Some inspiring stories of nights out in Buffalo, real and imagined

Every Valentine’s Day, the same question returns: What to do, what to do? A dinner reservation? A show? A quiet dinner at home?

We asked some folks to describe to us their perfect dates in Buffalo and picked a few to print. To protect the innocent, we’ve dropped names—except in the case of local poet Aaaron Lowinger, who described his perfect date in verse.

The Out-of-towner

First you fly into Buffalo out of JFK for $39 on Jet Blue. Rent a car at the airport and drive directly to the Albright-Knox as fast as you can, only slowing up near Delaware Park, mentioning Olmsted. Walking the gallery will calm you down after travel. Then lunch in the restaurant there, looking out on the sculpture garden.

Next, you drive down Elmwood Ave and stop into Caffe Aroma for a beverage, inevitably running into someone you know, which makes you look very popular and shows off the community integration that just doesn’t exist in NYC. From there you jog down Bidwell to Chapin, pointing out that you were born at Millard Fillmore Hospital, then down Delaware where the mansions and Giant Cupcake speak of a bygone era of wealth and industrialism. From there, you drive directly down into the (post)industrial area, witnessing one of the nations most raw and informative urban transformations—grain elevators empty for decades, warehouses with ghosts flying in and out of windows.

From there, head east to the old train station, where you and your date sit in the car pondering how America is changing faster than you can imagine. How we’ve actually witnessed the end of an era in our lifetimes.

Now it’s time for dinner, so you go to the Left Bank, drink too much wine and eventually find a way to get to Allen Street Hardware for some live music, more inevitable bumping-into-old-friends, and another bottle of wine. Then it’s off to the Mansion on Delaware for the night, where you can reflect on life in this city that is—after all the bad press—pretty damn amazing.

Over breakfast at Betty’s, you browse the real estate listings as your date’s jaw drops at the thought of owning a house for, roughly, two years’ worth of your combined rents in NYC. After that you hop over the Peace Bridge and drive along the river to the Falls (remember your passports). Honeymooners, German-speakers and Amish people help remind you that you, too, are a tourist!

Then back to the airport for the quick flight back to JFK, where the sense of belonging, community and decay give way to the speed, alienation and $6.50 coffees of NYC.

The Good Listener

Because V-Day is totally corny, I’d like to see my date demonstrate some ingenuity…and a sense of humor. I hope he bypasses the Hallmark card isle, ditches the blasé bouquet of roses, and dumps the fattening box of chocolates. If he really knows what I like, he will skip the ostentatious dinner and take me to a wine bar where I can order an old world cheese flight and a bottle of Sancerre. If he really wants to prove he’s a good listener, he will take me to see He’s Just Not That Into You. (I’ve been dropping hints about seeing it for weeks.)

Kill Your Television

For tonight, why not take your love to somewhere without a television? It’ll be surprisingly hard: You can’t go to the Wine Thief, to La Tee Da, to Sample, to Mothers, to O’Connell’s…in fact, it’s surprisingly hard to spend a lot of your hard-earned (or ill-gotten) gains here in Buffalo without a TV in the background.

But a few places are holding out: Bistro Europa is one, as is Rue Franklin.

The Perfect First

The perfect date for me was some years ago at the Kavinoky Theatre. It was a first date, and the Kavinoky is intimate enough that we knew we were on a date and not just sitting next to each other at some play. It gave us both the chance you show we had good taste in entertainment—even if the tickets were free, as we were both students at D’Youville College at the time. God only knows what might have happened had our first date been, oh, say a Bills game, where one or both of us may have gotten puked on. And, who knows how an evening at the theater can change your life? That date and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary last summer.

The Homebody

A great date in Buffalo starts in the afternoon. First, my date picks me up (or nudges me out of my nap). We head up onto Grant Street, and have a cup of coffee at Sweetness 7 Cafe, read the paper, and then go to Guercio’s. We get the makings for a perfect dinner. Then we go to Spirits of Allentown and find one of the (admittedly not many) good bottles of wine. We go home, make dinner (risotto? pasta? stuffed grape leaves? a baked potato? It doesn’t matter), drink wine, and fall asleep watching a video from the library.

Midwinter in Allentown

Ideally, the date would start mid-afternoon on a Saturday so we’d have plenty of daylight hours to venture to LaSalle Park to watch the river. My dream date would pick me up at my house—a co-op house at North Street and Elmwood Avenue—where I’d give them a tour of our historic mansion and they’d meet my eclectic group of housemates.

On the way to LaSalle Park, we’d walk through West Side neighborhoods admiring the diversity and color of the houses and people. From LaSalle Park we’d head to dinner at La Tee Da, a cozy little restaurant on Allen Street. We’d sit at the bar. I hear the restaurant’s owner is a woman with a warm personality who introduces everyone who sits at the bar.

After dinner, if the spirit moved us, we could check out art or music shows along Allen Street or pick up a bottle of wine at Spirits of Allentown and walk back to the co-op house for a late-night movie.

The Hipster

Why do anything in pairs? Get together a group of your friends, making sure to include at least one with whom you can make out at the end of the night. Meet at Cafe Tazo to plot your strategy, see what’s on offer for the night, and, if you are with Pat Cane, to decide on costumes. Leave a tip for the barista and an extra lagniappe to buy the Bubble Man a cup of coffee next time he comes in.

Cobble together an evening’s entertainment which includes stops at: Sugar City, where your friends are putting on an exhibit; Mohawk Place, where your friend’s band is opening for a really great band from Minneapolis; some woman’s apartment which is decorated entirely with board games she found in the garbage; Lagniappe’s, where you find you are, skinny rock’n’roll jeans be damned, famished; and finally your own house, where if you are smart you will not have to fall asleep alone.

The Jerry Song

On August 9, 1995 I went to an open mic at Showplace on Grant Street. There was this very cute girl with big brown eyes tending bar and looking very sad. So I asked for a beer and asked why she looked so down. “Jerry Garcia died today,” she said. “And I wish I could hear one of his songs but the band told me they don’t know any.” Since it was an open mic, and since I was close friends with the guitar player, I was on stage two minutes later singing “Trucking” for a very appreciative bartender.

The next night I ran into my brown-eyed barmaid at a movie screening of Naked Lunch in the backyard of the Calumet. We saw each other and decided to sit together, so I guess that was our first date, and it was a perfect date. We paid very little attention to the movie; it wasn’t as exciting as talking to each other, laughing with each other, drinking with each other.

We are still dating and still in love. In fact, we bought a house in Allentown and have a wonderful six-year-old daughter. Thank you, Jerry.

The Bourgeois

It’s a blind date! Start the night off with a drink at the new wine bar on Main and Virginia—you want to show your prospective right away that you know your way around a decent glass of barolo. Throw around some other restaurant names: You thought of having her meet you at Tempo, or at Shango, or even up at SeaBar, but you thought this would be really nice, and besides, you can have some fancy Spanish ham and olives to go with your drinks.

You’re not going to eat dinner yet, though: You have tickets for a show at the Tralf, or maybe a show at the Kavinoky, or possibly you are supposed to go to an opening at the Albright-Knox. After that, dinner: Mother’s. Where else? They serve late, their loaded mesclun salad is delicious, they have white tablecloths, and once you fight your way through the crowd of suits and little black dresses at the bar, you’ll have a really intimate and nice dinner.

The Bloodiest Valentine

What could possibly be more romantic than trekking up to the wilds of North Tonawanda to watch girls beat the crap out of one another? The Queen City Roller Girls have a roller derby bout on Valentine’s Day evening, pairing the brand shiny new rookie team, the Alley Kats, with one of their original teams, the Devil Dollies. It should be extra-violent, because the Kats are riding high after their debut bout on Jan 24, in which they smashed Rochester’s ROC City visitors 84-39, and the Dollies are coming back for their first bout this season after going winless at home last season, so they’re pretty hungry for redemption and have some sweet new draft picks to break in.

Get your tickets early, since the last bout sold out several days in advance. Come with your honey, get a nice seat (I recommend the bleachers, for maximum cuddling and a good view), get a few beers, pick a team to root for, watch the action. It’s hot, it’s indie, it’s in support of a volunteer organization, and since the two teams’ colors are purple (the Kats) and pink (the Dollies), it’s intrinsically holiday-appropriate.

Doors open at 6:30pm—don’t be late. Tickets are $10 presale (available online at www.qcrg.net), $15 at the door.

Valentine's Dates to Remember. . .

February 6:

Ice Is a Girl’s Best Friend. 10am-4pm, 2/6-2/7. Shoppe on Main welcomes Asti Antiques, who will present a collection of antique diamond jewelry, dated from 1870-1950. Wine tasting will be by Schulze Winery. Shoppe on Main, 2714 Main Street, Rte 78, Newfane (778-5273, www.ShoppeOnMain.com).

February 7:

Buffalo Indie Market. 12-5pm. Discover the heart of Buffalo handmade from 20 local artists and designers. Buy your Valentine a gift made locally with love. Featuring musical guests Skoober, Brian Rath, Skiffle Minstrels. Pearl Street Grill and Brewery, 76 Pearl Street. Free admission (www.buffaloindiemarket.com).

Tom’s Atomic Poetry Kegger. 6pm-midnight. To commemorate the release of Tom’s breakout poetry collections. Brings or buy a copy and drink free Molson for the entire event. Any customer who brings a girl will receive 20% off all comics and collectibles. Don’s Atomic Comics, 6354 Transit Road, Depew (684-5981, www.donsatomiccomics.com).

February 11:

The Gray Hair Reading Series 2nd Annual Open Heart Poetry Reading. 7:30pm. Any “gray-haired” readers are invited to present their own poetry, and “fair-haired” readers may present the love poetry of living or dead writers. There will be chocolate, of course. Presented by Hallwalls, Just Buffalo Literary Center, and Earth’s Daughters Magazine. Hallwalls Cinema at Babeville, 341 Delaware Avenue.

Mum’s and Daisy’s. Grand opening of cut flower and gift boutique. 214 Grant Street (near the corner of Lafayette).

February 12:

Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra: Romeo & Juliet and Carmen. 8 pm, 2/12 & 2/14. LA Guitar Quartet with music director Christopher Seaman, who also hosts the pre-concert chat at 7pm. Tickets $20-$56 at www.rpo.org, 585-454-2100, and at Box Office, 108 East Avenue, Rochester.

February 13:

Community Music School Valentine’s Day Concert. 1-2:30pm. Standards and jazz performed by Pappy Martin’s Love Supreme Jazz Ensemble. BFNC Moot Cente, 292 High Street.

Chuck Mangione with Buffalo Philharmonic. 8pm. Mangione will conduct the BPO in addition to playing. Kleinhans, Symphony Circle. Tickets $40-60 at www.bpo.org, Box Office 885-5000.

The Paint Box Project: Roswell Park Valentine’s Gift Sale. Valentine’s Day items available at the Roswell Park gift shop through 2/13 and online through 2/14. Roswell Park Gift Shop. Elm & Carlton Streets (www.paintboxproject.com).

The Perfect Pair. 5, 5:45, 6:30, and 7:15pm. Chocolate and wine tasting hosted by chocolatier Dan Johnson. All proceeds donated directly to research and care programs at Roswell Park. Choco-Logo, 141 Broadway. Tickets are $15/pair or $10/single (855-3500 / www.chocologo.com).

An Afternoon of Romance with Artist Karen Soldwisch. Relax with tea and crumpets. Browse through vintage heart-themed jewelry and antique Valentine cards. Shoppe on Main, 2714 Main Street, Rte 78, Newfane (778-5273, www.ShoppeOnMain.com).

February 14, Valentines Day:

Allentown Haunted Pub Crawl. 7-10pm. Author Mason Winfield tours local establishments; guests partake in a few “spirits” along the way. Includes drink specials, haunted trivia, prize giveaways. Meets at the Cozumel Grill, 153 Elmwood Avenue (655-6663 / www.masonwinfield.com). $20 per person, pre-registraton recommended.

Valentine’s Day Extravaganza. 7pm-midnight. Buffalo Inner City Lions Club hosts “Oldies but Goodies” Valentine Dinner Dance. Colored Musicians Club, 145 Broadway (864-2114). $30 per person, $55 per couple, cash bar.

Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra’s Dancing with the Buffalo Stars! 8pm. Janet Snyder from Kiss 98.5, Rob Lucas from Star 102.5, Victoria Hong from Channel 4 News, and Former Buffalo Mayor Anthony Masiello competing for the title of Buffalo’s Dancing Star. Each dancer will be competing for a local charity. Kleinhans Music Hall, Symphony Circle (885-5000 / www.bpo.org). Tickets start at $29./

Valentine Blues Dance Party. 7pm-midnight Live blues by the Bravuras, live DJ. Auction and sale of auto art donated by local artists, cash bar. All proceeds from soft drinks and food at the dance floor level will benefit the Center for Handicapped Children. Dance clubs and large groups welcome. Milton J. Brounshidle Post, 3354 Delaware Avenue, Kenmore. $8 at the door, $6 for Blues Society Members. For advance tickets, irondancer@aol.com, www.wnyblues.org.

Niagara Wine Trail: Be Mine with Wine. 2/14 10am-6pm, 2/15 noon-6pm. Spend the weekend with your sweetheart sampling chocolates paired with wine at each winery. Ticket includes a wine tasting at each winery, a commemorative wine glass, and chocolates at each winery (812-4866 / www.niagarawinetrail.org). $20 per person.

Queen City Roller Girls’ Valentine’s Day Massacre. Doors 6:30pm, bout starts 7:30pm. Devil Dollies vs. Alley Kats. Rainbow Rink, 101 Oliver Stret, N. Tonawanda (693-1100 / www.qcrg.net). $10 advance/$15 day of at rink.

My Bloody Valentine’s Day 3-D. Featuring Mock Syringa, Nick Gordan, Besnyo, the Lochs, Peanut Brittle Satellite, Barbie and the Spider Plant, Sex Madness, Red Tag Rummage Sale, NY Sexy Beast DJ sets. This time bands are covering love songs by artists like the Cure, Blondie, Magnetic Fields, Joy Division and many more. Trashy films all night! Soundlab, 110 Pearl Street (883-3209 / www.bigorbitgallery.org).