291 Seneca Street, Buffalo
If you ask five people for recommendations for Italian food in Buffalo, chances are three will say Chef's. If you make the trip downtown, you'll notice there isn't much else nearby that is open during dinner hours- or much else in general. While not far from Coca-cola field and the First Niagara center (making it a popular pre-game dinner place), it's just outside the heart of downtown. The restaurant recently expanded the front entryway, renovated the kitchen, and added a drive-thru window and did so with the re-use of marble from the old Aud (the Sabre's old arena) as the new bar top. While the front still doesn't have a lot of room to wait around to be seated (and it's needed- wait times can be over an hour on weekends), it does have much more than they formerly did. Additionally, the drive-thru window eliminated most of the people passing in and out for take out. Luckily when we went there the wait was under 10 minutes, which was good as it was a last minute decision and we were both hungry. A new room to the side was also added which would be ideal for parties or other small events, and is used as general seating when not reserved. The rest of the restaurant remains mostly unchanged and is a bit outdated at this point. Coincidentally, I've been to Chef's probably 6 times in the past 4 years and it seems that each time I end up at the same two tables.
The server quickly greeted us, brought over our drink orders (Peroni- good beer!) and bread with olive oil & seasonings. Glancing over the menu, we decided to order fried calamari. Usually I don't order fried seafood (save for fish-fry) as it tends to be over breaded and overcooked. Being an Italian restaurant, I expected genuine fried calamari, made on site and with fresh seafood, however, that is not what they served (or at least didn't taste it). Brought out with a side of their famous sauce, the calamari was exactly what I was hoping to avoid. Mostly breading and on the "rubbery" side, the calamari had the taste of something you would get out of the frozen food section of Tops. Much disappointed, we ate it more out of sheer hunger than enjoyment.
For dinner I ordered chicken parm with a side of spaghetti parmesan (the reason we came here to start). The girl ordered a big ol' plate of spaghetti parm. The chicken parmesan is alright, not exceptional. Served with their sweeter-than-usual sauce, the chicken is still a little dry and a little bland but otherwise ok. The redeeming portion of the dish really is the pasta sauce, which helps to add some flavor and moisture back to the chicken. I order the chicken parm more as a side to the spaghetti parm, which is awesome. The best way to describe spaghetti parm is cheese with cheese and spaghetti and more cheese. You'll need the knife on the table to get to the lightly sauced pasta underneath the layer of cheese but dive in. Don't underestimate the size of the dish either, what appears on the menu as small is still a good pile of pasta and cheese. I don't think I could eat the entire bowl in one sitting. It can be a bit heavy on the oil- mostly from the cheese, but they make drugs to combat high cholesterol (Lipitor for dessert anyone?) The dish is basically an excuse to eat a pile of melted mozzarella with a bit of pasta- and who doesn't like melted mozzarella?
From past experience and this visit, Chef's is alright Italian food, but certainly not the best you'll find. I think I could name about 4 others that offer better food at the same price point. The food is nothing really special and almost sub-par. If you like a sweeter red sauce, you'll probably love their sauce, and if you like lots of melted cheese on a plate of pasta, you'll be set with the spaghetti parmesan. That's the only reason I'll keep going back.
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