Bill Rapaport's Buffalo Restaurant Guide

Introduction

Last Update: 8 May 2008

Note: or material is highlighted

If you got to this site because of the link printed in The Buffalo News, you should really begin at the homepage:
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/restaurant.guide/

The Buffalo area has a large number of very good restaurants. This guide lists:

my favorites
those on or near either the UB Amherst or the UB Main St. campuses
some others recommended by friends, having special cuisines, or otherwise noteworthy (e.g., a perfect or near-perfect rating by The Buffalo News's Janice Okun).

History.

This list began as a 4-page handout for the Association for Computational Linguistics conference held at UB in 1988. I have updated it on a regular basis (more or less annually) since then. It first appeared on the World Wide Web a few years ago and now has an international following there; 1996 was the year that the Web version became the definitive one, with numerous, hopefully useful, links.

I am grateful to Davin Milun and Steve Gallo for assistance and advice on the Web version.

Structure of the Guide.

The list has 3 parts: The first 2 are listings by name only, organized into categories by cuisine and by location. These categories are not intended to be exclusive or exhaustive; corrections to my attempts at categorization are welcomed. The third part is an alphabetical listing of all the restaurants, with details. The selection of restaurants listed here and the comments are my own or those of readers [indicated by initials in brackets]. You should not construe absence from this list as a negative evaluation.

Reservations and Hours.

Reservations are always recommended (the restaurant business is volatile; your favorite restaurant might have closed since your last visit!). Call ahead for precise hours of operation; also, some restaurants close for part of the summer.

Gourmet/Ethnic Food Stores.

By the way, the area has many excellent gourmet/ethnic food stores. One large ones is: Premier Center (supermarket-sized, with an adjoining wine and liquor store of equal size; 3455 Delaware Ave., Kenmore; 716-877-3574).

And [CSC, 9/01] says: "I've been in the food service business for a while and discovered that `Chinatowns' or their regional equivalents are not only a great source for hard to find produce and condiment, but the cheapest spices (I can get the same quantity/quality anise star at Lee's Oriental Gift and Food (3325 Bailey Ave., Buffalo; 836-7100) for $1 as I would get from McCormick for $15). Also great is Williams-Sonoma (Walden Galleria, Cheektowaga; 651-0057), if only for the Bourbon vanilla paste, and D'Artagnan (though mailorder). Still, my favorite is Guercio and Sons (250 Grant St., Buffalo; 882-7935)."

And [MRT, 2/04] recommends Globe Market.

[BL, 5/08] recommends "BuffaloFoods.com" ("We ship Buffalo's favorite food items to anywhere in the USA")

Feedback.

I hope this list contributes to the enjoyment of your stay in the area. Please send comments, corrections, suggestions, and reviews to me:

William J. Rapaport
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
State University of New York at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260, USA

phone: 716-645-3180 x 112
fax: 716-645-3464
email: rapaport@cse.buffalo.edu