Beer vs Wine. Paired with food. At the Hideaway Grille…read more The Hideaway Grille has done three similar events. Once a year more or less. I think once with wine and once with beer. This time with both, together, head to head (so to speak). Upon arrival the bar was already hopping. Happy hour started at 5:30, and it was happy when I arrived sometime after that. They have these homemade chips on the bar that are fantastic. Not sure if they are an everyday thing or not, but Id go back for those alone. Truffle oil and garlic is a great match with potatoes, and when those potatoes are cut in house it just gets better. The event worked like this - assigned seating, the owner of the Hideaway knew many of the guests so she was able to put tables together that worked really well. By the end of the evening, Table 5 was the rowdiest, but each table had a great time. Before each course the beer and wine choices were described by the associated beer and mine masters. Each was chosen with the food in mind. I drink far more wine than beer, but I found both selections each time were a great choice. On occasion the beer outshone the wine, and vice versa, but there was no clear "miss" and some clear "hits". Our first course was a shrimp & lobster bisque (I did not sample that but the table loved it). I have to say both the beer and wine went nicely with it, as was the case for each course. I say this as the soup was cream based and both the beer and wine choice took that into account. The second course was a stuffed chicken, it was a perfect size, perhaps 4 bites. Easy to cut, the chicken was moist and tender. Very nice. A sherbet followed to "cleanse our palettes". Then came the risotto - which for me was the fav of the evening. The risotto came with two seared scallops, which were nicely seared. I enjoyed the scallop, but loved the risotto, with hazelnut throughout. I asked if that was on the menu, and I then learned many of these dishes were created for the event. Perhaps a dry run for some new menu items? Id vote for the risotto. Then came the pistachio and gorgonzola crusted filet. Also terrific. My filet was medium, I prefer very rare and for me it would have been a knockout that way. However, even more cooked, the flavors were terrific and happily devoured by all. They came with a potatoes, but I cant comment on that, I simply enjoyed the filet too much to get to the potatoes. The dessert was some sort of rich chocolaty thing, which tasted great, but for me the dollop of whipped cream (which was soooo much more than just whipped cream) and the homemade sponge candy were the stars of the plate. This coming from someone who pretty much never choses a chocolate dessert, and I ate half the actual dessert too. It was very very good. That pastry chef can bake. All in all, if you have a chance to come to the next event you should. This one was $50/ticket (tax and tip not included), and well worth it for the food, the drinks and the FUN. There were even some raffles, bottles of the evenings wine raffled off. Fill disclosure, I won one, but this review was already being written in my head, so no undue influence. Their facebook page is the way to keep up with what's happening at the Hideaway Grille. https://www.facebook.com/hideawaygrille?fref=nf Thanks to Alex L (CM) and Yelp for making me aware of this event.

This is a lecture series hosted by the Buffalo Just Literary Center. They bring in four speakers…read moreyearly. The talks are at Kleinhans. This years speakers are: Richard Blanco - From Obamas Second term inauguration Amy Tan - Author of The Joy Luck Club Suzan-Lori Parks - Famous playwright -Topdog/Underdog on Broadway Abraham Verghese - author of Cutting for Stone Past speakers have included Julia Alvarez, Amos Oz, Naomi Shihab Nye, Zadie Smith, Alexander McCall Smith and many more. Pricing *Season Subscription: $100.00 *Season Pair: $175.00 - Buy two subscriptions and save! *Patron Subscription: $275.00 Includes admission to catered author reception beforehand, and reserved seating at event. *Patron Pair: $475.00 Buy two patron subscriptions and save! Pictures are taken by Buffalos own Bruce Jackson. The speaker speaks, and then there is a Q&A with someone from Just Buffalo. Often there seem to be questions from the audience that have been sent in in advance. Some come from the moderator themselves. Its well done, in a comfortable environment. Come see a living piece of history speak in Buffalo, in a small nice venue with terrific acoustics. You cant get tickets to these things in major cities, and certainly not for the same price with free parking. "First to review #200"

I love that Buffalo has such an amazing Pride parade and festival! I can't speak for the other…read moreevents, because I didn't get a chance to attend, but I am pleased with the turn out, the inclusive and welcoming atmosphere, the bumpin' entertainment, the yummy food, and the "freebies" from M&T bank and other organizations. The only thing I wish was more prominent was details about the ticket system for both drink AND food. Several people asked myself and my companions whether tickets were needed for food because most food trucks weren't explicit in their description of ticket use for menu items. I had remembered this from the past, so we were able to pass this along. Otherwise, ticket sale tents only really listed the number of tickets needed for drinks, so that could be misleading. I look forward to future Pride events!

Enjoyed a couple hours looking around at all the fire fighting equipment and the history behind it…read more They have lots of old helmets, fire rigs and many articles on the major fires around the buffalo area. Being close to Christmas they also still had all of their decorations out which my daughter loved. If you love fire fighting and the history behind it this is a great little stop. It's cool to see the evolution of all the equipment and techniques. They have come a long way over the years but there was some real innovation back in the day that was used to overcome the challenges that firefighters would face on a regular basis. Admission is free, they had suckers and a souvenir hat for kids and small donations are appreciated especially if you enjoyed your visit.

enjoyed a great conversation and walk around the Buffalo Fire Department historical museum the…read moreother day. Our guide Ms. Coughlin, was great at telling the story of BFD, from its inception to current day... all of the other volunteers there were also fun to talk with. each had a little different look at the workings of the fire department. the layout of the museum is easy to follow, and guided tour or not there is a wealth of information, and sights. there is some interactivity for kids, and if you knew someone who is BFD, one of the folks here has a story about them. very nice museum to tour on a cold day (they have free coffee) or a place out of the sun on a hot day. admission was free but donations are accepted. a building full of interesting history.

Come on down to try some new things…read more Parking is fairly easy downtown on a Sunday. Sato is here with pumpkin soup and braised pork stew. I had the pumpkin and I'll have it again at the restaurant soon. Two food trucks are here, Roaming Buffalo and Black Market. The Byrd house has a chili soup not listed on the handout, I tried it and that's what I would have again. It was good and has some great flavors. Some of the other vendors, in no specific order: Swing from the Vine, Buffalo Roadhouse Grill, Original Soupman, Go Veggie, Laugerhaus 95 (try the African peanut, superb), Lockport Pub, Saffire Grill and more. For your sweet tooth you have the Cupcake Cafe, Oliver St Bakery, Buffalo Cookie Company, and the Gelato Gypsy to choose from. Randomly there are also Direct TV, Outback Kettle Korn, Tupperware here. Yelp has a table and if you check in you get to spin the wheel and get a prize. I'd go for the Chapstick if I were you. Stop by and say hi to Alex and Danielle. Always a fun table. The venue is large and as a result it's not crushingly crowded. Easy to move around. Lines not too long. This is a fun event to do once a year. Three stars as it's nice but not the best ever. The live music is a little too loud and distracting. The entrance is not as easy as it could be. You cannot leave and come back. It's an 8 hour event. Why not be able to exit and enter? The prices for soups I thought were actually reasonable but the prices for non soups were quite high. Provide some half cupcakes or smaller ones and charge less. This is about tasting, not full size portions. Same for the popcorn, this is not a street fair, so make the portions smaller or lower prices. All on all there is a slight feel of a street fair here which I doubt the organizers are going for and I would imagine makes some of the "target vendors" uncomfortable. All in all A OK.

This was my fourth time attending "Buffalo Soup-Fest" in the four years that they've had it, so…read moreobviously I'm a fan. This venue was the best of all of the places that the event has been held. There was room to walk around. It was light and bright and welcoming. There are just a few issues that I feel need to be addressed. One of the problems is that (maybe because it's such a popular event) they ran out of many of the soups early in the day. The event runs from 11-7, and by 4 close to half of the varieties were no longer available. Frustrating for those of us who chose to come for (an early) dinner. Secondly there just weren't places to get things to drink. And, none of the soup vendors appeared to have beverages for sale. Some of those soups were pretty salty, and something to drink was necessary. Luckily a convention center employee led us to a water fountain hidden on the first floor. Third (for me at least) was that there really wasn't as much variety as I would have hoped for (how many Chicken Wing Soups and Beer Cheese Soups are really needed?).... and some of the soups really weren't all that good (ummm.... isn't Vichyssoise supposed to be COLD?)..... and the portion sizes (at $2-$3 each) were pretty small. And (finally) fourth.... somebody needed to (PLEASE!!!) clean the place up. The garbage cans were overflowing, there were empty (and near empty) soup bowls all over the tables, and the table cloths were absolutely disgusting! (And why were there table clothes anyway? EWW!!) So why, you may ask, am I a fan? Well..... I love all events boosting awareness of Buffalo's great independent restaurants. I love the opportunity to try new things. And, I simply love soup. What were my favorites? The Village Inn's "Mayan Chocolate Stout" and Swing From the Vine Cafe's "My Sweetie Pie". Mmm Mmm Good!

Perfect spot to learn about the history of Akron! The museum features the stories of prominent…read moreAkron residents throughout history, and Akron businesses. There's also information on Akron throughout the ages, including some Native American history. We came to see their Christmas display, which included many vintage toys, antique ornaments, and fun facts about Christmas. The volunteers were friendly and offered to answer questions. Small museum but well organized and informative.

Relatively small yet highly-intriguing nautical history museum located a few blocks from Canalside…read morein downtown Buffalo, in a small second floor annex. Wandered in off the street while ambling around my hometown and was greeted by one of the volunteers, who proceeded to give me a walkthrough of the museum's main exhibits. They even have working ship whistles and a number of artifacts recovered from historical shipwrecks. Definitely worth a visit if you're in downtown Buffalo during open hours.

Also known as the Buffalo Harbor Museum, this location houses numerous artifacts and stories on…read morelocal maritime history. From the canal, Buffalo waterfront and grain mills, to our piece of the Great Lakes, the museum covers a lot in the space that it has. If you're like me and have never heard of this museum, it's because it's tucked away - a sign closer to the street and some Facebook events could help bring more people in. The displays consist of model ships, artifacts, photographs, and some things you can touch (such as the bell, the giant captains wheel, and more). There's also a large focus on the shipbuilders and workers. There was a sign in the museum that asked for no photos inside, but there are plenty on their website to look at. From afar, the museum seems very modern as it's in a large open space with a bright wooden floor, but looking closely at the displays you can tell this museum needs some funding. You can tell that some of the displays look DIY as print outs are mounted on construction paper. Considering the location and what this museum covers, I hope it gets the funding it needs as it offers a different (and non-military) perspective of the waterfront than the Naval museum does at Canalside (that one is strictly military history).

Wow! I didn't realize the extent of local railroad history until visiting this museum. The museum…read moreis open every Saturday in the summer and it's free to enter, but they accept donations as well. The museum is housed in the former Erie Railroad freight house, built in 1922 and is operated by the National Railway Historical Society Chapter of the Niagara Frontier. The museum has several interesting exhibits and artifacts related to local railroad history. There's also two kaboose cars onsite and you can go inside the red one. There's also two engines onsite, and a switch tower down the street. Highly recommend if you have an hour and would like to learn about local history from friendly volunteers!