The Thing's I Would Do For Lunch In Buffalo...

I live in Las Vegas. I've been here for 13 years now. And as the city has grown on me in many ways over the years, there is one thing that I never, ever stop yearning for.

Buffalo foods.

The problem with Buffalo foods is this. When you're there. You don't really value it. I'd compare it to the Vegas strip. I have no value for it. I ignore it. I don't visit it very often.

Well that's what I did growing up surrounded by Buffalo foods. I had no idea that the food I was taking for granted on a daily basis would one day become one of the things I missed most in the world!

When I visit home now, I gorge myself on the stuff. I generally gain a minimum of 5 pounds on a quick weeklong visit to my home town.

So in honor of my favorite place in the entire world and it's incredible array of foods (okay... and maybe the fact that I'm super hungry), I give you...

My Buffalo food wish list:

The one and only Chicken Finger Sub.

My first stop on every trip is John's Pizza and Subs. From there... I tend to eat a minimum of one Chicken Finger Sub a day. How do I order mine? Medium. No onions. Extra bleu cheese. But seriously, there isn't a wrong way to order one. As you can see from the photo, the melted provolone cheese atop the spicy chicken fingers combined with the crisp lettuce and tomato and the smothering of Buffalo style bleu cheese comes together to create what I would call the perfect food. The king of all subs. The creme de la creme. All right, you get the point.

Next stop... Beef on Weck.

I typically get mine at Adrian's on Grand Island. Is it the best in Buffalo? Probably not. But there's something amazingly comforting in sitting on that picnic bench, eating my beef on weck while glancing over at Fantasy Island across Grand Island Boulevard. If you're not familiar with a beef on weck. It's thin sliced slow roasted beef dunked in au jus and placed lovingly on a kimmelweck roll. The real secret is in the kimmelwick roll. The roll is covered in kosher salt and caraway seeds adding the perfect salty punch to the sandwich. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

The Staple Food... Chicken Wings.

See in Buffalo, where these babies were invented, we don't call them Buffalo wings. They're called chicken wings. Which makes alot more sense doesn't it? Jessica Simpson would have understood the concept a lot quicker if they had just been calling them chicken wings from the beginning. Obviously, no trip to Buffalo would be complete without stopping for wings and beer. And for the record... chicken wings really shouldn't be eaten without beer accompanying them.

Mighty Taco.

Mighty Taco is pretty much the McDonalds of Buffalo. They're everywhere now. And there's a reason that the chain is so expanded in Buffalo. Because there is absolutely nothing better in the world than two super mighty's and a loganberry after a long night of drinking. Frankly, I don't find it necessary to eat Mighty after drinking, I'd eat Mighty anytime.

Ted's Hot Dog's.

Ted's is the standard in Buffalo. Hot dogs, sadly, are just not made like this anywhere else. I'm pretty sure they're using Salens hot dogs, but they grill them to perfection, poking holes as they grill to give it just the right smoky taste. Louie's Hot Dog's is amazing as well and if you're into grilled hot dogs, is more than worthy of a try.

Pizza.

Yep, I'll say it. Buffalo has the best pizza in the world. Many will argue this. I'm not sure what makes it so incredibly good, maybe it's the water that the dough is made from, maybe it's the magical tiny circular pepperoni's. But it's one of a kind.

For dessert... straight to Anderson's Frozen Custard.

Frozen custard is like a smoother, creamier, more satisfying version of soft serve ice cream. Anderson's has perfected this. As a kid, we'd go in the summer. If black raspberry happened to be the flavor of the day, it was as good as winning the lottery. I'm an adult. I've been back. The feeling doesn't go away.

My last stop is always to either Kelly's Country Store or the Chocolate House for Sponge Candy. We tend to buy enough to last us for several months on any trip home. This delicacy is just not found anywhere else in the country. It's like Buffalo's best kept secret. The honeycomb like sugar center melts in your mouth. The chocolate coating is the perfect consistency. Ahhh... just thinking about biting into one of these makes me smile.

So there they are. The things I would do anything for. We're planning a trip to B-lo in late July. If you're looking for me... I'll probably be eating.