VZ City Guides: Buffalo, NY

By Lou Battaglia
Published: March 25th, 2009 | 12:00pm

Nicknames: Nickel City, Queen City, The City of Good Neighbors
Population: 1.2 million in the metro area
Happening ‘Hoods: Allentown, Elmwood Village

Located on the banks of Lake Erie, Buffalo’s thriving urban community has served as the launching pad for such diverse cultural luminaries as Ani Difranco, Vincent Gallo, and Rick James. As one of the few cities in the nation to have avoided the housing bubble, coupled with its astoundingly low cost of living, Buffalo is currently undergoing a sort of modern-day renaissance. Gone are references to the Bills’ four consecutive Super Bowl losses, blinding blizzards, Rust Belt economics, and, perhaps most embarrassing of all, the Goo Goo Dolls. These stigmas, which have long nagged at the city’s psyche, are quickly being replaced with daily progress toward a revitalized waterfront district, a downtown construction mini-boom, and a re-defining of the city’s distinct cultural persona. Buffalo has even been singled out as the top destination for the arts in mid-size cities across the nation.

Dates
When the summer season finally breaks in early June, Buffalo seems to host one festival after another all season long, the first of which is the Allentown Art Festival, now in its 52nd year. Known as the city’s bohemian enclave, the early-summer festival transforms Allentown into a playground for artists, craftsman, street performers, and musicians. Tens of thousands of people annually descend on the neighborhood to take part in the wide variety of festivities and to bask in Allentown’s eclectic culture.

Music festivals in Buffalo include Rockin’ at the Knox, a daylong music festival staged on the steps of the Albright-Knox Art Museum. Local acts fill up the day slots, which then give way to national acts late into the evenings (past headliners include Feist, Blondie, Metric, and the B-52s). The Infringement Festival, a weeklong event in late July, hosts music, theater, poetry, street performances, cabaret, comedy, and every other sort of performance art, providing an annual glimpse into the experimental and avant-garde aspects of Buffalo’s thriving artistic underground.

Sights
Right in front of Frederick Law Olmsted’s beautifully designed Delaware Park is one of Buffalo’s many houses of art, the renowned Albright-Knox Art Gallery, exhibiting contemporary global art and offering swanky happy hour cocktails at their café, Muse. Another noteworthy museum is the Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center, located downtown in the restored Asbury Hall, a.k.a. “Babeville” — so named for owner Ani Difranco's record label, Righteous Babe Records, which is also located here. And of course, no trip to northern New York is fully complete without a jaunt to see Niagara Falls, just a half hour’s drive north.

Fare
By far, the number one complaint of people who move away from Buffalo is missing the food. Buffalo is famous for its chicken wings, but skip the Anchor Bar (where wings were supposedly invented) and head to the spot where they were perfected — Gabriel’s Gate. Afterward, stroll two blocks down Allen Street to the city’s best Irish pub, K. Gallagher’s, for another Buffalo invention, the Beef-on-Weck (roast beef on a Kummelweck roll with super-hot horseradish). At either of these two great restaurants, you’ll also find Buffalo’s version of the fish fry — a beer-battered haddock, fried to perfection.

If you’re looking for some more refined food, head up to the Elmwood Village and sit down at Bistro Europa. For a similar atmosphere, try La Tee Da on Allen Street, which has one of the coolest courtyards in town, or Shango Bistro, a Creole / Cajun restaurant and wine bar on Main Street.

Nights
Since the bars stay open until 4 a.m., the options for drinking and nightlife are many in Buffalo. Key hot spots (aside from the obligatory Allentown ‘hood) include the Chippewa Strip, the Elmwood Strip, Hertel Avenue, and Main Street near the University at Buffalo. A barhop in any of these areas is easy to coordinate, and well worth the trip.

When it comes to music in Buffalo, there is a venue for every person’s taste. If you’re into the innovative or underground, hit up Soundlab downtown. A few blocks over there’s Mohawk Place, a glorious dive that features mostly good old hard rock and punk acts every night of the week. Back in Allentown is Nietzsche’s, which offers an open mic night along with an eclectic mix of bands — ranging from folk to funk — jamming seven nights a week. Across the street is Allen Street Hardware Café (known simply as "Hardware") where you can check out hip-hop / funk DJs on the weekend, and anything from spoken word to gypsy swing during the week. If you’re just looking for a bar that plays good music while you throw back a few, head a block down to the Old Pink, Buffalo’s most infamous bar. Just know that it’s best to hit Pink later, since the crowd doesn’t start rolling in until after midnight — it’s just that kind of place.

Merch
There is no shortage of places to shop in Buffalo, whether for clothing, records, art, or vintage items. Start on the Elmwood Strip where’s you’ll find funky shoe shop Firebrand, several great boutiques including Plum Pudding, and Krudmart, which serves as a complete outfitter for urban men and women.

For wall-adorning art, be sure to check out Hero Design and Boutique where you can find classic concert posters and prints. For records, head up Delaware Avenue to North Buffalo and stop in at the recently opened Spiral Scratch. For more records, along with antiques, books, furniture and anything else you can think of, go back down to Allen Street and see the Antique Man. While there is no sign to indicate his shop, you’ll know it by the record bins on the sidewalk and the music playing from the outdoor speakers.

Lastly, for truly authentic local and handmade goods, you have to swing by the Buffalo Indie Market, which takes place the second Sunday of every month at Pearl Street Brewery and features over 30 local artists and designers.

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If there is a special city you'd like to see, or a killer hot spot we somehow overlooked in this guide, email VZ City Guides editor, Erica Phillips, at cityguide (at) venuszine (dot-com).