What can / should I do there? Definitely looking to "hang out" and just overall have fun. It's a business trip, but I want to do something to pass the time and make my first NY outing memorable. I'll be there from Sunday - Friday.

Also, if I want Buffalo Wings, do I just ask for "wings"?

7/14/2008 8:43:19 PM

im going in 3 weeks

going to see niagara falls, there is a casino across the border too.

7/14/2008 9:04:24 PM

yeah, definitely just leave buffalo and go over to canada. buffalo is a shithole

7/14/2008 9:05:50 PM

Can't you not get back into the US now unless you have a valid passport with you or some such crap?

7/14/2008 9:15:56 PM

Niagara Falls is intersting for all of an hour. Longer if you like the whole Myrtle Beach-spookhouse thing or do the boat ride/cave tour things.

Yes you can just ask for wings, but isnt that true of essentually every bar everywhere?

Buffalo has pretty good pizza too.

There isn't a whole lot of "Oh you are in Buffalo, you have to do ______" (at least there wasn't in '93 to a 12 year old living in the suburbs)

People mainly hunker down and watch sports and go to malls.

Toronto isn't too far and has some intersting stuff.

7/14/2008 9:20:41 PM

Isn't Darien Lake in Buffalo?

7/14/2008 9:27:06 PM

Yeah - maybe 30 minutes or so East

7/14/2008 9:29:24 PM

buffalo sucks cock

go to duff's for wings

7/14/2008 10:08:33 PM

DONT GO TO BUFFALO

7/14/2008 10:11:29 PM

Say hi to John McCargo

Then say bye

Then leave

7/14/2008 10:13:02 PM

Quote :

"definitely just leave buffalo and go over to canada. buffalo is a shithole"

Quote :

"Say hi to John McCargo"

7/14/2008 10:28:27 PM

If you want "buffalo wings", hit the Anchor Bar.

7/15/2008 1:30:11 AM

Quote :

"Isn't Darien Lake in Buffalo?"

It's in Darien, actually. As mentioned it's about 30 minutes away, down route 20. Very good roller coasters and an amphitheater. Maybe there will be a show you want to see.

Go to the Anchor bar and eat wings. Go to Chippewa street if you like to drink. The bars are open till three. Go to Pano's if you want good food (cheap). Go to the Albright-knox museum if you enjoy art.

Niagara falls is awesome, but drive straight over the border and do not bother going to the American side of the falls. There are a lot of bizarre and unrelated tourist attractions like ripley's believe or not and wax museums around the falls. There are plenty of brochures around to find out what there is. The new casino is pretty good.

7/15/2008 1:39:54 AM

If you can, go to the top of the Skylon tower on the Canadian side of the falls. Awesome view of the falls from there. The casino near there is nice too. It just had opened when I went. I won like $120 on one of the quarter slots a few years ago.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 1:44 AM. Reason : \]

7/15/2008 1:44:28 AM

Oh, I forgot. Taco and Tequila is a cheeseball fake Mexican restaurant on the Canadian side of the falls, but they have pretty awesome food and drinks.

7/15/2008 1:46:42 AM

Quote :

"There isn't a whole lot of "Oh you are in Buffalo, you have to do ______""

yeah, that's pretty much what it looked like when i was there.

niagara falls is definitely worth seeing, although yeah...you can see it in 30 minutes or maybe an hour. might as well hit up toronto, too.

7/15/2008 2:30:50 AM

Run thru the streets yelling "WIDE RIGHT, WIDE RIGHT!!!"

7/15/2008 3:25:59 AM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSO-kdWLFes

7/15/2008 9:00:08 AM

Wear a Carolina Hurricanes shirt while you're there

7/15/2008 9:02:17 AM

I'll be there in September for my buddies wedding. We went up there for Thanksgiving about 3 years ago........here is what we did once they cleared the 2 feet of snow off the roads:

I would recommend the Bills or the Sabres, but they won't be playing. You definitely have to go to Niagara Falls. You also DEFINITELY have to go into Canada. You can just shop if you want, but the casinos are pretty cool and the strip clubs are the best I have ever been to. Fully nude, hands on, and dirt cheap. You'd be suprised what you can get in a Canadian Strip Club for $5.

Just about everwhere you go will have wings, and they will be the best you have ever had.

7/15/2008 9:20:00 AM

When you go to the falls, go to the Canadian side, it is much better than the American side. I suggest going on
the Maid of the Mist ferry. I think it's about 20 dollars Canadian, but I think it's worth it. It's a ferry ride along
the water to the base of the Horseshoe Falls. And as suggested before, get some pizza as well. If you're into
churches, and big ones at that, go to Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna(just south of Buffalo). I do not
recommend exploring Lackawanna other than the church, especially at night. If you want more info about the
church, just PM me, I can go into much more detail there.

7/15/2008 10:03:08 AM

do you need a passport to get in to Canada now?

7/15/2008 10:08:06 AM

It doesn't appear so: http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/ready_set_go/land_travel/ref_material/reqs_canmexber.xml

I think they pushed the passport requirement to January 2009, although it's always easier crossing the two bridges up there with a passport.

7/15/2008 10:32:56 AM

yeah, I just asked my coworker who's husband is from Canada. She said that as long as you are driving, all you need is ID.

7/15/2008 10:34:05 AM

You don't want to go to Buffalo, unless you fancy a desolate post-industrial wasteland.

The place is a complete dump.

7/15/2008 10:56:46 AM

and it smells like shit. But the wings at Anchor Bar were good

7/15/2008 11:17:11 AM

if you're into salt get a beef on wick

or something like that

7/15/2008 11:34:36 AM

As of right now, I think all you need is an ID. I just got back from the area and my cousin went to Canada for his 19th birthday and got in just fine with a birth certificate.

If you are into wine, the area where I'm from (near the NY/PA border on Lake Erie) is a great place to stop by. Local wineries have areas that you can tour and do wine tasting on the hills that overlook the lake.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 1:33 PM. Reason : *]

7/15/2008 1:25:10 PM

I walked across with just my driver's license

7/15/2008 1:41:00 PM

Just so everyone knows....don't want you to get all the way to Buffalo and not be able to get into Canada...that would suck.

Quote :

"US Citizens Visiting Canada by Land or Water As of Dec 21, 2007, passport requirements have been once again delayed meaning that US citizens arriving in Canada by land or water do not need a passport until at least summer 2009. "

Quote :

"A driver's license on its own or a Social Security Card on its own are not valid ID to cross the Canadian border. The following pieces of identification will serve as satisfactory proof of American citizenship to enter Canada. Please note, however, that photocopies of ID must be notarized: * US passport OR * Birth certificate, OR * Certificate of citizenship or naturalization, AND * Photo ID, such as current driver's license All U.S. citizens entering Canada from a third country must have a valid passport. Alien permanent residents of the U.S. must present their Alien Registration Card, commonly called a “Green Card.” "

http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadatraveloverview/qt/uscitizenborder.htm

7/15/2008 4:53:43 PM

I came back walking with my driver's license in 2004. They asked me a couple questions, but it wasn't really a big deal.

[Edited on July 15, 2008 at 5:15 PM. Reason : seems weird that they'd go and change all their requirements]

7/15/2008 5:13:29 PM

i went with my roommate and his mom.

we rode on a tour bus with a bunch of really old people. it was awesome. we paid 20 bucks and got the ride over the border in the bus to one of the casinos (the one with the hard rock). when we pulled up to border guards with a bus full of old people they just waved us right on through. didn't even come to a full stop. (on the way back the US officials stopped us and talked to the drive briefly)

when we got to the casino we got a 15 dollar certificate issued by the casino. i promptly went and got 15 dollars of tokens, played the slots for about 5 minutes, won about 20 extra dollars, cashed out and went down the street to a bar. got drunk and went to the falls on the casino's dime. it was a pretty fun afternoon

7/15/2008 5:32:44 PM

my family's from Buffalo. yeh its a bit of a shithole. although it is really getting better and cleaner. 20 years ago you couldnt see across the lake from Hamburg (where my family lives) to downtown Buffalo it was so polluted. Now its clear and the water is much cleaner. Downtown is getting cleaned up and "revitalized".

But, its still declining populationwise and a lot of people i know/knew are moving away or planning to.

Anchor Bar invented buffalo wings, you must go there.

Niagra Falls is a shithole too. the casinos are fun though, and there is a brand new one somewhere over there. Its pretty nice.

7/15/2008 6:07:29 PM

^ haha, I remember when at certain times you'd just get thousands of dead fish washing up on shore

7/15/2008 6:18:23 PM

^^ i just read the story on the anchor bar website.

as a man with a chemical dependancy on wing sauce

i must visit this anchor bar before i die

7/15/2008 7:10:28 PM

Quote :

"The following pieces of identification will serve as satisfactory proof of American citizenship to enter Canada. Please note, however, that photocopies of ID must be notarized: * US passport OR * Birth certificate, OR * Certificate of citizenship or naturalization, AND * Photo ID, such as current driver's license All U.S. citizens entering Canada from a third country must have a valid passport. Alien permanent residents of the U.S. must present their Alien Registration Card, commonly called a “Green Card.” ""

see, why don't they just go ahead and mandate the passport already? i flew in to vancouver when i was there but still..how many people drive around with a copy of their birth certificate? and what about kids under age 15 who don't have a permit/license? The passport requirement seems so much simpler.

7/15/2008 7:28:32 PM

Because the last time they tried it, it failed miserably.

They're dead-set on doing it, it's just that they keep pushing it back.

See also: digital TV switchover

7/15/2008 7:37:20 PM

Quote :

"see, why don't they just go ahead and mandate the passport already? i flew in to vancouver when i was there but still..how many people drive around with a copy of their birth certificate? and what about kids under age 15 who don't have a permit/license? The passport requirement seems so much simpler."

you have to slowly make a change like this or you'll have chaos at the borders for months

and people will freak out and call their congressman and then congress will collectively ream border patrol and ICE, so they figured they'd save themselves from being goat.se'd by congress preemptively

7/15/2008 9:28:03 PM

Alright, as a Buffalonian here are my suggestions.

Anchor Bar is where wings were created...but everybody knows if you REALLY want wings, you go to Duff's. Save face and never ask for Buffalo wings. Just get wings. And expect blue cheese and no ranch. La Nova pizza near downtown has world-renowned pizza, but in all honesty, just about every single place has better pizza and wings then you could ever find down here.

Jim's Steakout is awesome to fill your belly with when you're drunk/hungover.

If you're going to Niagara Falls strip clubs, I have two words for you - Lundy's Lane...that's the street where Seductions and Sundowners are. The girls are fucking AMAZING. All these 19 and 20-year old girls get temp work visas and come strip for 6 months and leave with like a quarter million dollars (and if you think I'm exaggerating, look at the cars in the back of the parking lot). The hotter girls are at Sundowners, but your money goes farther in the back room at Seductions. 'Nuff said.

Go to Seneca Niagara Casino (on the US side). Your get free well drinks as long as you're playing at a table. You don't get any free drinks at Casino Niagara (on the CAN side). It's been a couple of years since I've been, but from what I've heard this is still the case.

MAID IN THE MIST!!! Seriously, if you're at the Falls go check that shit out and bring your own waterproof camera or expect it to cost an arm and a leg there.

A looney is a dollar. A tooney is two dollars.

Bars close at 2 in Ontario and they don't serve anything over 80 proof by law. Bars in Buffalo typically close at 3 and will give you whatever you want. If you're going to drink downtown, go to Chippewa street.

Wegman's grocery store has killer subs.

If you're in need of sports, check out a Buffalo Bisons game. They're in the same league as the Durham Bulls, and the ballpark is way big (originally supposed to house a MLB team).

If you're up for the ride, 30 mins east is Darien Lake, off the thruway exit 48A. It used to be a Six Flags amusement park but they've sold it to another company. It's still awesome. The Predator and The Superman are the SHIT!!!

TALK TO PEOPLE AND MAKE FRIENDS!!! Buffalo people are some of the friendliest people you'll ever meet (contrary to NC belief). Talk to people in the grocery store, the person on the barstool next to you...we always have some great stories we're willing to share.

Oh and Mighty Taco kicks Taco Bell's ass any day of the week.

If you're there in the summertime, Buffalo really is a cool ass place to hang out. The people are nice, the drinks are cheap, there's plenty to do, and it's warm with hardly any humidity. Have Fun!!

7/18/2008 12:57:47 AM

Holy shit I forgot how unbelievable mighty taco is. Their burritos kick my ass!!!

7/18/2008 1:02:17 AM

Quote :

"Seductions and Sundowners"

FUCK YES!! Those are the 2 that we went to last time I was up there. I HIGHLY recommend getting a private dance, if you know what I'm sayin'.

7/18/2008 10:06:43 AM

Thanks for all of the suggestions so far! I'm leaving on Sunday and I will be bringing money (possibly for that private dance).

7/18/2008 7:07:35 PM

Greetings from Buffalo, NY!!!
So far, I've spent the majority of my time in Amherst due to business related shit.

I've gone to:
Niagara Falls - Lame after 20 mins. Kinda cool at night
Toronto - Holy shit...there's a ton of weed out there
Black & Blue - Ritzy shit. Definitely a pinky in the air type of place.
Computtis on Sheridan - Decent bar with alotta "townies"
Cecilia's on Elmwood then Cozaman's (sp?) - Nice happy hour spot
Koel's on Elmwood then JT Whettfield - Nice ratio, good drink specials
Average Joe's - Going there tonight.

I'm going to probably go to "Thursday in the Square" tomorrow then probably Anchor Bar, Sky Bar, or Buckin' Buffalo. Might hit up Allen Street or Chippewa Street too. Who knows. There's much to drink on the company's expense, so I'd better get going. Just wanted to check in. Holla back TWW.

[Edited on July 23, 2008 at 10:31 PM. Reason : ]

7/23/2008 10:28:25 PM

I just came back from Rochester. Sucksville by the way. I heard those areas have diner type restaurants that serve "garbage plates". They are supposed to be really good.

7/23/2008 11:39:31 PM

see if you can bring back a squish pig for my office, I miss having one at my desk

7/23/2008 11:59:55 PM

^^ Nick Tahou's is the original and best garbage plate. You will barely get in the door at lunch time.

7/24/2008 1:16:10 AM