Welcome to Buffalo...

Monday December 17, 2007 @ 04:18 PM EST

Welcome to my town!

So first things first – if you’ve never been to Buffalo, you’re in for a treat. It’s a great city, a great place to go and have a good time. We have good food, good bars, great people, and great sports teams. And just about everyone is a fan. There is nothing pretentious about the city at all, it’s just a good place to go, have a plate of chicken wings and a beer, watch the Sabres and relax with a good crowd.

Just be sure you remember your long underwear!

So let’s see, first things first: if you’re flying into Buffalo, you’re landing in my hometown, Cheektowaga, NY. And if you’re heading straight to the stadium, make sure you stop by the Galleria for some long underwear. Remember, you’ll be watching an outdoor game – outdoor! – in Buffalo, in January. So you gotta have the right gear. The Galleria will have just about anything you need to keep warm.

If you aren’t flying right in for the game, however – and I’m sure there are going to be people coming from out of town, and most people will probably have been there on New Years’ Eve or before – then you’re going to want to have a good time while you’re here. Buffalo is a town, I mean, I’ll be honest: it’s a party town. The bars are open to 4 am. People like to party in Buff. So you’re going to have to have an idea of where to go while you’re here.

We’ll start downtown. And what used to be the street that you didn’t go on when I was young, Chippewa, in downtown Buffalo, has become a bit of a hotspot. There were some seedy old bars there when I was a kid, but then in the 80s and 90s they blew that whole area out. Now it’s a younger, youth-happening scene, with music clubs, bars with live music, bars that feature pool, and darts; it’s quite a festive section of downtown Buffalo. And the best part? If you don’t like one bar walk 100 yards…there’s another one.

There is another place then, on Millersport Highway, it’s called Jack’s and that’s right across the street from a Marriott I believe…come to think of it that might have some people staying there for the game. You couldn’t be in a better spot. Jack’s is a real festive bar, it has all the local flavor you’d want, the best chicken wings in my opinion in Buffalo – and I know that’s saying a lot (and we’re going to get to chicken wings very soon, mark my words). The thing too, at Jack’s, there’s always a hockey game on, and again, I know you can’t get a bad wing in Buffalo but these are exceptional. It’s really close to get to the arena as well, right off one of the local highways in Buffalo.

As a matter of fact, this place is so good, this coming Saturday night (while I’ll be home with my in-laws), there will be a bit of a party there. A reunion of sorts, one that started about 10 years ago and has become a bit of a tradition. The Saturday before Christmas guys and girls I grew up with will get together for a pitcher of beer and a plate of wings. It started with 10, then 15, then 25 people…but this Saturday from my high school I bet there will be at least 100, 150 people that will be at Jack’s. And I’ll be thinking of ‘em.

So one of those friends, my best friend Joanne from high school, put me on to another place called Duff’s. It’s a chain place, and they just opened up one on Southwestern, right out by the stadium. There are two others, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a wing at Duff’s, but apparently, it hasn’t changed. Another great place to relax and have a good time.

Then of course you have the original Anchor bar, in downtown Buff, they say that’s where the wings began, so to speak. But the Anchor bar, and it’s been a long time since I’ve been there as well, you know they haven’t been famous for this long if they don’t make a darn good wing.

You know what? Come to think of it – for those that are going to be around, check out any local supermarket, gas station, bar, restaurant, whatever – just find a place where you can get the Gusto, a local paper. It’s something you can get all around the Buffalo area. Pick up a copy of the Gusto, and you’ll get all the action, everything that even I wouldn’t know about. And it’ll all have a Buffalo flavor.

OK, so that’s the bar scene. But for those of you who might be looking for a little extra, if you have never been to western NY and you’re that close to Niagara, you shouldn’t miss the Falls. There isn’t a season it isn’t beautiful to see the falls, and I don’t know the last time this happened, but at its coldest, sometimes the falls can freeze. Usually it happens a little bit later, when a bit more winter comes on, but when it does happen, it looks like a postcard. It looks like a picture of the falls in the summertime – it just stops, it is amazing, it’s perfectly still. When I was a kid and the falls would freeze, it was unbelievable; it was a still photo of Niagara Falls.

I also suggest the trip up to Niagara in itself. It’s a beautiful ride – for the best effect, go over the Peace Bridge, from Fort Erie to Niagara on the Canadian side. You drive up, you look for the road to Niagara Falls, and you can literally follow the Niagara River the entire time. It’s a two-lane road, and that is my favorite way to get to the Falls. When you drive that way you wind up coming right up to the falls and when you come up to them you’re right at the tip of the horseshoe falls. That’s what I think is the most spectacular view. You can walk up to it and the water is just a mater right in front of you, and drops right off; you can feel the ground rumble you get a look at the American falls right on.

Finally, if you’re at Niagara, go to the little towns, the wax museums, you can spend an afternoon and see half of n and the bars and the restaurants, if you find your way all the ay there, see the falls see a wonder of the world.

So that’s good for a start, I think. Personally, I can’t wait for this game. I’ll be there with my family – and the last time I was in Rich Stadium in the winter, the Bills were playing the Dolphins in the playoffs, in early 90s, I kid you not, it was so cold I went to get two beers for me and my brother-in-law, it’s maybe 50 yards away, and by the time I got back, the top inch of the beer was slush. I don’t know if it’ll be that way then but needless to say, its gets chilly in Buffalo.

Next time, we’ll talk a little bit about the food you can get in Buffalo – the stuff you can’t get anywhere else. Until then, just remember one thing…and if you only take one thing out of this blog, make it this one thing…

Bring your longjohns, it’s going to be a cold one!

See you next time.

BF

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