A trip to Buffalo is a time for nostalgia for Mazurlanders in the great Buffalo diaspora, a time to take in old sights, sounds, and smells. But it's also a time to discover new treasures, at least ones that are new to us. Both Chris and I have reported on the state of Buffalo Central Terminal, and the efforts to preserve it. I'm continually amazed at all the great restaurants and clubs that are in the Franklin-Chippewa area downtown, a seedy and dangerous part of town in my youth. And every time one of us Mazurlanders returns from a pilgrimage, we have stories about new discoveries.
Well, I visited some places old and new in my trip to Buffalo last week. First, the old: Mazurlanders Chris and Marysia chided me recently about my ignorance of the delights of Louie's Texas Red Hots. Not that I had never sampled them. I recall occasionally going to Louie's original place on Bailey Avenue with Chris back in our college days after a night of bar hopping. I never could figure out then what he saw in the place (or its food). Truth be told, I still can't. The dogs themselves are fine. Sahlen's makes a good weenie. But they're not distinctive. They have no 'snap'. The chili sauce, though mildly piquant, is pretty nondescript. And the rolls, which to my mind are a sorely neglected element of any sandwich, are basic Wonderbread. I much prefer Ted's, or even The Hatch, which serves fried bologna and onions as well. By the way, there's another Louie's in Buffalo, Louie's Hot Dogs on Elmwood near Utica. They've been around since 1951 (16 years longer than "Louie's Scumdogs"). They serve foot-long, char-broiled dogs that look like they're worth the trip. I'll be trying that Louie's next time.
Now for the new. The first is new to me, but has been around for over 10 years. It's Papa Jake's Saloon on Elmwood across the street from the old Pierce-Arrow factory. A group of Mazurlanders sat out on Papa Jake's noisy (due to Elmwood traffic) patio for a Friday evening dinner. Ma Mazur and I had the fish fry, which included a very large piece of nicely fried haddock, home-made cole slaw, crab noodle salad, and some excellent fries, all for around nine bucks. Vicky gave me a taste of her superb roast beef on weck, It was tender and delicious on a fine kümmelweck roll. I had a disappointing experience the last time I visited one of Buffalo's supposedly best beef on weck establishments, Schwabl's. It seems that Schwabl's is one of those long-established places that keeps garnering good reviews out of sheer inertia. The beef there was cold and stringy, the restaurant drafty, and the service inattentive. Papa Jake's had great service, a full selection of bottled and draft beers, and a first rate tavern menu.
A true Buffalo treasure is Babcia's Deli, a hole in the wall in the ramshackle Garden Village Plaza on Union and French Roads in Cheektowaga. Babcia's is operated by Jadwiga Adamus, a Polish immigrant, with help from family members. The place is overflowing with the tastes and smells of Polonia. When I visited, Ma Mazur chatted in Polish with the clerk, who provided us with samples of head cheese, pork tenderloin, kielbasa, peppery kabanosy, and a delicately flavored liver sausage. My wife and daughter were more interested in the Polish baked goods, so we brought home airy plum-filled pączki, delicious eggy chruściki, and placek. The deli also has a large selection of Polish canned and dry goods. The proprietor made sure to inform us that the food is "not Brod-vay Market" (a dig at the Broadway Market, the old center of Buffalo Polonia), but authentic, shipped in from Chicago, Canada, and Poland. I'll have to drop by the Broadway Market to see how that landmark is faring the next time I'm in town, but my impression from this trip is that Babcia's is just like Grandma's.
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