The Places You Eat
Where You Buy Things • The Place We Live
Again this year our Best of Buffalo ballots were crowded with votes for great places to eat. For a city its size, Buffalo continues to display an embarrassment of riches when it comes to offering a variety of tastes, thanks in part to the city’s broad ethnic makeup.
Or maybe you have a hankering for some peirogis at the Slavic Bazzar on William, near Bailey. Great food, with a wide variety of peirogis, and they’re not even in the top five Polish restaurants, according to our readers. Maybe it’s a Ukrainian thing.
What if you’re too late for breakfast, but too early for lunch? Brunch is big at the Left Bank and Betty’s, with Elmwood staple Cole’s and waterfront favorite Shanghai Red’s also highly favored in our poll. Not to be overlooked is Shango in the University District, with its Big Easy inspired fare.
Barbecue continues to gain fans in this, the home of the chicken wing and beef on weck. Fat Bob’s, Kentucky Greg’s, BW’s, One-Eyed Jack’s and Donnie’s made our top five, while other great joints like Ike and BG’s Rib House landed in our best soul food category, along with newcomer Lagniappes—serving Cajun and creole dishes from a small shop on Allen.
If beef is what’s for dinner, our readers recommend Buffalo Chophouse, E.B. Green’s, Hutch’s, Fiamma, and Black and Blue for a great steak. And if you need some really good soup for your soul, people tell us they favor Brodo, Globe Market, Danny’s, Le Metro, and Café 59.
Buffalo’s also known for its bars, and our readers tell us that Mother’s, Cole’s, Allen Street Hardware, Pearl Street Brewery, and JP Bullfeather’s offer great menus when you find yourself peckish during a night on the town. And if your night starts moving toward morning, upscale Mother’s still stands tall in the category of late-night eats, alongside Louie’s, who also gained favor in the hot dog category with their famous Texas hots.
In fact, compared with other parts of the country, Buffalo is a big sausage town. No missing link in our food chain, readers here give high praise to local producers like Spar’s, Scime’s, Mineo & Sapio, Redlinski, and Johnny’s Meat Market.
Those who prefer vegetarian fare—or “nothing with a face” as the late Linda McCartney used to say—recommend Amy’s Place, Falafel Bar, Betty’s, India Gate, and Tru Teas.
Read on, and bring a hearty appetite when you visit these top five establishments. They’ve all been working to broaden the culinary spectrum beyond the Friday Fish Fry—which is still a very popular category (thank God) dominated this year by Papa Jake’s, Hamlin House, Palladino’s, Wellington Pub, and Charlie O’Brien’s.
—buck quigley
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Best Bagels Bagel Jay’s Tim Horton’s Manhattan Bagel Wegman’s Spot Best Bar Menu Cole’s Mother’s Allen Street Hardware Pearl Street JP Bullfeather’s Best Barbecue Fat Bob’s Kentucky Greg’s BW’s One-Eyed Jack’s Donnie’s Best Beef on Weck Anderson’s Charlie the Butcher Schwabl’s Swiston’s Eckl’s Best Brunch Left Bank Betty’s Cole’s Shango Shanghai Red’s  Betty's Best Burger Grover’s Louie’s Cole’s Ted’s Gabriel’s Gate Best Chinese Great Wall Taste Good Red Pepper May Jen Ming Cafe Best Coffee Spot Tim Horton’s Caffe Aroma Betty’s Caz Cafe
Best Deli Globe Market Chris’s NY Deli Marco’s Joe’s Deli Village Beer Merchant Best Dessert Sweet Tooth Chocolate Bar Dessert Deli Delish Butterwood Best Diner Pano’s Lake Effect Amy’s Place Towne Wayside
 Bertha's Diner Best Fish Fry Papa Jake’s Hamlin House Palladino’s Wellington Pub Charlie O’Brien’s Best French Fries Ted’s Papa Jake’s Louie’s Jim’s Steakout Duff’s Best French Rue Franklin Left Bank Mode Fanny’s O’Connell’s American Bistro Best German Ulrich’s Scharf’s Bistro Europa Prosit Rose Garden Best Greek Pano’s Kostas Falafel Bar Ambrosia Towne
Best Hot Dog Ted’s Louie’s Taffy’s George’s Street vendors downtown Best Ice Cream Anderson’s Sweet Tooth Antoinette’s Fowler’s Hanna’s Best Indian India Gate Taste of India Star of India Tandoori’s Kabab and Curry
Best Italian Chef’s Frank’s Sunny Italy Sinatra’s Santasiero’s Amici
Best Japanese Kuni’s Seabar O Wasabi Fuji Grill
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Best Kid-friendly Restaurant Friendly’s Tully’s Pano’s Pizza Plant Zebb’s Best Late-night Eats Jim’s Steakout Mighty Taco Mother’s Towne Louie’s Best Latin Niagara Cafe Papi’s Sole Toro Vargas  Brodo Best Mexican Gramma Mora’s Mighty Taco Cozumel Cinco de Mayo Lone Star Best Middle Eastern Falafel Bar Teta’s Sahara Grill Amy’s Place Aladdin’s Market Best New Restaurant Duo Seabar Sample Bel Cibo Lagniappes Best Patio Cozumel Mother’s Pano’s La Tee Da Cecelia’s Best Pizza Just Pizza La Nova Mr. Pizza Bocce Club Casa di Pizza Best Place for a Cheap Date Pano’s Amy’s Place Mighty Taco Jim’s Steakout Gabriel’s Gate
Best Place to Talk Business Spot Coffee Ambrosia Betty’s Chef’s Hutch’s Best Polish Polish Villa Bistro Europa R&L Lounge Peter K’s Perison’s Best Salad Globe Market Brodo Pano’s Le Metro Lexington Co-op Best sausage Spars Scimes Mineo & Sapio Redlinski Johnny’s Meat Best Seafood La Marina Boston Hotel Hutch’s Hayes Seabar Best Service Left Bank Rue Franklin Hutch’s Mother’s Tempo Best Soul Food Gigi’s Soul Fabulous Mattie’s Restaurant Lagniappes Ike and BG’s Rib House Best Soup Brodo Globe Market Danny’s Le Metro Cafe 59
Best Steak Buffalo Chophouse Fiamma EB Green’s Hutch’s Black and Blue Best Sub Wegmans Jim’s Steakout DiBella’s La Nova John and Mary’s Best Takeout/Delivery La Nova Just Pizza Kuni’s Jim’s Steakout Palladino’s  The Morning Glory Cafe Best Thai/Vietnamese Saigon Cafe Taste of Thai Saigon Bangkok King and I Jasmine Best Vegetarian Amy’s Place Falafel Bar Betty’s India Gate Tru Teas Best Wings Duff’s Anchor Bar La Nova Gabriel’s Gate The Bar-Bill  True Teas
Most Romantic Restaurant Left Bank Mother’s Rue Franklin Salvatore’s Hutch’s  Bistro Europa |
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