On my last day in D.C., some of my coworkers took me out to a farewell lunch in Dupont Circle.  (Tapas at Boqueria – my choice.)  While we were enjoying our lunch the conversation turned – as it often did, with that group – to other dining and food experiences.  We were a foodie bunch, what can I say?  Naturally, they all wanted to know what the restaurant scene is like in Buffalo, but at the time, I couldn’t really tell them.  I knew that the Buffalo food scene was more than just chicken wings, and I described Rue Franklin, a fawncy (and delicious) French restaurant that hubby had taken me to for an anniversary dinner several years ago, but beyond that, I wasn’t too sure what kind of options there were.

Having lived here for a few months now, I can now say… the food scene in Buffalo is pretty great.  You can get anything you want around here – from top notch sushi to incredible brunch, and everything in between.  We’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood with tons of options within walking distance from our house (which will be a big factor in our decision-making when it comes time to buy a house, but more on that later) and we’ve established a few favorite neighborhood places where the wait staff already knows us.  (Well… they know Peanut.)  But we don’t just go to our favorites; we’ve tried a number of new-to-us places over the past few months.  Here are some of the highlights just since Christmas:

Elm Street Bakery, East Aurora NY

I’ll have a whole post about our day in East Aurora coming soon, but I wanted to share this gem.  The Elm Street Bakery is a family favorite with my in-laws; they make incredible breads and delicious-looking granola.  (I’d have brought some granola home, but I’m eating sugar-free in January.  I’m sure the granola will be there in February, though.)  We decided to give the place a try because my in-laws told us they make wood-fired pizza, and we’re still on the hunt for a replacement to Pizzeria Paradiso, our favorite place in Old Town Alexandria.  The restaurant itself was quaint and cozy – check out the order counter above!  And the verdict on the pizza: pretty darn good.  I’d say it probably was the best pizza we’ve had so far, since we moved up here.  Now I’m dying to go back and try some of their other menu offerings.

Crust Pizza, Buffalo

Crust is a new restaurant, which just opened a few months ago.  We’d been meaning to give it a try, because in addition to build-your-own pizzas, they have arancini and POTATO CROQUETTES.  Yes, you did read that right.  We finally hit it this past Friday and the food was great.  We tried pizza with red sauce, chicken, mushrooms and broccoli and it was delish.  (Next time, I’d leave off the mushrooms because, while they were good, the broccoli was even better.)

^Our pizza!  Sorry for the dark shot.  Ambience, ya know?

My only complaint about Crust is that they have no high chairs.  No big deal for my friends sans kiddos, but we had a tough time managing Peanut and eating at the same time.  We had to eat in shifts, which is something we haven’t had to do since last summer: hubby went first and wolfed down his dinner while I held Peanut, then it was my turn – but by then, my food was cold.  So what we learned that night is that Peanut having her own seat is integral to a good dining experience for all of us.  (Hubby and I like to enjoy our food simultaneously, and Peanut is at a stage where she’ll happily sit in a high chair but doesn’t really appreciate being restrained by a parent.)  We’ll definitely go back to Crust, but I think we’ll save it for date night, or when Peanut is big enough to be trusted in a real chair.

Betty’s, Buffalo

I saved the best for last!  I’ve been to Betty’s twice now and am officially declaring it My Most Favorite Buffalo Restaurant Ever.  I went back in October for a networking lunch and had a smoked trout Nicoise salad that was absolutely unbelievable.  Look, I really like salad, and I order it a lot… but this was no ordinary salad.  This salad was… absolutely unreal.  Every single bite was packed with flavor and freshness.  I inhaled that salad and I’ve been talking about it ever since.  (Seriously, ask hubby if he isn’t tired of hearing about this salad.)  So when my parents came into town for a visit, I knew Betty’s had to be on the agenda for the weekend.  My sister-in-law had recently gone for brunch and said it was just as fabulous as ever, so we decided to save it for Sunday and man, am I glad we did, because lookie what I had:

Yes, that is smoked salmon eggs Benedict.  (Please don’t lick your computer screen.  I won’t be held responsible for any technological failures.)  The smoked trout Nicoise salad wasn’t on the brunch menu, which was probably a good thing, because I was forced to try something new… and let me tell you, EVERYTHING on Betty’s menu looks phenomenal.  (Hubby also had the smoked salmon eggs Benedict, and my mom had a breakfast burrito, which she said was excellent.)  We’ll be going back to Betty’s ASAP.

Those are just a few highlights of our Buffalo dining experiences – I promise more to come!  What about you – any favorite Buffalo restaurants that I just have to try?  Non-Buffalonian friends, what are your favorite local dining spots?