Totally In On Buffalo: Solar Eclipse & Beyond

Buffalo, NY is having its moment in the sun. Or rather, out of the sun. The city will be one of the lucky places in the path totality, when the moon’s shadow will completely block the sun on April 8th.

The whole city is gearing up; public schools are closed, the planetarium is throwing a big party, and The Richardson Hotel, a gothic mental institution converted to a lovely hotel, where I spent a few days (as a hotel guest, not a committed patient) has been sold out for months.

A Buffalo Resurgence

Resurgence Brewing Co, the apty named cavernous brewery, even has a special beer, In the Path of Totality 3:18 PM, the time the blackout starts. The tasty wheat beer joins a host of craft beers. I couldn’t even taste them all in a flight. The ones I had were delicious.

The brewery has a taproom, an indoor beer garden and an outdoor beer garden. Resurgence was the home of EB Holmes Machinery Company, a barrel making company.

Another Barrel Factory

Don’t confuse this former barrel factory with The Barrel Factory, a converted, yes, barrel factory just a couple of blocks away. THE Barrel Factory includes Barrel Factory Distilling, Barrel Factory Kitchen, and a wedding.event space that hosted a giant Saint Patrick’s Day party. They may be the only place in Buffalo not taking advantage of the eclipse; they are closed on Mondays.

I tried the grilled vegetable strudel, with sage, whisky reduction and pecans; this was truly vegetarian food to savor. I also had a veggie slider with carrot bacon. I challenge any carnivore to eat this and not be bowled over.

At the bar, I sampled Professor Boozle’s OFW – One Fine Whiskey and Loganberry Blitz Vodka. The loganberry, a local berry, turns the vodka blue, so it would be great in an Instagram worthy (and tasty) vodka and tonic. But I stuck to the One Fine Whiskey and had a great old fashioned.

Barrel Factory Distilling also mades three kinds of gin, so a return trip will be necessary.

Vegan Phenomenon

Strong Hearts Buffalo, an offshoot of a plant-based restaurant in Syracuse, serves fantastic vegan food. The counter service cafe is open for lunch and dinner.

There are vegan chicken wings, of course, lots of great sounding sandwiches like a Philly cheesesteak and Mushroom po’ boy, burgers and chicken sandwiches. I coulnd’t resists the spinach salad, with tempeh bacon, red onion, almonds, lemon poppyseed dressing and the best plant based feta I’ve ever had. There are lots of baked goods and milkshakes so you can treat yourself.

West Side Bazaar

West Side Bazaar, one of two food halls run by WEDI, a nonprofit ecoonmic development initiative offers Egyptian, Korean, Vietnamese, Burmese and Italian food stalls, among others. The indoor market is only open until 8pm, but it’s great for lunch or an early dinner. The kiosks are run by immigrants cooking their local cuisine.

I tried Egyptian lentil soup, grapes leaves stuffed with veggies, and Malaysian vegetable samosas and dumplings. There is also a cookbook store with a curated selection of food gifts like dried sourdough starter and cheese making kits.

Buffalo (Veggie) Wings

If you’ve thought about food in Buffalo at all, you’ve probably heard of Buffalo wings. These fried chicken wings are served with hot sauce, celery and blue cheese. I had a fowl-free version at Cafe 59 Food & Spirits.

The polenta wings give you the umami of chicken wings experience, with the fried polenta, the hot sauce and the required blue cheese. You can go vegan if you skip the blue cheese, but I love the flavor combo. We shared these and a messy, yummy Mediterranean wrap with greens, hummus, roasted eggplant, cucumber, tomato, roasted red pepper, chickpeas and feta with Greek dressing.

If all this isn’t enough to convince you to plan a trip to Buffalo, remember there’s a small waterfall nearby. Niagara Falls is just 17 miles away. Next time, I plan to ride a bike there to work off all the calories.

Note: I was a guest of Visit Buffalo Niagara. Opinions and glee are all my own.