Food Wars-Buffalo!

While I admittedly don’t watch the travel channel much, nor do I have a horse in the “Who has the best chicken wings in Buffalo” race, this is kind of cool.

chicken-wings

The travel channel is launching a new show called Food Wars, and their first episode (airing at 10 p.m. Tuesday, March 9) features Buffalo! See details about the show and the episode below:

Food Wars Summary
There’s a debate brewing across the country with legions of loyal fans passionately defending the local eateries and the iconic dishes that make their towns famous. Travel Channel’s newest show, Food Wars, sets out to find the country’s most celebrated dishes – foods that define destinations and create local rivalries spanning generations – and settle the debate, “Who makes the Best Dish in Town?” once and for all. We’re featuring two cities, Buffalo and Chicago, for the premiere in back-to-back episodes of Food Wars on March 9 beginning at 10pm.

Rivalry Details – Buffalo
In Buffalo, NY there is a forty-year food war between Anchor Bar and Duff’s – each claiming to have the best chicken wings in town. The iconic dish was first invented by the people at Anchor Bar earning the restaurant the reputation as being “home to the original”. But first doesn’t necessarily mean “best” and many Buffalonians believe that Duff’s is where it’s at when it comes to Buffalo Chicken Wings. A few years after Anchor Bar, Duff’s began selling its own version of wings and people have been “flocking” to it ever since. But does Duff’s have what it takes to knock the original off its pedestal? It’s gonna take a star-studded blind taste taster panel and even a visit from the city Mayor to settle this city’s serious wing war – which side will you be on?

Check out the preview:

BufBloPoFo Day 2

I’m using Mike’s prompt loosely today. He put out a topic about food, so I’m going to write about my favorite places to eat in and around Buffalo, and my favorite foods there.

1. Woo Chon (Korea House), 402 Evans Rd., Williamsville

Delicious, authentic Korean food. The best thing to do is to sit at one of the barbecue tables and order bulgagi (chicken or beef. both are good, but the beef is unbelievable).

2. The Village Grille, Main Street, Williamsville

Best. Hummus. Ever.

3. Taste of India (Sheridan Drive, Amherst)/India Gate (Elmwood Ave., Buffalo)

I don’t know if I can even pick one meal. The chicken malai and chicken muglai are my favorites. The naan is amazing. Appetizers are fantastic. I love this place.

4. Gabriel’s Gate, Allen Street, Buffalo

My favorite place for sandwiches/burgers.

5. Fat Bob’s, Virginia Place, Buffalo

I always get the pulled pork and either macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes. Oh, who am I kidding…mac & cheese AND potatoes. Yum.

6. Cole’s, Elmwood Ave., Buffalo

The Clancy. So bad for me, and soooooo good.

I could go on…but I won’t. Geez, now I’m hungry. 😉

Ookla/Greg Klyma show August 1

Text stolen from an email Rand sent his friends:

Sixteen years ago, Ookla the Mok performed their first live show at a bar in Buffalo called Broadway Joe’s. Ten years ago, Greg Klyma left the security of a day job and began the life of a professional touring musician. Ookla and Greg (along with friends Tom Bianchi and Sick) will celebrate these variant anniversaries by performing a show together at Broadway Joe’s on August 1.

This show will serve as CD release party for Greg’s new album, “Rust Belt Vagabond,” as well as a return for Ookla to the venue that started it all.

The Place: Broadway Joe’s
3051 Main Street (Buffalo)
http://bjoes. com/

The Date: Friday, August 1, 2008

The Time: Doors at 7:30, show at 8:00

The Price: Ten dollars at the door.

Please help us spread the word — let anyone you know who loves Greg Klyma or Ookla the Mok know about this show. While you’re at it, let anyone you know who you *think* might love Ookla the Mok or Greg Klyma know about the show as well.

And as always, thanks for the support!

TGIF

Halfway through the last day of my first week. It’s going fine…the end of April is a weird time to come in to a classroom. Spring fever has hit–hard–and so it’s going to be difficult for anyone to keep a class under control. But overall, I really can’t complain. I’m reading The House on Mango Street with my 8th graders, and they seem to be liking it so far.

Yeah, I know I haven’t been blogging much…it’s not even so much a matter of time as it is a matter of mental energy. I updated the wedding blog this week, and I regularly update my twitter feed . (You can see my most recent tweets on my sidebar, too.)

Met up with Jen last night for dinner and margaritas at Cozumel, and that was great. 🙂

Tonight, Ookla and The Fibs are playing at Nietzche’s. It’s an early one–I believe the show starts at 6, and Ookla will go on around 8. I’ll be there, if anyone would like to come by!

That’s it for me. Happy Friday!

Home sweet home

BufBloPoFo Topic for Day 9: Share your own insider’s perspective on your hometown. Most of you, like me, are Talkin’ Proud, so share your expertise. What’s your favorite way to spend a Buffalo summer day? Which old timey Buffalo movie theatre is to most old timey? What’s your most vivid Buffalo memory (any Buffalonian worth his or her road salt knows where they were when the pigskin went wide right.) Your favorite Buffalo restaurant? (If you say Wild Wings, you’re dead to me.)

If you aren’t a Buffalonian, what should we know about your hometown?

Well, as many of you are aware, I am *not* a native Buffalonian, but I have made it my home for the past eight years and don’t see that changing in the near future. So I shall answer this question in two parts.

Part 1: Things I dig about Buffalo (and WNY)

Summer in Buffalo rocks. Shakespeare in Delaware Park. Countless festivals involving bad-for-you (but oh-so-good) food. Thursday at the Square.

I love Buffalo’s proximity to Toronto and Niagara Falls.

I love the fact that you can get such a variety of amazing food without having to go too far for it. Within 15 minutes of my apartment, I can get fantastic Greek, Korean, Indian, Chinese, Thai, and Japanese food…not to mention great pizza and wings!

Asking me to choose a favorite Buffalo restaurant…sigh. How can I possibly choose? Here are a few favorites, both within city limits and not: Gabriel’s Gate. Towne. Pano’s. India Gate/Taste of India. The Village Grille. Korea House. Morning Glory Cafe. Cole’s.

I love Wegmans. I love being able to get pretty much anywhere in 20 minutes. I love sitting by Glen Falls in the spring. But more than anything else, I like all the people I’ve met here!

Part 2: My hometown

Grew up in St. Marys, PA, a small town in northwestern Pennsylvania. What should you know about it? It isn’t near anything. It’s not near Erie, it’s not near Pittsburgh, it’s not near Philadelphia. The closest known commodity is State College (home of Penn State University), and that’s like an hour and a half away.

It was settled by German Catholics. It has a brewery and a convent. It consolidated with a surrounding township to gain the dubious distinction of ‘city’. And even though I’ve made Buffalo my adopted home, St. Marys will always be home.