I think everyone who moves away from home nostalgically remembers foods they loved and can’t get anymore.
New Yorkers wax poetically about bagels, pizza and well, just about everything else. Those of us from Buffalo have a soft place in our hearts for chicken wings (notice I did not say Buffalo wings), beef on weck, Ted’s hot dogs and the Friday Fish Fry , to say nothing about Anderson’s ice cream.
When I go back to Buffalo, I look forward to these delicacies. This last trip was no exception, of course. On my way to the hotel after I arrived in Buffalo, I stopped at Danny’s, a landmark restaurant, and indulged in the “Taste of Buffalo Platter” which included a small beef on weck with horseradish, and four delectable chicken wings. Weck, by the way, is a crusty roll with rye seeds and kosher salt on top. Delicious!
The next night, I had dinner with some family members—and I ordered a traditional Buffalo fish fry. If you’re from the Midwest or many places in New York State, you know what a fish fry is: a huge piece of fried fish served with macaroni salad (notice it’s not pasta salad—that’s for you fancy types), potato salad and Cole slaw. It’s not Weight Watcher’s food—but it’s yummy.
These local delicacies are not found in chain restaurants or upscale restaurants. This is comfort food and is found in bars, which usually have a back room which serves as a restaurant.
Is there anything better than the taste of home?
And when we return to Kansas City, we try to time our arrival for a late lunch at Jack Stack’s Bar B Q. We ship it in @ an exhorbinate price, but it just isn’t as good as getting it hot & juicy in a room that smells like aged hickory smoke.
Your article gave me a happy smile.
I remember Beef on Weck and the corner saloon Friday Night Fish Fries just as you described, Kathy. Great hot dogs in the summer, char coal grilled some where near Clarence. It was always worth the drive.