Duff’s Wings

I’ve been to Buffalo, NY, a number of times mostly for shopping. However, I’ve never been to any Buffalo wings places for meals. This time I told myself I have to make an effort to take some time off in the shopping mall and try some Buffalo wings. Many reviews and blogs seemed to pick either Duff’s Wings or Anchor Bar as the original wings place. After flipping my coin, I’ve decided to bring my parents to Duff’s Wings.

Duff’s Wings in Amherst, Buffalo

This place was located in Amherst and it was the first Duff’s Wings restaurant (twitter: Duffs_wings). It’s like any other college pubs, definitely not fancy at all. In fact I felt like I was in a cafeteria. However it didn’t keep customers and tourists from driving all the way to this small little town and try out the wings.

inside the pub

Even President Obama visited the pub before.

After almost 30 mins of waiting in line, we were finally given a table at 3pm. We’ve ordered its daily special #2 - 20 wings (10 medium hot, 10 medium light) + large fries + large pitcher of pop. Getting so hungry and excited, we quickly got a bite of the wings.

Duff’s menu

We ordered Daily Special #2

cafeteria style service

the famous Buffalo Wings!

And the taste? IT WAS SO SALTY AND SOUR!

My mom couldn’t stand it so much that I had to order a turkey burger for her instead. I kept thinking if it was a mistake that the wings were made that way. I asked the waitress and got her reply – the saltiness came from the sauce and they did not add any extra salt. I looked at other customers eating happily around me, puzzled.

So here it is, I’ve finally tried the authentic Buffalo wings in Buffalo, but I hated it. I couldn’t stand the saltiness and sourness. My brother, on the other hand, loved the leftover wings I brought from the restaurant. It’s all personal taste after all.

Final verdict: I would stick to my honey garlic wings from now on. So long, Duff’s Wings!

 

Winterlicious 2012 – Auberge du Pommier

Once again, my friends and I were participating in the annual Winterlicious events in Toronto  (Twitter: @liciousTO).  Initially we wanted to try another restaurant, but it was already fully booked by the time we called.  We ended up visiting Auberge du Pommier, one of the Oliver & Bonacini restaurants (Twitter: @Oliver_Bonacini) for lunch instead.  Luckily I wasn’t disappointed.

We had our reservations at 1:00pm on Sunday.  The restaurant was fully booked.  In fact, it might have been overbooked so we waited for 35 mins before our table was ready. There were lots of customers waiting at the foyer.  It was so crowded that we even felt like we were in a dim sum place.

drinks menu

lunch menu

Our first course choices were split between leek & cabbage soup or smoked salmon rillettes. I picked the leek & cabbage soup.  It was very delicious and light.

Smoked Salmon Rillettes

Leek & Cabbage Soup

In terms of main course, again, we were split between two choices – roast chicken or meatball.  I picked roast chicken, which was very moist and tender.  Two friends ordered meatball, but they didn’t like it.  They found it taste dry shortly after few bites.  The size of meatball was huge and inconsistent as well.  One was even large than a lady’s fist.

Roast Chicken

Meatball

We’ve decided to try all dessert selections.  I chose sticky date pudding, which was supposedly the sweetest of all three choices.  However, I found it the tastiest, and with the right sweetness.  The cake was very moist, and the raspberry sauce on the side balanced out toffee sauce’s sweetness on top.  There were few tiny candied ginger bits too. Very nicely executed!

Sticky Date Pudding – heavenly!

Chocolate Mousse Cake

Chevre Parfait

At the end of the lunch, we were gifted with few $25 gift certificates to celebrate with the restaurant’s 25th anniversary.  It was very nice of them.  Thanks Auberge du Pommier!

gift certificate

Final verdict:  I really liked this Winterlicious lunch, and I think $25 meal was all worth it.

Friendly reminder: Parking is available around the restaurant, but it is quite expensive, so don’t forget to bring in extra coins, or better yet, use your credit card.  Our lovely waitress kept telling us that we wouldn’t need to worry about paying for parking on Sunday as no one would check on the weekends. However, we’ve decided to not take our chances and went out halfway during our lunch to pay for our soon-to-be-expired parking meters anyway.

 

A1 Autostrada

My girl friends and I enjoyed a nice dinner A1 Autostrada (Twitter: @A1autostrada) a while back. The restaurant was quiet on a Sunday evening.  All dishes were delicious but prices were a bit on the high side.  We especially liked the warm mushrooms salad as well as the squid pizza.

warm mushrooms salad

squid and fresh tomatoes pizza

Crudo di Carne – Beef tenderloin carpaccio, micro greens, arugula, shaved parmigiano

sea bass with orzo

Paglia e Fieno All’Aragosta – Fresh Nova Scotia lobster, Malivoire chardonnay, fresh tomato, EVOO

pasta dish was served separately from the lobsters.