California bills fans coming to town, need local advice

[Norcalbillsfan]

Bought my Monday night football tickets, bringing my California friends, none of them have been to Buffalo, been telling them for years that buffalo is an awesome downtown bar scene. I haven't been back to buffalo in about 8 years and I want to make sure I show them the best. 

We are a meat eating craft beer drinking crew. Would love some advice from the local mafia.

- most importantly best breweries

- obviously wings

- tap house/ laid back beer drinking bars

- steak house

- where we should get an air bnb

- advice on getting to and leaving game

- anything else you guys can think of

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated thanks guys. Go bills.

 

[ngbills]

Big Ditch and Pressure Drop for beer. Resurgance is decent as well. 

[nato7412]

Gotta do wings weck and pizza imo. Bar bill or bar bill north you can do wings and weck and then pizza you could do la nova, they have good wings as well, picassos and bocce club are very good too. Buffalo chophouse is a very fun steakhouse. I haven't been but you could also go to Russells. Just get to the game early for tailgate, I haven't been to a night game but aim to get there by 5pm I'd say. If you want to show them the falls you could go to the duffs out there as well! Have fun! 

Edited October 29, 2021 by nato7412

[JoPoy88]

In addition to the ones named above: Hofbrauhaus and the new Southern Tier brewery. Both downtown.

[PromoTheRobot]

24 minutes ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Bought my Monday night football tickets, bringing my California friends, none of them have been to Buffalo, been telling them for years that buffalo is an awesome downtown bar scene. I haven't been back to buffalo in about 8 years and I want to make sure I show them the best. 

We are a meat eating craft beer drinking crew. Would love some advice from the local mafia.

- most importantly best breweries

- obviously wings

- tap house/ laid back beer drinking bars

- steak house

- where we should get an air bnb

- advice on getting to and leaving game

- anything else you guys can think of

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated thanks guys. Go bills.

 

 

Old First Ward Brewing inside Gene McCarthy's Pub on Hamburg St. Great wings, beef on weck, fish fry. Try their Hefeweizen.

https://www.genemccarthys.com/

 

Then cross the street to the Barrell Factory and stop by Lakeward Distilling and Pressure Drop Brewery.
https://www.barrelfactory.com/welcome.html

 

Also in the same neighborhood are Resurgence, Belt Line, Flying Bison, and Buffalo Distilling. Home of the One Foot ####.

 

Other food options in that area: Paula's Donuts, Hydraulic Hearth, Carbone's Pizzeria, DiTondo's, and Duende Silo City.

Edited October 29, 2021 by PromoTheRobot

[BillsFan619]

35 minutes ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Bought my Monday night football tickets, bringing my California friends, none of them have been to Buffalo, been telling them for years that buffalo is an awesome downtown bar scene. I haven't been back to buffalo in about 8 years and I want to make sure I show them the best. 

We are a meat eating craft beer drinking crew. Would love some advice from the local mafia.

- most importantly best breweries

- obviously wings

- tap house/ laid back beer drinking bars

- steak house

- where we should get an air bnb

- advice on getting to and leaving game

- anything else you guys can think of

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated thanks guys. Go bills.

 

Hey bro. I live in SoCal but my parents used to live in upstate New York.

 

You’ve got to try Abbott’s Pizza for the pizza and wings.

 

I know this one is obvious but don’t forget Niagara Falls as well.

 

Have fun!

[RoyBatty is alive]

25 minutes ago, nato7412 said:

Gotta do wings weck and pizza imo. Bar bill or bar bill north you can do wings and weck and then pizza you could do la nova, they have good wings as well, picassos and bocce club are very good too. Buffalo chophouse is a very fun steakhouse. I haven't been but you could also go to Russells. Just get to the game early for tailgate, I haven't been to a night game but aim to get there by 5pm I'd say. If you want to show them the falls you could go to the duffs out there as well! Have fun! 

Gotta do real Roast beef on Kimmelwick, if you can go to Schwabls!!

[YoloinOhio]

Hamburg Brewery!

[JohnBonhamRocks]

Bar Bill (EA) for wings & beef on weck 

 

Pearl Street Grille is fun downtown

 

Edit: also if you are in Allentown, Cantina Loco at the corner of Allen & Elmwood (and diagonal from Jim’s) is nice for Mexican food & margs

Edited October 29, 2021 by JohnBonhamRocks

[Norcalbillsfan]

8 minutes ago, RoyBatty is alive said:

Gotta do real Roast beef on Kimmelwick, if you can go to Schwabls!!

Beef on weck has been one of the hardest to try to explain to my California friends haha. So I definitely want to take them to get some,  thanks for the advice.

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

52 minutes ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Bought my Monday night football tickets, bringing my California friends, none of them have been to Buffalo, been telling them for years that buffalo is an awesome downtown bar scene. I haven't been back to buffalo in about 8 years and I want to make sure I show them the best. 

We are a meat eating craft beer drinking crew. Would love some advice from the local mafia.

- most importantly best breweries

- obviously wings

- tap house/ laid back beer drinking bars

- steak house

- where we should get an air bnb

- advice on getting to and leaving game

- anything else you guys can think of

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated thanks guys. Go bills.

 

 

Beer - Big ditch, Froth, Britesmith, Thin man

Wings - Barbill, never had wingnutz but they're supposed to be bomb

Tap House - I personally love moorpat and moor room

Steak house - Russells, chophouse, sear

Air BNB - I live here so i have no idea.  If its in elmwood village make sure you get off street parking.

Leaving - if you're going north i would park in a lot where you can turn right onto abbott towards milestrip.  You'll be stuck in 219/90 traffic but you won't have to turn left onto abbott(or add time by going to southwestern to big tree) which will add to your trip

Advice - Not sure when you plan to arrive to the tailgate and what supplies you have - but wegmans subs are clutch at a tailgate if you don't have a grill.  If you pick up a pizza on the way that would probably work well too.

6 minutes ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Beef on weck has been one of the hardest to try to explain to my California friends haha. So I definitely want to take them to get some,  thanks for the advice.

 

sort of a french dip without cheese, like 3x the meat, and a weird roll.  Extra horseradish.

[Utah John]

Is the Canadian Ballet still in business?

[LabattBlue]

1 hour ago, PromoTheRobot said:

 

Old First Ward Brewing inside Gene McCarthy's Pub on Hamburg St. Great wings, beef on weck, fish fry. Try their Hefeweizen.

https://www.genemccarthys.com/

 

Then cross the street to the Barrell Factory and stop by Lakeward Distilling and Pressure Drop Brewery.
https://www.barrelfactory.com/welcome.html

 

Also in the same neighborhood are Resurgence, Belt Line, Flying Bison, and Buffalo Distilling. Home of the One Foot ####.

 

Other food options in that area: Paula's Donuts, Hydraulic Hearth, Carbone's Pizzeria, DiTondo's, and Duende Silo City.

Also, as long as you are in Larkinville, Marinaro’s is always good. 😉

[Draconator]

Not cheap, but Schwabl's for Beef on Weck and amazing mixed drinks. 

[ngbills]

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/24122608?adults=6&location=Buffalo%2C NY&previous_page_section_name=1001&translate_ugc=false&federated_search_id=5e07fb05-cb33-4fe0-8023-5f25d99a9cda&guests=1

[T&C]

You should take your friends to ALLENtown and hit Gabriel's Gate, awesome place with great wings and food. There is also a Jim's Steakout right up the street.

[TPS]

IMO, the micro breweries that make the best beer are Community Beer Works and McCarthy's (Promo linked above).  I like to hit Flying Bison because Tim (the original owner) was one of the pioneers in Buffalo and their beer is good too. 

 

oh, and Southern Tier is one my favorite IPAs, and they've taken over the old 716 restaurant which has a giant screen TV if you want to watch football on Sunday.  It's down near the Arena.

 

Edited October 29, 2021 by TPS

[RiotAct]

Heck yeah, I’ll be at MNF also.  Gonna aim to start tailgating around 3 or so.  You should look for the covered wagon in the Hammer Lot, I’ll hook you up with a Jagerbomb or three. 

also, I second @dneveu’s recommendation of Moor Pat in Williamsville.  Britesmith (right across the street) also makes a good IPA — I can’t speak personally to their other beers yet.

[Freddie's Dead]

My beef on weck go to is Charlie the Butcher in Williamsville.  You can get it cooked to order, from mooing to well done.  Not much ambiance, but it's delicious.

Edited October 30, 2021 by Freddie's Dead

[Nextmanup]

For steaks, Buffalo Chophouse.  One of the better restaurants in town.

 

If you guys are foodies, Tempo is still the best restaurant in town IMO, but expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

1 hour ago, RiotAct said:

Heck yeah, I’ll be at MNF also.  Gonna aim to start tailgating around 3 or so.  You should look for the covered wagon in the Hammer Lot, I’ll hook you up with a Jagerbomb or three. 

also, I second @dneveu’s recommendation of Moor Pat in Williamsville.  Britesmith (right across the street) also makes a good IPA — I can’t speak personally to their other beers yet.

 

I probably went to moorpat like 20 times before i ever ordered food... and that is a mistaaaake.  They have great wings and their homemade pizza and cuban logs are top notch.  

[Roundybout]

3 hours ago, JohnBonhamRocks said:

Bar Bill (EA) for wings & beef on weck 

 

Pearl Street Grille is fun downtown

 

Edit: also if you are in Allentown, Cantina Loco at the corner of Allen & Elmwood (and diagonal from Jim’s) is nice for Mexican food & margs

 

Alas alas, Cantina Loco went out of business during the COVID pandemic. It's supposed to be Casa Azul now but they haven't moved in yet. I miss their pork belly tacos terribly. Don Tequila down the street rules. 

 

@Norcalbillsfan if you need wings, Bar Bill is a great bet. My favorite is Elmo's but that's in North Amherst by UB North Campus so it might be a little out of your way. 

 

A criminally underrated beef on weck is Eddie Brady's Bar downtown. A little hole in the wall place with cheap beer and Pat is a great bartender. 

Edited October 29, 2021 by BillsEnthusiast

[boater]

This is a repetitive topic. I'm OK with thtat. I never turn my back on an out of town visitor, especially a Bills fan.

 

Someone should compile a "How to Visit for a Bills" game document that covers all these issues. I have vague memory of a pinned thread that sort of addressed this need.

 

They could do it in Google Drive and accept community edits. Make it a living document, always up to date.

[hondo in seattle]

On 10/29/2021 at 4:25 PM, boater said:

This is a repetitive topic. I'm OK with thtat. I never turn my back on an out of town visitor, especially a Bills fan.

 

Someone should compile a "How to Visit for a Bills" game document that covers all these issues. I have vague memory of a pinned thread that sort of addressed this need.

 

They could do it in Google Drive and accept community edits. Make it a living document, always up to date.

 

As someone who only gets back to Buffalo once every few years, I'd love to see something like that.

 

On 10/29/2021 at 4:22 PM, BillsEnthusiast said:

 

Alas alas, Cantina Loco went out of business during the COVID pandemic. It's supposed to be Casa Azul now but they haven't moved in yet. I miss their pork belly tacos terribly. Don Tequila down the street rules. 

 

@Norcalbillsfan if you need wings, Bar Bill is a great bet. My favorite is Elmo's but that's in North Amherst by UB North Campus so it might be a little out of your way. 

 

A criminally underrated beef on weck is Eddie Brady's Bar downtown. A little hole in the wall place with cheap beer and Pat is a great bartender. 

 

My Filipina wife makes grilled marinated pork belly that my Mexican friends use for tacos.   They're fantastic.   Maybe we should open a restaurant on Elmwood.  

 

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by hondo in seattle

[947]

I'll be flying from Chicago for the Week 17 Atlanta game, I haven't been to the Ralph in about 15 years & I'll have my 2 teen sons with me for their first experience. I'm taking notes of all these responses.

 

Do people sell food in the tailgate lots? I'll only be in BUF 2 days & don't really want to buy a mini grill just to leave there.

[gomper]

52 minutes ago, 947 said:

I'll be flying from Chicago for the Week 17 Atlanta game, I haven't been to the Ralph in about 15 years & I'll have my 2 teen sons with me for their first experience. I'm taking notes of all these responses.

 

Do people sell food in the tailgate lots? I'll only be in BUF 2 days & don't really want to buy a mini grill just to leave there.

Sell? No. Not that I've seen but your neighbors will almost certainly share. Mostly everyone brings too much food anyway lol. At the Denver game, the guy next to me gave me a cured meat sandwich that was out of this world. 

 

No need to worry.  Bring the good energy and you'll be hooked up. 

[Draconator]

2 hours ago, dneveu said:

 

I probably went to moorpat like 20 times before i ever ordered food... and that is a mistaaaake.  They have great wings and their homemade pizza and cuban logs are top notch.  

My band may very likely play Moorpat next year during Music on Main. We usually play at Cabernets Wine Cafe.

[JohnBonhamRocks]

4 hours ago, BillsEnthusiast said:

 

Alas alas, Cantina Loco went out of business during the COVID pandemic. It's supposed to be Casa Azul now but they haven't moved in yet. I miss their pork belly tacos terribly. Don Tequila down the street rules. 

Aw man I forgot, you’re right. RIP

[BeastMode54]

Beer - Resurgence

Wings - Bar Bill

Steak - Russells

[Teddy KGB]

Bar Bill has the beer the weck and the wings.  

[Augie]

10 hours ago, BillsFan619 said:

Hey bro. I live in SoCal but my parents used to live in upstate New York.

 

You’ve got to try Abbott’s Pizza for the pizza and wings.

 

I know this one is obvious but don’t forget Niagara Falls as well.

 

Have fun!

 

I went to the Falls before the opener with my wife, son and DIL. It was insanely windy as we waited to board The Maid of the Mist. I’m talking 20 mph winds with 40 mph gusts. It was HYSTERICAL! Your lightweight souvenir poncho was blowing up over your head as BUCKETS of water splashed onto you! You learned to trap the poncho between your knees to hold it down. All you could see was “mist” like a hose in your face. I told them to come back another time so they could actually see the Falls, which are amazing! 

[Richard Noggin]

8 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

For steaks, Buffalo Chophouse.  One of the better restaurants in town.

 

If you guys are foodies, Tempo is still the best restaurant in town IMO, but expensive.

 

 

 

 

 

Tempo never reopened after the pandemic. (I worked there until it closed.)

 

But more importantly: no one mentioning The Pink yet is ludicrous. Shameful.

 

Go to the Pink if you're out late in Allentown. Best dive in town. Great music (not live), solid steak sandwiches, and no bro-vibes (mostly just a bunch of drunken weirdos, as it should be).

Edited October 30, 2021 by Richard Noggin

[BillsFan619]

3 hours ago, Augie said:

 

I went to the Falls before the opener with my wife, son and DIL. It was insanely windy as we waited to board The Maid of the Mist. I’m talking 20 mph winds with 40 mph gusts. It was HYSTERICAL! Your lightweight souvenir poncho was blowing up over your head as BUCKETS of water splashed onto you! You learned to trap the poncho between your knees to hold it down. All you could see was “mist” like a hose in your face. I told them to come back another time so they could actually see the Falls, which are amazing! 

Wow, bro. Crazy.

[machine gun kelly]

15 hours ago, BillsFan619 said:

Hey bro. I live in SoCal but my parents used to live in upstate New York.

 

You’ve got to try Abbott’s Pizza for the pizza and wings.

 

I know this one is obvious but don’t forget Niagara Falls as well.

 

Have fun!

Beef on Weck is almost more important than wings as you can get good wings outside if Buffalo.  I know symbolic though, but real Buffalo is Beef in Weck and Pizza.  Abbott and Blasdell Pizza tastes almost exactly the same as Harry (original Blasdell owner took his recipe from Abbott - they were friends).

 

If it was warmer I’d say do the Cave if the Winds under Niagara Falls on American side as you walk underneath some of the falls, and of course maid of the mist.  In the fall too cold.  You’ll have a great time, and lots of good steakhouses.

 

Tell you’re friends the best part of Buffalo are the people.  

[WotAGuy]

Hey Juice is that you??  Mighty Taco is still around!

[Norcalbillsfan]

20 hours ago, boater said:

This is a repetitive topic. I'm OK with thtat. I never turn my back on an out of town visitor, especially a Bills fan.

 

Someone should compile a "How to Visit for a Bills" game document that covers all these issues. I have vague memory of a pinned thread that sort of addressed this need.

 

They could do it in Google Drive and accept community edits. Make it a living document, always up to date.

Ya I didn't want to be the guy that posts "what are best wings in buffalo" for the millionth time. But this is gonna be my first Monday night game and I've been trying to get my west coast buddies to go to buffalo for 10 years so I'm overly excited and want to give my buddies the best buffalo experience I can. And that's best part of bills mafia, they are always welcoming and want everyone to have a great time.

[bleve]

2 hours ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Ya I didn't want to be the guy that posts "what are best wings in buffalo" for the millionth time. But this is gonna be my first Monday night game and I've been trying to get my west coast buddies to go to buffalo for 10 years so I'm overly excited and want to give my buddies the best buffalo experience I can. And that's best part of bills mafia, they are always welcoming and want everyone to have a great time.

Have a great time. My son went to the WFT game this year with a bunch of his California buddies (he's in SF) they had a blast. Where in NorCal are you?

[muppy]

On 10/29/2021 at 11:03 AM, JohnBonhamRocks said:

Bar Bill (EA) for wings & beef on weck 

 

Pearl Street Grille is fun downtown

 

Edit: also if you are in Allentown, Cantina Loco at the corner of Allen & Elmwood (and diagonal from Jim’s) is nice for Mexican food & margs

is Towne Red Hots still there? it was kitty corner from my sisters apt when she was in college corner of allen and elmwood. how about Mulligans Brick bar?

2 hours ago, Norcalbillsfan said:

Ya I didn't want to be the guy that posts "what are best wings in buffalo" for the millionth time. But this is gonna be my first Monday night game and I've been trying to get my west coast buddies to go to buffalo for 10 years so I'm overly excited and want to give my buddies the best buffalo experience I can. And that's best part of bills mafia, they are always welcoming and want everyone to have a great time.

it reads to me like you have been hooked up with info...now choices to make...Im jealous have a blast

 

GO BILLS!~!~!!~!!!

[boater]

19 hours ago, BeastMode54 said:

Beer - Resurgence

Wings - Bar Bill

Steak - Russells

Do you have to wear a coat and tie at Russells?

 

I've also heard his children run a fine show down the street at Salvatores.

[Wacka]

The maid of the mist and cave of the winds usually close this weekend.  Too cold and the chance of snow and ice starts (in fact snow/ mixed with rain is predicted for next weekend.  The Cave of the winds walkways are rebuilt every spring because the ice destroys them during the winter.