Absinthe, Or, What WNY Could Stand To Learn About Drinking

While part of Buffalo Chow's mission is to share Western New York's best dining traditions with the world, another part is to bring the world's best innovations back here. That's why today's article is internationally themed, inspired by an experience...

Posted on May 20, 2011

New England Chow: Buffalo's Lessons From Portland + Boston

New England was our first destination after pausing Buffalo Chow last year, and thanks to the magic of Facebook photo galleries, readers were able to follow some of our culinary adventures in Boston, Massachusetts back then. This week, we rekindled...

Posted on April 7, 2011

A Modest Proposal: Let's Bring Yards Of Beer To Buffalo

Buffalo is so dominated by blue collar bars that the opening of a new gastropub such as Blue Monk is noteworthy, and seemingly novel. But in some other places, upscale bars aren't just an anomaly - they're actually really popular,...

Posted on March 31, 2011

The Recipe For Ice, Or, On Making Simple Things Remarkable

The recipe for ice is so obvious and so widely known that it doesn't merit a page in any cookbook or bartending manual. It can be stated in two words: "freeze water." And when that water has finished freezing, it's...

Posted on March 17, 2011

New Orleans Chow: The Powerful Drinks + Standout Seafood

The parallels mightn't be exact, but we see bits and pieces of Buffalo in New Orleans: in Buffalo's case, years of neglect and decline led to a slow corrosion of the city with some simultaneous growth in the suburbs, while...

Posted on March 10, 2010

Discuss It: Is It Time To Change NY's Old Liquor Store Laws?

When people move to New York from other states - or just come back from extended visits elsewhere - they discover two major limitations on the way they can shop here for wine and liquor. First, New Yorkers can't buy...

Posted on February 5, 2010

At Williamsville's Creekview, Good Food Near Glen Falls Park

If the three most important decisions a business owner can make are "location, location, location," as the old saying goes, the natural advantages enjoyed by Williamsville's Creekview Restaurant are obvious. While beautiful waterfalls at Glen Falls Park are only a...

Posted on December 28, 2009

So-So Buffalo Mexican: Elmwood Taco & Subs + Cozumel Grill

As much as we love Buffalo's Elmwood Avenue, we're not blind to its strengths and weaknesses. Eclectic indie shops? Check. Fun places to eat and drink heavily? Check. One of Buffalo's best farmers' markets? Big check. Good Mexican food? Ch......

Posted on December 26, 2009

Comfort Food + A Cozy Bar At Williamsville's Glen Park Tavern

Some restaurants are so filled with teens and twentysomethings that older patrons stay away; at others, such as the Glen Park Tavern in Williamsville, the average age is in the 50's, and younger diners may overhear - as we did...

Posted on December 17, 2009

Jojo Bistro: A Beautiful Bar And Smart Menu With Shaky Food

If you're the sort of person who is won over to a restaurant based more on its decor than its culinary merits, Jojo Bistro - a lower-priced sister restaurant to its immediate Sheridan Drive neighbor Black & Blue - is...

Posted on November 28, 2009

Japan's Awesome Snack Foods: A Little Ahead Of Our Time

As we write these words, we're in your future: Japan is 14 hours ahead on the clock, such that its today is your tomorrow, so when we leave here, we will actually arrive back home two hours before we departed...

Posted on November 25, 2009

Nagoya Chow: Yamachan's Chicken Wings + Miso Dishes

Nagoya is Japan's fourth-largest city, and though one mightn't guess as much from its staid streets, it's obsessed with miso. Known best for its role in the common Japanese soup, miso paste - actually, pastes - are made from fermented...

Posted on November 18, 2009

Kobe Chow: On Great Steak, Making Sake + Lessons Learned

Once in a while, a meal completely changes the way you'll look at the same food in the future, and yesterday in Kobe, Japan, we had one of those meals. We weren't expecting it - in fact, we thought it...

Posted on November 14, 2009

Quick Bites: Bar Louie, Gate House Grill + La Scala Ristorante

As we prepare for our next major food journey outside of Buffalo - details coming soon - we wanted to fill you in on a few of our recent restaurant visits inside Western New York. The places are very different...

Posted on November 10, 2009

Fresh Beer, Fruit + Donuts: The Many Charms of Becker Farms

Rarely do we visit a place so surprisingly interesting and worthwhile that we can't imagine how we missed it in the past, but Becker Farms is one of those places. Loyal Buffalo Chow readers may recall that we weren't enthusiastic...

Posted on October 22, 2009

SoCal Chow Leftovers: Meals + Snacks Worth Brief Mentions

In one week's time, Buffalo Chow's editors ate our way through so many of Southern California's restaurants that friends and family e-mailed to ask how we'd digested everything - the answer: we're not sure, but it worked. Most of the...

Posted on September 29, 2009

U.B.'s New Jamba Juice + Earlier Good Korean, Indian Options

Every two or so months, Buffalo Chow's editors have a "which restaurants is WNY missing" discussion, and three weeks ago, Jamba Juice's name came up on our list. A purveyor of smoothies that can double as full meals, this 729-location...

Posted on September 17, 2009

Starbucks, Or, On The Destruction Of A Famous Brand

Just as business textbooks will one day include detailed case studies on Apple's unbelievable come-from-nowhere, conventional wisdom-bucking successes with the iPod and iPhone, they'll also likely discuss the rise and fall of Starbucks, a company that seemed to be hurtling...

Posted on September 17, 2009

Taste of Lockport: A Triangle Of WNY Wineries & Foods

Lockport's Ida Fritz Park isn't easy to find with Google Maps - it's at the corner of Transit and Lockport's West Main - but for several hours on one summer day, it hosts what now may well be Western New...

Posted on August 16, 2009

Buffalo Brewfest: Four Terrific Hours, 100 Regional Beers

After drinking 60 ounces of beer - roughly four pints - you're not supposed to feel smarter than you were before you started; even standing up may be a challenge. Yet three hours after we paid our admission fee, received...

Posted on August 11, 2009

Rich Beers & Good Food at Williamsville's Buffalo Brewpub

Although the Buffalo Brewpub has been at its Main Street location near Transit for over 20 years, it was only in the last two that we started to visit - after all, Brennan's was almost across the street, and when...

Posted on August 7, 2009

Wegmans, Part IV: Tastings & A Wegman's NY Liquor Shop

Last week, we told you about Pittsford, New York's "Wegmans of the Future" - a 140,000-square foot store with a fancy restaurant on one side, free mini-facials in its cosmetics department, and a Godiva chocolate shop up front. But we...

Posted on August 1, 2009

On Authenticity: Lebanese Festival & Spring Lake Winery

If you've ever tried "Buffalo Wings" outside of Western New York, where all sorts of crazy chicken concoctions masquerade as our hometown specialty, you know this already: authenticity matters. Authenticity is the difference between experiences that please novices and ones...

Posted on July 26, 2009

At Ellicottville Brewing Company, Novel Beers & Foods Mix

A piece of friendly advice: if you like beer, and you discover that a well-regarded local brewing company is operating both a full-service bar and a restaurant in its home town an hour away, don't think, just go. That's why...

Posted on July 20, 2009

Taste of Buffalo 2009 Guide, Pt. 3: Desserts & Drinks

As much as we love the appetizer and entree choices at every year's Taste of Buffalo, we always - always - save room for desserts, and try our best to sample some of the drink options from local cafes and...

Posted on July 12, 2009

Bubbly: Birch Beer, Vernors, and Mercer's Wine Ice Cream

While loganberry would be at the very top of our list of drinks that are hard to find outside of Western New York, there are a couple of other beverages that readers have become desperate to locate after leaving the...

Posted on July 6, 2009

Chicago Chow: Trader Joe's, Or, Wegmans' #1 Competitor

Ninety-nine-cent packages of Tom Yum Cashews. Legitimately good wines - ones people swear by - for $2 to $3. Amazing sweets. And fresh, high-quality produce at amazingly low prices. If you're wondering what it would take to beat the mighty,...

Posted on June 29, 2009

Bubbly: Enjoy Jaleo's Amazing White Sangria At Home

Every once in a long while, we are so excited by something we come across at a restaurant that we take the time to try and make it ourselves. Our most recent project: Jaleo's White Sangria, served at the Washington,...

Posted on June 18, 2009

Filling, Fair-Priced Irish & American Fare at Shannon Pub

As much as we enjoy The Irishman, we're glad that fans of Irish food have another good suburban option: located on Niagara Falls Boulevard in Tonawanda, Shannon Pub is a very strong American and Irish restaurant - one that takes...

Posted on June 9, 2009

Niagara Wine Trail: Limo Rides & NY Wine For $40/Person

Six hours. Six vineyards. Nine people. A limo that started out with cheese, crackers, cookies and snacks, then ended the day packed with reds, whites, blushes, pinot noirs, fruit wines, and ice wines. With the sun shining and a group...

Posted on May 19, 2009

A Few Of Our Favorite Things: Maple, Mackintosh & 1921

Every once in a while, perhaps more often than that, we're going to post quick notes on our favorite pre-packaged foods and drinks from inside or outside of Western New York. Today's update focuses on maple syrup candies and cookies,...

Posted on May 13, 2009

Fourteen iPhone Apps For Buffalo's Foodies and Drinkers

Every once in a long while, our work at iPhone and iPod web site iLounge overlaps with our coverage at Buffalo Chow, and this is a prime example: an article discussing 14 different food and drink applications for the iPhone...

Posted on April 22, 2009

On Dyngus Day, Work Gives Way to Food, Drinks, and Fun

We may have grown up in Western New York, but we were living out of town when Dyngus Day evolved from a series of neighborhood festivals into the largest event of its kind in the world. So, like some of...

Posted on April 13, 2009

Bubbly: Budweiser Budvar, Blueberry & Cherry Updates

Every week or so, our Bubbly column looks at a mix of locally produced and locally available beverages, spotlighting everything from wines to beers to teas and sodas. This week's Bubbly looks at four wines from three area wineries we...

Posted on April 12, 2009

Liquid or Solid, Gin Gin's Chinese Treats Widen Its Appeal

We wish it weren't true, but authentic Chinese food is becoming more difficult to find in Western New York: low-end plaza take-outs with Americanized menus have multiplied across the area, as classier mid-range and high-end restaurants continue to disappear. Thankfully,...

Posted on April 6, 2009

News: Coffee Culture Opens, Dan Ackroyd's Vodka Visit

It's not ready for a review quite yet, but there's a brand new coffee chain in town, and it seems to be gunning for Starbucks and Spot Coffee. Seemingly out of nowhere, Coffee Culture appeared in the former Sweet Jenny's...

Posted on March 30, 2009

Bubbly in Brief: Loganberry & Local Strawberry Wine

It's probably our shortest Bubbly column yet, and for good reason: having spent weeks reviewing all sorts of Western New York fruit wines, we've sorted through the good, the great, and the not so hot - this week's one of...

Posted on March 21, 2009

Goodbye, Aunt Rosie? A Loganberry & Lingonberry Update

You love loganberry. We love loganberry. So it's with some dismay that we share the following news: Aunt Rosie's Loganberry, a local favorite for over 20 years, appears to be fading away. As we prepared to write an update to...

Posted on March 10, 2009

Bubbly: WNY Pinot Noir and Port, Plus Fruit Wine Updates

Though most of our weekly Bubbly columns have focused on individual flavors of fruit wine, this week's is a little different: we continue our look at Western New York's wineries and nearby competitors by expanding on a category that we'd...

Posted on March 8, 2009

Buffalo & Western New York Soft Drinks, Beers & Wines

Sure, Buffalo Chow's editors love Western New York's foods, but we wouldn't want to neglect another local treasure: delicious beverages. Ask a long-time resident what non-alcoholic drink they most associate with this area, and there's a great chance the answer...

Posted on March 8, 2009

Bubbly: WNY's Niagara and Catawba Sweet Grape Wines

Thus far in our Bubbly series, we've covered blueberry, cherry, raspberry, and cranberry wines from Western New York, but we've said very little about the most obvious fruit - the mighty grape. When the average sophisticated wine drinker thinks of...

Posted on February 27, 2009

Bubbly: WNY Cranberry Wines & Sweet, Pizza-Ready Reds

Unexpectedly, the cranberry - a tart, bitter little fruit - has given our Bubbly column its best overall week yet. In prior weeks, we've looked at blueberry, raspberry, and cherry wines from local and nearby vineyards, any one of which...

Posted on February 18, 2009

Bubbly: Raspberry Wine and Beer from WNY and Belgium

Over the last few weeks, we've used a little space on Buffalo Chow to look at interesting wines from Western New York and nearby areas, starting with Blueberry Wines, continuing with Cherry Wines, and this week, possibly nearing the end...

Posted on January 31, 2009

Bubbly: Buffalo Chow on Cream Tequilas, Especially 1921

Imagine falling in love with a certain food or drink, then moving someplace where it's unavailable. If you've ever left Buffalo, you probably had a list of these items - we did - but now that we're back, there are...

Posted on January 20, 2009

Bubbly: Buffalo Chow on WNY Cherry Wine & Hard Cider

Perhaps we should have quit while we were ahead. Last week, we excitedly canvassed a small collection of locally available blueberry beverages - wine, beer, and tea - and laid plans for a series of Bubbly articles on beverages from...

Posted on January 20, 2009

Bubbly: Buffalo Chow on WNY Blueberry Wine, Beer + Tea

We enjoy wines, but we don't claim to be experts in them; instead, we focus on finding the best-tasting options in categories we think we might enjoy. You've already seen our brief series on Sake and Sparkling Sakes; today, we're...

Posted on January 12, 2009

Bubbly: Buffalo Chow on Japan's Modern Sparkling Sakes

We previously published a single article discussing two versions of Japanese rice wine: traditional sake (pronounced sah-kay, not sah-kee), and a newer, gentler option: "sparkling sake." After three updates to the article, we decided to split it into two pieces,...

Posted on December 31, 2008

Bubbly: Buffalo Chow on Sake, Japan's Smooth, Classy Rice Wine

How much do we love sake? We keep a good bottle around. We sealed our wedding vows with one. And we even named one of our dogs after the Japanese rice wine, years before it began to climb in popularity...

Posted on December 31, 2008

Seattle Chow, Part 3: The Inconsistent Treats of Starbucks

"You paid $4 for that," she said. "$5," I corrected her, grimacing at the watery, less than completely full cup with an icey mint green substance inside. "So you deserve to have it made right," she said, approaching the barista...

Posted on December 6, 2008

Redemption, Thy Name is Chocolate Bar (Or, "Betterwood")

If there is any name a restaurant could take to instantly entice potential diners, that name would be "The Chocolate Bar," a phrase that clearly evokes both desserts and drinks without explicitly identifying the trouble your wallet's about to be...

Posted on September 24, 2008