Awesome Buffalo Trivia, part deux (again)

I'm extremely disappointed that the original version of this post disappeared when Blogger went down a few weeks ago. I've learned my lesson and will definitely be backing up all of my posts moving forward. If this post totally sucks, I can assure you that the first version of it was super awesome...


Well, it's official. I've finished my Buffalo Tours training, completed my final exam tour, and am now officially a docent. You can find me giving walking tours of downtown Buffalo's glorious architecture and history starting this summer! But that's not all! I've decided to take a few extra weeks of the class so that I'll also be able to give the waterfront tours that are given down by the commercial slip. During these extra weeks I've picked up a few more awesome tidbits of information about Buffalo which I will gladly share with you now.



More immigrants to the U.S. passed through the city of Buffalo than ever went through Ellis Island. It turns out that most people who emigrated from Northern Europe came through Canada, bypassing New York City entirely. Almost all of them passed through Buffalo. Those who DID come through NYC and headed West most likely also passed through the Nickel city. They came down the Erie canal and sailed West from here. 


Buffalo is home of the original "Dive Bar." It's true! Those bars that we all love in spite of, or sometimes because of their cheap drinks and dingy atmosphere got their nick name right here. It all started in a place called Dug's Dive, a crappy little joint near the canal back in the mid 19th century. The bar itself was in the basement of the building, and to get there patrons had to climb down a dark narrow staircase. Hence "dive." The place was notorious for being pretty much the most disgusting place ever. Regular flooding from the canal left the establishment damp and smelly. Noone paid attention to the bodies strewn on benches, or could even tell if they were dead or just passed out from the drink. And that is why "dives" are the gross (yet comfortably  familiar) bars we all know and love today. (The Dug's Dive that now exists on Buffalo's waterfront is a lovely establishment. It is not the same place and is named only as an homage to our city's history.)

An illustration of Buffalo's Canal Street district

The area surrounding the central wharf downtown was once referred to as "The Infected District." This was not the result of some kinf od physical ailment or disease, oh no. Canal Street and the surrounding area earned this nickname because it was so notorious for being stricken with crime and populated by people of low morals. It was also known as "The Wickedest Street in the World."

Buffalo: A foodie's paradise.

When I was living in California, I would tell my Angelino friends that Buffalo has a better food scene than L.A. They of course looked at me like I belonged in a padded cell, but I stand by my statement. Does Los Angeles have amazing food? Absolutely. More great restaurants than Buffalo? Probably. But the ratio of good restaurants to bad here is off the charts. Really bad restaurants just don't exist in Buffalo, because they wouldn't survive. Maybe it's the less-than-stellar economy in this city that causes Buffalonians to be extra picky about where we dine, or maybe it's just that we are a city of foodies. The point is that you'd be hard pressed to find a really crappy restaurant in the city limits.

I'm no food critic, and I may not be able to wax poetic about food in a way that will make your mouth water like some other local bloggers (Buffalo Eats, Buffalo Chow) but I think it's about time to tell you about some of my recent food experiences.

To say that I like sushi would be a massive understatement, so I was really excited to stop into SeaBar with some friends during local restaurant week earlier this month. The sushi special included chef's picks of maki rolls, nigiri pieces, and a handroll as well as some sesame noodles, all of which were excellent. The fish was all really fresh; the rice and fish just about melted in my mouth. I don't think I needed a drop of soy sauce. To me, freshness is the only factor that separates good sushi from bad sushi, and SeaBar definitely has the best sushi in town.

In retrospect, I should have taken pictures of my food, but I was too busy devouring it.
This image is courtesy of BuffaloRising.com

Another recent restaurant event was this week's Dining Out For Life. Local foodies were encouraged to dine at any of the 100 participating restaurants, who then donated 25% of that night's proceeds to AIDS Community Services of WNY. When my co-worker told me that he was going to be the Dining Out For Life "Ambassador" at The Blue Monk, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to finally eat there. I've loved the Monk since it opened. Hell, I was excited when I first heard about plans for the place back when I was still living in Los Angeles! I've been a regular at the bar, enjoying their superb beer selection since day one, but I had still never eaten there.

Boy, was I missing out. On Tuesday I shared a flat-bread pizza, an order of mussels, and fries with a friend. Awesome awesome awesome. I could have ate the whole pizza (okay two of them) myself. The Gorgonzola, which I don't usually love, contrasted the fresh greens beautifully. Our mussels, cooked in Ommegang Witte (one of my favorite beers) with leeks and lemon were done perfectly. Not chewy, not mushy, but just right.(Goldilocks moment!) Being pescetarians (vegetarians who eat fish,) we opted for the vegan fries instead of the duck frites, but they were still excellent. So excellent in fact that they were gone before the mussels ever made it to the table. Obviously we ordered more. Not one of the 7 of us that ate together were disappointed. Even my brother, an eater who uses the phrase "it was just okay" pretty often, gushed about one of the best burgers he'd ever had.

I remembered to take a picture this time.

Great. Like I needed a reason to spend more of my time and money at that place. (Totally worth it!)

New York's First City of Architecture

Here's a groovy little article from Curbed, one of the country's top real estate blogs.

A Valentine to my Hometown

A Valentine to my Hometown