Chick-n-Pizza Works

129 Abbott Road, Buffalo

Being in healthcare, I know the affects of bad eating habits. We all should at this point, as the obesity epidemic in the country is out of control, always in the media's attention, and certainly increases medical costs for everyone in the country.

That said, I usually try to eat well, but sometimes you just need some good ol' fried chicken. While far from healthy, Chick-n-Pizza works is conveniently located near South Buffalo Mercy Hospital which has a cardiac care center, should it be too much for your heart to take.

Ordering a 3 piece dinner, the meal comes with a roll and small sides of mashed potatoes and coleslaw in addition to the chicken. The chicken is really good, with crispy skin and not too much breading. It's somewhere between a crossup of naked-chicken wing style fried chicken and southern fried chicken with heavy breading. It basically falls off the bone into your mouth- what else can you ask for from fried chicken. The coleslaw is a good generic slaw, but nothing outstanding. The potatoes taste like box-mash flakes to me, but I don't care- it's about the chicken here.

If you head down, don't expect a spot to eat- the inside area is probably 8ftx4ft - and make sure you ask for plastic utensils unless you're headed home. For 5-6 bucks, if you want some good fried chicken, head on over.

nom nom nom

Paczki Day!

[I'm a bit behind on my writeups here...I usually writeup places same or next day, but I've been busy. This is from Mardi Gras, March 8, 2011]

Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras/Paczki Day around Buffalo means eating and drinking for most. One of the best parts of that is that if you head down to Eileen's Bakery on Center Road in West Seneca you can pick up some paczki's.




While they look much like donuts, they're a bit different. They're a bit heavier and more rich than your traditional jelly donut, these were filled with black raspberry filling. Entering into the PACKED bakery, the wait wasn't long to order. I ordered both varieties available- glazed and powdered sugar, paid my three bucks and headed out.

Getting home, I cleared a bit of counterspace, knowing that I was about to make a total mess. First up was the glazed version which I ate rather quickly (I didn't eat breakfast before class). The powdered sugar paczki was awesome. The powdered sugar was thickly coated on there and basically exploded all over when I bit it- a sign of goodness IMO.

After wolfing down both and cleaning up, I realized that I should have ordered about a half dozen more for the coming days. They're only offered up on Mardi Gras (as far as I know) and when they run out, they're gone for a year. I'll have to make a trip back to Eileen's for a true writeup on the place- they had quite a bit from what I could see (people were EVERYWHERE!)

So next year-get out there and pick some up from Eileen's. It's worth the trip

nom nom nom nom

ZJ's Family Restaurant

140 Pine St, Hamburg

Looking for breakfast, we headed over a few blocks to make the second stop on the breakfast tour in Hamburg. ZJ's was suggested to me by multiple people, all saying the food was a good place to grab up an inexpensive breakfast.

We headed over and grabbed an open table. The waitress came by promptly with coffee and menus in hand. A quick scan yields traditional breakfast fare of pancakes, omelettes, waffles, etc. With many different omelette options for breakfast, I ultimately chose the chicken souvlaki omelette.

Arriving quickly, the omelette was good but a bit salty (maybe due to the seasoning for the chicken). The homefries were good as well, with a good pile of onions on them. Tossing on a dash of franks hot sauce, it was a good start to the day.

Overall ZJ's was as expected, traditional diner fare and atmosphere for a good price. The staff was friendly and coffee was plenty. Putting ZJ's head to head with Heidi's, I think I would probably head over to ZJ's first, as it has plenty of seating and the traditional diner atmosphere that I associate with breakfast. Looking for breakfast in Hamburg? Head on down to ZJ's.

nom nom nom

India Gate

1116 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo

In the mood for something other than burgers and wings, we settled on heading down to India Gate for dinner on a Thursday night. Located just a few blocks from Buff State College, India Gate sits right near Pano's, Cole's, and Mr Goodbar. Luckily we found parking right across the street and headed into the restaurant where we were quickly sat at a table. Overall the restaurant wasn't empty, but they had plenty of seating available.

We ordered Kingfisher Beer as we read over the menu which had plenty of vegetarian options as well as many dishes for the carnivores. Unable to decide on which appetizers we wanted, we settled on the Mixed Platter which came with a large assortment of the appetizers on the menu. Unfortunately, I don't think I could name everything on the plate but I can tell you what I am pretty certain was there. (I'm rather quickly learning a lot about Indian food, both at restaurants and how to cook it in my kitchen)

What I am certain was there is: alu mater samosa (potato pastry), alu tikki (potato pastry, similar to a knish), gobi pakora (cauliflower fritters), beef samosa (beef pastry), paneer pakora (breaded fried cheese), chicken tikka (pieces of grilled chicken). The potato pastry and beef pastry were large and flaky and quickly favorites of both. The paneer was really good too, espeically with a bit of the green chutney on it. The chicken was only ok, it seemed a bit dry to both of us.

For dinner we ordered lamb jalfraize (at the suggestion of the server) and lamb curry with orders of keema naan (ground lamb stuffed bread) and onion kulcha (baked pita bread with onion) on the side. When the food arrived, we realized we had enough food for probably a group of four and we dug in.

The curry was excellent, but not spicy enough for my taste (my friend ordered his mild). A bit more red chili powder would have helped it out a bit. My lamb jalfraize was really good and perfectly spicy for me. One of the many things I love about Indian food is the blend of so many spices and flavors coming together to form the dish. These certainly did not disappoint and there was plenty left over for lunch the next day.

If you can find a group of people willing give it a shot (for some reason Indian food seems to scare many people I talk to) head down to India Gate and order a mix of food from the menu. The dishes are all served separate from the plates, which really encourages sharing. Mix it up and I'm certain everyone will find something they like.

One final note is that India Gate is owned by the same people that own Taste of India on Sheridan Drive. While I have not been to the restaurant on Sheridan, it shares the same menu. My friend (from India) says that Taste of India is the most authentic and best Indian food around here. I'll say that the same should apply to India Gate (he hasn't been there).

Overall: nom nom nom

Heidi's Hideaway

5833 Camp Road, Hamburg, NY

The breakfast tour of Hamburg visited two spots in two days. While I'm certain there are other breakfast joints around the village, I went for two most frequently mentioned by others. First stop was Heidi's Hideaway, a place I pass daily on my way to work. The building placement is odd...diagonal to both Camp Road and the intersecting side street. My friend and I headed down for a late breakfast at about 11am, rather hungry after a late night at O'Daniels.

Inside the place is small and had a few other people in there at the time. Quickly greeted, the waitress brought menus and said coffee would be a few minutes as a new pot was brewing. Looking over the menu, it had the typical breakfast fare at good prices. I settled on what was probably the most expensive thing on the menu...the breakfast skillet with bacon, cheddar and sourdough toast (~$8).

A cup of coffee later and breakfast came out of the kitchen. It was a plate of a giant egg, potato, bacon, cheddar, onion, and pepper conglomerate, and was exactly what I was hoping for. The toast was buttered and crispy. My friend had a very similar breakfast, just substituting ham for bacon and rye for sourdough toast. Finishing breakfast, we contemplated ordering a slice or two of pie from the list of 8 or so options, but passed that up since we were full from breakfast.

Overall, Heidi's Hideaway is a good place to grab some breakfast at a reasonable price. Closing the tab out we were given a card stamped for 10% off our next visit, which will probably get used. My only negative was that at times it was awkwardly quiet, even with the radio on. It wasn't really a big deal, but we found ourselves holding conversation off at times, just because it seemed like we were the rowdy ones there. Maybe knocking the radio volume up a notch or two would help, but it doesn't make-or-break the place.

In the end, if you're in the area and looking for a decent, inexpensive breakfast, Heidi's Hideaway is a good spot to get just that.

nom nom nom

O'Daniels Gin Mill & Grill (Revisit)

1305 Abbott Road, South Buffalo

Where better to do a birthday bash than O'Daniels? The food is always great, the bar is always well stocked and it's a great place to spend a couple hours...or six.

A few friends and I met up there about 8p for some dinner and drinks. They still had Sam Winter Ale on tap and that was my default beer for the night. We started with their awesome stuffed banana peppers, which are one of my favorite things on the menu. Tonight they were out of yellow banana peppers, but the chefs switched to red peppers for the night.

In past visits, the peppers can be hit or miss on the "spicy" level. Sometimes the peppers are comfortably spicy, others unbearable, so you've warned in advance that they can be blazing hot. Packed with ricotta, a bit of mozzarella, bacon and spices, the peppers are one of the best items on the menu. O'Daniels isn't brightly lit, so photos from a phone without a flash are tough. This one worked out, but it does not do the peppers justice.

Soup was included with dinner and I selected the Cajun Chicken Vegetable. It was a good chicken veggie soup with a nice cajun flavor. For dinner I had the Cajun Dusted Fish, with roasted red potatoes and vegetables (zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, broccoli). Unfortunately, the picture of dinner didn't turn out as expected, so I don't have it for this outing. The fish was nicely spicy and the accompaniments were done perfectly as well.

The night continued after dinner with more friends joining late into the night. It was about 5 pints, 2 shots and some time later that we all left (~2am) and the place still had quite a few people coming in and out. [No I didn't drive home...] As always, O'Daniels is a great place to land for a few hours.

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Previous, and still at 4: nom nom nom nom

Tantalus Restaurant, Bar & Cafe

634 Main St, East Aurora

The greek mythology story of Tantalus is one of a thief and a cannibal. The mythological Tantalus offers up stolen nectars and ambrosia, as well as parts of his boiled son. While the restaurant Tantalus doesn't offer up humans for food, they have plenty to offer to those looking for good food in East Aurora. Located on Main street, the restaurant is just a short walk down from the famous Vidler's 5 & 10. Inside it has a rather large seating capacity, divided into two basic sections. Expect a few minute wait on a busy Friday or Saturday evening (20 minutes tops from prior visits). On this encounter, lunch had plenty of open spaces and were greeted by friendly staff telling us to sit anywhere we liked.

The waitress came over carrying an abundance of reading material. The menu is also comparable to Homer's Odyssey, if only in size. The multi-page, multi-section menu is a bit overwhelming for newcomers and those returning because of the number of selections to read through. The menu can seem a bit repetitive at times, with some items being very similar or made their way into both the lunch and dinner section. Expect to tell the staff "ehhh not done reading yet" a few times on your first few outings there. Other than the main menu, expect a mini clipboard with the daily tap selections, another bottled beer list, and a wine list. So much material, but unlike high school English class, there is no exam.

Having already decided what I wanted before I walked in, I didn't even open it to browse the lunchtime selections. Pointing my buddy to the burger selection, he browsed through that while I read over the rather extensive menu of beers on tap. Settling on an IPA, the waitress came back to tell me that keg just kicked. Switching to a different IPA the waitress came back saying that keg was also out. No worries though, with an easy 12-15 taps, I had plenty to choose from (provided they weren't all out) and went to the third IPA on the list. That one ended in success.

Food order was placed....the Bleu insider for me and CB insider for my friend. Both are their specialty burgers, with the usual toppings inside a monster burger. Bleu cheese inside and mushrooms on top on the mine, while the CB insider has cheddar and bacon inside. Fries, lettuce, tomato and a pickle accompany it on the plate.

The bleu cheese inside the burger was nice and melted and had a good "snap" to it. Biting into the burger, the cheese oozes out and makes a decent mess around the area. Luckily the crispy fries are there to clean it up. The burgers are rather big too. I planned on eating the whole thing, but my friend here decided to cut it in half and potentially save some for later.

The cheddar of the CB insider had less lava flow action than the bleu cheese but the bacon helps retaining it. The burgers were cooked as ordered (medium-well) and the kitchen had them out quickly. The real merit is in the rest of their food. Although it's been awhile since I have eaten dinner there (I keep getting snagged up on the burger page...they're GOOD burgers) in the few instances I have, the food was always great. Personal suggestion for an appetizer is the mussels with sea salt if you head there for dinner.

Overall, for the 9 bucks or so for the burgers you can't go wrong. The burgers were a large lunch size and the amount of fries was perfect as well. I haven't had anything there that I would not eat again, which makes return trips a battle between "things you know are good" and "things that sound good." With a seemingly never-ending menu, there are plenty of selections to try out and my guess is that if you actually could make it to the end of the menu, it will have new offerings by the time you reach it.

Oh and one more point: right next door is Taste, the EA coffee spot. It's a nice place to wander over to after a dinner for a change of scenery on a night out.

nom nom nom nom

[As an aside, using "blue cheese" vs "bleu cheese" is interchangeable. However, being in Buffalo, "Blue cheese" typically implies the dressing form. Therefore "bleu"=real bleu cheese and "blue"=dressing to me, just for simplicity.]