Buffalo, NY- Beyond the Chicken Wing

I know what you’re going to say; that Buffalo is a chicken-wing, sports-lovin’ town with great shopping and not much else, right? But if that’s all you know about “The City of Good Neighbors” as it’s called (with the appropriate American spelling), then you’d be missing more than half of the delectable picture.

On a recent reconnaissance trip to Buffalo, I had the good fortune of meeting passionate food folks who want to change Buffalo’s culinary image from its oft-touted fast-food-for-sports-fans town to something a little more decidedly delicious. And you know what? They’re doing it – in spades!
Dinner with Buffalo food doyenne Christa Glennie-Seychew at Sample Restaurant was a night to remember. Plate after small plate of what Chef Adam Goetz calls “a cocktail party at your table” arrived, featuring playful takes on Buffalo standards like the beef on weck for instance. There’s tons of attention to detail here from the former Waldorf Astoria chef, who takes a bar chef approach to cocktails and insists on just about everything being made from scratch.

Then there’s the former local rocker turned butcher and his lovely wife Beth at Spar European Sausage and Meats, where even the souvenir T-Shirts can be “smoked” and vacuum packed for that extra pork-scented effect. All fun aside, Spar’s landjaeger was a hit, and as a nod to the large Polish community in the city, there’s plenty of double smoked Polish sausage with or without marjoram, as well as Ukrainian Kabanossy to choose from. The gang at Spar takes their meats seriously – and that kind of quality in a town that loves sausages, hand cut chops and steaks is a good thing!

One blustery morning at the Bidwell Farmer’s Market, located in the picturesque Elmwood Neighbourhood, netted an invaluable find: White Cow Dairy’s yoghurt and fermented dairy drinks. My favourite? Maple yoghurt that tastes subtly of pure, reduced tree-tapped sap, without unpronounceable words on the ingredients list and that isn’t overly sweet…now THAT’s sweet!

If you’re an architecture buff, don’t miss the many fine remaining examples of self-professed “greatest architect that ever lived,” Frank Lloyd Wright. At the turn of the century, Buffalo was flush with industry and commerce. While many of the moneyed class were building Victorian mansions, others like Darwin D. Martin commissioned the timeless Prairie style homes by Wright that were considered beyond contemporary back then. The Darwin Martin home is a must-visit, and if you can get the longer tour that takes you upstairs, do.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t suggest a leisurely stop to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery – considered a “can’t miss” by the NY Times. Gaugin, Picasso, Warhol, Pollock and Jasper Johns pieces hang in a beautiful space that encourages meandering. Drop by MUSE Café for lunch as you look out to the statue garden in the patio and take in the Greek Revival building’s magnificence. I hate to be an “I-told-you-so”, but nary a chicken wing in sight – and the weekend was finger licking good!

Photos by Mary Luz Mejia, from top to bottom: Beef on Weck at Sample Restaurant; The sign that greets you upon arriving at Spar's; Albright-Knox Art Gallery.