Wings...wings...and more wings...

On my recent trip through upstate New York, I had the pleasure of four days in the Buffalo area on my itinerary. For a foodie like myself, Buffalo presents a few good local options -- tasty red hots, roast beef on weck, and, of course, the area's namesake, Buffalo chicken wings.

In a case of fortuitous luck, my hotel was right up the road from one of the legendary Buffalo wing places, Duff's. I have eaten a few chicken wings in my time, and Duff's are the best that I've ever had. Duff's is a little dive bar in the Buffalo suburb of Amherst. The dining area is small and the servers seem like a bizarro version of the cutesy, bubbly, teenage Outback-style waitress -- it seems like that's what they are shooting for, but the long winters must make these poor girls just a little crustier, because they are neither engaging or particularly efficient. Complicating matters is that this place can very busy on popular dining out nights. Friends have told me that they have waited for upwatds of an hour for a table -- and signs warn folks that they will only seat complete parties and will not split checks. Personally, it seems like a lot of rules just to get chicken wings, but these are some dandy wings.

I went on my first night in town. As a matter of fact, I drove straight from the airport to Duff's (in my own defense, it had been a long day of travel) to get take-out wings. I arrived around 8:20 pm and it took about twenty minutes for a 20-piece order of wings and a small order of fries.

Read more about my wing adventure below the fold...
The first thing that I should remember for next time is not to order 20 wings when you don't have a refrigerator in the hotel room! The wings at Duff's are sizeable, meaty wings with a crunchy exterior and a tender inside. The sauces available are hotter than most. They claim that their medium is hotter than most places hot wings; their medium hot are extremely hot; and their hot are not for the faint of heart. There is a local place that serves wings on a scale of 1-9, but anything higher than a 3 and you are taking a big risk if you are not used to their flavors.

I ordered the mediums, and they had some serious kick. I don't know if eating in my hotel room was the ideal way to enjoy these fabulous wings, but, it still worked. Maybe eating them in the hotel is just further evidence of their quality -- I don't know how many other wings I would have been able to fully enjoy. Notice from the picture the foil-lined bag in which the fries are packed for take-out orders. Fries do not travel well -- for even a short distance. But, with this packaging, they held up better than most. Of course, no human could possibly eat as many as Duff's packed for their SMALL order! Yes, the entire styrofoam lid was filled with that heaping order of french fries.

I have co-workers who now refer to my food picture taking fascination as "food porn." So, without further ado, today's food porn picture, which is currently the wallpaper backdrop on my laptop...



While in Buffalo, I also had the opportunity to go to the Anchor Bar, the home of the original Buffalo wing. I don't need to reiterate the old story here, but if you are interested in how Buffalo wings came into being a little more than 40 years ago, here's the scoop.

There is something to be said for visiting the original, but these are no longer the only game in town, nor are they the best. Don't get me wrong -- Anchor Bar makes a tasty wing, better than most can find outside of Buffalo, but in this wing-loving town, the locals seem to have found better places to spend their wing money. On the night that I went (in a somewhat large group), the wings seemed to be overcooked, and the flavor in the sauce was somewhat lacking. Anchor Bar doesn't claim to make the hottest wings, nor do they think that heat alone makes a good wing -- a claim which I happen to agree with, but these wings could use a little boost of flavor.

The beer at Anchor Bar was cold, and the building, itself, should be a must see for anyone on their first trip to Buffalo. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so I don't have any pictures to commemorate the event, so I may be back, as well!

If I could get past the weather in Buffalo for about nine months out of the year, I think it could be a town for me. Buffalo is an egalitarian, bar-food kind of a town. I am looking forward to my next visit -- part of my summer baseball trip itinerary. After the trip to Dunn Tire Park, I am sure I will be on the lookout for a few more places to eat in this excellent food city.