Using custom built Texas smokers, this restaurant in the heart of Allentown boasts the most succulent barbecued meats in the city. Run by restaurateur par excellence Bob Mollot, the sports bar features pork, beef and poultry slow-cooked over low heat to produce that tell-tale red ring around the meat. It is a laid-back kind of place with pool tables, dartboards, and three TVs showing your favorite games. A daily happy-hour gets folks in the mood and the weekend live entertainment keeps them that way.
This is one place you should not judge by its cover. Located in Buffalo's historic Allentown district, the restaurant looks like a dive. However, it has one of the best inexpensive wine lists in the city, not to mention excellent food and service. In the kitchen, the chefs feature dishes like a traditional 'surf 'n turf' and steamed mussels in a Scotch Bonnet Pepper broth. As a bonus, Mother's Restaurant the restaurant is open late, and there's an outdoor patio for warm summer evenings.
You've likely heard of Buffalo wings and may even know that Frank and Teressa's Anchor Bar is where they originated in 1964. Here they consider them to be 'the best in the world' and if you can't actually come to Buffalo, you can still order them online as well as their signature sauce. If wings aren't your thing, you can choose from made-to-order pub-grub. Minutes from the Buffalo Theater District, this casual, unpretentious bar features live jazz on certain nights also. The decor inside features walls plastered with awards and articles extolling their famous and ubiquitous wings.
The decor is not exactly upscale and the dress code is very informal, but the food in this North Buffalo restaurant is outstanding. Basically, it's a pizzeria with pasta, wings, subs and other munchies that will force you to loosen your belt a notch or two. It is an affordable blue-jeans joint—no pretentiousness here—a great place to bring the kids. Nearby attractions include Delaware Park, the Buffalo Zoological Gardens and the Anderson Gallery.
The brainchild of Chris Dobson, Weinkeller is a blend between a gourmet restaurant and winery in Niagara Falls. Sporting a classic wine-cellar décor, this establishment is replete with wooden themes, barrels stacked against walls, and sleek tables, evoking a rather sophisticated ambiance. Choose from a variety of old-school favorites like pork chops, pastas and barbecued chicken and wash them down with a fine glass of wine. If picking the perfect wine seems hard, the sommelier can help you make a choice from one of the in-house wines or the imported ones.
You can't miss this version of the Hard Rock Cafe chain, it has a 1959 Cadillac embedded above the front door. Inside the 178-seat restaurant, the walls are covered with photos, paintings and memorabilia from the world of rock 'n' roll. Its treasures range from Elvis' brown suede jacket, Buddy Holly's sunglasses, and John Entwistle's Fender guitar to a stained-glass wall in honor of the Hindu god Ganesh. The cafe offers typical diner fare with lots of burgers, fries, salads and finger foods.
Overlooking Hudson Street in Buffalo, Big Big Table is known for their healthy and delicious meals. This community cafe’s menu includes items like sandwiches, soups, pastas and desserts. Patrons are encouraged to pay what they can at this cafe. They can volunteer to work in the kitchen, donate meal tokens or even donate homegrown produce. This concept makes sure that no matter whether your are rich or poor, everyone has a seat at the table here.
Sandwiches are a lost art and bringing it back to the streets of Niagara Falls region is the famous Easy Street Sandwiches in the area. The restaurant is back with a bang and has brought the best of sandwich making techniques to the area. They specialize in crunchy and soft breads stuffed with succulent meat, fresh veggies and delightful sauces, all perfectly toasted to create a fine balance of flavors. The chef recommendations are the Steak sandwich, Eggs Benedict and the Breakfast Poutine.
A popular dessert, breakfast and brunch spot on Dingens Street, Donut Kraze offers delicious donuts, signature sandwiches and lunch specials to guests. All the ingredients used in the preparation of the donuts and other food items are fresh and locally sourced from farms to ensure there is no compromise on the taste and quality. With 50 different flavors of donuts available at this dessert shop, ranging from peanut butter, powdered cinnamon, jelly sticks, apple spice, cream cheese, strawberry Bavarian to chocolate kreme and key lime pie, customers are surely spoilt for choice. Apart from donuts, this restaurant also offers breakfast and lunch specials, including English muffin, hash brown, meatball on a hardroll with cheese, Chicago beef and turkey club sandwich.
Enjoy sampling (and purchasing) olive oils and vinegars from around the world at this unique cooking supply store that stocks over 50 varieties of olive oils and balsamics, along with Mediterranean cooking accessories. You won't find oils and vinegars as fresh as these at your local grocery store. Their most popular olive oil is Tuscan herb, which is great for bread dipping. Their blood orange flavored olive oil is terrific paired with chocolate. Their balsamic vinegars, which come in both white and dark, are imported from Italy. Gift baskets are available, because vinegars and oils make the perfect hostess gift.
Wine and seafood makes for a great paining, and what better place to sample this than at the Tide and Vine. This delightful wine bar serves a range of wines along with a good collection of oysters that are freshly sourced. The menu also consists of Duck Confit, Roasted Lobster Tail, House Smoked Salmon and Kat's Seafood Chowder that are popular with the regulars.
De Dee's Dairy is one of the most cherished ice cream parlors in the city. The place is quite chirpy and inviting, kids can easily lose themselves to the numerous flavors of frozen yogurt and ice creams. From chocolates to berries, the ice creams here are made to please, so come for a dessert session, only at De Dee's Dairy.