Buffalo in Summertime - what to do?
May 26, 2018 4:09 PM Subscribe
Going to be in Buffalo for 24 hours midweek the last week in June. Fun things to do? Must-try restaurants and breweries? Driving from Mass. Any interesting stops along the way? Thanks in advance for any awesome insider Buffalo info.
Community Beerworks and Big Ditch for breweries. We have so. many. good. restaurants. (also food trucks). Lloyd’s (restaurant or truck) for fantastic tacos. Black Sheep for farm to table. Clay Handi for Indian/Pakistani. Sun Cuisine for Thai/Burmese/sushi. Amy’s Place for the best damn diner food/vegan food/Lebanese food out there (note that they only take cash.) Lake Effect for ice cream (that might be what cornflakegirl had at the Dish, as they’re served at a lot of local places; they have their own storefront as well.)
Memail me if you’d like personalized recommendations and/or would like to grab a beverage while you’re in town.
(I work down by the waterfront and heartily agree with cornflakegirl -THE SHIPS ARE SO COOL.)
posted by okayokayigive at 5:12 PM on May 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
Memail me if you’d like personalized recommendations and/or would like to grab a beverage while you’re in town.
(I work down by the waterfront and heartily agree with cornflakegirl -THE SHIPS ARE SO COOL.)
posted by okayokayigive at 5:12 PM on May 26, 2018 [4 favorites]
I think this is the restaurant that an online twitter-acquaintance has worked at for a while ...sounds like it's good nosh regardless.
posted by wires at 8:22 PM on May 26, 2018
posted by wires at 8:22 PM on May 26, 2018
Buffalo: America's Best Designed City. Hopefully some tips!
posted by wires at 8:23 PM on May 26, 2018
posted by wires at 8:23 PM on May 26, 2018
You'd have to check the schedule, but Shakespeare in Delaware Park is one of the best shakespeares-in-the-park in the state. It's best to get food to bring with you and get a good spot early.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:26 PM on May 26, 2018
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:26 PM on May 26, 2018
It's really super-touristy, but if you've never seen Niagara Falls, then a visit to Niagara Falls State Park is really something. It'll cost you $10 to park; I'd recommend to park in Lot 1 (pdf map) then get out and take a walk (no charge for that). If it's a nice day there'll be a ton of people but that's because it's pretty awesome to walk over to Luna Island and stand on the edge of the Falls.
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 3:50 AM on May 27, 2018
posted by Mary Ellen Carter at 3:50 AM on May 27, 2018
Pocketeer Billiards has 60 pinball machines, if you’re into that sort of thing.
posted by OrangeVelour at 6:31 AM on May 27, 2018
posted by OrangeVelour at 6:31 AM on May 27, 2018
Best answer: Buffalo is one of my favorite cities to visit. I don't drink, so I can't help you on the breweries, but it's a really great food town. In particular, Buffalo does fast food extremely well. There are a ton of mom-and-pops and local chains selling local delicacies like chicken wings and beef on weck, as well as more traditional fare. If I only had one day, I'd probably go for a beef on weck (or two) from Charlie the Butcher and a chicken finger sub from Jim's Steak Out. And I'd probably get a taco from Mighty Taco as a snack. Or maybe a pizza from Bob and John's.
If you're looking for nicer dining options, I would throw out Allen Burger Venture, Chef's (Italian), Kostas or Mythos (Greek), and Betty's (American).
Spot Coffee is the big local chain. Id recommend Caffe Aroma, which is a small place attached to a great bookstore.
In terms of fun stuff to do, well, there's a lot of that too. Your three areas of focus should be Canalside (covered pretty well upthread), Elmwood Village (quaint shopping and dining, the most walkable neighborhood), and Delaware Park (an Olmsted park created for the 1901 World's Fair with a zoo and a wonderful Shakespeare in the Park). Near the park are the art museum (Albright-Knox) and the Darwin Martin House, a wonderfully-restored Frank Lloyd Wright prairie house.
There's not much to do along the way. The Mass Pike becomes the NYS Thruway, only really hitting a couple of cities. The good news is that the drive between those cities (Albany and Syracuse) is extraordinarily scenic - great views of the Mohawk Valley.
And yeah, if you're there, you have to go up and see the Falls. Totally worth it. If you have a passport, the Canadian side is better, although a bit too commercial now.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:37 AM on May 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you're looking for nicer dining options, I would throw out Allen Burger Venture, Chef's (Italian), Kostas or Mythos (Greek), and Betty's (American).
Spot Coffee is the big local chain. Id recommend Caffe Aroma, which is a small place attached to a great bookstore.
In terms of fun stuff to do, well, there's a lot of that too. Your three areas of focus should be Canalside (covered pretty well upthread), Elmwood Village (quaint shopping and dining, the most walkable neighborhood), and Delaware Park (an Olmsted park created for the 1901 World's Fair with a zoo and a wonderful Shakespeare in the Park). Near the park are the art museum (Albright-Knox) and the Darwin Martin House, a wonderfully-restored Frank Lloyd Wright prairie house.
There's not much to do along the way. The Mass Pike becomes the NYS Thruway, only really hitting a couple of cities. The good news is that the drive between those cities (Albany and Syracuse) is extraordinarily scenic - great views of the Mohawk Valley.
And yeah, if you're there, you have to go up and see the Falls. Totally worth it. If you have a passport, the Canadian side is better, although a bit too commercial now.
posted by kevinbelt at 6:37 AM on May 27, 2018 [1 favorite]
If you have any interest in industrial/urban decay-type buildings, you might enjoy checking out the old grain elevators. They're located just south of Canalside. Explore Buffalo offers walking tours of the elevators, or you can rent a kayak from Elevator Alley Kayak and see them from the water.
I also second many of the suggestions above: Niagara Falls, Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House, Big Ditch Brewing, Shakespeare in the Park, Elmwood Village, and the chicken finger sub (with blue cheese!) from Jim's Steakout.
posted by oiseau at 2:35 PM on May 27, 2018
I also second many of the suggestions above: Niagara Falls, Frank Lloyd Wright's Darwin Martin House, Big Ditch Brewing, Shakespeare in the Park, Elmwood Village, and the chicken finger sub (with blue cheese!) from Jim's Steakout.
posted by oiseau at 2:35 PM on May 27, 2018
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We also checked out the Naval and Military Park and despite having no major interest in army-related things, we were amazed by how good it was. You can basically explore 2 ships and a submarine, if I remember right. All were fascinating....could have spent way more than a couple of hours there! And when I say explore I mean everything...nothing was off limits. It was amazing. Not like your usual tour where you see a few things. You get to climb all over the ships and sub..up ladders, down steps. It's very cool, you really live the history.
Also got some nice food nearby at night and just enjoyed a walk by the water. We enjoyed our 24 hours there! We also read up a little about Buffalo's history and did a bit of a walk downtown - some really amazing buildings!
And actually, I'd read this book a few years before: City of Light ...not my usual thing, but it's a strangely compelling historical novel based on Buffalo's history with being one of the first cities to get electricity/hydroelectric power from Niagara...kind of cool also when you read that, and how it was really a leading city, in its prime at the turn of the last century, then to see the buildings today. It's past its glory days now it seems...I saw nobody walking downtown, only cars, which was strange as I'm from Europe! But still great to see the architecture, it looks great... and it seemed like a nice place! Yes, somehow I found Buffalo really fascinating! Was just talking about it tonight at dinner actually! Enjoy your visit!
posted by cornflakegirl at 5:06 PM on May 26, 2018 [4 favorites]