A Sentimental Favorite

Anthony Bourdain paid a visit to the snow covered streets of Buffalo while filming a segment on Rust Belt cities for his show, No Reservations. While in the "frosty, mostly forgotten end of New York State" (his words, not mine) Anthony sampled Buffalo's culinary claims to fame, beef on weck and chicken wings (don't forget the liver dumpling soup) at Schwabl's and Ulrich's, respectively. Sadly, the segment showcased Nelson Starr's penchant for pig roasts and his band (Nelson being the reason Anthony came to Buffalo) over Buffalo's bustling food scene. But, as Anthony tells his followers and many angry Buffalonians in his blog, "I'm quite sure there's somebody's idea of 'better' beef-on-wek [sic] somewhere else ... and that we missed (fill in blank here) and that there's somebody doing really excellent fine dining across town, but again, this misses the point. One of the 'take-aways' from this show, I hope, is that people who might never in a million years have considered Buffalo as a place to visit, will say 'Hey! Buffalo actually looks pretty cool!' Like Cleveland, it's become a sentimental favorite." So I, unlike others who have dissected this episode of No Reservations, will not fault Anthony for missing a number of Buffalo's (and its surrounding suburbs') tastiest dining establishments. I will however point out some local favorites - with the expectation that Anthony will make it up North again...after all, how long can he ignore a "sentimental favorite"?

MEATS
Beef on Weck:
CHARLIE THE BUTCHER: Nelson Starr chose to take Anthony to Schwabl's for one of Buffalo's specialties, beef on weck. A legend for many reasons, Charlie the Butcher also carves tender roast beef and serves it on a kummelweck roll- and some would say the restaurant does it better.




Chicken (whole, wings, and fingers):
CHIAVETTA'S: The malt-vinegar marinade on Chiavetta's chicken is a culinary delight. Chiavetta's barbecues have been an institution in Western New York for over 50 yrs.



ANCHOR BAR: The Anchor Bar originated the chicken wing in 1964 and a star was born. Today, as in 1964, their world famous wings are served with traditional celery and bleu cheese.


DUFF'S: Duff's Famous Wings works hard to keep its reputation as best wing producer in the Buffalo area. On a given night hundreds of customers try their hand at Duff's legendary "death sauce".


GABRIEL'S GATE: Gabriel's Gate, located down the street from Nietzsche's (where Nelson Starr's band performs and Anthony Bourdain spent some quality drinking time), is also known for having great wings.

JIM'S STEAKOUT: Open until 5:00am, Jim's Steakout's unbelievably delicious chicken finger sub is a great way to end a night (or start a morning).


Sahlen's Hot Dogs:
LOUIE'S: A footlong with the works includes mustard, relish, ketchup, chopped onions and a pickle spear.


TED'S: Ted's has a strong reputation, but going forward I will head to Louie's for my hot dog fix. Ted's grouchy manager was extremely opposed to pictures and in my opinion that warrants suspicion! A customer allowed me to snap a quick picture of his footlong.



Sausage:
SCIME'S RITE PRICE MARKET: Scime's fresh sausages are an outstanding addition to any cookout, and its staff is extremely knowledgable and friendly.



PIZZA
JUST PIZZA: Just Pizza serves over 75 varieties of pizza and is the originator of the 3 cheese steak pizza.

CASA DI PIZZA: Casa di Pizza was established in 1953 and is as popular today as it was back then.


MR. PIZZA: Mr. Pizza consistently produces great pizza dough.

LA NOVA: La Nova Pizzeria continues to receive numerous awards for its pizza and wings.


BOCCE'S: Homesick Buffalonians often FedEx Bocce Club Pizza's parbaked pizza. This is the pizza I grew up on, and my ultimate favorite.


ITALIAN/LOCAL CELEB SPOTTING
CHEF'S: Chef's Restaurant is known for its Italian fare. The Buffalo Sabres hockey team can often be spotted here before their games.



BREAD
COSTANZO'S: Any sandwich or sub is made better with a roll from Costanzo's Bakery.


(Thanks to my favorite local chauffeur, Michelle!)