AV Best of Buffalo	Places and Events

Based on the voting in this category, you could creat a composite of the typical Artvoice reader. She looks for love in late-night bars; she steals wireless from her neighbors; she loves the Albright-Knox, inside and out; she rides her bike to the Japanese Gardens in Delaware Park on weekends; she frequents a triangle defined by Allentown, Chippewa and Bidwell Parkway, straying occasionally into the East and West Sides to take stock of the city’s declining neighborhoods. She likes her restrooms glitzy and Italianate, but she appreciates the Old Pink vibe too. She attends a lot of fundraisers and festivals, but she’s kind of a homebody.

But maybe it’s more interesting to hear about the places people wish they could find in Buffalo. The three most common responses to our essay question about nightlife (“Describe the night spot you wish existed”) were: 1) a bar tailored to the respondent’s personality (e.g. a geek bar, a sports bar, a Coyote Ugly-esque bar, an alcohol-free bar); 2) a 24-hour joint with decent WiFi; 3) bring back the Continental.

As for architecture, the all-time favorites never change: City Hall, the Guaranty Building, the Central Terminal, the Ellicott Square Building. The Webb Building placed in the “most promising” category—a result somewhat soured by the death of a construction worker on the project. The Aud placed in this category too, though $10 million in state funds to demolish the thing makes its future seem less than bright. Optimism about the old AM&A building downtown was dealt a blow this week, too: Its out-of-town purchasers have backed off their renovation plans and put it up for sale.

The Granite Works received a nod of approval, earning a place on the list of finalists for best renovation in 2006; may it fill with tenants soon.

This is one of the best years for Sabres hockey in the team’s history, so it’s hardly surprising that so many people should vote for “a Sabres game” as one of the best places to take the family or out-of-town visitors. But you might as well offer a trip to the moon—I mean, where are you all getting tickets? On eBay at $200 a pop? Maybe Buffalo’s economy is turning around.

—geoff kelly

best coffeehouse

Caffe Aroma

Clarence Center Coffee Company

Spot

Cafe Allegro

Higher Grounds

Best Place to Wi-fi

Cafe 59

Spot

Caffe Aroma

Central Library

“my house,” “in my bed,” etc.

worst cellphone reception

WalMart

UB North Campus

Downtown government buildings (City Hall and the Rath Building)

Everywhere in Allentown

My house/basement/kitchen/living room

best bathroom

Laughlin’s

Chocolate Bar

Salvatore’s Italian Gardens

Wegmans

My own

best indoor public space

Ellicott Square Building

Central Terminal

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

HSBC Arena

Botanical Gardens

best outdoor public space

Forest Lawn Cemetery

Bidwell Parkway

Delaware Park

Erie Basin Marina

Lafayette Square

best place to find a lover

Delaware Park

Roxy’s

The Old Pink

Elmwood Avenue

Variations on “my house,” “my bed,” “in my pants,” etc.

best street corner

Elmwood and Bidwell

Chippewa and Franklin

Elmwood and Auburn

Elmwood and Allen

Chippewa and Delaware

most promising abandoned building

AM&A’s downtown

H.H. Richardson complex

Central Terminal

Webb Building

Memorial Auditorium

best rehab project

The Granite Works

The Church

New Era Cap Co.

Darwin Martin House

Stillwater

best facade

Shea’s

Guaranty Building

City Hall

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

Blue Cross Blue Shield Building

best annual festival

Italian Festival

Gay Pride

Taste of Buffalo

Allentown Arts Festival

Elmwood Festival of the Arts

Artvoice Mardi Gras

(photo: Rose Mattrey)

best annual fundraiser

MASH Bash (Red Cross)

Artvoice Mardi Gras (Hospice)

Dining Out for Life (AIDS Community Services)

Variety Club Telethon (Women & Children’s Hospital)

Hunter’s Hope Ball (Hunter’s Hope Foundation)

best place to take out-of-town visitors

Anchor Bar

On a walk down Elmwood Avenue

Niagara Falls

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

A Sabres game

best place to take the family

The Zoo

Niagara Falls

Delaware Park

Albright-Knox Art Gallery

A Sabres game