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Neighborhood of Buffalo, New York, United States
Photo: Andre Carrotflower, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
If you're a visitor in Buffalo and you ask a local for advice, one of the things you'll almost certainly be told is to stay away from the East Side. "You take your life in your hands when you cross Main Street", so they might say, perhaps punctuating their warning with lurid tales straight out of a pulp magazine about the trouble a friend of a friend ran into there, or half-remembered news headlines about street gangs and drive-by shootings. And for that certain type of person whose curiosity is piqued enough to take a look for themselves, at first they might think the stories are true: with boarded-up storefronts, garbage-strewn vacant lots, and run-down houses all over the place, the East Side's socioeconomic problems are plain to see. What could this place possibly have to offer visitors?
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Buffalo art lovers were understandably bummed at the announcement that the Albright-Knox's main campus in the Elmwood Village would be closed for two and a half years for a major expansion project, and that the museum's permanent collection would be inaccessible during that time. But that blow was softened by the news that the fire would be kept burning with a temporary satellite gallery housed in a restored warehouse in the burgeoning Northland Corridor that would play host to a full calendar of special exhibitions and events for the duration of construction. In addition to visual arts, Albright-Knox Northland also hosts performances as well as a full range of art classes suitable for all ages and skill levels; check their website for details on those.
Artspace Buffalo is a homegrown artists' colony comprised of sixty loft apartments-cum-art studios that are home to some of the foremost emerging names in the Buffalo art community, as well as this expansive gallery space that displays works by Artspace residents and other artists from Buffalo and around the region. With a full schedule of exhibitions all year long, you never know quite what's going to be on at the Amber M. Dixon Gallery: works displayed there span a wide variety of media, from traditional formats like painting, sculpture and photography to offbeat exhibitions of collage and jewel art. There are even musical performances from time to time.
The headquarters of and sometime retail store belonging to the local purveyor of upcycles building materials, ReUse Action — is an art gallery with a purview unique to the Buffalo area, and while the temporary exhibitions they put on are not what you would call "frequent" if you happen to be in town for one, you're in for a real treat. At the Gallery @ the Guild, the focus is on so-called "restoration art": found objects from some of the same soon-to-be-demolished buildings where the warehouse store downstairs sources its merchandise are repurposed and reimagined in magnificent ways, displaying the timeworn beauty of the old craftsmanship.
By most people's definition, what's housed in this repurposed Civil War-era convent on a residential street in the Fruit Belt is not an art gallery. Rather, Locust Street Art is best-known for offering free, professionally-taught art and photography lessons for children and adults; it's been doing so since 1959, when local art teacher Molly Bethel began giving informal painting lessons to neighborhood children in her living room. Locust Street Art has fostered the formative talents of many successful artists over the years, and has been recognized as a winner of the New York Governor's Award in 1985, as well as by the Harvard Graduate School of Education for excellence as an educational resource for economically disadvantaged communities. The best way to see the fruits of this effort are during the art shows and fundraisers Locust Street Art holds on an occasional basis, featuring the work of current students as well as other area artists.
Offering an experience that's somewhat but not completely different from the rest of Buffalo's roster of small art galleries, where the somewhat insular local scene is focused on to an almost solipsistic degree, the programming at this off-the-beaten-path exhibition space in Kaisertown comprises an interesting mix of both locally-based and nationally- and internationally-famous artists. A good example of the latter is the exhibition of Romero Britto sculptures that kicked off just a month after the gallery itself opened for business; as for the former... let's just say that if you've visited Canalside and duly fallen head over heels for Shark Girl, you'll be delighted to learn she also puts in frequent appearances in the works on display here, courtesy of Casey Riordan, her creator and Rabbit Hole part-owner.
The massive old factory building in Highland Park that was once Trico Plant #2, built in 1915 by the pioneering windshield wiper manufacturer and later used by Ford Motors to build airplanes during World War II, was reborn in 1991 as the Tri-Main Center. Intended as a mixed-use facility for offices and light industrial concerns, the building instead became an epicenter for the nascent East Side arts community, with studios, galleries, and cultural institutions snapping up a disproportionate share of the space. The prominent presence of the arts here is celebrated with Trimania, a huge biannual festival featuring live music, performances and art shows on all five floors of the building, as well as Fourth Fridays, a smaller monthly open house where studios and galleries display artists' works. The Tri-Main Center contains:
With about two dozen artists-in-residence working in a diversity of different media and representative of a broad cross-section of the local arts community, the Buffalo Arts Studio provides artists from Buffalo and beyond a venue to exhibit their works — either as part of the permanent collection or through the temporary exhibitions they hold frequently — as well as affordable studio space in one of the area's premier up-and-coming arts facilities. As well, the Buffalo Arts Studio's mission to advance awareness and enjoyment of art among the community at large manifests itself in the form of art classes, mural paintings and other public art projects offered to local citizens.
Moved to the Tri-Main Center in 2014 from its former home in Allentown, Mundo Images is run by Ann Peterson, a professional photographer, language instructor, and world traveler whose mission is to enrich the world through photography, educate young people, and raise awareness of environmental issues. In addition to the small gallery where works by Ann as well as other artists are displayed, Mundo Images also produces, and sells at local stores, greeting cards printed locally on chlorine-free FSC-Certified paper, which promotes environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of forests.
Located in Olmsted's Martin Luther King, Jr., Park, the Buffalo Museum of Science is in a lovely building built in 1929 by the prominent Buffalo architectural firm of Esenwein & Johnson. The emphasis of the Buffalo Museum of Science is on natural and physical sciences; items from its collection of more than 700,000 specimens and artifacts, encompassing almost every conceivable aspect of the anthropology, botany, entomology, mycology, paleontology, and zoology of Western New York and elsewhere, are on display in the Museum's galleries. The Buffalo Museum of Science also boasts interactive science studios and a National Geographic 3D Cinema and operates the Tifft Nature Preserve, 264 acres (105ha) of reclaimed industrial land in South Buffalo.
The Buffalo Museum of Science is also home to the city's only astronomical observatory. Reinaugurated in 2018 after nearly two decades of closure to the public due to needed repairs and updates, the Kellogg Observatory hosts guided viewing sessions, including looks through the restored Lundin telescope (now equipped with the latest in celestial mapping technology), helmed by the resident astronomy expert. Your visit to the observatory ends on the museum's new rooftop deck, where you can enjoy not only the "Buffalo in Space" science studio exhibit but also sweeping views of the downtown skyline.
Operated by James Sandoro, a former curator of exhibits at the Buffalo History Museum and a lifelong collector of historic artifacts, the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum draws 10,000 visitors per year to their museum complex in a historic neighborhood just east of downtown, despite minimal advertising. As one might expect, the exhibits at the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-Arrow Museum run heavily towards antique cars and automotive memorabilia, especially Pierce-Arrows, the luxury sedans produced in Buffalo in the early 20th century to which the museum owes its name. The museum's pièce de résistance debuted in June 2014: Buffalo's seventh and newest Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building, a filling station constructed according to an original 1927 blueprint which Wright intended for the corner of Michigan Avenue and Cherry Street a short distance north of here.
The Buffalo Fire Historical Society Museum is in Lovejoy, a blue-collar neighborhood that is home to many Buffalo firefighters. This modest-sized building houses an extensive collection of antique fire trucks, apparatus and other artifacts, and historic photographs and exhibits related to the history of the Buffalo Fire Department. The museum's mission also encompasses educating the public about fire safety and prevention, and firefighting as a career.
The Colored Musicians' Club is a designated Buffalo Landmark, and easily the most storied jazz club in the city — founded in 1918 as the social club of the all-black American Federation of Musicians Local 533, it almost immediately became the place to see informal jam sessions by members of Buffalo-area ragtime and jazz bands plus the world-famous elite performers of the genre. The club continues to function as a venue for live jazz, but it also contains a museum with a range of artifacts and exhibits that detail the history of the club and of jazz music in Buffalo.
With a history linked closely to the railroad industry that was so prominent in Buffalo at the turn of the century, the neighborhood of Lovejoy is nicknamed "Iron Island" because it is surrounded by railroad tracks on all four sides. The Iron Island Museum was opened in 2000 by the Iron Island Preservation Society and is dedicated to retelling the history of Lovejoy with a particular emphasis on the railroads that have shaped its identity. Formerly a funeral home, the Iron Island Museum's reputation for ghost sightings has attracted the attention of paranormal researchers from around the region and further afield, in addition to the television shows "Ghost Lab" and "Ghost Hunters". Accordingly, overnight ghost hunts, conducted periodically by reservation, are a popular offering of the Iron Island Museum.
Though it no longer plays host to regularly scheduled services, the importance of the Michigan Street Baptist Church to the history of Buffalo's African-American community cannot be overstated: it's the oldest continuously black-owned property in Buffalo, in the years immediately prior to the Civil War it was notorious as a "station" on the Underground Railroad by which escaped black slaves from the South were spirited away to freedom in Canada, and it retains its prominence as the centerpiece of the Michigan Street African-American Heritage Corridor. Historical tours are offered by appointment.
A Nationally Registered Historic Place that's part of the Michigan Street African-American Heritage Corridor, the Nash House Museum was once the home of Rev. Dr. J. Edward Nash, who — aside from being the pastor of the Michigan Street Baptist Church from 1892 until his retirement in 1953 — was a personal friend of such nationally-known luminaries of black history as Booker T. Washington and Adam Clayton Powell, and was instrumental in the founding of the local chapter of the NAACP and in advocacy on behalf of Buffalo's African-American citizenry in the years before the Civil Rights Movement. Today, his house is open as a museum that contains engaging exhibits and archival records chronicling the history of Buffalo's African-American community. Also, the house itself is architecturally significant as a particularly good example of the wood-frame, partially prefabricated "Buffalo doubles" that were built here by the thousands around the turn of the century.
Yet another component of the Michigan Street African-American Heritage Corridor, Western New York's only black-owned radio station has a history that dates back to 1948 and has served over the years as a launch pad for some of America's foremost African-American radio personalities — Frankie Crocker, Gary Byrd, and Jerry Bledsoe are only a few — not to mention the locally legendary George "Hound Dog" Lorenz, who was the first to play what was then known as "race music" on the Buffalo airwaves. Free studio tours, available by appointment, regale visitors with more of this history as well as taking them behind the scenes to see how a radio station operates.
The crown jewel of the East Side's parks is its representative in the roster of Buffalo's Olmsted network: the site of the Buffalo Museum of Science, the Humboldt Basin, a handsome rose garden, walking paths, playgrounds, picnic shelters, and pleasant greenery. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park was the first of Buffalo's Olmsted parks to open to the public, in 1872: called "The Parade" at first, it was designed to host military drills and other large gatherings, with the brightly colored Parade House as its centerpiece and Humboldt Parkway, the most magnificent of all the Olmsted parkways in Buffalo, linking it to the rest of the system. But the Parade was far from any military installations Buffalo had; to the consternation of Olmsted, the park instead became a gathering place for the Germans in the surrounding neighborhood, who disturbed his quiet pastoral vision for it with raucous oompah bands that played at the Parade House and neighborhood scamps damaging the grass with their roughhousing. To the rescue came Olmsted's two sons, the successors in his firm; their 1896 redesign curved Fillmore Avenue to discourage through traffic and added the Humboldt Basin, a lovely Lily Pond, and formal gardens. The Olmsted brothers renamed the park Humboldt Park, a name that was changed yet again in 1977 to its current one. Sadly, like most of the other elements of Buffalo's park system, the integrity of the Olmsteds' original design of the park sustained considerable damage over the course of the 20th century: the Parade House is long-gone, part of its west edge was sacrificed in 1929 for the science museum, and there's a basketball court where the Lily Pond used to be. But the greatest indignity happened in 1960, when Humboldt Parkway was torn asunder to make way for the Kensington Expressway (see infobox at right). The Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy is hard at work righting those wrongs: the Humboldt Basin has already been renovated and reopened, the restoration of the Shelter House is ongoing, and plans are afoot to recreate the Lily Pond.
The centerpiece of Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, the Humboldt Basin is a five-acre (2 ha) water feature of several functions: in the summer it serves as a "splash pad" where neighborhood kids can cool off and frolic underneath fountains of cool water that jet upwards from sprinklers embedded in the ground, in the winter it's an outdoor ice rink, and in the spring and fall it's a pleasant, peaceful reflecting pool. The Humboldt Basin was reconstructed and reopened in 2013 by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy; originally, it was part of the Olmsted brothers' 1896 redesign of what was then called Humboldt Park, an immense wading pool with a sand and clay bottom (later replaced with concrete) that had been dry and abandoned since the 1980s.
Designed by sculptor John Wilson, the Martin Luther King Tribute Plaza was unveiled in October 1983, six years after the city made good on its longstanding promise to neighborhood residents to rename the erstwhile Humboldt Park in honor of the civil rights leader that's depicted in this eight-foot (2.5-m) bronze bust portrait. The figure is sculpted in a somewhat idealized way; in the words of the artist, it was intended to "sum up the larger-than-life ideas" of Dr. King and capture his "inner meaning" rather than simply as a lifelike representation. Underneath the bust, on the side of the low stone wall that serves as its pedestal, is a bas-relief engraving of Dr. King at the podium at his famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Hidden in plain sight on a quiet pedestrian walkway right next to the science museum is Martin Luther King, Jr. Park's rose garden: a small, cozy, tree-shaded oasis that was restored by the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy where a variety of roses and other flowering plants bloom in season.
Of all the magnificent train stations built in Buffalo at the height of the railroad era (when it was second only to Chicago as a railroad hub), the Central Terminal was the grandest — and it's the only one left standing. The Central Terminal opened for business a few months before the stock market crash of 1929 and served as the gateway to Buffalo for passengers on the New York Central Railroad (and, later, Amtrak) until 1979, when it was shuttered as a cost-cutting measure.
Dyngus Day is a traditional Polish holiday that falls on the Monday after Easter; on this day, young boys are known to "slap" girls who catch their eye with pussywillows or squirt them with water guns in a courtship ritual called śmigus. Buffalo hosts the largest organized Dyngus Day celebration in the world — including Poland, where the festival has largely been forgotten. Since the mid-2000s, Buffalo's annual Dyngus Day celebration has once again been held in the traditional Polish neighborhood of Broadway-Fillmore at the grand old New York Central Terminal, a majestic old Art Deco train station that is yet another of Buffalo's architectural masterpieces that is undergoing extensive restoration. After the Dyngus Day Parade through the streets of Broadway-Fillmore opens the festivities, traditional Polish food and (even more popularly) drink are served in the old dining room, with polka bands attracting revelers to the dance floor. Celebrations are also held at St. Stanislaus, Bishop & Martyr Church (the so-called "Mother Church of Polonia"), the Adam Mickiewicz Library, and the many Polish-owned bars and taverns that continue to soldier on in the old neighborhood.
Presented every three years in mid-April, Trimania is a raucous evening of "art, music and mischief" at the Tri-Main Center on Main Street. Not only do artists and other businesses open their studios and display their latest masterwork to the public, but all six floors of this old WWI-era factory building are transformed for an evening into a giant freeform performance space, where live bands, DJs, comedians, dancers, poets, and performance artists vie for your attention in a lively multimedia art party that doesn't wind down until well after midnight. Drinks flow freely, the hungry can choose from a multitude of food trucks and other vendors, and all proceeds go to benefit the Buffalo Arts Studio.
Springing from a commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the state of Texas on June 19, 1865, Juneteenth is celebrated in the black community of the U.S. as a holiday that signifies African-American pride and cultural heritage. Each June 19th sees Martin Luther King, Jr. Park host the nation's third-largest Juneteenth festival. Beginning with a parade that proceeds westward down Genesee Street from Moselle Street to the park, Buffalo's Juneteenth festival is a lively two-day celebration that includes demonstrations of traditional African and African-American art, music and dance, ethnic foods, crafts and wares, and activities for children.
Held on the final two consecutive Sundays of June behind the Buffalo Museum of Science at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park, the Masten District Jazz Festival is as homegrown as it gets: in a downhome, grassroots ambience you'll catch locally-based performers and bands whose playing features the distinct flavor of Buffalo jazz music (including James "Pappy" Martin, who founded the festival in 1996 and whose Love Supreme Jazz Orchestra plays every year). As well, a sprinkling of nationally-famous jazz performers stop by occasionally, plus other types of music (for instance, on the bill of the 2014 festival was Alassane Sarr, an African dancer and fourth-generation griot originally from Senegal). There are eight performances in all: four on each festival day.
The newest in a growing list of festivals celebrating Buffalo's long-neglected jazz history, the late-July Queen City Jazz Festival sees a slate of mainly local jazz artists take the stage for an evening at the historic Colored Musicians Club on Broadway. There are two stages — the main one indoors as well as a refreshing outdoor performance space — that host about fifteen acts combined, and the adjacent Colored Musicians Club Museum opens during the festival with reduced admission rates.
Though the Pine Grill closed some thirty years ago, the memories of the halcyon days of that Jefferson Avenue nightspot — when jazz greats like Miles Davis, Billie Holiday, and Dizzy Gillespie played to packed houses — are sweet enough to have inspired the African-American Cultural Center to launch an annual jazz festival that bears its name. Much like the Masten District Jazz Festival, concerts take place at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park on consecutive Sunday evenings: in this case, the first two in August, beginning at 4PM sharp. The first week features nationally-famous acts, while the second week is all about the local jazz scene that's still going strong in Buffalo — and best of all, performances often feature the same old Hammond B3 organ that was once the centerpiece of the Pine Grill. Also, unlike the Masten District festival, food vendors are on hand (though you're welcome to BYO as well).
Dożynki is a traditional harvest festival of rural Poland that goes back centuries, and since 1980, it's been celebrated in Buffalo over three days in mid-August at Corpus Christi Church on Clark Street. Dożynki has grown into one of the largest annual festivals in Polonia; appropriately enough for its harvest theme, Polish cuisine is the star of the show: chefs vie annually for the coveted prize of "Buffalo's Best Pierogi", and a special "Polish pizza" is trotted out just for the occasion. As well, there's live polka music, folk dancers, guided tours of the church, raffles, and the ever-popular crowning of "Miss Dożynki", as well as a special Harvest Mass that kicks off the final day of the festivities.
By now, Buffalo has to be close to the #1 spot among American cities when it comes to neighborhood art festivals per capita — there's the Allentown festival in June, Elmwood Avenue in August, and now the Jefferson Avenue Arts Festival in the Cold Spring business district on the Saturday after Labor Day. The three blocks of Jefferson between East Ferry and East Utica become a fun-filled street fair with live music, dancers, yummy food, kids' activities, and — of course — a panoply of artists and artisans offering up their works for sale.
Canisius College is home to seventeen athletic teams whose games are huge draws for Buffalonians. The "Griffs" play Division I Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball at the Koessler Athletic Center on Main Street at East Delavan Avenue, while outdoor sports like soccer and lacrosse are held at the Demske Athletic Complex a short distance away. Canisius' hockey team, a member of the Atlantic Hockey Conference, plays at the HarborCenter downtown. Tickets — which are affordably priced at $12 for hockey games, $10 for basketball, $7 for lacrosse, $5 for women's basketball, and free for all other sports — can be purchased at the ticket office at the Koessler Center on weekdays from 10AM-4PM.
Founded in 2009, FC Buffalo is a member of the National Premier Soccer League. After spending the previous two years at Canisius College's Demske Athletic Complex, as of the 2015 season the team has moved back to its original home at All-High Stadium in Highland Park. Nicknamed "the Blitzers" (in honor of the locally born CNN anchor and FC Buffalo fan, Wolf Blitzer), FC Buffalo's dedication to the well-being of the Buffalo community is exemplified in their motto, "For Our City". Tickets are reasonably priced.
In winter months, the beautiful reflecting pool/splash pad at Martin Luther King, Jr. Park is frozen over and opened to the public for old-fashioned pond skating. The rink is open on a weather-dependent basis.
The Paul Robeson Theatre is the oldest African-American theatre in Buffalo, founded in 1968 and at the African-American Cultural Center. The 130-seat theater is inside the cultural center's headquarters on Masten Avenue in Buffalo's East Side, featuring a handful of productions each year with a special focus on the African-American experience. Among the famous personalities that have performed on the Paul Robeson Theatre's stage include Ossie Davis, Phylicia Rashad, and Woodie King, Jr.
Aside from being Western New York's premiere Polish-American social club as well as home to both Buffalo's oldest Polish library and one of its largest Dyngus Day celebrations, the historic Adam Mickiewicz Library and Dramatic Circle is also where this avant-garde black box theater has been operated since 2000 by local impresarios Dan Shanahan and Melissa Meola. Torn Space Theater's production team draws on multiple different artistic media and disciplines, such as music and visual art, to present lively, imaginative, and truly original dramatic works by auteurs from around the local region, as well as innovative reimaginations of well-known existing works like Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape. In addition to the performances at the Mickiewicz Library, Torn Space is unique among the Buffalo theatre community in producing site-specific works designed specifically to be performed in iconic Buffalo settings such as Canalside and Silo City. And, around Halloween, their annual Prom of the Dead art and music bash packs the house at the Dnipro Center on Genesee Street.
Most of the time, "CPG's" is a cozy, sedate Main Street bar & grill situated about midway between Canisius College and University Heights, serving well-prepared comfort food and cocktails to the over-25 crowd. What it's best known for, though, are the sizzling blues shows that happen every Friday and Saturday night, where local combos like Dive House Union, the Jony James Band, and the Heavenly Chillbillies strut their stuff at the center of the Buffalo blues universe. Other genres like soul, funk, jazz and reggae crop up from time to time too, and if there's no band onstage when you visit you can still get your fix with the Internet jukebox and its encyclopedic selection of blues numbers.
Located on Broadway just outside downtown, this former home of American Federation of Musicians Local 533 (and, before that, the Charlie Zifle Shoe Store) has done double-duty as a renowned jazz club since not much later than the union chapter's foundation in 1918, made necessary when Local 43 voted to bar local African-American musicians from membership. With jazz music all the rage among the black community at the time, the union's second-floor performance space became the place to see informal jam sessions by members of local ragtime and jazz bands after their workday was finished, or on Sundays, to see them rehearse in the practice space the union provided free to its members. Soon enough, it was a venue in its own right, playing host to world-famous luminaries like Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Lena Horne, Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Lionel Hampton, and more. The tradition continues: the Colored Musicians' Club hosts big-band concerts on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights, as well as Sunday afternoons followed by a legendary open jam session in the evening. And if you're interested in the club's storied history, there's also an attached museum where you can learn all you've ever wanted to know about Buffalo's jazz scene of yesterday and today.
The Foundry is a former industrial workshop in Masten Park that now serves as an incubator for a wide range of grassroots small businesses, as well as a venue for various community-centered events and happenings. One of those events is Roc da Mic, a monthly showcase for Buffalo's underground hip-hop community. On the last Thursday of each month, local MCs, DJs, breakdancers, poets, and other artists converge to strut their stuff in a freeform open-mic extravaganza.
It's a story that, in many ways, parallels that of the Allendale Theatre in Allentown: built in the 1920s as a silent movie palace in a then-thriving neighborhood, by the '70s it had been reduced to showing B movies and porn before closing outright, and was subsequently rescued from the threat of demolition and resurrected as a performance venue. Unlike the Allendale, though, the rebirth of the Varsity Theatre was as a venue for live music instead of theatrical performances — and rather than a multipronged effort on the part of a diverse group of preservationists and community stakeholders, the restoration of the Varsity was the six-year labor of love of a single individual: Ibrahim Cissé, a computer technologist originally from Côte d'Ivoire who now serves as head of the Bailey Business Association. The Varsity had its grand reopening in January 2016, and now plays host to everything from hip-hop acts to gospel choirs to the Nickel City Opera.
"Ethnically influenced comfort food" (their words, and perhaps the best possible description of said food) is the name of the game at this tiny, spartan Greek diner: gyro, souvlaki, and other favorites served the traditional way — with pita bread and a Greek salad on the side — or on sub rolls. Either way, expect huge portions and second-to-none quality that both belie the low prices you pay. If that doesn't tickle your fancy, there's a range of other pita-pocket sandwiches and "pita tacos" to choose from, shish kebabs and a truly delicious rice pudding, and American diner staples as well.
Part seafood market selling shrimp and crab legs by the pound to cook at home, part take-out spot specializing in tasty treats from the briny deep: there's a good reason why East Siders brave ubiquitous crowds and endless lines to enjoy what Bailey Seafood has to offer. Simply put, the food here is really, really good, with shipments of high-quality product arriving daily. The marquee item is the "Haddock Super Sandwich", a feast that truly lives up to its superlative name, but frankly it would be useless to try to summarize the gargantuan menu in any succinct way: just know that pretty much anything you can think of that's aquatic and edible is on the menu, along with plenty of non-seafood items, and if you like Southern cuisine, you'll especially want to give Bailey Seafood a try.
Sad to say, Captain of the Sea will probably always stand in the shadow of its big brother up the street, Bailey Seafood: in terms of consistency, local renown, and size and diversity of the menu, the latter is simply in a league of its own. That's a shame, because at its best, the delicacies served up here can ably hold their own with the competition. And there's something to be said for a menu that's easy to wrap your head around: it's no more complex than various species of fish and seafood breaded and deep-fried to a crisp, served with French fries or, if you like, massive unsplit chicken wings prepared basically the same way. Service is friendly and lightning-fast, and the dessert case (something Bailey Seafood doesn't have) is full of scrumptious treats. Take-out only.
The "experience" here is astoundingly good, if a bit strange at first: ring the buzzer out front, whereupon you'll be met at the door led to the counter in the back of the building to order your food, then double back to a large, sparsely but pleasantly decorated dining room to await your meal. Caribbean Experience's menu sticks to the standards, but does so with aplomb: the jerk chicken is flavored perfectly, not overpowering in its spiciness but with a meaty, somewhat smoky aroma and none of the sweetness that you occasionally find in other Jamaican eateries, and the delicious authenticity carries over to the rest of the menu as well. All meals are served with fried plantains, red beans and rice, and they'll smother it with spicy jerk gravy if you want — highly recommended.
If you're looking to nurse a hangover after a night of bar-hopping in nearby University Heights, Mike's menu is frequently described as a tastier and cheaper version of Jim's Steakout. As you might have inferred from the full name of the place, steak is the marquee ingredient: Mike's claim to have invented the steak taco is dubious at best, but that doesn't make it any less delicious, and the "Steak in the Hood" hoagie comes with pork sausage in addition to the titular filling. Aside from steak, Mike's serves a full range of hot and cold subs, burgers, sausage sandwiches, chicken wings and fingers, and tacos. They deliver, too.
99 Fast Food Restaurant
Though Buffalo's first Vietnamese restaurant can no longer claim the title of Buffalo's best Vietnamese restaurant — consensus says the experience here has suffered since new management took over, and that's not to mention all the competitors that have sprung up since the place opened in 1999 (hence its name) — this place still gets crowded at lunchtime, especially with students and faculty of the nearby South Campus of the University at Buffalo. The Vietnamese soup that gives the restaurant its name is joined on the menu by a wide range of vermicelli bowls, fried rice plates, and meat-based entrees, all passable in quality if not quite as spectacular as what you can find at Pho Dollar on the West Side. Service is friendly if sometimes slow.
A true conundrum: locals are equally likely to praise the deliciousness of the food here as to denounce the slow service, "rough around the edges" waitstaff, and high-ish prices. Kensington Pizza does earn points for its expansive menu, though: the sign outside touts "the largest variety of pizzeria foods around", which is too modest; this place's oeuvre spreads far beyond mere "pizzeria foods", with a full range of sandwiches and burgers, pasta and other Italian specialties, Southern-style fried chicken, some Greek diner fare, even Puerto Rican food like pastelillos and pernil. If you do want pizza, come hungry: the "Kitchen Sink Pizza" — with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham, onions, mushrooms, green and black olives, and sweet and hot peppers — is the odds-on favorite.
Halal pizza, so there ya go.
Every Friday evening at the Dnipro Center — an ethnic club and gathering place for Buffalo's Ukrainian community for over eighty years — the spacious rathskeller is converted to a restaurant serving a mix of Ukrainian and American specialties. While they're decently executed, the American foods on the menu are mostly simple, uninspired fare that you could find in any roadside diner. But you're at the Dnipro Center, so it'd be a crime anyway not to go ethnic: start off with an appetizer of borscht, then choose from a slate of options that includes holubtsi (cabbage rolls), varenyky (Ukrainian-style pierogi), and more. Or, if you're really hungry, opt for the "UKE Combo" which combines both of the above plus savory kovbasa sausage, tangy sauerkraut, and dark rye bread.
The claim that the Buffalo chicken wing was invented not at the Anchor Bar but here, by John Young in the late '50s when the place was called Wings & Things, is spurious but oft-repeated among East Siders. Despite that, wings still make up a cornerstone of the menu at Solo Eats — either classic Buffalo-style with varying levels of spice or a small but tantalizing range of specialty sauces — and you'll also find a wide selection of other simple, affordable lunch fare such as sandwiches, burgers, fries, tacos, and pizza, as well as a full breakfast menu. Best of all, every meal eaten here is a good deed done: Solo Eats is staffed entirely by members of the Re-Entry Mentoring Program, whereby formerly incarcerated folks are offered jobs as a way to transition back into law-abiding society.
Buffalo's culinary history is a cautionary tale littered with failed attempts to reinvent the chicken wing. Swings is one of the rare success stories in that department. Short for "specialty wings", the iterations sold at Kobie Lewis' Fillmore Avenue walk-up window have won five National Buffalo Wing Festival trophies, so clearly the strategy of working within the limitations of the source material has paid off. The variety of flavors is ample, if not quite as much so as at Wing Kings, Buffalo's reigning champion of creative wings: choose from standards like barbecue, lemon pepper, garlic parm, and of course classic Buffalo style with varying levels of heat, plus a well-curated selection of oddballs such as taco-seasoned wings.
Since 1923, Chef's has been serving hearty Italian cuisine that is comparatively adventurous for neighborhood family-style establishments of its kind. Entrees range from familiar fare such as veal and chicken parmigiana, chicken cacciatore, lasagna, and spaghetti to more elegant selections such as dandelion salad. Reasonable prices and generous portions. Buffalonians love this place.
The Oakk Room presents an upscale and Jamaican-influenced take on classic soul food, or, as one reviewer put it, "comfort food jazzed with exotic spices". The small menu places a definite emphasis on seafood — crab cakes, fish and grits, and a Friday-night beer-battered fish fry are popular — but if you'd prefer to indulge in some of those island flavors, opt instead for jerk chicken and curry fish. Martinis at the bar hit the spot, too.
It is hard to forget what happened here on one tragic day that made national headlines.
Nestled in a verdant setting on a side street at the edge of Schiller Park (hence the name), this address is best known among Buffalonians as the original location of Scharf's, which dished out hearty German-American pub grub to a steadily dwindling crowd of neighborhood old-timers for nearly half a century before finally closing up shop in 2014. Nowadays, though, soul food is the name of the game at the Park Vue. The hours of operation are not what you'd call extensive, but if you can catch the place open, you're in for a feast of barbecue ribs, fried chicken, mac & cheese, and other finger-lickin'-good favorites, an ambience that's as down-to-earth as the old place but also a lot less gritty, and service that's the definition of old-fashioned Southern hospitality.
Take the respective halves of this place's name to mean "Eastern Europe" and "Western New York", and you'll have a pretty accurate idea of the menu here. At East-West Café, you're just as apt to nosh on Polish specialties like gołąbki (cabbage rolls), tangy czernina (duck blood soup), and huge, mouth-watering Polish sausage dogs that dwarf the buns they're served on (condiments are around the corner from the cash register) as you are to enjoy local favorites like beef on weck, fried bologna sandwiches or fish fry. As a bonus, sides such as chili mac and collard greens add a soul food element to the mix.
Chruściki and other pastries are the main stock in trade of this longtime Broadway Market vendor, but if you're hungry for something a bit more substantial, take a seat at their lunch counter and nosh on one of a limited range of Polish-American specialties: pierogi platters; tasty kielbasa sandwiches with sauerkraut and horseradish; a selection of wraps; bagels and sliced placek in the morning.
Wherein Margie Hawkins cooks up the most authentic takes on fried chicken, mac & cheese, barbecue ribs (with a delightful tinge of raspberry in the glaze), and peach cobbler that you can find anywhere in the area. But that's not all: the menu also includes some more esoteric regional specialties like pigs' trotters and oxtail that are worth a try if you're in an adventurous mood. If you've ever been down South to a "meat and three" joint, the setup will be instantly familiar to you, but at Margie's it's "meat and two" — that is, you choose from a meat-based main course and two side dishes, plus cornbread and a biscuit, served to you cafeteria-style in Styrofoam takeout containers.
If you're in the mood for Polish food, don't be put off by the fact that the menu Potts' Broadway Market location tilts more heavily toward standard American comfort food by comparison to the original one in Cheektowaga: the high-ish price of the pierogi is justified by both quality and portion size, there's gołąbki and kielbasa (smoked only, no fresh) to savor, and the "Polish platter" combines all three of the foregoing plus sauerkraut and mashed potatoes on the side. As for the American selections, standard diner fare is the order of the day, along with a small selection of local favorites like fried bologna and Wardynski's hot dogs.
It's got no ambience or even any seating to speak of, but if you've got a hankering for 100% halal North Indian and Pakistani cuisine, head to the corner of William Street and Memorial Drive for the East Side's consensus-favorite purveyor. Tandoori chicken is the specialty of the house at Alibaba Kebab — 'over rice' boxes, perfectly seasoned and bursting with flavor, flies off the shelves — but they've also got a variety of curries, seekh and boti kebabs, and even Levantine specialties such as shawarma and gyro on offer. Best of all, if you're used to the sticker shock that comes at the end of many a meal at Buffalo-area Indian restaurants, prepare for a pleasant surprise — especially given the generous portions!
Indian restaurants are not altogether rare in the Buffalo area, but for those locals who've been overseas and sampled the real deal on its own turf, finding anything approaching that level of authenticity has been a fool's errand. No more! Enter Bay Leaf, where the chicken, beef, goat, and even shrimp curries come fragrantly spiced and bursting with flavor, a wide range of delicious boti and seekh kebabs await those in search of a cheap light meal, and the specialty of the house is aromatic Bengali-style morag polao, a dish available nowhere else in Buffalo. And if your palate is a bit more timid, never fear: you can choose instead from a diner-style menu of hot and cold sandwiches, burgers, fried chicken, and pizza.
Catering to the entire spectrum of the East Side's Islamic community, the menu at this spartan hole-in-the-wall is split between Middle Eastern and South Asian specialties: among the former are tasty "New York City-style" gyros made with lamb, chicken or a combination of the two, while folks from the latter communities line up for delicious platters of curry or biryani (available with chicken, beef or goat in both cases), tandoori chicken (flame-broiled, smoky but not too smoky), and a range of ethnic sweets that are the specialty of the house. Whichever you opt for, prepare for an experience that's as authentic and delicious as you'll find anywhere in town — and mind your manners; this is the kind of place where an as-salaam alaykum when you walk in the door goes a long way.
An honest-to-goodness throwback to old Polonia that's been going strong for the better part of a century, where old Genesee Beer ads share space on the wood-panelled barroom walls with tacked-up pictures of the Virgin Mary. R&L's food menu is limited in size but impeccable in quality: owner Lottie Pikuzinski's take on gołąbki is light as air and delicious, and her handmade pierogi are elegant in their simplicity, standing up well on their own merits without any of the traditional accompaniments like sautéed onions and sour cream. Most popular of all, though, is the Friday fish fry: it's standing room only during Lent. Keep in mind that this is a small, family-run operation, so the place sometimes closes without notice and can run out of food on a particularly busy day. It's always best to call ahead.
Consensus from those who make it this far off the usual restaurant circuit is that Shy's serves the best steak hoagies in Buffalo — enormous concoctions (one serves at least two) piled high with melted cheese, onions, peppers, mushrooms and other fixins, plus a gargantuan helping of meat that's finely chopped, perfectly seasoned with an ineffable secret sauce, and so juicy it drips from the bread. Jim's Steakout, Mike's on Bailey Avenue, even the Wegmans sub shop all pale in comparison. Drawbacks include the postage stamp-sized dining room (takeout is understandably a popular option) and service that, while unfailingly friendly, is sometimes slow.
Appropriately enough from a geographic perspective, Yemeni food is an infatuating and truly unique hybrid of Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, and Indian culinary elements — and no matter whether you're tucking into a heaping plate of deliciously tender and delectably spiced chicken mandi, a steaming bowl of ogdat stew made with lamb and vegetables, a serving of the national dish, haneeth, with your choice of either of the foregoing meats, or a full range of Yemeni breakfast specialties, at Al Mandy you're getting the real deal. Everything served here is certified zabiha halal and of topnotch quality; prices are high by East Side standards, though that's not saying much, and the food is worth it in any case.
Buffalo Fresh is to the East Side what Vineeta International Foods is to the West Side: a destination for ethnic groceries that's no mere specialty store, but a full-fledged supermarket. Awaiting you are aisle after aisle of shelf-stable packaged groceries such as staple grains, cooking oils, and snacks, a huge selection of reasonably-priced bulk spices, well-stocked freezer cases, and best of all, copious fresh produce and a butcher section full of 100% halal meats. If you plan to self-cater during your visit to Buffalo and you're a fan of Middle Eastern or South Asian cuisines, look no further.
Lucky's Texas Hots is a neighborhood institution in Kaisertown, serving up "slime dogs" and other fresh-off-the-grill goodies seemingly forever at their humble Clinton Street storefront. The local specialty that makes up 75% of the restaurant's name is Lucky's main claim to fame, but its variation of the Texas hot doesn't quite stack up: local consensus says the sauce has a bland, somewhat off-putting flavor. You're better off sticking to the other offerings, which consist of summery fare like grilled chicken sandwiches, sausage dogs, burgers, and Philly-style cheesesteak sandwiches. An upside is that service is friendly and efficient, and breakfast is served all day.
The name is Spanish, but the menu is all-American: this former barbershop in Lovejoy serves some of the best barbecue in Buffalo, and that's "the truth". The catch is that it usually comes in sandwich form only — try "The Stretch Mark", wherein slow-roasted smoked brisket is piled high on a Kaiser roll with mac & cheese and kale-apple slaw on the side, or better yet the burnt-ends sandwich which is arguably their bestseller — the exception being Friday nights, where combo platters prominently feature falling-off-the-bone-good ribs. The decor splits the difference between rustic roadhouse and charming country café, and the friendly service is as downhome as the food.
Hearty, homestyle comfort food is what the titular fish, shrimp, and chicken get fashioned into at this neighborhood-favorite takeout joint. On the short but sweet menu at G&B chicken wings and fingers, burgers, and huge sloppy steak hoagies all have their place, but what customers really flock here for is the fish fry: a big ol' slab of your choice of haddock, catfish, or ocean perch breaded, fried up golden brown, and served alongside mounds of fresh-cut French fries and coleslaw; a steal at $11. Customer service is a bit spotty, but the food itself never disappoints.
Ike's is just a tiny little takeout joint on a desolate stretch of Genesee Street that's only open three days a week, but the Southern-style barbecue fare they dish out is so good that it'd be unthinkable to leave them out of this article. In case you couldn't figure it out from the name of this place, at Ike & BG's the name of the game is ribs — meaty, mouthwatering half- and full racks of pork ribs come slathered with a super-spicy hot barbecue sauce that "will burn your soul", in the words of one especially feisty reviewer. There's also dinner specials of fried or barbecued chicken, barbecue fish, steak hoagies, and more. And don't forget the mac and cheese, coleslaw, and other stick-to-your-ribs (no pun intended!) sides.
The specialty that put Ms. Goodies on the map is something they call the "junkyard dog", which is a hard concept to wrap your head around at first — sort of a cross between a hot dog, a taco, and a fish fry, this odd concoction consists of a fried haddock filet, French fries, and coleslaw slathered with hot sauce and stuffed into a flour tortilla — yet delicious enough to have won multiple awards at the Taste of Buffalo. Aside from that, the menu sports a Southern bent: breakfast features delicious Southern-style chicken and waffles, while on Friday nights you can indulge in an after a soul-food take on Buffalo fish fry.
Come to this artisanal nanobrewery in the Ellicott District to enjoy any of their four flagship beers on draft (easily the favorite among which is "1842", a toasty Vienna lager made with imported hops whose name commemorates the invention of the grain elevator by Buffalo milling magnate Joseph Dart) plus a changing selection of seasonal offerings; stay for a pretty impressive collection of artifacts from Buffalo's long and storied brewing history.
It's tucked away on a quiet side street in Hamlin Park and has been described as a "neighborhood corner cafe of some amorphic past decade", so naturally if you're looking for a relaxed and low-key ambience, E. M. Tea does the trick. The coffee selection is not the widest in the world, but it's reliably delicious, specialty brews are featured from time to time, and the price is more than fair; the more extensive food menu includes breakfast sandwiches on house-baked croissants plus hearty diner-style fare at lunchtime (and don't miss the jerk chicken soup). But E. M. Tea is probably best known as the cradle of Buffalo's tight-knit poetry scene, a tradition carried on at monthly open-mic nights every third Saturday.
First and foremost, this anonymous-looking storefront on Jefferson Avenue is a roastery, distributing its own fresh-roasted coffee and high-grade tea to restaurants, offices, and other sites around the region — which is probably why it's not on the radar of most Buffalo caffeine aficionados. That's a shame, because the flipside of that is that you know the coffee served at their cozy, homey onsite café is fresh as can be: a myriad of varieties each bursting with flavor, with the common thread being that they all go down smooth and easy (even the decaf varieties!) Plus they'll also sell you beans by the pound, sourced from a variety of countries worldwide. They've got quite the extensive food menu too, with both breakfast and lunch options.
Perhaps the best description of R&L was given by the reviewer who compared it to "sitting around the kitchen table with relatives". Grandmotherly barkeep Lottie Pikuzinski is nothing if not fully engaged with her customers — the philosophy she expounds ("A bartender is like a psychiatrist... a lot of bars don't make it because they're not trained to be people's people; they're only trained to pour drinks", as quoted in the Buffalo News) means she's liable to come over to your table and talk your ear off, dishing on the latest neighborhood gossip or showing off old family photos. And if you're hungry, handmade pierogi or Friday fish fry make for the perfect accompaniments.
Located on a quiet residential side street in Lovejoy, the Moreland Guest House boasts inexpensive yet secure and high-quality accommodation for budget travellers. Single or double rooms are available, with complimentary satellite television and high-speed wireless Internet. The bathrooms are shared, dormitory-style, and a kitchen and common room is available. On-site parking can be had for a nominal fee, but on-street parking is free and nearly always easy to find. The Moreland Guest House enforces a minimum stay of 3 nights, and a maximum of two guests per room.
Yes, "CASH FOR GOLD" is proclaimed loudly and proudly on the signs that adorn the front of this humble storefront, but Bailey Jewelry is more than just another sleazy old-gold broker. On the contrary, the selection of 10-karat, 14-karat and silver jewelry here is impressive indeed. As is the rule on the East Side, the merchandise here runs heavily toward big, chunky hoop earrings, pendants, diamond watches, and other hip-hop-inspired styles; as is not the rule on the East Side, you should come prepared to splurge a little bit: prices are fair for what you get, but what you get is of surprisingly high quality.
Since 2005, City Fashion's stylish, elegant ladieswear has been attracting folks from all over the city and beyond — folks come from as far as Toronto to browse the great selection of quality items on the racks. if you're planning a special occasion such as a graduation, prom or wedding, you're in luck. The service here is friendly and helpful, and they do tailoring and alterations as well.
At Fashion City, you'll certainly find plenty of the streetwise urban styles you see in other clothes shops on Bailey, but that's not the end of the story: there's also a decent selection of items in a more traditional, even preppy, aesthetic. The interior sports a brash and vibrant decorative scheme, highlighted by a loud black-and-white checkered tile floor, and it's where you'll find a wide range of name-brand clothes for men and women on racks, shelves, even hanging from the rafters: sweats, hoodies, jeans, t-shirts, baseball caps, flannels, bubble jackets, shoes and boots (there's a huge wall given over to Timberlands). Fashion City is also an authorized dealer of Dickies work apparel.
Lucky's may not look like much from the outside, but there's a huge selection of different stuff inside that goes above and beyond "The Latest Fashion and Beauty" touted by the sign outside. The front of the store is given over to a decent selection of polo shirts, men's and women's T-shirts, jeans, and workwear, while in back you have bath products, body oils, wigs, hair extensions, and other such items. Finally, this jack-of-all-trades shop even sells, unlocks and repairs cell phones — a variety of brands and plans are offered.
"Don't be predictable", exhorts the motto on the sign, and true to its word, One of a Kind Fashions' inventory is a refreshing change of pace: fashions that are decidedly upscale without sacrificing any streetwise sass. The retail space here is split into two levels: in front you'll find streetwear and accessories whose aesthetic tends toward the loud and outlandish; walk up a few steps in back for a range of more conservative dresses, skirts, and tops perfect for a night on the town. Furthering this balancing act is the interior, brightly lit and decorated with stylish minimalism yet with delightfully gaudy accents here and there like mirrored walls.
Established in 1929, United Men's Fashions is by far the oldest operating business in the neighborhood, with a selection that comprises an extensive and high-quality yet reasonably priced array of suit jackets, dress shirts and pants, tuxedos and other formalwear, sweaters, hats, and men's accessories. Despite sporting a style that's sometimes a bit too flashy for its own good — bright colors and offbeat styles abound — the inventory is classy and sophisticated, seemingly much more at home in a high-end men's shop in New York or Los Angeles than on the East Side.
Since 1992, owner Kim Young has operated this urban fashion boutique, stocking street gear and accessories for both men and women at the heart of the Bailey strip. The styles you'll find at Young Fashions are pretty much in line with the standard set by its neighboring competitors, but the selection is decent, and they're also an authorized seller of Dickies brand workwear.
If you've been to An Chau's other location on Niagara Street, you know what to expect: crowded aisles stacked floor-to-ceiling with a wide variety of international, and especially Asian, specialty groceries. Compared to its counterpart, the Bailey location is smaller yet cleaner and less chaotic and claustrophobic, but you'll find the same sorts of sauces, oils, pickles, nonperishables, fresh produce, and fresh and frozen meats — as well as an expanded selection of non-Asian items, such as Jamaican johnnycake mix. For best results, check sell-by dates: An Chau is known for keeping expired items on the shelves.
Picture this. It's 11 at night. You haven't eaten yet, and you're hungry for Indian food. All the restaurants are closed. What to do? Well, assuming you know how to cook and don't mind braving a moderately sketchy neighborhood in the dark, Bangla Bazaar in Highland Park is your answer. Step inside and you'll find shelves well-stocked with everything you'd expect from an ethnic food market: nonperishable packaged groceries, spices, dried beans and legumes, frozen fish and meats (100% halal), even vegetables. Prices are high and the organizational scheme of the store's layout isn't what you'd call intuitive, but of course that comes with the territory.
Located on 12 vacant lots in Cold Spring sold at a city foreclosure auction in 2011, Michigan Riley is a bit different than most area urban farms in that it's cooperatively owned: individual participants sign up each year for one of two levels of membership, with both work and harvests shared among the members proportionally. For short-term visitors and those who aren't interested in volunteering, the best way to get your hands on some of these delicious vegetables and herbs is at the seasonally-open farm stand on Riley Street — as well as a few blocks away at The Foundry on Northampton Street, on the second Saturday of each month.
If you're a home shopping aficionado, you may have seen Landies Candies offered up for sale "exclusively" on the QVC network. You might have searched fruitlessly in stores only to be told that the only way you can get them is through the television. Is that true? Yes indeed — unless you head up to the third floor of the Tri-Main Center in Highland Park, where Landies has a retail shop selling a wide range of treats: chocolate truffles, peanut butter cups, caramel confections, and a delectable take on sponge candy that's fresh and flavorful without the cloying sweetness you'll find elsewhere.
If you're a fan of modern R&B and hip-hop music or the sweet strains of classic soul and Motown, you'll want to make a stop at this institution that's been going strong in Cold Spring since 1962. Nowadays small independent record shops like this are almost invariably partonized by hipster vinyl fetishists, but Doris is the exception to that rule: here CDs and DVDs dominate the inventory and there's only a modest selection of record albums. You can also browse a modest variety of baseball caps, T-shirts, and other streetwear, as well as racks of urban-oriented lifestyle magazines such as XXL.
Opened in 2012 on the West Side, City Swagg moved to its current location in Schiller Park in 2017. The inventory is the same as ever, though: these guys offer the best in urban fashions straight from the streets of New York, L.A. and Miami. From everyday wear like jeans, dresses, and jackets, to shoes and accessories, to swimwear and body suits, the designs here are sexy, sassy and make a bold statement. As well as clothing, City Swagg also sells mobile phones and related accessories, with calling plans from providers such as H2O Wireless, T-Mobile, and Net10.
Owner Lakeisha Williams proudly sells her line of new and secondhand women's "Fashions on a Budget" in this sparsely decorated storefront in the heart of the Delavan-Bailey business district. If your tastes tend toward the Afrocentric, KeeKee's is the place for you, with lots of colorful wooden jewelry and flowing dresses in tribal-style prints, but aside from that the styles here tend to be a bit more understated than what you'll find on a your typical East Side urban fashion boutique. But there are some really upscale finds here among the dresses, blouses, shawls, shoes, handbags, and other accessories.
A newer addition to the roster of Bailey Avenue clothing boutiques, Legacy Apparel is a huge emporium at the far southern end of the strip stocked with a huge range of streetwear for both men and women — hoodies, jackets, baseball caps, and some of the best-priced jeans you'll find anywhere on the East Side. Bright colors and hip-hop styles abound. And if Bailey Avenue is particularly busy on the day you visit, never fear about parking — Legacy Apparel boasts an ample off-street lot.
Sky's the Limit is run by local entrepreneur Ahmed Ahmed, a second-generation Yemeni-American immigrant who also owns Farm Fresh Market across the street. The main attraction here is a dizzying range of beauty supplies as well as wigs and weaves, but there's also a similarly impressive selection of urban-style women's apparel and footwear, with excellent bargains to be had on bold, sassy tops, leggings, dresses and other formalwear, work uniforms, and even kids' clothing. The downside at Sky's the Limit is the customer service, which tends toward the inattentive.
The Broadway Market traces its history to 1888, not long after the birth of the city's Polish community. Back then, this was not only a place for the newly minted community to stock up on daily essentials, but also to meet friends, see and be seen, and enjoy a comforting reminder of their homeland. Today, Polish and other Eastern European foods and gifts share space on the sales floor with soul food stands, halal groceries, and other items that reflect the diverse pastiche of the modern-day East Side. For most of the year, the Market is a fairly quiet place, with about a dozen stalls and eateries open for business (more on Saturdays, which is generally the busiest day of the week) — but come in the weeks leading up to Easter and you'll find yourself amid the throngs of Buffalo Poles who flock back to the old neighborhood each year to pick up specialties for the traditional breakfast spread. At those times, seasonal vendors swell the ranks to perhaps three times as many as listed here.
At the Broadway Market on Saturday mornings and afternoons and pretty much anywhere else in the city at other times, Dexter Shaw sells quality men's hats — fedoras, porkpies, newsboy caps, and more — to neighborhood types looking for a snazzy addition to their style. Satisfaction is 100% guaranteed.
Wherein Gary Witkowski practices the fast-disappearing craft of old-style hatmaking: fedoras, porkpies, homburgs, and other hats all crafted on antique millinery tools with real beaver, chinchilla and muskrat fur; linings and leather sweatbands carefully sewn rather than glued in place. In addition to the many ordinary folks he's helped to cap off (as it were) a formal ensemble in just the right way, Witkowski can boast of having outfitted the Broadway productions of Guys & Dolls and Thoroughly Modern Millie and of his hats being worn on the big screen by stars like James Garner and Leonardo DiCaprio. Prices rank decisively in the high end, but you're paying for quality that's second-to-none.
Eschewing the conservative, somewhat dowdy styles (not to mention the dusty clutter and surly customer service) that you'll find in other Buffalo-area Islamic clothing boutiques, Peace & Co. is instead the place to be for couture-minded observant Muslims to, as the sign outside the door indicates, "unveil style and modesty" in equal measures. Here you'll find high-quality abayas, hijabs, and kaftans in all colors and at great prices, with vibrant yet elegant styles for on-the-go women of today, along with a selection of men's thobes and kaftans that's somewhat more conventional in style without skimping on the quality.
"We give our customers something you can't find at the mall or in [other] stores", says owner Alexis Boykin. She's exaggerating, but only a little. If you've visited some of the other fashion boutiques on the East Side or even just read through this section of the article, you know the drill already — streetwise styles, loud colors, lots of bling — but if you're looking to put your Buffalove on display loud and proud, many of the house-exclusive designs follow that theme (how about a gold and lavender tracksuit with a silhouette of the downtown skyline across the front?)
On the ground floor of the Mitchell Square Building at the corner of Broadway and Fillmore is where Mohammed Abubakar sells a wide variety of clothing and accessories for men and women, in a mix of styles that runs the gamut from elegant upscale fashions to urban street gear. This & That is also a place to pick up prepaid phones and accessories.
The name of this place is no joke: established in 2005, Sadi Mohamed's Broadway fashion outlet is on the cutting edge of the latest urban fashions, with name brands like Akoo, Nike, Rocawear, Polo, and even Prada on the shelves. At Trendz, you'll find tight acid-washed jeans, graphic tees, hoodies, jackets and more.
Cheryl Ziolkowski-Krygier and Linda Lund learned the fine art of pierogi-making as kids helping out their babcias (grandmothers, hence this place's name) in the kitchen, but nowadays they also put their own spin on this old culinary standby: Babcia's menu splits the difference between the traditional — various permutations of sauerkraut, mushroom, potato, and cheese — and specialty pierogi such as taco, reuben, and beef on weck. Their Broadway Market stand is also the home of Sweet Tallulah's pastry shop, with fresh-baked Polish and American goodies.
Boasting one large cooler for seafood and one for meat, Broadway Seafood & Meat is huge. The latter has pretty much every kind of butcher meat you can think of, with a noticeable abundance of soul-food staples like hamhocks, trotters, turkey necks and chitlins; the former features fresh whole fish on ice (again, pretty much every kind you can think of; the selection of freshwater whitefish is especially good). Service is prompt and friendly, and prices have to be seen to be believed.
Deb's Delights ships its inventory nationwide from their headquarters in East Aurora not only to the shelves of numerous Western New York supermarkets, but also to its flagship retail outlet that opens for business each Wednesday at the Broadway Market. What products make up that inventory? No less than 70 different varieties of jellies, relishes, salsas, hot sauces, condiments, and — above all — pretty much any kind of vegetable that can be pickled; a high-quality range of stuff that ably demonstrates the truth of her slogan, "If you can't, I can".
Sure, at this longtime Broadway Market vendor you can pick up a jar of the same namesake product that's proudly stocked in many a local supermarket, plus harder-to-find beet horseradish. But Famous Horseradish also stocks a full range of horseradish-infused products like spicy mustard and cocktail sauce, a variety of homemade pickles and sauerkraut, and a similar but somewhat smaller range of fresh produce as at Lewandowski's (though naturally, if you're in the market for fresh horseradish root you're in luck).
Inspired by owner Liz Fickhezen's 1999 vacation to Tortola, Kissed by the Sun's all-natural, all-kosher, pesticide- and MSG-free spice blends are the perfect accompaniment to Caribbean cuisine (their website even has an online cookbook for some ideas). The biggest sellers are a seasoned sea salt blend with garlic, celery seed, parsley and a hint of ginger — a healthy, lower-sodium alternative to table salt — as well as sweet-hot pepper flakes made from the skins of red and jalapeño peppers, flavorful yet not too spicy.
When it comes to Broadway Market butcher shops, Broadway Seafood and Meats may have size and variety on their side, but these guys have the crowds. The venerable stand operated by family patriarch Petru Lupas and his son David is, in the words of one reviewer who grew up in Polonia during its golden years, "as close as you can get to the original Broadway Market". The stars of the show are (of course) Polish delicacies such as fresh and smoked kielbasa, kiszka, kabanossy, and slab bacon, but as with its aforementioned competitor, you'll also find soul-food delights catering to an increasingly African-American customer base. In terms of deli meats, bologna, ham, and other pork products abound, as do local brands like Wardynski's, Sahlen's, Yancey's Fancy cheese, and Lupas' own house brand. The already low prices come down further toward the end of the day, the better to move as much inventory as possible.
Somali immigrant Bisharo Ali is the culinary mastermind behind this line of all-natural sauces, condiments and fruit juice drinks crafted right here in the Broadway Market's own kitchen facilities. The signature ingredient shared among many of the options is fenugreek, an indelibly sweet-ish herb with a myriad of health benefits to its name, which Ali will be only too happy to tell you about. Also prominent among the options is tamarind sauce, available in mild and hot varieties and inspired by the shidni of her native cuisine.
Much different from what you usually see among Western New York wines, Victoria and Dan Hogue have recreated a classic Northern German winery on the 50 acres (20 ha) they cultivate in rural Niagara County, for delightfully unusual results. If you can't make it to their tasting room out in Wilson, the Broadway Market on Saturday is the place to sample the wares (especially the pechette, the best-loved of their two dozen or so offerings).
Its neighbors to the north (Canada) and northeast (Vermont) may be more famous, but the maple syrup harvested by New York State producers each spring can hold its own. If you're by the Broadway Market on a weekend, you can sample the local version courtesy of this tree-to-table operation out of West Falls: both the syrup in its pure, raw form as well as maple-infused products such as barbecue sauce, mustard, popcorn, glazed nuts, coffee and tea, even hot sauce.
The "R" stands for "roast": the folks at We R Nuts have been in business since 2006 (and at the Broadway Market since '09) roasting almonds, pecans, and cashews in fourteen different flavors, from sweet (maple, coconut, Bavarian-style cinnamon) to savory (garlic and herb, honey mustard). A wide range of homemade nut butters and tasty snacks are on offer as well.
Halal meats such as chicken, beef and fish are proudly touted on the sign in front of this little Bengali-owned store, as well as fresh produce that's locally sourced in many cases. But the true essence of Al-Madina is that it's very much a regular grocery store, only scaled down in size, with all products certified halal and a small variety of ethnic goods too. As well, you can find housewares and toiletries here including pots and pans, dish soap, baby powder, shampoo, and the like.
Far from the glorified bodegas that many of his competitors in the ethnic grocery business run, Amana Plaza offers more than just shelf-stable packaged goods, soda pop, candy and snacks. Indeed, more than half of the sales floor here is given over to fresh produce (both exotic imports and the usual supermarket standards), huge sacks of rice and other staple grains, and refrigerator and freezer cases replete with fresh and frozen fish, meat, and dairy products (all halal, of course). And to top it all off, the shop is clean and well-organized, and service comes with a smile.
Wilson Street Urban Farm comprises two acres (a little less than a hectare) of land tilled by the Stevens family, who, as transplants to Buffalo from the rural areas outside the city, use their agricultural know-how to serve as mentors and role models to a growing movement of like-minded homesteaders. The farm grows a wide range of produce both outdoors in the ground as well as inside their custom-built hothouse, and what the Stevenses don't eat themselves is offered up for sale to hungry East Siders on Saturday mornings at their farm stand.
Alexandra Robinson is the woman who gave her name to this place, bringing to bear her tutelage under some of the top pastry chefs in France and the U.S. with a full line of baked goods, scratch-made with real ingredients the old-fashioned way. Macarons are the specialty of the house. You can catch the Blue Eyed Baker and her team doing their thing at the Market on Saturdays; if not, poke around area farmers' markets and restaurants (or, if all else fails, Whole Foods in Amherst) to savor the goodness.
At the Broadway Market, countless Polish confectioners have come and gone, but the Chruściki Bakery is the stalwart original that (despite a marked decline in service and quality over the years) still keeps folks lining up to satisfy their sweet tooth. The namesake product — flat strips of dough twisted into ribbon shapes, deep-fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar — is joined on the shelves by other Polish specialties like pączki, placek, makowiec, and mazurek, plus home-baked rye bread, pierogi, and light prepared lunches.
"We'll dip anything in chocolate" is the saying around here, and that can mean anything from marshmallow Peeps, to roasted nuts, to Twinkies, to the fresh strawberries that gave this place its name. But that's just the beginning of the story: Strawberry Island is also a place to go for only-in-Buffalo specialties like sponge candy (available in regular, dark chocolate or orange chocolate) and Charlie Chaplins.
Though most famous for their chruściki, the familiar red-and-white boxes of which adorn the shelves at Wegmans and other area supermarkets in the runup to Easter, White Eagle sells the whole lineup of Polish pastries: placek, strudel, cream horns, pastry hearts, and the seasonal favorite pączki which flies off the shelves from Fat Tuesday all the way through to Easter Sunday. As well, wholesome, soft-crust seeded Polish rye bread baked fresh daily makes customers flock in.
A visit to Sloan's is like rummaging through the jumbled treasures in your grandma's attic or basement. What will you find in the jumble? Their Facebook page claims "you will see giant fish, bear skins, disco balls, neon signs, lamps, paintings of all sorts, and of course antiques", but it's actually not quite as diverse and offbeat as all that: the cornerstone of the inventory is fine furniture and home decor of a chronological purview ranging roughly from Late Victorian through Mid-century Modern. Best to call ahead before you show up, as the owners seem to regard their opening hours more as a general rule of thumb.
The warm-colored, yellowish little gems that gave this place its name are sourced directly from Poland's Baltic Sea shoreline, and adorn a huge range of jewelry including earrings, rings, necklaces and pendants, bracelets, brooches and more. But can also choose from a range of Polish porcelainware, all handpainted the old-fashioned way with lead-free glaze and safe for use in the freezer, dishwasher, oven, or microwave. And if you're in the market for Polish-flag coffee mugs, shot glasses, T-shirts, et cetera, they have you covered.
If you're looking for the perfect kitschy souvenir to remember your visit to the Broadway Market by, Monika Poslinski's gift emporium is the place you want to be: pretty much everything on the shelves is colored red and white and comes emblazoned with the proud Polish falcon. Enchanted Market also sells charming blue and white pottery imported directly from Bolesławiec, Poland's ceramics capital, as well as imported glassware and a selection of English- and Polish-language greeting cards.
The question this place asks its customers is simple but thought-provoking: "if it's not healthy for humans, why feed it to your dog?" True to that philosophy, all of Fetch's all-natural, locally-baked cookies, biscuits, and bones are made with human-grade ingredients, lacking fillers or other chemical preservatives. And Fetch has you and Fido covered for playtime, too: they're a licensed dealer of the West Paw brand of made-in-the-USA dog toys. Stop by the Broadway Market on Saturdays to stock up.
Grape Country Soaps' name evokes the owners' longtime family business and their hometown of Silver Creek, in the heart of Lake Erie wine country, much more than the ingredients of any of their homemade bath products. Check out their "Aromatherapy Line" of several dozen fragrant soaps with a kaleidoscopic variety of scents and textures (the exfoliating cinnamon oatmeal, cherry almond, and coffee soaps rank among their bestsellers), as well as bath lotions and fizzies, body butters, and accessories such as wooden soap dishes.
Don't be fooled by the "pig in a frying pan" mural on the side of the building: the selection in the meat case here is dwarfed by what you can get at, say, European Deli on Clinton Street. Where Slavic Bazaar excels is in canned and packaged groceries, as well as frozen foods: there's a pan-Central and Eastern European inventory including spice mixes, chocolates, and a wide range of canned, pickled, and otherwise preserved fruits and vegetables on the shelves, plus delicious house-made pierogi, savory pelmeni, and chilled soups in the cooler cases. And if you just can't wait till you get home to sample the goodness, stop off at the attached lunch counter for some of the mouth-watering pierogi (cooked in the Ukrainian style, smaller and denser than their Polish cousins).
Since 2009, this large Bailey Avenue clothing emporium has been a destination for urban athletic wear and street-level styles that are often preppier than other fashion boutiques on the East Side. At Signature you'll find a wide selection of shoes, as well as lots of name brands: Polo, Timberland, Champion, New Era, and Levi's are only some of them.
Camellia Meats was born in 1935, and it's still run by the third generation of the Cichocki family, who sell a full line of over fifty fresh-cut meats both here and at their Broadway Market outlet — not only the kiszka, kabanossy, and award-winning Polish sausage with which they've made their name, but multitudinous mouth-watering cuts of beef, pork, chicken, and fish, deli meats and cheeses, and a small selection of fresh produce and prepared foods.
Featuring a mix of ethnic specialty groceries from the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent that prominently includes a range of superior-quality hand-slaughtered halal meats available directly to customers or sold wholesale to area restaurants. If you have a specific order in mind, you can even deliver it to the store via text and they'll have it waiting for you when you arrive. Walden Halal also sells fresh produce, an impressive variety of spices, and bodega fare such as snacks, candy, and cold drinks. Keep in mind, though, that the store closes during Friday prayers, and customer service is limited by the staff's tenuous grasp of English.
From the outside, this little place in Humboldt Park looks like the perfect spot to pick up a cold pop, candy bar or salty snack — and indeed, if you're in the market for something like that, you won't be disappointed. But Zubaidah is much more than just another corner bodega. The accent among the international selection of groceries touted on the sign out front is on halal Middle Eastern and South Asian meats and fish, spices, and a modest selection of fresh produce. Zubaidah is also a source for clothing, including both Western and traditional Muslim garb.
The Guild @ 980 is operated by ReUse Action, whose raison d'être is salvaging construction materials, architectural elements, and furnishings from soon-to-be-demolished homes, refurbishing them, and offering them up for resale, thus preserving the old-school craftsmanship of the original items while simultaneously conserving raw materials and preventing waste from building up in landfills. If you're not in the middle of a home construction project, you can still peruse a pretty nifty selection of antique furniture and home decor — or check out the small art gallery on the third floor.
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