Restaurant recommendations for the road warriors

[OrangeDW]

If you find yourself in Utica and need some Italian I highly recommend Bella Regina. The fried chicken riggies might be the best thing I've ever tasted.

If you're a little farther north in Lake Placid, Great Adirondack Steak and Seafood is an awesome steakhouse

Smoke Signals is my spot in Lake Placid. Absolutely love that place.

I also really enjoy The Cottage.

 

[OburgOrange]

One in old Town St. Augustine too. BTW, a really cool town.

Excellent. I’m going to be in St. Augustine for a couple of weeks next month. I’ll check it out

 

[UpstateSM]

Smoke Signals is my spot in Lake Placid. Absolutely love that place.

I also really enjoy The Cottage.

Also if you’re in that area, drive down to Saranac Lake and get a sub/sandwich from Lakeview Deli. Elite deli.

Ate there all of the time since the dining hall at North Country CC is less than stellar

 

[TexanMark]

Excellent. I’m going to be in St. Augustine for a couple of weeks next month. I’ll check it out

Shoot me a PM with your dates...I plan to be up there in late March

BTW, just ate at Mission BBQ (small regional chain) and their brisket was close to TX brisket. Two locations just north of St. Augustine in JAX. I'd classify it as fast casual but still very good. The Blueberry Cobbler was outstanding.

Home - MISSION BBQ

Proudly Serving Those Who Serve, MISSION BBQ is a fast casual BBQ restaurant. Homemade. Handcrafted. No microwaves or freezers.

mission-bbq.com

 

[OttoMets]

One in old Town St. Augustine too. BTW, a really cool town.

St. Augustine is also home to the Beachcomber. I've never been, but Syracuse local Steve LeClair is the owner. He was chef at Antonio's and a bunch of other popular Syracuse places before going out on his own and founding Street Eats, a food truck with a small brick and mortar location at James and Oak, about a decade ago. He and his wife are good people, if anyone's in the area, swing by and say hi to him.

 

[OttoMets]

Excellent. I’m going to be in St. Augustine for a couple of weeks next month. I’ll check it out

See above!

 

[maxxyz]

One in old Town St. Augustine too. BTW, a really cool town.

Was there a couple months ago. Food was pretty good. The restaurant was enormous; It look medium sized on the outside, but was huge on the inside. I think we caught them on a bad night as our first server seemed off and she left and was replaced by another who seemed out of sorts as well.

Do other locations have creepy paintings of the original owners dressed up like english royalty? Very strange.

 

[JackBauer44]

Smoke Signals is my spot in Lake Placid. Absolutely love that place.

I also really enjoy The Cottage.

this times 1000. Best bbq I’ve ever had.

 

[OrangeDW]

this times 1000. Best bbq I’ve ever had.

Yeah, I love everything about that place. Place is always really busy now. Last time I went, we waited in line before it opened to get reservations and then walked down to the pub and brewery to kill the time - not a bad way to spend an evening.

The guy who ran it the first few years was an SU grad - he’s not there anymore though.

 

[justgold315]

Sadly, next time you're in town, you'll have to find someplace else to get your pizza. Leonardi's closed unexpectedly a few weeks ago.

My spin on Buffalo cuisine:

Wings: Elmo's (Elmo's Bar & Restaurant | Home), Bar-Bill {great Beef on Weck, too, and the wings are hand-painted... BAR-BILL TAVERN - Bar Bill Tavern - Restaurant in NY), Gabriel's Gate (Gabriel's Gate - Home)

Pizza: Bocce's (Pizza Delivery Buffalo, NY | Bocce Club Pizza), LaPorta's (LaPorta's Pizzeria and Restaurant), La Nova (https://lanova-pizza.com...the delivery cars are Lincoln Navigators, make of that what you will), Rocco's (wood fired pizza ...https://www.roccoswoodfiredpizza.com)

Italian: Mulberry's (MENU | Mulberry Italian Ristorante), Siena (this is a JB favorite...https://siena-restaurant.com), San Marco's (Menu | San Marco Ristorante)

Steak: Buffalo Chophouse (I recommended this place to cto before one of the NCAAT weekends in Buffalo, maybe 2010, and she said that she, JB and crew went there and loved it. https://buffalo-chophouse.com), Giancarlo's (HOME | Giancarlo's)

Thai: Thai Orchid (Thai Restaurant - Williamsville, NY - Thai Orchid Cafe), Saigon Bangkok (Saigon Bangkok Restaurant - Home)

Burmese: Sun Restaurant (Affordable Thai & Sushi Restaurant Buffalo Ny | Sun Cuisines)

Indian: Alibaba Kebab (shady location, but the food is great), Clay Handi. Apparently, local Indian restaurants are not big on websites

Mexican: La Divina (it's a Mexican market, with a food counter. Awesome tacos and tortas, and dirt cheap La Divina Tacos), El Ranchito (elranchitowny.com), Andale (Andale Mexican Restaurant - Restaurant in East Amherst, NY)

Bar food/pubs: Colter Bay (Colter Bay - Restaurant Bar Buffalo NY), Big Ditch (Big Ditch Brewing Company), New York Beer Project (nybeerproject.com...recently opened up a location in Rochester (Victor, to be precise)), Glen Park Tavern (awesome fries ...https://glenparktavern.com)

Breweries: See Big Ditch and New York Beer Project above, Resurgence Brewing Co. (Resurgence Brewing Company | Home), Community Beer Works (Community Beer Works - Embeer Buffalo!), Flying Bison (Flying Bison Brewing Company). There's a few around town that I haven't checked out yet, as well

Breakfast: Betty's (great brunch...http://www.bettysbuffalo.com/menus.html), Break'N Eggs (crepes and stuff...https://www.breakneggs-creperie.com), Spot Coffee (Home - SPoT Coffee)

I'm sure that I'm forgetting some places, but I'll update accordingly!

Elmo's has the best wings. The tourist places are overhyped. Elmo's is a beautiful dive bar with grilled wings.

 

[shandeezy7]

Sadly, next time you're in town, you'll have to find someplace else to get your pizza. Leonardi's closed unexpectedly a few weeks ago.

My spin on Buffalo cuisine:

Wings: Elmo's (Elmo's Bar & Restaurant | Home), Bar-Bill {great Beef on Weck, too, and the wings are hand-painted... BAR-BILL TAVERN - Bar Bill Tavern - Restaurant in NY), Gabriel's Gate (Gabriel's Gate - Home)

Pizza: Bocce's (Pizza Delivery Buffalo, NY | Bocce Club Pizza), LaPorta's (LaPorta's Pizzeria and Restaurant), La Nova (https://lanova-pizza.com...the delivery cars are Lincoln Navigators, make of that what you will), Rocco's (wood fired pizza ...https://www.roccoswoodfiredpizza.com)

Italian: Mulberry's (MENU | Mulberry Italian Ristorante), Siena (this is a JB favorite...https://siena-restaurant.com), San Marco's (Menu | San Marco Ristorante)

Steak: Buffalo Chophouse (I recommended this place to cto before one of the NCAAT weekends in Buffalo, maybe 2010, and she said that she, JB and crew went there and loved it. https://buffalo-chophouse.com), Giancarlo's (HOME | Giancarlo's)

Thai: Thai Orchid (Thai Restaurant - Williamsville, NY - Thai Orchid Cafe), Saigon Bangkok (Saigon Bangkok Restaurant - Home)

Burmese: Sun Restaurant (Affordable Thai & Sushi Restaurant Buffalo Ny | Sun Cuisines)

Indian: Alibaba Kebab (shady location, but the food is great), Clay Handi. Apparently, local Indian restaurants are not big on websites

Mexican: La Divina (it's a Mexican market, with a food counter. Awesome tacos and tortas, and dirt cheap La Divina Tacos), El Ranchito (elranchitowny.com), Andale (Andale Mexican Restaurant - Restaurant in East Amherst, NY)

Bar food/pubs: Colter Bay (Colter Bay - Restaurant Bar Buffalo NY), Big Ditch (Big Ditch Brewing Company), New York Beer Project (nybeerproject.com...recently opened up a location in Rochester (Victor, to be precise)), Glen Park Tavern (awesome fries ...https://glenparktavern.com)

Breweries: See Big Ditch and New York Beer Project above, Resurgence Brewing Co. (Resurgence Brewing Company | Home), Community Beer Works (Community Beer Works - Embeer Buffalo!), Flying Bison (Flying Bison Brewing Company). There's a few around town that I haven't checked out yet, as well

Breakfast: Betty's (great brunch...http://www.bettysbuffalo.com/menus.html), Break'N Eggs (crepes and stuff...https://www.breakneggs-creperie.com), Spot Coffee (Home - SPoT Coffee)

I'm sure that I'm forgetting some places, but I'll update accordingly!

Solid list right there. One of my go-to's for wood fired pizza is Hydraulic Hearth. For regular pizza, I'm not a huge fan of the pizza in Buffalo. Too doughy for me or something. I like a good NY-style slice, and Gino's on Elmwood does the trick for me.

For Asian/Sushi/Ramen - Sato is a great spot. They have three locations, all different. Elmwood is mostly sushi and ramen. Main Street is mostly ramen and apps. The brewpub on Pearl St is mostly small plates. I also really like Street Asian Food on Elmwood (hybrid of Chinese/Burmese and Thai) and Sun Cuisine on Niagara St near downtown and on Main Street in Williamsville.

I don't eat steak a ton, but I've been to Sear in the Embassy Suites building downtown on several occasions and have had great meals each time. Other really good high-end options that I always have a good meal at are Oliver's, Hutch's and Patina 250.