I lived in Upstate NY for 23 years before moving to Cleveland, and I can't even count how many times I have driven through Buffalo, NY without stopping in to try the "Home of the Original Buffalo Wing" (a.k.a. the Anchor Bar). Friends and family members have been many times, and raved about the wings. It was my turn to try them on Sunday night as "R" and I headed back to Ohio from spending 12 glorious days of vacation playing in the snow of Upstate NY. We plugged it into the GPS and off we went in search of the original wing. We were a little nervous about the wait since the Bills were playing that afternoon, and we all know that football fans love wings, but the parking lot didn't appear too full and once we went inside we quickly realized that the restaurant/bar is quite equipped to handle a large crowd! The buffalo wing phenomenon began in 1964 as a quick fix for the friends of the owner's son who were visiting the bar late one night, and now they produce tens of thousands of wings a year.We started with the Pizza Logs ($11)- pizza dough stuffed with mozerella cheese and pepperoni, served with pizza sauce. I think the description is a little misleading. What arrived at our table could be best described as "pizza egg rolls". The dough was rolled and deep fried, and was not what we were expecting. They weren't bad, but we did wonder if they were made in-house. They had the look of something out of a box. I don't reccomend trying them when there are so many other tasty options on the menu.
Now on to the wings...we ordered 10 hot and 10 spicy barbeque just to try at least two different sauces (they only have 4). Both types were meaty and had a wonderful crisp to them. Anchor Bar has certainly perfected creating a great crisp on the outside without completely drying out the chicken inside. The hot sauce was pleasant, but standard, and the spicy barbeque seemed a bit more intense than the hot which was surprising.
I've had better wing sauces here in Cleveland (ex. Winking Lizard), but overall we enjoyed the experience and it is worth stopping in if you are passing through or visiting Buffalo.
Anchor Bar
1047 Main Street
Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 883-1134
5 comments:
Try the wings at B Spot - the chicken meat inside is remarkably tender while the outside is crisp and coated with seasoning.
I can't say the wings were anything to write home about (not BAD, just not memorable.) The one thing I do remember from our visit is that Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard where at the table behind us. I think Anchor Bar is one of those "check it off your list" kind of places.
Nancy- Thanks for the tip! That's just how I like them. We haven't had a chance to make it out to B-Spot yet, but I'm looking forward to trying it.
Agreed- it is one of those places that you must try if you're in the area, but you don't have to go back!
Bite Buff - the next time you are traveling to upstate NY, stop in a little town called Pulaski. They are famous for fishing, but a local bar called the End Zone has exactly the kind of wings you like: meaty with crisp skin and moist interior. Let me know when you are there - I will buy!
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