The Unvegan

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A Touch of Canada at The Kroft
The Best of 2015
Duluth Grill’s Rolled Flank Steak
A Torta at Tortugas

6/23/2014 Buffalo

Originating at Anchor Bar

It's always gloomy in Buffalo.
It’s always gloomy in Buffalo.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? When it comes to chicken wings, the question is much easier because the answer is always Anchor Bar. No, not this Anchor Bar, this Anchor Bar in Buffalo, which somehow stumbled into one of the greatest culinary inventions of ever. Yet despite being the original, I haven’t met a person in Western New York that actually thinks Anchor Bar has the best wings. That distinction belongs elsewhere, but armed with this knowledge I still knew I had to get to Anchor Bar at least once in my summer of Buffalo and there was no better time than the present.

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6/20/2014 Buffalo

Digging Up Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

So purty.
So purty.

Buffalo might have a few specialty foods, but BBQ is not one of them. In fact, one of their supposed best spots isn’t even home grown, coming in from world famous BBQ hotspot Rochester. It’s called Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and despite having absolutely no actual dinosaur on the menu (what the hell?!), the little paleontologist inside of me was still eager to find out how good it was.

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6/19/2014 East Aurora

Stung by Jim’s SteakOut

Stung.
Stung.

Throughout the Buffalo area is a place called Jim’s SteakOut, which is known for its subs and tacos, but mostly for servicing drunks in need of something greasy to fill their bellies. Fortunately, there is one in East Aurora that was just waiting for the right moment to get in touch with me. The moment came recently enough, and with a few drinks in me I felt it was time to get steaked out.

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6/18/2014 Orchard Park

Going Dutch at The Original Pancake House

Oh hey Dutch Baby.
Oh hey Dutch Baby.

The Original Pancake House may not be a Western New York native, but it sure is a local favorite. We had it in Michigan and I always liked it, but I never exactly found it groundbreaking, aside from the smiley face pancakes they used to make. Yet, I figured it was time to revisit the old place (which, by the way, has a fish fry on Fridays) and see what it was like.

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6/17/2014 Buffalo

Fish Fried at Swannie House

That almost looks like fish.
That almost looks like fish.

Western New York appears to be obsessed with fish fries on Fridays. This, of course, is when places fry up some fish and serve it, and presumably is related to a historically Catholic population and some holiday called Lent. As for me, I usually don’t like fish that hasn’t been fried, so this works out nicely for me. As a newbie to the area, I reached out to Buffalo Eats for recommendations and they pointed me to Swannie House in South Buffalo. Before I even entered, I was a happy man, because the the combination of smells from the Cheerios factory across the way and the frying going on inside made it smell like elephant ears. But let’s move on to the fish fry.

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6/16/2014 East Aurora

Chicken Wings at Bar Bill Tavern

So many wings. So little time.
So many wings. So little time.

As you may or may not know, buffalo wings originated in Buffalo, New York. And living right down the road from Buffalo, I’m now qualified to know a few things about the area. One of those things is that there is no such thing as Buffalo wings up here. Here they’re just called chicken wings because otherwise it would be redundant. You know, like calling French fries just fries in France. And one place famous for chicken wings is Bar Bill Tavern in East Aurora.

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6/13/2014 Depew

Beefed Up at Anderson’s

Where's the beef?
Where’s the beef?

Sweet, sweet Western New York, my home for the summer. Where weck is a thing and you better not say you’re in Upstate New York because they might kill you. They also have some sort of professional football team. It’s really a beautiful thing and I plan to eat as much of it as I can while here. Fortunately some friends have told me all the best places to go and I decided to begin with that thing called weck. To do so, I found my way to Anderson’s in Depew. Despite the obvious nod to soft serve in their sign, they also have weck.

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6/12/2014 Pittsburgh

Street Eats at Station Street (CLOSED)

Mine are the brown ones.
Mine are the brown ones.

In the year 1915, World War I was in full swing, women still couldn’t vote in our fine country and Thyphoid Mary was doing her thing. Oh and Station Street opened in Pittsburgh. But considering the place is run by local celeb chef Kevin Sousa, it’s safe to assume the place has changed. In fact, it even seems to have changed recently, adding street food like tacos and bibimbap (both of which probably didn’t exist in the Pittsburgh lexicon in 1915) to its list already extensive list of hot dogs.

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6/11/2014 Pittsburgh

Mexi-Fusion at PGH Taco Truck

Where am I?
Where am I?

Back in LA, you could hardly throw a stone without hitting a food truck. In Pittsburgh, though, things are a little different. Supposedly the laws are pretty prohibitive, but a couple have still made their way to the streets. One of which is the creatively named PGH Taco Truck and I got the opportunity to try it out when Carnegie Mellon offered its free tacos to grad students like me.

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6/10/2014 Pittsburgh

All-American at Murray Avenue Grill

Oh sweet bacon...
Oh sweet bacon…

Sometimes all you need is a quick and easy, uncomplicated meal in your neighborhood. Something good and American. And when you’re about to see the movie Chef, it has to be filling as well. Enter: Murray Avenue Grill in Squirrel Hill. The menu isn’t too big, but everything on it looks good and everyone in the place looks like they have lived in the neighborhood for the last 50 years. I wasn’t planning on doing the whole burger thing, but I couldn’t resist when I saw the options.

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