Upstate New York...my new favorite place

Just finished my first ever collegiate trek through UNY and it was some sort of epic. Mostly I had amazing tour guides Andrei and Tim and the landscape was just gorgeous. It reminded me quite a bit of Alabama which made me yearn for more of the open land and sky that isn't blocked by uber tall buildings. I digress...let's talk food.

Like the complete idiot that I am I had never put Buffalo Wings and Buffalo, NY together...the genius of my brain never ceases to amaze me. So, I flew into Buffalo on Thursday morning and by the time lunch rolled around we were ready to check out Duff's. http://www.duffsfamouswings.ca/content/home/home.html

There are 2 famous Wing establishments in Buffalo-- Anchor Bar apparently invented the "Wing" and Duff's claims to have perfected it. Duff's claims that Medium= Hot, Medium Hot=Very Hot, and Hot= Very Very Hot. Not sure of what "hot" means in Buffalo we decided to go with Medium and you know what? They were ehhh...Medium Hot. But...they were tasty. Good flavor, crispy, and BIG!

I also was able to try some of Tim's "Beef on Weck" sandwich-- apparently another Buffalo traditional fare option. Tender roast beef served on a Kummelweck roll (a roll topped with copious amounts of Kosher salt and caraway seeds). The salt, caraway and beef really do mix well together but just too much salt for my taste.

Our next foodrageous stop was for dinner at Dinosaur BBQ in Rochester. http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/ When Andrei said we were going to a BBQ place for dinner my response was : "You know I'm from the south, right?". He was pretty positive that Dinosaur could stand up to my high BBQ standards...and I have to admit, he was right.

First I had to try their Fried Green Tomatoes....the tomatoes themselves were super great with a really nice breading but they served it with a ranch dressing that was very overpowering and a little runny in consistency. I prefer a thicker remoulade.

Next I ordered the "Big Ass Pork Plate" with a side of mashed potatoes and a side salad. As most of my frequent readers know (all 2 of you), mashed potatoes are one of my favorite foods-- right up there with eggs. First- the pork-- it was damn good. Really nicely smoked, tender but yet not mushy as it can sometime be-- defined meat but not stringy. They top it with a homemade bbq sauce that was somewhat typical but flavorful. I was glad they didn't put too much sauce because I'm of the belief that too much sauce RUINS good BBQ.

The mashed potatoes were good- definitely homemade. Could have used a bit more black pepper but that's just my preference. I was able to try some of Tim's Mac & Cheese and it definitely didn't live up to expectations but Mac & Cheese is hard to do in mass and keep the quality.

While the food in UNY was great...the sky, scenery and company really made the trip. I tried to get a good picture of the sunset Friday night but it doesn't do it justice.