Places to eat n things to do in Buffalo??

[1313]

One of the best places to stay (and eat), one of the area's hidden gems, the Roycroft Inn in East Aurora. Gorgeous, tons of history, great area ...boggles my mind that it hasn't even been mentioned yet.

http://www.roycroftinn.com/

The village is nice, but the Roycroft isn't what it used to be.

[kanatablues]

The village is nice, but the Roycroft isn't what it used to be.

Really? If true, I'm very saddened to hear that. The lunch buffets at least were always excellent - the food, service, and ambiance. Seemed like a local trust. I've haven't been back for a couple of years but simply, every time I went there (with family or friends) I was blown away. And of course, it was an important part of the American Arts and Crafts Movement, for those who care about such things. 8 mil went into the original restoration from (local banks?) what I remember, hard to believe it wasn't more. Easy to knock something down, however, not only did I always find it absolutely wonderful but an important and continuing part of American culture ... yet folks wanna talk about wings and beef-on-weck instead. Don't get me wrong, over the years I spent thousand at Duffs and Charlies, etc ... not the same.

[Wise-1]

Well, I roll sushi for a living and nothing says class like taking your girl out for sushi and sake. Try Kunis. It's a little hole in the wall place, but it's awesome. When I tried to ask the guys I was tailgating with where to get good sushi, they all looked at me like I was from another planet, haha. Found it on Google restaurant finder.

SUSHI!!

I love Kuni's like you said hole in the wall place but it is a gem and a must. Lexington av off of elmwood!!

[LINDA_D]

Festivals. Free concerts. Professional sports. Museums. Public parks. Food. Proximity to other cities. It seems you're merely mentioning the features of all cities, instead or really focusing on what makes Buffalo special.

To an outsider then , what would really APPEAL to make you come here, outside of Niagara Falls? Museums and architecture are not going to entertain you for long

Actually, museums and architecture can be big business. Last October, Buffalo hosted the national convention of historic preservationists and won rave reviews from visitors.

More to the point, there are two ways of looking at a place: from the visitor's POV and from the resident's POV. Visitors tend to look for somewhat special places to eat and things to see/do that might be unique to the area or things that they might NOT have opportunity to do at home. Residents' lists of "things to do" are going to be much more generic and available in many/most cities in the US.

Toronto is famous for "things to do", especially its downtown area. I have relatives who were born and raised in Toronto and who only go to the downtown area when I'm in town to see the sights. Otherwise, their "things to do" involve dining, shopping, and entertainment in their own area (Swansea). I suspect that's how it is with most people who live in most bigger metro areas around the US and Canada. Special events will draw from all over to a central point (a Bills game, a big-time concert, Allentown Arts festival, etc), but most residents will gravitate towards much more localized events/attractions/businesses like a little hole-in-the-wall ethnic restaurant or a free concert in a local park or shopping at the local Tops.

[LINDA_D]

So, I grew up here until I was 18, went to Florida for College, and then lived in Seattle for the last 5 years. I have to say that this statement has more falsehoods than truth. If you're a sportsfan Buffalo is a great place to be in the fall and winter. I would say our enthusiasm with our local clubs competes with the strongest in the nation (Boston,Chicago,Pittsburgh and NYC, imo). As to the other "stuff to do" there isn't much. You have to search pretty hard to find something that doesn't involve a bar(which I don't mind, but some folks do). And honestly, our bar scene leaves a ton to be desired.

As far as "great food" goes, Buffalo has great food if you want to be 300 lbs and have diabetes. I love pizza, subs, wings, roast beef, but I've already started to feel like garbage again (in a way I didn't feel like in Seattle. When you're talking about things that are not fast food/fried/pizza, Buffalo actually has limited options, with no restaurant deserving of a true fine dining label (as far as I've seen. I haven't been everywhere). The restaurants that try to pass themselves off as fine dining downtown are largely rubbish (save for Left bank). You can have some great experiences, but you better know where you are going and you better plan on driving to have that experience. If places like mighty taco and jims steakout appear on the front page of yelp searches, your culinary diversity leaves a lot to be desired. That being said, I have about 5 places that I like a lot that would thrive in any city. Unfortunately 2 of the five take about 30 minutes to get to from Downtown. If you're new to microbrew (called "craft beer" here) Buffalo has a few good options, but most of the breweries, EBC, Flying Bison, Saranac would not be able to survive west of the rockies. Not to mention, we have to pay out the nose for beer here.Fortunately, some places have a nice selection of imports from the rest of the country, but you'll pay 50% more than what it cost there. I don't know if a new tax went into place while I was gone, but paying 8.99 - 10.99+deposit for a sixpack of these kinds of offerings is absurd.

The salary/cost of living ratio here is pathetic. It's amazing how we've all been duped into thinking how much more expensive to live anywhere else and how great the ratio is here. It's nonsense.

I love this town, and I always will. I love my seasons, I love my sports, and I love My dogs/pizza/subs. I hadn't had a decent hotdog in 5 years until I came home. And home is exactly what this place is. The city of good neighbors bit is much more accurate than it would be anywhere else I've been, and people are tougher here than any place I've been.

However, our local government/corporations do an awful lot of lying to us about what a good life is, and how Buffalo compares, and seemingly we do a lot of it to our ourselves.

So, what "other stuff" do you do for recreation in Seattle that doesn't involve sports or bars or beer?

[TheElectricCompany]

So, what "other stuff" do you do for recreation in Seattle that doesn't involve sports or bars or beer?

I'd imagine the Olympic Mountains provide world class recreational opportunities
Olympic_Mountains_with_Seattle.jpg

[LINDA_D]

I'd imagine the Olympic Mountains provide world class recreational opportunities
Olympic_Mountains_with_Seattle.jpg

Undoubtedly, but there are plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities in/around Buffalo, too. From his posts, he seems to be more of a foodie and beer aficianodo than a backcountry hiker, though, so I was wondering just what it was about recreation in Seattle that is so much better than Buffalo's.

[bozemankid]

I mean, Buffalo is no Bozeman, Montana, but I'd give anything to be close to my team. For a weekend last year, I traded my mountains for a packed RWS! Never regretted it!

[TheElectricCompany]

Undoubtedly, but there are plenty of outdoor recreation opportunities in/around Buffalo, too. From his posts, he seems to be more of a foodie and beer aficianodo than a backcountry hiker, though, so I was wondering just what it was about recreation in Seattle that is so much better than Buffalo's.

As you mentioned earlier, there's two perspectives here. Views of Buffalo from outsiders, and views of Buffalo from residents. I don't want to turn this into a "Buffalo sucks" thread, so I'll focus my responses on an outsider perspective. I could ramble on for days on why I believe Buffalo lacks in appeal from a residential aspect.

In regards to outdoor opportunities, yes they're here, but to an outsider, the land based activities are sub-par. Outsiders who are serious about hiking, backpacking, skiing, etc, are much more likely to head to the Rockies, PNW, lower Appalachians or NE for these activites. Nobody's coming to Buffalo to check out Chestnut Ridge and Alleghany SP.

For water based activities , Buffalo really excels. There's a high barrier of entry to get involved with boating, but for fishing and paddle sports (minimal whitewater), you can have a pretty good time in WNY.

[Tates]

As you mentioned earlier, there's two perspectives here. Views of Buffalo from outsiders, and views of Buffalo from residents. I don't want to turn this into a "Buffalo sucks" thread, so I'll focus my responses on an outsider perspective. I could ramble on for days on why I believe Buffalo lacks in appeal from a residential aspect.

In regards to outdoor opportunities, yes they're here, but to an outsider, the land based activities are sub-par. Outsiders who are serious about hiking, backpacking, skiing, etc, are much more likely to head to the Rockies, PNW, lower Appalachians or NE for these activites. Nobody's coming to Buffalo to check out Chestnut Ridge and Alleghany SP.

For water based activities , Buffalo really excels. It's a high barrier entry to get involved with boating, but for fishing and paddle sports (minimal whitewater), you can have a pretty good time in WNY.

Alleghany is underrated - the hikes are perfect for families with youngsters - serious hikers might scoff, but trails in the sierras and the rockies and cascades can be too dangerous for kids. My earliest memories are of the Bear Caves and Thunder Rocks - took my kids there several times - hope to take grandkids there some day

Agree on the water parts - Chautauqua is one of the best areas in the country.

[VinceBills]

An unusual kind of tour would be the Forest Lawn Cemetery tours (off Delaware Ave.) I'm sure they still have tours going before Halloween. Haven't done one personally, but have heard folks praise these highly.

[NOVABilliever]

They have guided tours of old abandoned buildings and industrial sites if you're into that...

If you're lying to me I'll be so upset.

[Cin4theBills]

Try driving to Letchworth state park for gorgeous autumn views.....

[WilliamCody]

If you're lying to me I'll be so upset.

Can't tell if serious, but...

I'll link to some sites because you still-natives may want to check this out too. These are amazing tours. Buffalo has an incredibly rich industrial, cultural, and economic history that is completely lost in the "rust-belt/failing city" narrative. There are some GREAT tours of the city out there that can take you to some places you'd never thought you'd be able to go even though you drive past them all the time.

http://www.buffaloindustrialheritage.com/

http://www.preservationbuffaloniagar...trial-history/

http://www.brownstoner.com/blog/2012...of-buffalo-ny/

I may be biased, but I LOVE the below self-guided tour of the elevator district

http://www.buffalohistoryworks.com/g...n/location.htm

Also, ghost walks - which are incredibly fun!

http://www.masonwinfield.com/

http://www.buffaloghosttour.com/

http://www.hauntedhistoryghostwalks.com/

Tourist or Local alike, any of these tours are well worth it.

[standingbuffalo]

Haven' been to the city in years. Are there any good fish fry places left around town. Thats one thing i really miss.