Buffalo Gal

Still carrying on my not-so-secret love affair with Buffalo, an affair that shows no sign of cooling any time soon. This time, a stroll down Elmwood Avenue, the sidewalk scattered with with golden gingko leaves, to our favorite Buffalo hangout, Cole’s.  Robbie at the old (1934) bar – dark wood, college memorabilia, antique carousel horses – pulled us a couple of pints while we waited for a table.

Good food near the Albright-Knox: Cole's on Elmwood Ave.

Anyone who thinks Buffalo’s dead hasn’t been in Elmwood Village at lunchtime lately. Even midweek, parking spots and restaurant seating were at a premium. The prices help. Burger specials at Cole’s were going for $6 and $7 but I had to have the Buffalo combo: a beef on weck (weck is a soft white roll sprinkled with caraway and coarse salt) au jus and Buffalo wings. B-wings are available around the planet now but I find they’re most delectable in the city they were invented in.

Magritte at the Albright-Knox.

Later we browsed the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, its neoclassical exterior containing some excellent 20th century art (think Pollock, Giacometti, Johns) including one of the scariest pieces I’ve seen, Rene Magritte’s The Voice of Space (1928). The second floor is full of new contemporary acquisitions, a great place to take kids on spring break. The back of the gallery is actually the front, with two impressive caryatid porches gazing out over Olmsted’s sweeping Delaware Park and the skateboarders and lovers exploring its lakeside paths.

Buffalo, you’re always a pleasure!