Miles logged: 2,461
Buffalo gives you wings
Our final stop was not on the original itinerary. The plan was to depart northern Vermont, cruise through up-state New York and circumvent lakes Ontario and Erie on our way back to the yellow brick road. We would pass by Buffalo with no plans of stopping. That was until we got a craving for chicken wings. How could we leave Buffalo wings off our food tour? It would be a shame. Determined and hungry, we rerouted our course to the birthplace of the Buffalo wing, the Anchor Bar.
Anchor Bar has been home of the original Buffalo wing since 1964 when owner Teressa Bellissimo’s son Dominic requested a special snack for his lubricated friends. Bellissimo took some chicken parts generally reserved from soup and fried them. She then tossed them in a secret blend of hot sauce and melted butter to create the Buffalo wing. Popularity of this concoction quickly spread worldwide. Though Anchor Bar’s Buffalo wing is often imitated, it is never duplicated.
Wading through the crowd to reach the hostess stand was a challenge. Our arrival coincided with NCAA basketball tournament time. Though our wait was lengthy, we hadn’t come all this way to be deterred. Within a few minutes we were escorted to a cozy corner of the restaurant. The crimson walls were decorated with antique motorcycles, license plates and numerous autographed framed photos of famous patrons. Once seated, our less than enthusiastic server took our order. Halfway through my Labatt Blue, the platter of wings arrived. These wings must have come from chickens on anabolic steroids. Never before had I seen such meaty chicken parts. Each wing and leg was smothered in the famous sauce. I could feel my stomach filling already. Did I mention we ordered onion rings too?
Our fried food binge began with of course, the wings. The taste and texture was incomparable. I have eaten a lot of chicken wings, but none this good. The crispy skin complimented the meat’s tenderness. The meaty wings and legs served as paintbrushes, spreading the orange sauce farther and farther from the corners of my mouth with each bite. Now, I know traditionally Buffalo wings are served with bleu cheese but I’m from the plains. I like me some ranch dressing with just about…everything, especially with wings. For fear of ridicule and awkward stares, I refrained from asking from an alternative dipping sauce. Rebecca really wanted to also. We nibbled the last bits and abandoned hope with the onion rings. Our fried food fest had finally wrapped.
Exiting Anchor Bar, swearing off fried food for a week, was gratifying. Our detour in Buffalo was delicious, however, it was finally time to head back to Kansas. We got back in the car at dusk prepared to drive through the night, until, “Hey, we came all the way here. We should go to Niagara Falls.”
