good times, I’ll try to stay hungry after Taste of Buffalo.

• August 1st – Brews Blues and BBQ

The central terminal is hosting an event of music, beer and food that will feature beer provided by Flying Bison Brewery.  For $10 you can get yourself tickets, there will also be a silent auction and an art gallery.  If you’ve never been the Central Terminal for an event I highly recommend going, the venue is gorgeous.

• August 29th and 30th – Elmwood Art Festival

Similar to the Allentown Art Festival, they also have solar powered blenders making smoothies.  Come on!

• September 5th and 6th – Buffalo Wing Festival

I’ve gone the last 3 years to the Wing festival, while it’s really not that great a representation of the good wings in Buffalo you should go to actually check out what the non-locals are making.  We had some decent selections from Pennsylvania and even Arizona and I distinctly remember good Habanero Loganberry Wings.

Picture from NelsonStarr.com

For those of you who don’t know, Nelson Starr (of Buffalo’s Music Hall of Fame and No Reservations fame) has a web tv series he runs with some friends over at True Blue Buffalo.  He is currently averaging about one show a month, and they just posted their 3rd episode last week.

Previous episodes have focused on various restaurants, companies and specific areas of Buffalo.  Examples are Fowler’s Chocolate Factory, Chow Chocolat, Bistro Europa and Oliver’s Restaurant.  Episode 3 is focused on an area that holds a close place to my heart, South Buffalo.  In this episode he went to Gene McCarthy’s and Swannie House and visited the St Patty’s Day parade through the valley.  Check out the entire episode, as well as his other 2 episodes and his No Reservation’s audition tapes here.

This week The Taste of Buffalo organizers announced their lineup for this years event.  They will have 15 new participants this year.  Here is the full 2009 line up, the menu items for each participant will be released shortly.  I cant wait to get that list, its become a tradition for me and Alli to look it over and make a game plan for what we will eat.  We try to figure out the exact amount of tickts needed so we don’t have any leftovers.  However every year we end up getting some dessert or thinking, screw it I really want a chicken finger even though I’ve had it every year.  If yo want to stay in touch with the newest happenings and announcements check out Taste of Buffalo’s Twitter Page.

Here is who is coming back from 2008:

• A Taste of New Orleans
• Andersons Frozen Custard
• Applebees
• Ashanti’s Steak House
• Avanti Italian Grill
• Bings
• BW’S Barbecue
• Caribbean Experience
• Carmines Restaurant
• Cecelia’s Ristorante
• Chester’s Cajun Grill
• Clarence Center Coffee Co. & Café
• Craftsmen Café/Sweet Monkees
• Cup of Joe’s Restaurant
• Dannys Restaurant
• Donnie’s Smokehouse
• Eddie Ryan’s
• EM Chrusciki Bakery
• Fat Bob’s Smokehouse
• Fiamma Steak
• Garris Bar-b-Que
• Jack Astors Bar and Grill
• Joe’s Deli
• JP Bullfeathers
• Just Pizza
• Kabab and Curry
• Kensington Avenue Pizza Inc.
• Lafayette Tap Room
• Louies Hot Dogs
• May Jen Chinese Restaurant
• Mister Pizza
• Mobay’s Caribbean Cuisine
• Ms. Goodies
• Niagara Café
• Nick Charlaps Ice Cream
• Orazio’s Restaurant
• Polish Villa
• Prima Pizza
• Red Osier
• Spicy Thai
• Tandoori’s Royal Indian Cuisine
• The Bavarian Nut Company
• The Fireside Inn
• The Grill @ The Dome
• Village Desserts
• Zebb’s Deluxe Grill and Bar

Here are the new guys (with some I know already):

• Amici Ristorante – a very cool Elmwood restaurant I’ve always wanted to try.
• The Como Restaurant
• Dinosaur Bar B Que – a Rochester,NY staple.  Never had but have heard alot about, people swear by their sauce.
• Giacobbi’s Pasta and Pizza
• Jim’s Steak Out – sure there aren’t many Buffalo-ians that haven’t had Jim’s, but still a cool addition.
• Landies Candies Co
• Merchant Street Smokehouse
• Mr. Bones
• Palace of Dosas
• Papi’s Family Restaurant
• The Stillwater – I know the place is gorgeous inside, not sure how the food is though.
• Sweet Melody’s
• Torches Restaurant - they have one of the coolest Mac n Cheese’s I’ve ever heard of, hope its on the menu.
• Verbena
• Wi-Tini’s

If you’re like me, and you love Beer this is something that will excite you.  On Friday April 24th, 2009, the Musuem of Science downtown will be hosting a “beerology” event.

If you are interested in learning new home brewing techniques, and learning about styles and equipment, this event is for you.  There will be food, music, and local breweries serving samples.  For $25 dollars you can enjoy all you eat/drink from 6pm – 9pm.  The following breweries/stores will be there:

• Blue Point Brewery (Long Island)
• Flying Bison Brewing Company (located on Ontario St)
• Great Lakes Brewing Company (Ohio)
• Long Trail Brewing Company (Vermont)
• Merchant Du Vin Importers (Beer Importer from Washington)
• Pearl Street Grill & Brewery (located on Pearl St)
• Saranac Brewery (Utica, New York)
• The Village Beer Merchant (located on Elmwood Ave)

This sounds like a great time, and for anyone who wants to learn how to make their own beer or perfect the craft, this is a great starting point.

With a new affliation (New York Mets) and a new name to the field downtown (Coca Cola Field) and a new logo (see above), the Bisons have decided to upgrade one more thing.  Their food.

Starting this year (April 9th is opening day), Coca Cola Field will start having some new food options for the fans.  In Addition to adding Tim Horton’s coffee (took long enough for HSBC Arena and UB to also realize this goldmine), they will have a new Deli called BNY Deli that will be serving Buffalo style food and New York City favorites.  Some examples:

• NY Style Pretzel
• Reuben
• Buffalo Style Chicken Sandwich
• Sliced Beef Brisket Sandwich
• Meatball Hoagie
• Honey Mustard Ham Wrap

The will also be adding Famous Dave’s BBQ, which will have a stand in the stadium.  For those who don’t know, Famous Dave’s is a chain of BBQ themed restaurants that was founded in Wisconsin and now have locations all across the United States.  Some of their menu options are:

• Slow Smoked Georgia Chopped Pork Sandwich
• Pulled Chicken Sandwich
• Hotlink Sausage Sandwich
• Ribs
• Chili

This might finally make me want to go to a Buffalo Bison’s game, but probably not.  For the full press release of new things coming to the Buffalo Bisons in 2009, check it out here.

I am a huge fan of this beer, not only is it delicious but this beer supports a great cause.  For more information about this beer and what the proceeds go to, check out this website.  If you are available tomorrow, go down and gets osme food, beer and listen to some “funky grooves“.

2. The week of March 23rd to 29th, several local restaurants are participating in Local Restaurant Week.  Many of the great restaurants we’ve featured already on our site are involved, for a complete list of who’s participating click here.  The deal is, the restaurants will have specials running for 20.09 that will give you the option for a couple menu items (depending on the expense factor of the location) that will either be for two people or per person.  If there is a fancy restaurant you’ve always wanted to try, but couldn’t because it was too expensive, this is your time to try it out.  Buffalo Eats will try to capitalize on this as much as possible (we’re broke) and are planning on Stillwater and another (maybe Torches).

3.  Artvoice is doing their annual Best Of nominations, so please go, register and vote.  But even if you don’t want to vote, this is a great way to find out about local restaurants, clothing stores and other cool places.  Support Buffalo business and take a look.

To all you Catholics out there, welcome back to Lent! Now that Mardi Gras is over it’s officially time for us to slow down the slaughter of cows, pigs, and chickens and increase the killing of sea creatures. Welcome to the season of fish frys, fish sandwiches, and eggs… lots of eggs.

Without getting too deep into religion, a few years back I decided to do a little more than just give up something easy (like candy or sweets) for Lent and actually make a sacrifice. I had never really done anything that was much of a challenge (other than giving up cracking my knuckles when I was in elementary school… still don’t know how I was able to pull that off. Talk about will power!). I thought this defeated the whole purpose of the season so I decided to do what a lot of my relatives do and give up meat all together. From Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday there would be no consumption of animals (Except seafood of course. And we’re definitely not here to debate whether or not this makes sense). But if you know me you know I’m a total carnivore. I rarely feel like a meal is satisfying unless red meat is involved. It used to be hard enough going meatless on Fridays so what was I supposed to do now?

But you might be surprised at how much good meatless food is available (alright you vegetarians, stop laughing at me… for some of us this isn’t that easy). If I have a menu in front of me I’ll choose a meat dish over any sort of veggie dish 99.99% of the time. Not that the veggie dishes aren’t good, it’s just hard for me to choose them over carne. So in a way, going meatless is a blessing in disguise. It kind of forces me to order these tasty meat-alternative dishes.

Breakfast is easy. How much meat do you really eat for breakfast? Sausage, bacon, or ham with your occasional egg sandwich maybe? An egg and cheese sandwich on a bagel/roll/croissant without the greasy meats is still quite delicious (and probably much healthier). And I’ve never seen a pancake or waffle that isn’t vegetarian-friendly (I’m sure you can find one with bacon… don’t bother sending this to me… don’t get me started on the subject of random food with bacon). Home fries, donuts, bagels, muffins, cereal, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt? No problem. Alright… breakfast shouldn’t be difficult to most of us. If it is, then I certainly can’t help you.

Personally I’m a huge fan of eggs for breakfast. Fried, scrambled, omelets, hard boiled, soft-boiled, poached… you name it and I love it. A little bread and some cheese or yogurt on the side and I’m all set! Slice up some tomatoes & cucumbers on the side, sprinkle on a little salt, and we’re definitely in business. No meat envy here.

Lunch/Dinner/Everything Else is where it starts getting tricky. Besides the boring egg salad and tuna fish sandwiches (don’t worry egg salad and tuna fish… I still love you!) and the cheese or veggie pizzas (seafood pizza is good), there’s a ton of options. Lets do a run down of what I like to have and where I like to eat for lunch/dinner this time of year.

Fish Frys – the staple Lent dish. Any restaurant, bar & grill, or pizzeria will have a fish fry during Lent… at the very least on Fridays. My favorites come from Wegmans, the Amherst Pizza & Ale House (try the Crown Royal BBQ Wings sometime… after Lent of course), and Ricotas (the one in the city, not the one in OP). The pieces of fish are of good quality, large, and beer-battered. But most local eateries have a decent fish fry and it’s probably harder to find a bad one than a good one. Note: If you’re avoiding fried food, some places also offer a broiled fish option.

My one problem with these is that usually the cole slaw sucks. You can keep the mayo-drenched cole slaw that comes from an oversized milk carton. Call me when you make your own cole slaw or at least use less mayo! (Lebanese trick: a cabbage salad with salt, pepper, vinegar and oil is amazing! Order it if you can, make it if you can’t).

Filet of Fish Sandwiches – Oh man I love these things! This time of year McDonalds, Wendys, and Burger King run promotions and push them hardcore (I’ve already had two from Mickey D’s and one from BK this week). Are they healthy or do they come from hip local spots? No. But they’re tasty, cheap, and come with fries. What’s not to love?

Bean & Cheese Burritos – Either frozen or from Mighty Taco they’re awesome. If you go to a Moe’s/Salsarita’s, you can get a bigger one with rice and more fillings. Warning: contains beans and may require a lot to fill you (get where I’m going with this? Sorry. Couldn’t resist that one).

The following are great, but not much to discuss here:

· PB&J – blah

· Grilled Cheese – blah

· Veggie Sub/Wrap – blah (actually I’ve been loving these lately! I’m a big fan of salads and this is like a salad with bread to make it more filling. Refreshing too.)

Hey want to know where to find good meals that don’t involve meat? How about looking at countries that don’t too eat much of it to begin with! The obvious being cuisines of Asia, India, and to a lesser extent Lebanon and Italy (Easy Italians! Before you freak out on me. I know you eat plenty of meat but pasta can stand on its own… or with seafood). All of these have some great veggie dishes. Ethiopian restaurants would be great too… if only we had one in Buffalo.

Korean – If you don’t like Kim Chi, then I probably don’t like you. Go to Seoul Garden, Korea House, or Koreana for some good Korean food. Bibimbab is also an excellent menu option.

Japanese – Hello Sushi! Easy enough right? Don’t forget some Miso soup and Edamame. Not in the mood for fish? Go with some Udon or Soba noodles. My favorite Japanese places in the area are Wasabi, Kuni’s (are you open or closed??), and Seabar. Wegmans also has a popular sushi bar.

Chinese – Our Chinese restaurant scene in Buffalo is rather… um… limited. But typical Chinese takeout dishes like stir fry with shrimp or veggies will do just fine.

Thai/Vietnamese – For some reason these countries are always seem to be grouped together for restaurant purposes. I guess it’s because they’re food is similar enough? Anyway, you can’t go wrong with that Thai staple, Pad Thai. See Don’s review of Saigon Cafe or check out Saigon-Bangkok or the King And I. Pretty much anything can be ordered vegetarian.

Indian – You know there’s gonna be a lot of good stuff coming from a country that’s predominantly vegetarian. However, I’m actually not too familiar with the Indian restaurant scene in our area, other than a lunch buffet or two. Just look around. You’ll figure it out.

Italian – No. Yes. Basically anything but Olive Garden… unless you’re just going for salad and breadsticks cuz those things are awesome.

Lebanese – Being Lebanese I have some inside knowledge of all the goodness that is Lebanese food. Are they going to be as good as my Mom’s/Grandmother’s? Of course not. But let me offer some suggestions for you anyways.

· Falafel

· Hummus

· Baba Ghanouj (a spread made from roasted egg plant)

· Labneh (a yogurt cheese… one of my favs)

· Stuffed Grape Leaves

· Taboulleh

These are all items that you can actually find at places like Sahara Grill, Falafal Bar, Amy’s Place, Byblos, The Greek Isles (trust me… there’s Lebanese food there) or Sara’s Deli. Or even more convenient, if you happen to be in a mall (Boulevard, Niagara Outlet, McKinley, or Eastern Hills… basically any local mall except for Galleria) visit the Greek/Lebanese places in the food courts for some killer Lebanese food.

So that’s what I like to eat while going meatless. What about you? Have a favorite place for a Fish Fry?

Another update from my friend, Dino co-owner of Charlie O’Briens (posted via facebook on 2/25/09):

Hey Everyone-

Today starts lent and the rush for fish fry’s.

Just a heads up…

Tonight should be steady and run smoothly. However, on Fridays be here early or expect a wait. As always you can take out anything on the menu. Fridays may be up to an hour on takeout in around the busiest times (6-8).

We have a new Labatts Blue special- $2 Pints of Blue during all games. Come watch in HD on our four 42 inch plasma TV’s. Also anytime you drink blue you can enter to win one of many prizes given away each week. This week we are giving away an autographed Pat Kaleta Sabres Jersey shirt.

Remember to stop in Fridays after 5 from now until St. Pats week and get your special edition Guinness imperial pint glass with the purchase of your first Guinness. New glass each week. Quantity extremely limited and only while supplies last.

**limit one per customer.

19 Days until St. Patrick’s Day

See you soon.

The other day I received this message from one of the co-owners of Charlie O’Briens:

Tonight (February 20th) and every Friday until St. Patrick’s Day when you buy a Guinness imperial pint @ Charlie O’Brien’s you will receive a special edition Guinness imperial pint glass for you to take home!

These Glasses are very limited and it is first come first serve. Limit one glass per customer, per promotion night (so if you want a set of four, you better bring 3 friends that love you!).

I recommend that anyone who lives in South Buffalo, or near it to go and visit this place and get yourself a free pint glass and try their amazing food.

For the next couple of days, if you want to get a great deal on restaurant gift certificates try out this website:

http://www.restaurant.com/rdc_site.net/listings.aspx?StateID=&zip=14127&x=0&y=0

and when you cash out you have to put in the code: DINE and you’ll save 80% off.  Which means that for 2 dollars you can get a 25 dollar gift card, or for .80 cents you can get  a 10 dollar gift card.  They have great Buffalo restaurants like EB Greens, Europa, Cecelia’s. Cozumel and more!

Thanks to Alli for finding this deal.