Anthony Bourdain in Buffalo

Any who know me well understand I am a fanatical Anthony Bourdain and No Reservations fan. The fact that he is premiering his "Rust Belt" episode which puts itself deep into the heart of my hometown is amazing to say the least.

Buffalo, New York gets a bad wrap. We have horrible winters, lousy summers a half polluted lake, Canadians to the north of us and a football team which holds the record for being the losingest Super Bowl team in the history of the NFL. Our economy is depressed and the governmental leaders are to busy handing out patronage jobs to their friends and the "loyal supporters" (AKA Wallets) which put them in office. I mean Jesus Christ, our Mayor is being investigated by the FBI right now.

But there is a different side of Buffalo rarely discussed in the national spotlight. With everything that is wrong with our city there is so much that is inherently right.

Over the past several years we have become a gastronomic hub. Fantastic restaurants like Ditando's, The Left Bank, The Blackthorn, Doc Sullivan's and Tempo show that we are capable of so much more than the Buffalo Wing (by the way, we just call them wings around here…) or Beef on Weck. We have Five Star gourmet restaurants and Blue Collar pubs all which produce a quality of food which can not and will not be paralleled anywhere else. Come and try some of our pizza and tell me I’m wrong.

Our night life is a booming industry, Nightclubs and Local bars dot the landscape like trees in the wilderness. Chippewa District bars like Bada Bing, Crocodile Bar, Club W and Jack Devine's offer a diverse array of entertainment.

Allentown gets in on the action with Hardware, Brick Bar and the Old Pink.

You move on down to Elmwood and places like the Thirsty Buffalo, Nektar and Fahrety’s cater to a more mid twenties crowd. Any college Student will tell you Main Street by UB is the place to party when school is in session. Mojo’s and The Steer are always packed to the rafters.

In Buffalo, Bartenders are celebrities in their own right. You could speak with a multitude of people about our night life and names like Paul Hartel, Billy Domiani, Ben Bell or Vinny Demarco will instantly spark up fond memories of evenings you may not wholly remember.

Buffalo is built upon a proud heritage of hard working and hard playing people. We have rags to riches stories like Tucker Curtain (who although he may not be liked by all) is definitely and inspiration.

Buffalo has a history of being a “Blue Collar” town. The Steel Industry here helped work on the Manhattan Project and produced steel for a great deal of the infrastructure which this country is built on.

We are the largest "small town" in America. People inevitably grow to love the community around them. Why do you think most of our professional athletes stay or return here when they retire? Because we are an amazing place to live.

Jeremy Jacobs, the owner of Delaware North Companies Inc. is a Buffalo native. He headquarters his business on Main Street in Buffalo. He has enough money to spend his life in Antigua if he really wanted to, but chooses to stay here.

The Goo Goo Dolls could have forgotten about Buffalo when they made it big. However they chose to give back to their community. They have played free shows and yearly hold a free concert called Music is Art in Buffalo. Robby Takac, the bassist of the Goo Goo Dolls also opened a recording studio in Buffalo as a way to help give local entertainers opportunities and amenities which weren’t readily available to him when he started out.

I am not discounting the problems we have as well. Any place you will live will have short comings. But for once I am happy to finally see Buffalo put in the national spotlight for its merits rather than its athletes or demerits.

Cheers Buffalo.

Mac The Bartender