My visits to Buffalo are generally like a working day. ie I get to Buffalo at 9 a.m. and leave at 5 p.m. However this weekend was different…I finally stayed overnite and ate my way thru Buffalo.  I am now the proud owner of the phrase “I ate at 7 restaurants in less than 7 hours”.

It all started with a phone call to the Buffalo Convention and Visitors bureau, where they were all too eager to help suggest a few restaurants and bars. Then I made a second phone call and booked a room at my favorite hotel which is the Hampton Inn Walden Galleria. I was off to a good start!!

I did a bit more research on twitter with @BuffaloEats and @YelpBuffalo and then I was all set to go: I prepared a “master list” of restaurants and addresses and packed a few lactaid pills as well!!  What more did I need besides a great list of  restaurants and a great hotel? Oh yeah – I needed someone to eat with me…..so my boyfriend accepted to join me on this “foodie adventure”.

Here was the schedule:

3:00 p.m Louise’s Hot Dogs (470 Elmwood).

We loved the Elvis Milkshake (think – peanut butter, chocolate and banana). It was perfect.  We also inhaled the veggie dogs and sweet potato fries. The fries were hand cut and came with little containers of melted butter and honey. We loved this concept!!

3:30 p.m. Chow Chocolate (715 Elmwood)

We were pacing ourselves so we only tried some chocolate and not the hot chocolate (which I’m sure is delicious).  I selected the  “hot lips” chocolate which had an insane about of heat in it. This means that I ate my chocolate on 3 separate occasions!!

4:00 p.m Blue Monk Bar (727 Elmwood)

This bar had a wicked line up of beers and Steve (the manager) brought us a sample of the following beers: Kasteel Rouge, Ithaca Flower Power IPA, Stillwater, Gla Zen Toren Jan De Lichte, Beer Here Hox Fex, Harviestoun Ola Dubh 12 year old. He clearly understood that I wanted to try beers that were not available in Toronto.

We also tried their mac and cheese. OMG. Creamy, crunchy and perfect. That’s all I am going to say.

5:00 p.m Sample Restaurant (242 Allen St).

We sampled a wonderful artisinal cheese plate and were happy campers. Specifically we were in love with the house made burrata.

6:00 p.m Chocolate Bar (114 W. Chippewa)

Can you say..chocolate pasta?  We didn’t order it (sniff). Instead, we ordered a chocolate martini (how could we not?) and a flatbread appetizer that was delicious. Just to let you know: it’s a franchise and there has been interest to open one in Toronto. Stay tuned for more details.

7:00 p.m.Pearl St. Grill and Brewery (76  Pearl St)

What a happening place!! Joe the “amazing” bartender brought us samples of the following: Lighthouse, Wild Ox, Blueb oxed Blueberry Blong, Don Cherry Cherry Wheat, Choca Ras, Raspberry Fields, Billy Bonka, Black Pearl – Black IPA, Lake Affect, Sabres Edge, Powder Keg, Train Wreck and Street Bralwer. We were thrilled with this line up!!

8:00 p.m Ted’s Hot Dogs

We started the day with milkshakes and ended our day with milkshakes too. We sampled their famous Loganberry milkshake and onion rings. It was a perfect way to end our epic food adventure.

9:00 p.m. We finally check into the Hampton Inn. Our check-in was effortless, our room was spotless and we loved the white duvets.

DAY #2: Elmwood Tacos & Subs ( 937 Elmwood Avenue)…around 1 p.m (No Breakfast. Wonder why? LOL)

I ordered the “mexican pizza”  which was 12″ crust, topped with tomatoes, salsa, black olives, onions, cheese and beans. I ordered a mixture of black and brown beans. It was super cheesy. Infact, I actually took most of the cheese off in the effort to make it a bit healthier. They are famous for their Diabola sauce which I added in VERY small quantities to the pizza and it really did elevate the experience.

Next: Eating my Way Thru Detroit. Where oh where should I eat and drink? Suggestions are welcome.

 

My daughter (who is almost 12), had a friend visiting from Buffalo on Sunday. I tried to get them to go to a conservation area, but she really wanted to show her friend the “city”. So we compromised by visiting Riverdale Farm and then going on an ice cream crawl.

Here’s the scoop (ha ha) on the ice cream cream crawl:

1st Stop: Gregs Ice Cream (750 Spadina)

We ordered the roasted marshmallow ice cream with hot fudge sauce. Naturally – one cup and 3 spoons. We always take visitors here and our visitors are always impressed. Whats not to like? the roasted marshmallow ice cream is nothing short of perfect!

We sampled peanut butter and jelly, which was also good but I’m forever loyal to my roasted marshmallow ice cream. What a winner of a flavor!!

2nd Stop: Menchies (we went to 511 Bloor St…but check their website for more locations)

The kids loved sampling all the flavors and loved looking at the wall of famous people who also enjoy Menchies!! After they sampled EVERYTHING (well it seemed that way), they decided on “cake batter” and then threw in some toppings too. (brownies, cheese cake pieces, pineapple).

3rd Stop: Yogurty’s (we went to 875 Eglinton Ave. W..but check their website for more more locations)

This is the latest addition to the fro-yo craze. Again, the kids seem to sample everything but this time they were full and they didn’t order anything. (bad customers!!).

Next time, we do an ice cream crawl I know it will include Eds Real Scoop, XoXoCava and Dutch Dreams. We simply didnt have time!!

What’s your favorite ice cream?

ps I realized that this “ice cream crawl” was part ice cream, part frozen yoghurt – but it wasnt a serious “tasting” – just wanted the kids to have fun. (which they did).

As a dinner gift last year, I received  a Mr. Coffee Ice Tea Maker machine and I fell in love with it immediately. (another genius appliance…LOL). There is nothing like coming home on a hot day and enjoying fresh brewed ice tea that tastes like ICE TEA and not chemicals. The sad part about this blog entry is that it’s not available in Canada. The good news: They are available at Target and I happen to go to Buffalo on a regular basis so just send a request!! p.s $22 a unit

Here’s how it works:

Dear Dannon and Yoplait.

My family loves yogurt. Its great to put in the kids lunches and its a quick and easy dessert at dinner with fresh fruit.

But it seems that we aren’t getting the same flavors as our friends south of the border!! Evertime we travel to the States we go “nuts” (well not really, but you know what I mean) when we see the HUGE variety of flavors that we can’t get in Toronto.

For example:

Danone: we love the strawberrry cheese cake and the banana cream pie!!

Yoplait: Triple Berry Torte, Black Forest Cake and Red Velvet Cake!! Isnt’ that just awesome?

Last week while shopping in Buffalo, I picked up a dozen assorted yogurts. Naturally they are gone now. What was I thinking? Why didnt I pick up two dozen?

Hopefully one day we will see these varieties in Canada. If Target is coming…then maybe I can get a red velvet cake yogurt at my local grocery store one day soon. Crossing my fingers.

This is a story about GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I went to Buffalo for Family Day and had made reservations to stay at the Hampton Inn (Galleria). When we arrived, we checked in and then proceeded to the elevators. But BOTH elevators were not in service. So we dragged our bags up 4 flights of stairs – not a huge deal – but inconvenient.  In the morning, we noticed BOTH elevators were still not working.

When we checked out, I kindly said “by the way – having both elevators not in service was not so acceptable for a hotel”. He quickly said “I know. We are sorry for the inconvenience”. Twenty seconds later, he hands me a statement and says “Could you please sign here. We have waived the fees”.

I said ” Excuse me..did I hear right? you waived the $149 hotel fee?  JUST LIKE THAT?.

The clerk replies: “Yes. If you are not 100 % then you don’t pay!!”.

I was in shock. This type of service has never happend to me before. However I can assure you – that I will return to the Hampton Inn Galleria in a nano-second.

P.S. the shopping was amazing. As always.