It’s been a long while since I’ve posted a field trip. I guess my eating-out adventures aren’t as noteworthy as I had originally thought they’d be. Well, the best laid plans…

Anyway, with last week being Thanksgiving week, I, along with Tomato, went to Michigan for the weekend to visit Mama Buddha. Hence, the Indian Breakfast. On Friday, for lack of anything better to do, we decided to day trip to Niagara Falls and Buffalo, New York, a ride that takes about four and a bit hours each way. While I’m sure you can understand Niagara Falls, you’re probably wondering what drew us to Buffalo.

LOOK WHERE WE ARE!

My whole family originates from that area, and for two months each summer until I was about 16, my family and I spent time there. That means there are things there that only a true Buffaloian can appreciate. And when I say things, I mean food. Our trip turned out to be a food tour of sorts for the area, and so here I present to you the “must eat” things if you ever find yourself in lovely Western New York.

THE ANCHOR BAR

Home of the original Buffalo wings. To be eaten with Blue Cheese. It’s the only way.

LOGANBERRY JUICE

The loganberry is a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry, originating from California but popular nowhere but Buffalo. While this is sweet in the way of Kool Aid, it’s a tasty treat once in a while.

ANDERSON’S CUSTARD

Frozen custard. Do I need to explain? This is me, enjoying the pumpkin pie. Mmmm….

TED’S HOT DOGS

We didn’t actually eat here because we had the aforementioned wings, but if you have more than one day, stop at Ted’s. Grilled right in front of you, as if you were at a summer BBQ. I love Ted’s, and I don’t even like hot dogs.

SPONGE CANDY

Honeycomb toffee. Again, need I explain?

And finally…

Juice to fuel it all…

While there is nothing special about Buffalo, a town inconsequential in the whole scheme of towns across the globe, it’s special to me, and I can’t help but feel sad every time I leave, never knowing when I’ll go back. I remember when The Falls were just The Falls, before casinos and wax museums crammed the riverside. I remember going to Ted’s for lunch with my brother and dad (who passed away three years ago yesterday) every Black Friday while we took a break from Christmas shopping. I remember climbing trees, and fishing, and swimming lessons and learning how to roller skate. And I remember sitting in the freezing rain watching the Bills beat the Dolphins in what has, to date, been my one and only pro football game.

Why hug a bear when you can hug a moose?

Tomato has traveled with me around the globe and she knows that every place I go, I collect the Hard Rock Café pin. Every single place. Without fail, I will scour a town, take buses, trains, get lost in foreign lands trying to find the silly HRC, so she was surprised to learn that I didn’t have one from Niagara Falls, NY. I just never made it a point to get one, knowing that it’d always be there, and that I’d always be back. This trip was a fluke- my family has long since moved away, and my last trip there was three years ago. Despite this, it’s still home to me. While there’s nothing that will send me back there intentionally, something inside me knows I’ll return. I can’t explain it. Maybe it’s because I know it’ll always be a part of me, so that part of me will never abandon a place that I moved away from so long ago. And with food this good, do I really need an excuse to go back? NO.

I guess at least now I own the pin.