BUFFALO – One of North America’s most beautiful art museums. Texas BBQ with a South Asian twist. Former grain silos that now house poetry readings. And some of the nicest people on the planet.
I recently spent a weekend in this western New York city and, not for the first time, drove home with a smile on my face.
I hadn’t been in Buffalo for eight years, but I found the same entrepreneurial spirit and pride I’ve seen in previous visits. Not unlike Newfoundlanders, they’re quick to lend a hand, and don’t seem to take themselves seriously.I get the feeling that if anyone in Buffalo got too big for their britches they’d be dispatched over Niagara Falls in a very rickety barrel and never thought of again.
That being said, there are plenty of attractions that appeal to discerning travellers.
We began our weekend with a visit to the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright Knox Gallery, just north of downtown. Tucked into Delaware Park, which was designed by the renowned Frederick Law Olmsted, the main building is a 1905 masterpiece of marble. It’s a grand bit of architecture that serves as a reminder of the vast riches that once filled the banks and private homes of this Great Lakes port city, which was the eighth largest city in the U.S. and home to business tycoons with millions to spend on the arts.
Common Sky at the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. Visit Buffalo Photo
The former courtyard sculpture garden, which was pretty chilly in winter and awfully hot in summer, has been covered and given a glorious, mirrored interior roof design that fills the room with light. Called “Common Sky,” it’s a delightful place to cool off in summer and, I assume, warm up under glass in winter.
We had a fine lunch at the gallery’s indoor restaurant, Cornelia, which features a stunning mosaic with colours I’ve never dreamed of.
The older section of the museum features outstanding works of art from the likes of Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Kahlo, Pollock, Warhol, and more.
“The joke is that Knox used to be buy the painting when they were still wet,” said our tour guide, Woody Brown, AKG’S director of marketing and communications.
As much as I loved the Impressionism art, I was quite taken by the paintings from Iranian-American artist Ali Banisadr, who supercharges his super-colourful, abstract works with tons of small details; ghostly figurines, what I believe to be feather capes; a human body with a fish head. I could look at his paintings all day.
The Gundlach Building addition is another light-filled marvel that puts the focus on thought-provoking modern works. You get to the new addition via a snaking, glassy raised walkway that would be a skateboarder’s delight.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House in Buffalo, New York. Jim Byers Photo
From AKG it was a short drive to Frank Lloyd Wright’s sublime Darwin D. Martin House. I’ve been to other Wright buildings that left me cold, but this is a place that I took to immediately. The low-lying frame and horizontal lines and creamy brick jump out at you, as does the mix of circles and squares in the interior design.
The rooms are spare but elegant, with compressed spaces that open to large rooms with acres of light.
Our tour guide, Kellie Mazur, pointed out delicate Japanese prints on the walls.
“Wright loved Japan and would often go there and pick up works of art. He’d bring them back, install them in his houses, and then charge clients for them.”
The Martin House conservatory is a quiet, contemplative space that would be a welcome refuge from winter.
You also can tour the Barton House, a separate building a few feet away where businessman Darwin Martin’s sister lived, as well as the workers’ house. Both are more modest than Martin House, but still infused with Wright’s design ethic.
The interior at Martin House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Jim Byers Photo
The house fell into disrepair and was abandoned, but locals helped resurrect Wright’s genius work, and the home reopened in 2019.
The gardens are to die for, including hollyhocks, Shasta daisies in brilliant summer white and yellow, and pale pink Alberta wild roses in July.
As wonderful as AKG and Martin House were, the highlight of day one was a visit to Southern Junction BBQ in the city’s Lower West Side, just north of downtown.
The engaging chef, Ryan Fernandez, was born and raised in Kerala in south India and moved to Texas as a teenager. He learned to make Texas bbq; a lesson he took with him when he moved to Buffalo to be with his mother and sister.
He had the idea of adding Indian spices such as cardamom and curries, as well as ingredients such as coconut, to his bbq creations and started experimenting.
“I think I was the one who was most skeptical about it,” he told me at the restaurant. “But a friend told me I was crazy. ‘This is something you can’t get anywhere else!””
Ryan Fernandez of Southern Junction BBQ in Buffalo. Visit Buffalo Photo
His barbacurry is a delightful meat dish that finishes with a curry swirl, while his biryani and brisket is wildly popular, and very tasty.
We tried at least a dozen items, including Japanese milk bread, perfect ribs, and Chammandi Slaw with a coconut/ginger dressing. There wasn’t a dud in the bunch.
There are, of course, people who don’t care for Indian cuisine, so Fernandez makes a point of dishing out “grandma friendly” dishes such as delicious grilled chicken, smoked turkey and sausage.
After our meal, Fernandez took us out back so we could admire the grassy seating area and his array of smokers, which appeared to be working double time.
“Buffalo was Italian, Irish and German cuisine for a long time, but lately we’ve added Burmese and Somalian food,” said Christa Glennie, a food writer with Buffalo Spree who joined us at dinner. “It’s a more exciting place to eat than ever.”
The next day we spent a good deal time at Canalside, a terrific area along the Buffalo River on the southern edge of downtown that includes waterfront promenades and parks with pale blue and green Adirondack chairs.
The Buffalo River. Visit Buffalo Photo
I stopped to admire several World War II ships docked along the waterfront, and also ducked into the free Waterway of Change building, which tells the history of the Erie Canal, which opened in 1825 to provide easy, fast access from the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean and made Buffalo one of the richest port cities in the U.S., as well as the eighth largest city at one point.
Canalside also is home to a delightful, vintage carousel that was built in North Tonawanda in 1924. It was fully restored over several years by a group of passionate locals (there’s that Buffalo spirit again) and is now solar powered. The carousel features colourful, beautifully designed horses and lions, with a whimsical Wurlitzer organ.
We hopped on a Buffalo River History Tour boat for a fascinating, educational trip along the Buffalo River, checking out the towering silos that once held so much of the world’s vital Midwest grain.
Just up river from Canalside is a group of silos that have been converted into a riverside entertainment complex called Buffalo RiverWorks, complete with restaurants, a zipline, silo climbing, a video arcade, and more.
As we sailed along, I spotted dozens of private boats and tour boats, including some decked out as Tiki huts and one that appeared to have been taken over by rowdy women at a bachelorette party.
Our tour guide, Tom, was engaging and only a little corny as he explained the history of the area. There were once xxx silos. Now.
Ziplining at Buffalo RiverWorks. Visit Buffalo Photo
Tom told us the river was badly polluted from chemical plants in the 1960s and caught fire (like the Cayuhoga River in Cleveland) in 1968. Environmental reforms (remember those?) and conscious efforts to clean things up have resulted in an infusion of nature areas along the river. There are still far too many invasive species, but workers are trying to clear what they can and restore the river to a more natural state. As Tom talked about those efforts, I noticed a large, blue heron zipping across the surface of the river, heading for a patch of tall grass.
On the way back to our parked car, we passed a Tim Hortons coffee shop. On the opposite corner, surrounded by scaffolding for a new building of some sort, was a statue of a hockey player. Upon closer examination, I spotted the name: Miles Gilbert “Tim” Horton, and hands up to all you hockey fans who knew his real name was Miles Gilbert.
The World Cup quarterfinals were being played when we were in town, and Buffalo tourism set us up for a bite to eat and some beers at a place called Duende, which is in a former grain elevator area south of downtown called Silo City.
They’ve taken a former garage and turned it into a casual cantina, and there was a gravel area out back with chairs spread out to watch the games on a big-screen TV. When it was dark, they screened the late match on the sides of the towering silos. Very cool.
A World Cup game at Duende in Buffalo’s Silo City area. Jim Byers Photo
We were told we could maybe get a tour of the area with Silo City owner Rick Smith. We asked one of the waiters where we could find him, and were surprised when he pointed to a slim fellow in his 50s or 60s with a white cowboy hat, red kerchief, black t-shirt, jeans, cowboy boots, and a moustache worthy of Lanny McDonald or Sam Elliott.
Smith, whose family runs a metal company, led us across a patch of deep green grass to the silos, which line a stretch of the Buffalo River.
I look up at the towering structures and gasp.
Smith nods.
“The scale scares me,” he says. “It scares my wife even more.”
Smith escorts us into one of the silos, where we find a painting on one wall and other bits of art, one of them a series of colourful string that rises far into the empty silo. Smith explains they do everything from poetry readings to concerts in the silo, and that no less an authority than Guillermo del Toro has toured them (and said he’d like to use one as a movie set.)
Smith told us he’s had several musical events in the silo, including didgeridoos, gongs and even chanting monks.
Back outside, we stop to watch a party boat float down the river.
“Taking a trip down the river with these massive grain elevators. I think it’s one of the coolest things in the world.”
Rick Smith of Duende in Silo City, Buffalo. Jim Byers Photo
Smith tells us one of the old structures alongside a nearby silo has been turned into apartments for refugees from Burundi and other countries.
Silo City is filled with abandoned industrial structures, but there has been some natural recovery in the area. As we head back to Duende, I spot a pretty, young fawn bounding across the grass in the shadow of the silos.
We finished off our visit with a Buffalo Bisons ballgame at Sahlen Field.
The stadium, which is home to the Toronto Blue Jays Triple-A minor league squad, opened in the heart of downtown in 1988 and served as a model for such major league parks as Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the first “retro-style” major league stadium.
There’s a cool box seat area Pub at the Park along the first base side if you want to stay out of the sun. There was a fine breakfast buffet when we stopped in (it’s a regular feature), but we had already eaten. Rather than a second breakfast, we opted for a Sahlen’s hot dog and one of Buffalo’s famous (and quite tasty) “beef on weck” sandwiches (roast beef on a kimmelweck bun with salt and caraway seeds).
A Buffalo Bisons game at Sahlen Field. Jim Byers Photo
A tall boy beer was less than $10, so you’re not paying big league prices. Top it off with a seventh inning soft serve ice cream and you’ve got yourself a great day at a fine ballpark.
Thinking back on our trip, I was struck by the spirit of resiliency and regeneration I saw in Buffalo; the new uses for the silos, the wildlife that’s returning to the core. This is a city that has had more than its share of hard times, but there’s a resiliency and a positivity to people here that I find truly inspiring.
“We’re not trying to be something we’re not. We have great geography and a lot to offer,” Smith told me on our tour at Silo City. “I think this city is really poised for something big.”
WHERE TO STAY
The Richardson Hotel is a regal hotel just north of downtown. Housed in a grandly designed building that once housed a psychiatric facility, it features a handsome brick exterior, tons of gleaming wood inside and spacious rooms with ceilings high enough for a basketball jump shot. The hotel bar makes a potent old-fashioned cocktail. The hotel is just a short walk from Elmwood Village’s restaurants, shops and bars. The Buffalo AKG Art Museum is right around the corner.
The Richardson Hotel in Buffalo. Jim Byers Photo
OTHER DINING OPTIONS
We had a fabulous breakfast on the patio at Mira, a popular dining spot in trendy Elmwood Village; just south of the AKG. Their quiche pastry is superb, and the breakfast sandwich featured melted cheese, eggs and a small mountain of bacon. You won’t go hungry in Buffalo.
Liberty Hound is a nice spot on the water in Canalside. We enjoyed a fine, local IPA from Wayland Brewing and a very good salad with greens, strawberries and feta.
Avocado Toast at Five Points Bakery in Buffalo. Jim Byers Photo
We had another fine morning meal at Five Points Bakery in an up-and-coming area of town near Elmwood Village. We enjoyed fine coffee lattes, a deconstructed serving of avocado toast and a breakfast sandwich with eggs and sausage on a fluffy bun. It’s a cool spot in an old, wooden building, with indoor dining and a nice patio. There’s also a grassy area next door with picnic tables. I didn’t get a chance to try it, but Butter Block is just a few yards away from Five Points Bakery and looks to have luscious pies and pastries.
In addition to the regular menu of wings, chicken fingers and other casual items, Duende often has food trucks serving up exotic dishes. When we visited, someone was dishing out Ethiopian food next to a bbq grilling hot dogs and hamburgers.
