Friday, June 8, 2012

Anchor Bar (Buffalo, NY): Home of the Original Buffalo Wings

Anchor Bar may no longer be the best place to go for buffalo wings in Buffalo, NY, but it will forever be the place where the wings were first invented. Naturally it still draws plenty of tourists; it's after all fun to go to "the home of the original buffalo wings!"

The buffalo wings were said to have been invented by Teressa Bellissimo in 1964, when she served them to her son and his college friends late one night. Now, there's a 15-30 minute wait for a table. Photos of celebrities at Anchor Bar and articles fill the walls. Shot glasses and t shirts are available as souvenirs.

We got a "bucket" of 50 wings ($39) to share among 8 people. I was worried about the spiciness and we ended up ordering a "medium" which the waitress said had a good kick to it but wasn't too spicy. Well ... the "medium" was actually super mild ... even for me!

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The skin on the wings were nice and crunchy, but we could barely taste the buffalo sauce. They were still good wings, but towards the end of the bucket, I decided to ask the waitress for extra hot sauce. It was much more flavorful with the hot sauce, but she charged us for it.
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The rest of the menu was mostly uninteresting - my cousin had a fettucine alfredo which wasn't very good. The only other thing I wanted to try was another Buffalo specialty, the beef on weck.
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The beef on weck is a roast beef sandwich on a kummelweck roll served with horseradish. What's a kummelweck roll?? That was my first question. Apparently it is a wheat flour roll with the top divided into five segments, also called a Kaiser roll or Vienna roll.
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The roast beef looked a bit dry, but it was actually quite juicy and tender. It would've been better with some jus to dip it in (I think some places serve the jus with it), but overall still a good sandwich.
IMG_8953 The beer list is also mediocre, but at least they do have some fairly local beers. I had the Genessee Cream Ale mad in Rochester, NY. It's fairly light but works well with this type of food.

Anchor Bar is a tourist destination. Still, it's a fun place to go to if you're confused about where to go for that quick, big-group dinner in Buffalo before you keep driving to Niagara Falls. The buffalo wings are really the only reason to come and the main thing to order here. The history overshadows the current taste but the crispy wings will satisfy nonetheless  - just remember to order it hot (at least) if you want more flavor!

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Anchor Bar
1047 Main St
 Buffalo, NY 14209
(716) 883-1134
anchorbar.com
Anchor Bar on Urbanspoon

1 comments:

Arnie

If I was to write my review for this restaurant the last time I went there, I must have given it three if not four stars for service and courtesy.
Unfortunately, I got the urge to write my review now, after a sad incident happened with my friends last Saturday (April 19). Apparently, if your kid cry for whatever reason, the owner may come to your table to sarcastically tell you that your kid is not welcome to stay at Anchor bar.
So yeah, two stars only because I experienced better... and because the supposed to be awesome restaurant is not kid- friendly! or just the owner himself.

Arnie

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