Buffalo on Foot VII - Downtown II

Now that we had passed by Shea's theater and the Founding Fathers pub, it is time to continue our journey through Buffalo Downtown!

Starting at Lafayette Square, here we have the opportunity to see the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, the Public Library, the Lafayette Hotel, Brisbane and Liberty buildings. Amazing architecture!
Going further on Main st, we will pass by M&T plaza, a statue of Casimir Pulaski (gift from Poland) and the Ellicott Square Building, which is beautiful. Taking left on Swan St., you will be able to see the Coca-Cola Field, home of the Buffalo Bisons (baseball). Nearby there's also the Old Post Office.

Going back to Main St and proceeding until Seneca St, you can see the First Niagara Center (home of Buffalo Sabers - hockey), which we saw in our Waterfront tour. On Seneca St., you can also find the Pearl St Pub. Further, on Franklin St., you will see one of the most cutest churches I have ever seen: St. Joseph's Cathedral. Very close to it there is also St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, with its interesting architecture.

And the tour isn't over yet! Further on, we can visit the Guaranty Building, the Old County Hall and get to Niagara Square. Here our tour ends, where you are able to visit Buffalo City Hall, check McKinley Monument, the City Court Building, Staler Towers and the U.S. Courthouse. Wow! There is so much to see!!

To check out the tour, click here

Inside St. Joseph's Cathedral

The Founding Fathers

On Edward St., downtown Buffalo, you will find this great place to have a good time. It is a thematic pub, decorated with many different flags on the ceiling and with old American presidents pictures. There you can find many types of beer and delicious food, including free nachos and popcorn. Board and trivia games are available for the entertainment of the customers. You can also be challenged in an informal game of American history trivia. Definitely this is a great spot to share some beers among friends!

Shea's Theater

One of the great cultural places in Buffalo, Shea's Theater is very easy to get to, even by public transportation. To get there, just go by subway and stop at Theater Station (easy to remember!)
The theater often brings some Broadway's shows. Recently, I watched The Lion King there, and, on Thanksgiving break, they have ballet presentations of the Nutcracker. Later on, in December, they will receive The Addams Family show.
I also have a very good tip for students: the rush hour. One hour before the show starts, Shea's sell the remaining tickets (no matter the section they are) for a very cheap price, only for students. To have an idea, when I watched The Lion King, I bought my ticket on the rush hour. I paid $25.00 for the best section, which was costing around $100 normally. Great deal!
Anyway, it is very good to visit the theater, but you don't necessary have to go to a performance. The theater also offers guided tours inside!
After you visit this amazing place, you can have some nice dinner at Bijou restaurant, just in front of the theater. Their pasta is great!
To check the upcoming shows on Shea's theater, please click here

Buffalo on Foot IV: Downtown Buffalo I

In this chapter of ours Buffalo on Foot tours, we will approach one of the two tours in Downtown. Actually we could do them both in one day only, since the first tour takes only 35 minutes and the second 50 minutes. But there is so much to describe that I prefer using two posts!
How can you make this tour?
First start in front of the Market Arcade Building, on Main Street, close to Chippewa St. Then we go on Main Street to meet the theater district, where the main theaters of Buffalo are located, including Shea's Performing Arts Center (check out our next post). Then, entering Edward St., you will find many historical buildings, including Ansonia Building, Courier Express Building and St. Louis Church. Going further, you will meet this sympathetic pub called The Founding Fathers, which I also shall dedicate a post to.
Entering Delaware Av. and then turning left, then you continue the tour visiting more amazing buildings and churches.  Then, after some blocks, you can stop for a break at Spot Coffee on the corner with Chippewa St. Continue a little further on Delaware Avenue and then turn on Huron St. Check out the nice hotels around as well as the Electric Tower. Finally, go until Main St. to proceed to the next Downtown tour!
To check the tour maps, please click here!

Buffalo Zoo

When I was going to Buffalo Zoo, our next stop in the Parkside tour, I had very low expectations. I thought it would be a small and childish place, with not many different animals. I expected it to be good for children and to do something different, but nothing else. After the visit, I was totally amazed.
First, the Zoo is very big compared to what you think it is from Delaware park. There are many attractions and animals, that you have to check the map from time to time. You have wild African and American mammals, farm animals, reptiles, birds, fish and even giant cockroaches (the most disgusting part of the tour). We had such an amazing experience there. We watched a bear sitting enjoying the sunshine; a gorilla literally posing for a picture with her little baby gorilla; lions roaring; and even we saw the endangered Golden Lion Marmoset, which is a Brazilian animal that I just could see here in Buffalo.
Oh, and of course, we also saw the famous buffalo! :)
This visit has worth every penny spent, so I recommend to all, adults and children, to go and check out the zoo! For more information, please click here.

Sweet_ness 7 Café

One of the most delicious findings in Buffalo!
At the corner on Russell St. with Parkside avenue, this cozy cafeteria will be passed unnoticed if it wasn't on my Buffalo on Foot brochure. With a lovely atmosphere you can have a great coffee or hot chocolate (just amazing!) and one of their delicious crepes, with different flavors and combinations. Just in the center of the café, we also can find their signature City of No Illusions table, with the drawn of a buffalo and experience a delicious moment.
I recommend this place to everyone!

Me, having a great hot chocolate at Sweet_ness 7 Café!

Buffalo on foot III: Parkside

My favorite tour so far!
Delaware Park, Buffalo Zoo, Buffalo's architecture... Just amazing!
We start at Summit Av. with Jewett Parkway, to check out one of the most interesting house complex of the city, the Darwin D. Martin House Complex. Just at the other corners it is possible to also see the Church of the Good Shepherd and Wicks House, dated from 1890. Walking around Summit Av., until Russel St., it is possible to find out some other interesting buildings, in the heart of the Great American Neighborhood.
Finally, after this pleasant walk, you will get to Parkside Av. Just on the left corner, you will find a great coffee house named Sweet_ness 7 Café, which I will talk about in the following posts - it deserves!
Just in front of the coffee house, you will get to the entrance of Buffalo Zoo - again, this also deserves a dedicated post, coming soon!
Ending the tour, you can check the Walter V. Davidson House with a great architectural style, and then come back walking through Delaware Park, which is amazing during this time of the year!

To check out the tour and maps, click here!

Darwin D. Martin House Complex

Buffalo on Foot II: Elmwood Village

Continuing our expedition around Buffalo, our next tour is around Elmwood village. It is a very interesting tour, around the most charming neighborhood of Buffalo.
The tour starts at Spot Coffee, an inviting cafeteria in the heart of Elmwood Avenue. Then the tour goes into different streets into the neighborhood, where is possible to see some interesting buildings, with amazing architectonic style from the beginning of 20th century. The tour ends back to Elmwood Avenue, giving the tourist the opportunity to visit some stores around the place.
It is a very beautiful place to visit, and a great opportunity to explore even more this great city!
To know more about the tour click here.

Buffalo on Foot I: Waterfront

Hey guys!
So here is our first tour: Buffalo Waterfront. It took around only one hour to make it, but there's much to see! Wanna do it? Here are the step and main spots of the tour:
First start at HSBC Arena (or First Niagara Arena), home of the Buffalo Sabers. Then walk around Erie Canal Harbor, which is situated at the point where the Buffalo River and Buffalo Ship Canal converge. Walking further, you'll be able to see the Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park, which shows World War II ships and submarine.
At the waterfront, you can also see the First Grain Elevator, an invention which transferred big quantities of grain from the Great Lakes ships to Erie Canal boats or railcars more efficient. Going further, you can see the Buffalo Lighthouse on the other side of the river, at the point which this connects to Lake Erie. Looking at the other side of the lake, you can also see the mouth of Niagara River. At the end of the walkway that contours the waterfront, you can go to an Observation Tower and go to the top of it and have some great views of the waterfront.
Hungry? Go to the Hatch, which sells good hot dogs and ice creams, but unfortunately it's seasonal; or to Templeton Landing, a fine-dining restaurant with great views of the waterfront.
Definitely, that was one of the best tours I had in Buffalo! It is beautiful and full of history! I advice you to do it as soon as you can!

To get map and directions of the tour, please click here.

View from the Observation Tower

Buffalo on Foot - Buffalo tours

One of the best tour brochures I have ever seen is Buffalo On Foot. I got it when I went to Shea's theater to buy some tickets. It is an amazing guide which reunites nine different self-guided tours around Buffalo area. All of them you do walking, which makes the experience more pleasant, beautiful and healthy.
It is very useful because it gathers the best of each neighborhood and put everything together in tours of approximately 1h30min length, indicating the best spots. It makes possible to explore the city without a tour guide or a car.
Therefore, now we are going to explore these different tours, as truly Buffalo Riders. For the following weeks, expect to see what places we will visit, and feel free to make some suggestions!

Here are the tours:
1. Downtown I
2. Downtown II
3. Michigan Avenue Heritage Corridor
4. Buffalo Waterfront
5. Allentown and Delaware
6. Elmwood Village
7. Museum District
8. Parkside
9. East Aurora

To get to know each tour in advance, take a look on the online brochure: http://www.readoz.com/publication?i=1042364

Buffalo Bar Crawl

Don't know yet what to do on Halloween? What about going to Buffalo Bar Crawl?

This is a special event for Halloween, it's first edition. It consists on going from bar to bar, during a specific night. In this case, the bars are on Chippewa St., where the most popular bars in Buffalo are located. It is a great chance of getting to know Buffalo's nightlife, and have some fun checking out the costumes people will wear on the occasion! Besides that, special drinks for special prices are also available. It is this Friday, October 28th, starting at 8 pm. For more information, please visit http://www.buffalobarcrawl.com

Buffalo City Hall

This place is amazing! If you wanna take some nice pictures and have a view from the top of Buffalo, go to Buffalo City Hall. On the 25th floor, you can have a 360º view of the city. It is also good if you want to locate yourself easily later on, because then you realize where are the main points of the city. From there, is also possible to see Niagara Falls. I recommend this visit to every tourist in Buffalo - and it's for free!

View from the top of Buffalo City Hall

Great Deals #2: Top's card

Hi everyone!

As I mentioned some posts ago, Top's is the easiest supermarket to get by subway.
For being a frequent customer, I would like to give an advice when you shop there: get the Top's card. It's free, you just give them some data about you, and it's done right away.

The fact is, they show their smallest price bigger on the shelf. However, usually that price is when you present your Top's card - if not, you will pay that expansive small price in the corner of the label (yes, that one 3 times more expansive!)

I've already saved about $30 using Top's card. They do have some good prices, but you will need the card to get them.

Buffalo Specials #3 Pearl St. Bar

Do you like beers? What about a beer pub?

One of the best brewer pubs I've been to, is here in Buffalo. Just go out Seneca Station in downtown, go towards Seneca Av., and you'll see it: a four-floor building named Pearl St. By the way, this is the name of the street where it is located.

Besides having great beers, made by themselves, they also offer good snacks, pizzas, hamburgers and entrees. And if you are looking for fun and spending sometime with your friends, on the second floor they have pool tables, darts and hockey tables! It's very fun!

If you want you can take a virtual tour at the pub!

To know what types of beer and meals they offer, check their website: http://www.pearlstreetgrill.com/index.html

My international friends and I at Pearl St. Bar

How to get around Buffalo: University Station

This is the last station of subway's outbound way. There's much to do at there!

The station has this name because it is very close to the South Campus of University of Buffalo.
When leaving the station, you will see a Wendy's (I usually eat burgers there! It's great) and a Subway restaurant. Great station to stop when you are hungry!

If you keep going to your right, you can go to a Tim Horton's, a T-Mobile store and a Mexican restaurant. Just close to it there's a Walgreens store, a pharmacy that looks like a supermarket! Nearby there is also a movie theater if you are looking for some fun.

Going a little bit further you will get to Top's plaza. Top's is a very good supermarket, and the easiest to get by subway (as far as I know until now). Next to Top's you have a CW Price store, with many cheap clothes. There's also a Dollar Tree store there (yes, the one I love!), cheap shoe store and a beauty shop as well, as some Oriental restaurants.

Definitively, this is an interesting station to stop and shop! If you are looking for cheap stuff and good deals, or just having some good food, it's pretty easy to get there!

Walden Galleria Mall

Winter is coming and we need to buy clothes!

I have a great suggestion: go to Walden Galleria Mall!
It's the largest mall in Buffalo-Niagara area, and it's located in Cheektowaga, close to Buffalo. To get there you can both use public transportation (although it will take a while to get there) or Canisius' shuttle on Saturdays, leaving from student's center. 


The mall has 250 stores and more than 18 million shoppers annually. Its anchor stores are Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW Shoe Warehouse, JCPenney, Lord & Taylor, Macy's, Old Navy, H&M, and Sears. My favorite one is Forever 21, though. But probably you will find one that pleases you best! 


To see which stores they have, click here!


If you, for some reason, don't like shopping, they also have some great restaurants, as Bravo!, The Cheesecake Factory and The Melting Pot! Yummy!


More info about the mall:
http://www.waldengalleria.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walden_Galleria

Great Deals #1: Dollar Tree

My favorite store in Buffalo! lol

If your currency exchange doesn't help you (such as mine), this is your store! Everything for $1!
They have pretty good stuff in there, from Halloween decoration to food! If you wanna check out what they have to offer, please take a look on their website: http://www.dollartree.com/home.jsp
However, be careful: things are only $1 dollar, so somethings will not be as good as if you buy somewhere else. For example, I got a can opener, but until now I couldn't eat my canned tuna... However, I also bought some playing cards, Wonka candies, a calendar, plates and cups and they are very good!
So it's great to spend some time there before going to Target or having a party... You will find very nice stuff for a price you would never find!

How to get there? Just take the subway until University station... It's close to Tops and McDonald's!

Have fun!

Buffalo Specials #2: Buffalo Bills

Before coming to Buffalo, I didn't like American Football. Ok, let's be honest: I never knew how American Football was played. But after watching the Buffalo Bills' game against the Patriots on 09/25, I've became a fan of the sport!

The Bills' stadium is located in the suburb of Ochard Park, close to Buffalo NY. To get there, is better have a car. If you get earlier, people usually have some barbecue and beers at the parking lot. It already started with a party!

Then the game. The rules of Football are pretty simple: The teams have 11 players and they have to score points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone - the famous touchdown! Each team have 4 changes to do so (maybe I am being too simple by saying that, but knowing it make it much easier to understand the game).

The fun part is that the game a went has a epic game! It was a beautiful sunny sunday, Bills started loosing but they recover it and won, after 8 years without winning the Patriots! I felt lucky! :D

The Bills are my football team! If you wanna know more about them, just visit the following websites:
http://www.buffalorumblings.com/
http://blogs.buffalobills.com/

Let's go BUF-FA-LO!

How to get around Buffalo: Public Transportation

Buffalo and the Niagara region are served by Niagara Frontier Public Authority (NFTA). They are responsible for the public transportation of the area, having a great number of buses and a subway line. One interesting tool that I've found on their website - and helped me a lot! - is the Trip Planner. There you can type from where you are to where you wanna go, and they will give you all the information you need to get there using public transportation. You can know the time you'll need to get to places, time of departures and walking distances. It's very interesting and very helpful. Another alternative to that is using Google Maps, but I really appreciate NFTA's initiative. Wanna use it? Just click here!

Buffalo specials #1 Buffalo Wings

Before even thinking about coming to Buffalo, I may not have heard about the city itself, but definetly I've heard about its most special dish: the Buffalo Chicken Wings.
Ok, they are not as popular in Brazil as they are here, but we have a couple of American restaurants over there which sell Buffalo Chicken Wings. We can say it is international! So when I started considering coming to Buffalo, I looked for the city in Wikipedia, and I found out about this dish - which looked just delicious! And as people from here use to say, the best thing about Buffalo is the food. :)
Actually, the Buffalo Chicken Wing is a chicken wing section (drumette or flat) fried and served with a sauce made of vinegar, pepper and butter, according to Horwitz. They were first served at Anchor Bar, located in Main St., and in fact there are 4 different versions on how the wings were created (we can say it is a kind of urban legend!).  Some people say Duff's wings are better, but I haven't the chance to try them yet.
I tried the Buffalo Chicken Wings at Anchor bar, and in my opinion I thought they were too spicy (sorry!). After eating it I could spit fire!
Also, the symbol of the Buffalo Wing Festival is a Buffalo on fire! Maybe it has something to do with my experience... By the way, this is an amazing festival - in 2010 edition, 33 tons of wings were served!
Anyway, I believe everyone that comes to Buffalo should try it! It's like going to Brazil and have a Brazilian barbecue, or going to Italy and eat their famous pasta!
If you are interested in this dish, try to make it at home! Here is the recipe.

Me and my friend Juliana having Buffalo Chicken Wings at Anchor Bar - for the very first time!

Interesting Facts

Before starting putting info about how to get around in this city, it is better to know a little bit more about it before. Buffalo is an amazing city, with many U.S. presidents related to it, such as Millar Fillmore, Grover Cleveland and William McKinley, who was shot in the city. Also, after his death, Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in Buffalo, one of the few who made it outside Washington.
Besides that, Buffalo has many things to be proud of its history: it was the first city in the USA to develop electric street lights and in 1901 it has hosted the Pan-American Exposition.
Buffalo is also the home town for Buffalo Bills (football), Buffalo Sabers (ice hockey) and Buffalo Bisons (baseball). It is also one of the main entrance gates to Canada and it has its own International Airport (which I arrived from). Buffalo is also the place where artist and bands such as Rick James, Billy Sheehan and The Goo Goo Dolls started. Buffalo has more than 20 parks and a population of about 260 thousand people, making it the 70th most populated city in the USA, although the city population has decreased considerably - it had 580 thousand inhabitants in the old 50ties!
To complete these interesting facts, Buffalo has been elected the 10th best place to raise a family in America by Forbes Magazine. So, it is a pretty exciting city, to live and discover. From now on, let's try to identify or make easier to enjoy its most important features and places.

Pan-American Exposition Grounds, in Buffalo, NY - 1901

If you want to know more, please access: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo,_New_York

Welcome Riders!

Today we are starting our adventures in Buffalo!

For those who don't know me, I am a international student at Canisius College. I just got in Buffalo, NY, with a great curiosity of exploring this place. While I am doing my journey, I will describe some cool places, tips, great deals, restaurants and nice things to do in here. My purpose is to help other visitors or international students in Buffalo, to try to help them get the best out of this city. Since I am not from here, I also expect to get some help from my readers along the way.

Enjoy the ride!!