Anywhere in Buffalo where I can find fried clams?

[callitasicit]

I am just curious if there is a place someone can tell me that offers fried clams? I am visiting Buffalo, New York in a couple of weeks and have a serious hankering for some whole bellied clams. Thanks in advance.

[houdini]

Just as an aside, isn't this sort of like finding Jambalaya in Kansas? Why not try local delicacies?

[lisagambino]

You took the words out of my mouth. I was thinking the same thing. Maybe raw clams in the summer time, Cecelia's has a nice clam bar on the patio in the summer, but that's about it.
LaMarina on Hertel is good for seafood, not sure if they have fried clams though.

[callitasicit]

Perhaps but I thought there would be a better chance to find fried clams in Buffalo than where I live in Toronto Ontario where they are nowhere to be found. Don't get me wrong, I will eating mainly pizza and wings when I am here;)

[jerryc123]

Egads! houdini said to try local delicacies, and you mentioned pizza and wings. Sigh.

Honestly, Buffalo has some really good food. Try one of those two restaurants I suggested. You won't be disappointed.

[callitasicit]

Is that a bad thing lol? That is what comes to mind when I think of Buffalo, I didn't mean to insult anyone.

[jerryc123]

No offense taken. It's just that most of the foods that Buffalo is known for are junk foods.
Wings, beef-on-weck, sponge candy, loganberry soda, Sahlen's hot dogs, pizza.
See a pattern here?

[callitasicit]

Yeah I do. I am so torn on where do go now more than ever. Has anyone tried Black and Blue Steak and Crab? If so, is it worth going to?

[houdini]

Yes, it is - and it's restaurant week here too!
Take a look at
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/restaurant.guide/nonframed.index.shtml
http://www.urbanspoon.com/c/42/Buffalo-restaurants.html
http://westernnewyork.localrestaurant...
Buffalo has no shrtae of good restaurants and we certainly offer a variety. But yes, we ARE known for "Bar Food" - outstanding bar food, in fact!
If you want quality dining, try Daniel's or someplace in the same bracket.

[callitasicit]

I really love diners especially because there is virtually none where I live. I noticed some recommendations for Lake Effect Diner too. I checked out their website and it was impressive. I know I am going off my original question here but has anyone tried this place?

[jerryc123]

callitasicit: I see Black & Blue has fried clams on the menu! They are a Rochester NY restaurant and this is their Buffalo location. They are very close to me, and I never thought of checking. My wife has been there a few times on business, and did not RAVE about the food, so I have not been in a hurry to go there with her, since their are so many other places to try.

Here's a thread on Lake Effect diner...
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/682201

-----
Black & Blue Steak and Crab
5493 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, NY 14221

[callitasicit]

That is what got my attention about Black and Blue but the reviews have been mixed on this place. Have you been to Lake Effect diner? It looks really good and the reviews have been generally positive.

[jerryc123]

Just returned from dinner at Black & Blue with a couple of friends. It is Local Restaurant week, and we stuck to the promotional menu - salad, sirloin steak or salmon with garlic smashed potatoes, and banana chocolate cheesecake, for $20.10
We ordered a bottle of DeLoach Russian River Pinot Noir (underpriced at $39) and an order of fried clams (10.95) to share. Clams were great - tasty, moist, super crispy, and plenty of them, almost entree size.
Decor was super-sexy and very upscale, though everyone agreed, including our servers, that the noise level was unusually loud since the place was packed for Restaurant Week.
We all agreed we would go back, and also recommend this place to others.
Worth a try if you want fried clams. You could stop in, order an appetizer and have them at the bar with a glass of wine or a beer.

[callitasicit]

Thanks for reporting back. I am only going to be in Buffalo for a few days and it is tough to decide where to eat since there is so many great restaurants.

[callitasicit]

Were they whole belly clams Jerryc123? I am very curious to know. It sounds like you enjoyed the food at Black and Blue. They also serve she crab soup which I tried in South Carolina last year, another good reason to visit the restaurant.

[jerryc123]

These were whole belly clams.
I know some people don't like whole belly, because they are more watery and more strongly flavored, but I really like them better than clam strips.
______________

Going off topic now, but if I had to suggest only a few places I would probably narrow the list down to these places, for no other reason than they are my personal favorites.
I'm not going to include the links here, because it will throw off the right-hand sidebar locator for this discussion topic, but you can search this board or the restaurants & bars section for more info on each one.

Fine Dining:
Tempo
Hutch's

Bistro:
Left Bank
Shango

Wings, Weck, and Local Favorites:
Elmo's - wings
Schwabl's - beef on weck
Ted's - hot dogs

Casual:
Original Pancake House - apple pancake or dutch baby
Towne Restaurant - soulvaki & rice pudding
Pizza Plant
LaNova - BBQ wings
Sorrentino's - steak pizza

Sushi:
Kuni's:

Taverns:
Ulrich's - buffalo's oldest tavern
Buffalo Brewpub

[callitasicit]

Thanks for all your helpful suggestions Jerryc123! I think I have come to a decision on where I am going to eat for the next few days. My mother wants to go to the Olive Garden for lunch on our first day even though I have heard mixed reviews on that restaurant and of course that it is a chain restaurant too. For dinner we are probably going to order in, most likely La Nova. I am glad that you suggested that place, supposedly their wings and pizza are both worth trying. On our second day, we are going to have brunch at Lake Effect Diner, I have tried OPH and while it is good we're going to try something new. For dinner, we are going to go to the Black and Blue Steak and Crab. Thanks to your review, you swayed me in to trying their fried clams. On the final day we will be having lunch at Bar Bill, I have been there before and I love their wings. For our last dinner, we are leaning go to Chester's Cajun Bar and Grill. I read the reviews for this restaurant and I have not seen one bad comment regarding this place. I heard it is not the fanciest of places but to me that doesn't matter, the taste of the food is what matters most to me. In between if we do get hungry, we might try Ted's Hot Dogs and drop by Anderson's for their frozen custard or lemon ice's. I will report back next Friday when I am back in Toronto. Thanks again for all your help and guidance!

[callitasicit]

I just returned from Buffalo a few days ago and thought I would report back on my culinary experiences. We went to Mulberry Cafe and as I mentioned in my other thread, it was very good. I was disappointed that La Nova didn't deliver to my hotel especially since they initially said they would. I decided to order wings from some bar near my hotel, the wings were just okay but better than any delivery I would get here in Ontario. For brunch on Wednesday we visited the Lake Effect Diner. This place is very cool, literally set up like an authentic diner. While our server lacked some personality, the food certainly didn't. I ordered the blizzard breakfast which consisted of 3 eggs, toast, house made sausage and bacon, home fries and one pancake. It was huge! Not everything was to my liking but the bacon was thick and tasty and the pancake was amazing. It came topped with whipped cream and maple butter, I have never had maple butter so this was a treat for me. The sausage was too sweet for me and the home fries were a bit too salty as well. Next time I am in Buffalo, I most likely will order pancakes with a side of bacon. For dinner we went to Black and Blue Steak and Crab, while we had fantastic service our food was not exceptional and imho very overpriced. We ordered the she crab soup and the fried clams for starters and while the fried clams were not bad they were very greasy for me. The she crab soup was disappointing, too thick and just too rich for my liking. Perhaps I am being a tad unfair because my only experience with this soup is in South Carolina where they have mastered it. I ordered the paella which was the best dish of the night. I was impressed with the amount of seafood that was included with the paella but unfortunately the amount of salt on the seafood was appalling. The rice and broth was fantastic however which really saved the dish itself. However, in the end I probably won't visit on future trips to Buffalo. On our final day, we ventured to East Aurora, NY for Barbill. I have been there before, so I knew it was going to be good. Both of us ordered a mini beef on weck to start. I have to say I really enjoyed this, the beef was tender and it was soaked in au jus which made it even more tasty. My mother didn't care much for it however I will say that she chowed down on it on her way back to Ontario. The portion for the mini was large, so I knew with wings coming I wouldn't be able to finish it there. I also ordered waffle fries which were not outstanding but still pretty good. My mother ordered a soup earlier as well so she decided not to have any wings because she was full. I had the spicy bbq wings and they did not disappoint. They were big, crispy and flavourful. In the end, I couldn't finish them all so I had to doggie bag those bad boys back home as well. Unfortunately, none of us had room for Chester's Cajun Bar and Grill so we opted to try Ted's Hot Dogs instead. I have to admit I was sort of disappointed with this place. I ordered a jumbo chili and cheese dog and was underwhelmed with the taste. My chili was not that tasty and the hot dog imho was not of the best quality. I think my next visit there, I will order an all beef dog with regular condiments as my mother said her all beef dog was good. I really enjoyed my loganberry milkshake however and that kept me happy for a while. In the end, a very enjoyable experience. I think it must be great for people who live in Buffalo to dine out because the portions sizes are massive and you can eat dinner and have lunch from the same place at home the next day! We also found some great deals at the fashion outlet mall and the weather couldn't have been any better. Thanks for everyone's suggestions to my threads as well.

-----
Lake Effect Diner
3165 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14214

[jerryc123]

I often buy fresh fish from Hayes Fish Company to cook at home. They are in the wholesale seafood business and import/fly-in the freshest fish all the time.
They also run a restaurant, and while I have not been there, the reviews on the web are all very good, and the restaurant is on my wish list.

Here is one review.
http://www.buffalochow.com/2009/08/at...

-----
Hayes Fish Co
8900 Main St, Williamsville, NY 14221

[callitasicit]

Thanks. It's too bad they don't have a website that works. Anyone else?

[jerryc123]

I am more likely to eat steamed mussels, or fried oysters, than clams, and I dislike recommending places I haven't been - so I am hoping that someone else will jump in with some more answers.
If you are open to other suggestions, I can whole-heatedly recommend the corn-meal encrusted fried oyster po-boys, and sweet potato fries at Shango on Main St. That and a good beer or wine is a meal in itself, and quite crave-able.

-----
Shango
3260 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14214

[callitasicit]

I really enjoy fried oysters, do they sell them on their own? I tried them in South Carolina and they were really tasty!

[jerryc123]

I'm not sure, but they do fried oysters as an appetizer and in the sandwich, so I don't see why they couldn't do them as an entree - the restaurant is always very accommodating. You may want to call ahead, tell them you are coming in from out of town, and confirm.

The Left Bank is an excellent bistro in Buffalo, and they have fried oysters on the menu as an appetizer. I have eaten there often and Left Bank is always top notch, though I have not personally tried their oysters - we usually order fried calamari there.

Both of these restaurants have great small bars. Shango has a great wine bar with inexpensive little-known labels that they discover and feature, and a half-dozen beer taps with hard-to-find craft beers - last time I was there they had Delirium Tremens from Belgium on tap, which I love and seldom see on tap. Left Bank has more of a straight-ahead cocktail bar.

As long a we are talking about seafood during the Christian Lenten season, I would not be a good Buffalonian if I did not mention the "Friday Night Fish Fry." A fish fry is battered and deep-fried (usually haddock,) served with fries or german potato salad, and slaw. Like chicken wings, people have their favorite places to go for the best examples, and can get quite vocal about who serves up the best one. The fish should me moist, the batter crispy, and the fillet should hang off both sides of the plate for locals to consider the fish fry any good.

-----
Left Bank
511 Rhode Island St, Buffalo, NY 14213

[callitasicit]

Thanks for all the suggestions, Jerryc123. I will likely check out either one when I am down there.