Buffalo Blues

 Tombates wrote:
 >Has anyone been to a place called Buffalo Blues located in the
 >Shadyside area? Is it a chain?I heard reference to it on the
 >radio, and the reference was rather positive. Any other
 >opinions?
 >
 >Tom

 I have been there twice, both times on Friday evening for happy
 hour.  It is a HUGE place with a bar area, restaurant (upstairs
 and downstairs) and three pool tables in the back.  They have
 tv's everywhere and a stage up front for live music.  They have
 probably about 15-20 beers on tap, but I don't know what their
 bottle selection is since I have always had draft.  The menu
 is mostly southern type foods--barbecue, jambalaya, blackened
 fish, greens, beans, etc. and they also have sandwiches and
 munchies.  I did not eat dinner, so can't comment on the food
 except to say that I did have some of their wings.  The size
 of their wings is good, but I didn't particularly like the
 sauce we got (they have about 10-15 types, we had a spicy
 barbecue sauce.)  They do however serve the wings with a
 homemade blue cheese or homemade buttermilk dressing which is
 to die for!!

 We have always had a good time there.  The place was crowded both
 times, but never seems all that packed since it is so huge.

 Hope this answers your question!

 Terri

 On Fri, 03 May 1996 20:46:11 -0700, Tom & Mary Bates
 Tombates wrote:

 >Has anyone been to a place called Buffalo Blues located in the
 >Shadyside area? Is it a chain?I heard reference to it on the
 >radio, and the reference was rather positive. Any other
 >opinions?
 >
 >Tom

 I think you may be referring to Buffalo Wings Weck and something or
 another, also known as BW3.  Although I haven't been there yet, I know
 it is chain establishment or franchise.  The place I am referring to
 is located on Walnut Street in the Shadyside business district, across
 the street from and in the area of the Balcony.

 Any comments from people who have tried this place?  Do they have good
 Beef on Weck? (another Buffalo staple).  I haven't seen a Beef on Weck
 outside of Buffalo.

 Since I used to live in Buffalo, I can definitely lament the sad state
 of wings in Pittsburgh.  Its definitely hard to believe some of the
 crap that people pawn off as wings, and people actually think they are
 great.  In my experience, the further away you get from Buffalo, the
 worse they get.  I've heard that the Quaker Steak & Lube is an
 exception, but I haven't made it up there yet.

 A properly done Buffalo wing should not come to the table drowning in
 sauce, but rather should be tossed in the sauce immediately upon being
 relinquished from the fryer after being cooked to a light crisp.  They
 should reach the customer while still be crispy, and the sauce should
 be nearly dried on the wings, or at least the wings should not be
 swimming in hot sauce soup.  Ample celery sticks and real bleu cheese
 dressing are mandatory accompaniments to round out the cholesterol
 overload.

 I have tended to quit trying wings from local establishments, because
 I haven't run across a good one yet.  They are usually underdone and
 slimy (yuck) or drowning in greasy sauce - usually both.  For example,
 I'm flabbergasted that the Perrytown Tavern wings have won some kind
 of popularity awards, when they are the worst wings I have ever tried
 - they are fried in batter before they drown them in sauce, A
 SACRILEGE!

 And don't get me started on prices.  Where do establishments get off
 charging up to 50 cents or more per wing for something that is
 admittedly some fried bones and cartilage carrying a string or two of
 meat.  Any place within a snowmobile's drive from Buffalo will charge
 no more than 20 cents per wing, and they are usually 5-10 cents each
 on special nights.

 A couple places I've tried with decent wings done in other styles are
 Charlie's in Oakland (only the cajun dry-spiced wings are good), and
 the Crow Bar in Arnold/New Ken (also dry-spiced wings).

 Well, I'll step off my high horse and back into normal existence, its
 just that the "wings post" sort of triggered a release of my years of
 pent-up hostility toward local wing purveyors.

 My wife and I, as well as two friends, dined at Buffalo Blues last
 night.  We all thoroughly enjoyed and highly recommend it.

 Casual Atmosphere:  large room with a mezzanine and pool tables in rear,
 television sets, concrete floors, spacious aisles, boothes with
 grocery-bag table coverings, menus in shape of 78 records in sleeves.
 Clever touches all around.  James Brown music lifting your spirits!  We
 arrived at about 7:00 and it was nearly empty; by 8:30 every table was
 taken.  Live blues on Fridays and Saturday nights begin at 10:00 which
 is usually accompanied by a cover charge (varies by group: last Saturday
 was $10).

 Food:  Southern: very flavorful, interesting, and hot (temperature and
 spices).  One of us had a fried catfish sandwich (which come on Texas
 Toast); another chipped pork.  Both were ample and excellent tasting.
 Another had blackened catfish: perfectly done and nicely spiced. A
 fourth had southern chicken which had been diced and accompanied with
 all kinds of goodies.  Interesting sides of Southern fare.  Buffalo wing
 appetizers with "Death Row" sauce were small to moderate in size and
 very hot for my moderate tolerance, but fun.   The sauce was made with
 soy sauce and Jack Daniels but tasted like neither of these ingredients.
  Menu ranges from Jambalaya (sp?) to burgers made with buffalo meat
 (reportedly very low in fat).  Have special fare for children.

 Drink:  Includes about 15 beers on tap; another 100 brands in bottles.

 Service:  attentive, seemed to be there at the right time and knew who
 ordered what (bravo!) when she brought the food to the table.  Very
 helpful with tips about her favorites and what other customers were
 telling her about the food.

 Cost:  In addition to the food noted above, we each had a drink from the
 bar. (OK, I had two.)  Tab for each couple was about $34 (plus tip).
 Sandwiches ranged from about $5 - $7, entrees from $8 - $12.

 Everyone in our party enjoyed the experience.  We're all looking forward
 to going back.

 Bob

 I've been to Buffalo Blues three times now.  Last night, we arrived at
 9:00 and were charged cover for a band that was to start an hour later.
 We were only interested in dinner, and they told us that if we got out
 before the band started, we would be refunded.  As it turns out, the
 band started rather late, but the service got suspiciously slow at just
 the right time (our attempt to acquire and pay the check), and we ended
 up leaving after about one song.  They then refused to refund us our
 cover.

 I'm usually laid-back about these things, and perhaps this is standard
 practice for cover charges.  Nevertheless, the experience left me
 feeling as if we had been nickled-and-dimed.  It was cheesy and lame.

 On to the food.  I have had:

 *  Fish sandwich.  Okay, but fried -- a criminal thing to do to a fish.
    (I neglected to read the menu carefully.)

 *  Blackened fish salad.  Bad.  Avoid at all cost.

 *  The skinless BBQ chicken dinner on the "lighter" menu.  This was by
 far the best of the three things, and I would recommend it.

 I like the space.  I think they did a good job with the place.