Pan American Brewery & Grill

When my Dad was back in town last week we planned a lunch date for Friday afternoon. He let me pick where, so I quickly suggested the NEW The Pam American Grill & Brewery inside the newly remodeled Hotel Lafayette. I’ve wanted to check it out since it opened and my Dad wanted to go somewhere “Buffalo”, so it was the perfect fit!

Before we ventured into the restaurant to sit down, we explored The Hotel Lafayette. Wow! The renovated space is absolutely gorgeous. From the “old” touches to the new modern feel in the furniture, to the simply stunning woodwork, it is truly gorgeous and a “destination” spot in Buffalo. Mike A’s Restaurant looks incredible, and I can’t wait to get over there for a special occasion. They brought in a handful of local businesses to utilize the space in the building and have apartment and hotel rooms completely renovated.

Once we were done snooping around (walking into unlocked banquet rooms, and my Dad even snuck back to the kitchen area), we finally grabbed a booth at The Pan American Grill & Brewery. The restaurant itself is one of the coolest spaces I’ve seen recently. It has incredible woodwork throughout the large space and offers diners a handful of oversized flat screen televisions (perfect for viewing sporting events!). There’s even a gorgeous fireplace separating two dining areas with oversized seating and game hanging from the walls. There is also an upstairs to the restaurant with mostly cocktail tables, perfect for a few drinks and appetizers after work. They incorporate the Pan American Exposition into paintings on the wall and the architecture is specific from the time period.

As we were escorted to our table, I got all wide eyed when I noticed the small plates on the tables were Pam Am prints. I’ve seen these plates before, and have been regretting not purchasing them for my boyfriend for Christmas (he got two gorgeous Pan Am prints framed instead). While they were literally just a small touch, they really set the tone for me and I was in Buffalove heaven.

The menu consists of many similar items Pearl Street (its sister restaurant) has with sandwiches, pizzas, wraps, etc…Something different from Pearl Street are the flat breads they offer. I was pretty stoked to see they had a Duck Confit with Goat Cheese one, so I selected that, along with a crock of their French Onion Soup. My boyfriend went with a bowl of their chicken chili and the Buffalo Chicken Wrap and my Dad chose the Fish Fry (a haddock fish, served with fries and coleslaw).

The soup/chili came out first, along with some breadsticks for the table. My crock of French Onion soup was outstanding. I consider myself somewhat of a French onion soup coinsurer, and the soup here is high on my list of favorites. They use their Roosevelt Red Ale as part of the broth for the soup, and it was seasoned perfectly. The chicken chili, on the other hand, was not that great, and came out looking like a big mess. It was slopped in a bowl dripping all over the place.

Our meals came out soon after and everything looked great at first glance. The flat bread (pictured below left) was different than how I pictured it, but was easily the best thing brought out. The fish fry looked good, it was a generous piece of fish with a decent amount of fries and a small bowl of coleslaw, but upon further review we discovered a gigantic hair running down the entire length of the fish. We promptly called management over and they were extremely embarrassed and apologetic and offered to substitute for anything else on the menu he would like. The Buffalo chicken wrap was a decent size but came out on a big plate, making the presentation a little sad (the soup was the side, so it was literally just the wrap on the plate).

My Dad and I ended up splitting the flat bread and it was delicious. It was topped with a citrus cranberry sauce and that easily made the dish. The duck was cooked perfectly and there was a generous portion of goat cheese. The flavors combined well and I could easily see myself coming back before a Sabres game to order a few different flatbreads and some local beer!  

The Buffalo chicken wrap was “good”, my chef of a boyfriend told me, but he wasn’t overly impressed. My meal, which happens often, was the winner for the day. It was extremely tasty and between the soup and just half the flatbread I was full, and satisfied for the entire afternoon.

If I was judging the Pan American Brewery & Grill solely on appearance, it would get an A++. It has the potential for becoming the new hangout spot before and after Sabres games. I was very happy with my meal, but plating and presentation still need some work. That being said, I walked out of there saying that I was looking forward to coming back for another meal.

If you haven’t stopped into Hotel Lafayette yet to look around, put it on your must do list before the summer is over. It is a redefined Buffalo gem, and I’m looking forward to hanging out inside the walls of the Pan American Brewery & Grill more this fall!

  

Duck Confit & Goat Cheese Flatbread, Buffalo Chicken Wrap & French Onion Soup

 

For more reviews on the Pan American Brewery & Grill, check out: 

Liberty Hound in Buffalo

I've always been of those people who has to plan out the day and stick to the daily to-do list. Spontaneity has never been my strong suit. I'm happy to report though, that this summer I've become less anal retentive and am embracing the idea of spontaneity! 

Take for example my trip to Liberty Hound. I was downtown for drinks at The Statler Lobby Bar with my boyfriend and we were looking for a place to go to dinner. Normally, for me this would take careful consideration (and typically ten minutes of discussion with my boyfriend), but I threw caution to the wind and suggested Liberty Hound. We called the restaurant and got on the short waiting list for dinner. 

We parked over by The Hatch (about a five minute walk), and while we could have gotten a little closer to the restaurant (there is no parking lot for the restaurant), it is always fun to walk along the Harbor. We arrived to the restaurant earlier than they told us a table would be ready, but they sat us right away! Since it was a gorgeous Buffalo night we opted for an outdoor table. The restaurant is situated right on the water at the Naval Park. Any view from an outdoor table is gorgeous! 

As we browsed over the menu I quickly realized I would order 99% of the menu items; everything sounded delicious. I went back and forth on what to get but we finally settled on ordering The Sauteed Littlenecks to start (pictured below), and I had the grilled chicken sandwich. My boyfriend ordered the fish tacos. 

The sauteed little necks were outstanding! They are placed in a delicious broth of choriso, garlic, tomatoes, green onions and butter and served with a few pieces of bread. The bread was perfect to dip into the chorizo broth and we quickly devoured them. Honestly, I could have continued to eat more. My grilled chicken sandwich was packed with goat cheese, roasted bell peppers and arugula. They were served with fries. The chicken was cooked perfectly and was a little bit juicy. There was a generous amount of goat cheese and peppers which combined perfectly. The fries were cripsy! The fish tacos evoked a few "nom's" from my boyfriend and I enjoyed the few bites I was able to sneak in! 

The inside of the restaurant is very small. There are less than 20 total tables, and when we were there it was completely packed. The location on the Harbor is perfect for the spring/summer, but I am not sure what their plans are for the upcoming winter season. I would be worried they wouldn't be able to sustain during the winter months, but I haven't had a chance to look into what the owners plans are yet. 

Revitalization down by the Harbor/Canalside is high on my list of favorite things, and the owners of Liberty Hound did a great job turning this spot into a "must try" destination. With the revitalization of Canalside, now was the perfect time to get this restaurant up and running, and I have high hopes for other plans by the waterfront in the coming years. 

If you are looking for a perfect date spot this summer, Liberty Hound is IT! You can enjoy a few drinks and dinner looking over the water and Naval ships and then venture down to Canalside for a walk. It was such a "feel good" night! On top of that, I learned that spontaneity isn't so bad after all. I'm so glad we tried it out, and I'm hoping to spontaneously show up again before the summer is over (or plan another trip there...I'm still working on that).

For other reviews on Liberty Hound click below:

"12 Missions In '12" Update

I can't believe it's August already! I say it every year but this summer is flying by. I wanted to take a few minutes to update everyone on the "12 Missions in '12" Campaign I started back in January. 

The campaign has truly been a labor of love. We started off the year by donating over 120 items to Gerard Place. We collected hygiene items, towels, school supplies and even a bed (thanks to my boyfriend) and dropped them all off in February. The staff was such a great help as we unloaded it all, and you could tell they were truly grateful! I am sure all those items have been put to good use now. Thank you to many of my Zumba students who donated items! 

During the months of February and March I collected donations for The American Lung Association of the Northeast. In total I raised $1147.00 that supported my 40 story, 800 step stair climb up One HSBC Center downtown. This was my second year doing the event, and this year it ended up being much tougher for me. My asthma acted up, but I made it through in under ten minutes (9:08)! I was bummed I didn't get up to the top quicker, but in the end, I raised important dollars that will benefit me and the millions of other people who have asthma. So many friends, family members and co-workers donated, and I can't thank you all enough for supporting me in something I so strongly believe in!!

For months I collected donations for my very first Ride for Roswell event on June 23rd. In total I personally raised over $600 and the "Lovin' On Buffalo" team raised $1200!!! I am so proud of the team (Geoffrey Testa, Aimee Bell and Pierson Bell) for all their hard work raising money. The race day was absolutely tremendous and I never felt so much Buffalove! So many people donated to the ride and were truly inspirational as I climbed on a bike (for the first time in over 10 years!). I was scared to get back on, but by doing so I helped raise awareness and money for one of Buffalo's greatest assets! Thank you!

In June I also threw a Zumbathon event to raise money for Danceability Inc. We had close to 60 people show up to shake it for a good cause, and ended the night by raising $900 for the organization. It was a wonderful two hour event filled with a lot of smiles, laughs, and sweat! Special thanks to one of my good friends, Julie Francis for donating her time to lead the Zumbathon with me!!

In July, I purchased many items from The Brighton Place wishlist and dropped them off to the library. They had a big list of books they were looking for, and also were asking for children's art/craft supplies. Director Cassie was so thrilled when I brought everything in. I am going to be working with Brighton Place SOON and we are hopefully going to be starting up a Buffalo book club! We will be reading books about Buffalo, based on Buffalo or written by local authors. I'll have more information on it soon! 

This afternoon I'll be dropping off 41 hygiene bags to Catholic Charities. These bags are given to people in need when they come into the office. I have spent months collecting items, throwing a few things in my shopping cart when I go to Wegmans or see something on sale at Target. I also hosted a wine tasting party a few weeks back and asked all guests to bring items on the list. I spent one evening packaging them all together, and I'm looking forward to dropping them off. My goal is to get another 41 done by the end of the year! 

I partnered with Faces of Buffalo to raise some money for Hospice Buffalo. We only ended up raising $25 for the charity through online sales of items, but I am hopeful we can partner with Faces of Buffalo on another venture. And, as for Hospice Buffalo, I have another fundraiser in mind for them before the year is over.

I am thrilled by all I have been able to accomplish this year so far, and am hopeful I can continue down this path to do more for the other organizations I have chosen to help out. I am always looking for local businesses who may be interested in partnering to help raise money. I'll do most of the work, just looking for some local groups to help out! 

I truly have learned this year that one person can make a difference. These donations may not amount to a lot in the big scheme of things, but little donations here and there can truly have an impact on the people Buffalo organizations serve. 

If you have a few dollars to spare, or a few hours of time to donate - pay it forward! It might end up changing your life too!

Spirit Of Buffalo - Evening Cruise

Living in Buffalo, we only have a few short months of boating season. Last month I had the chance to boat around the Niagara River on a friend's boat, and I had an absolutely wonderful time. Getting a beautiful panoramic view of the Buffalo skyline, and listening to a live band  (playing the weekly Thursdays at the Harbor series) was the perfect was to unwind after my "busy season" at work was complete. Driving home that night, I told my boyfriend we needed to do that again soon.

The chance to do it again came about a month later, on a different boat, The Spirit of Buffalo. The Spirit of Buffalo is run by Buffalo Sailing Adventures, a family owned and operated company since 2008. The Spirit of Buffalo, built in 1992, is a 73 foot sailboat located in the Erie Canal Harbor, Central Wharf right next to the Naval Park. The gorgeous ship has maroon colored sails and is a beautiful green color. If officially began sailing in Buffalo in 2009. 

The company offers day and evening cruises as well as educational programs and pirate cruises. You can get married aboard the ship, and it holds about 40 people per sail. The typical cruise rate is around $28, but they offer additional options including a wine night and dinner packages that cost a little more. Kids are $18. They do bring water, pop and alcohol on board that you can purchase during the cruise as well.

Our cruise was scheduled to take off at 6pm, and we hopped on board and were on our way on time. Our cruise director for the night, Richie, was a lot of fun, and happily answered all the questions we had about sailing throughout the ride. I was even more excited we decided to check it out when I learned that Richie and his family are from Tonawanda, and he is a fellow Kenmore East alum! The entire staff on board was interactive and accommodating and always pointed out "fun facts" along the way. They were great with kids too, and Jacob didn't have a problem chatting away with them! 

It was a windy evening in Buffalo last Monday night (July 23rd) and we were told this was the fastest ride of the year. We were cranking along the river, so much so, that at one point the gigantic sail, ripped (this isn't something that typically happens). The crew handled it flawlessly. Once we hopped off the ship, Richie grabbed a knife and ripped off pieces of the sail that was damaged and gave us all a piece to have as a souvenir. Luckily for Richie and his family they had just purchased a new sail, and were planning on putting it up shortly. 

The $28 cost was worth the two hours I got to spend staring at all the beautiful sights Buffalo has to offer, and spending some more time teaching a seven year old about Buffalo. It is a great option for friends getting together for a night out, for visiting family members and for a birthday celebration. Make sure you bring your camera to snap some pictures, and if you are sailing on a later cruise (8-10pm sunset cruise) a light jacket or sweatshirt! 

I was never really into boating, but after spending a couple hours aboard The Spirit of Buffalo I found a new appreciation for the world of sailing and learned so much. If you are looking for another fun option during the rest of this beautiful Buffalo summer, consider purchasing a ticket on The Spirit of Buffalo! Happy sailing!

Camping in Allegany State Park

NOTE: The following post isn’t exactly Lovin’ On Buffalo. I spent a few days camping in Allegany State Park in early July (a fairly short drive from Buffalo, about 75 minutes away). I devoted a lot of time to writing when we weren’t eating smores or hiking through the park, so I decided a blog about my very first camping adventure would be a good laugh for you all to read, and a good chronicle for me to look back on. If you are an experienced camper you probably won’t find my tips very useful, but for the newbie out there, take note! Enjoy!  

I always said I’d try anything once, so when my boyfriend Geoffrey (an Eagle Scout and experienced camper) asked if I wanted to join him and his son Jacob on their summer camping trip to Allegany State Park, I said sure. The outdoors, or more accurately, the thought of sleeping on the ground surrounded by bugs and potentially bears, never really thrilled me. Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking over an open fire and hiking through a beautiful park, but getting to crawl into my bed after doing those things would be my first choice. Still, at the very least, “camping in a tent” would be something I could cross of my bucket list. 

We set our trip for Sunday, July 8th – Tuesday, July 10th, which seemed like more than enough time to me, although Geoffrey would have preferred a full week. When I told my family and friends I was going camping there response was literally all the same, “YOU??”

July 8th came quickly, as summer days in Buffalo always seem to fly by. When we arrived to the campsite we unloaded the car and started setting up the tent. Within two minutes of setting up the tent a bug crawled onto my leg, some odd looking big black bug, which caused me to scream like a little girl and run around the campsite like I was on fire. I dove for the bug spray and was covered, probably more than I needed to be, in seconds. We finished setting up the tent, and I felt a little better. The bugs were staying away from me and we began searching for dead/down tree branches to get our fire going. While Geoffrey did most of the heavy lifting, I worked hard with a pocket knife chopping off tree branches. “If only my family/friends could see me now” I told the boys. 

Once we got the fire going we began to prepare our dinner. I was pretty excited about the menu we planned out for the trip, and our first meal was most intriguing of all: the foil dinner. Here are the ingredients: Ground beef, carrots, onion, potatoes & onion soup mix. Combine all the ingredients in a long piece of foil (individual ones for each person) and then fold them up and throw in the hot coals. They take about 40-45 minutes to cook, depending on how much ground beef you put in each one. After about ten minutes or so we were able to smell them, and they smelled delicious. Once they were ready, they didn’t disappoint! They were filled with flavor and cooked perfectly. We all enjoyed them and I found myself wondering why we don’t make foil dinners at home! After dinner was over we cleaned up, played a game of Scrabble and enjoyed the sights and sounds around us. We enjoyed smores and then began to pack things up for the night. I made it through Day 1! The real test though, would be sleeping in the tent.

If you are looking for a tent, ours (Coleman ARA six person dome tent) is really nice. If the tent says it is a six person tent, it really means a three person tent, unless you are with six of your closest friends. The three of us were comfortable inside our tent with some room for our clothes and toys we brought along, but I can’t imagine fitting six people in the tent. 

We had a bet on who would be the first to fall asleep in the tent, and the boys both said it would be me. I wasn’t surprised when Geoffrey fell asleep first, followed soon after by Jacob. I knew I’d have a hard time falling asleep and every sound would make me wonder what was crawling around the outside of our tent. After some tossing and turning I did fall asleep and before I knew it, it was morning. 

Day 2 brought a morning family nature hike with Adele, one of the park rangers. I was surprised and thrilled by the number of activities the park scheduled. I highly recommend checking a few out if you go camping. The family nature hike was great. We were fortunate that Adele was also very knowledgeable in edible plants so we learned a lot about the different plants too. 

We walked around the gorgeous lodge and gift shop area and then spent time walking around the lake. We stopped near the beach and enjoyed some ice cream and spent a while fishing (the fishing here isn’t so great). We enjoyed a great steak dinner and some more smores and just sat by the campfire and read and enjoyed our surroundings. Before we knew it we were losing daylight and we packed it up for the night. I can’t say I slept any better the second night, but it was cooler! 

The following morning we took a fun creek walk and explored the small stream behind our campsite. It was a fun and active morning, and before I knew it we were packing up the car and heading back to Buffalo. 

Allegany State Park is a great option for families to visit. While I can’t say I loved camping, I did like it, and plan on returning to the park next summer. We really enjoyed our campsite in Red House! E35 was the perfect size for us and was close to the bathrooms and water stations. The price was perfect for our budget too!

The campsite allowed for some “luxury” in camping – each site had electrical hookups, but for the most part you were “with nature”. We didn’t use our electrical hookups for anything, but many families around us had campers and were using them. There was also a General Store just around the corner from our campsite that had food, beer, clothing, fire wood and more. 

If you are looking for a short getaway this summer, consider giving camping a try. I’m glad I did, and I’m looking forward to adding it to the summer itinerary for years to come! 

Dana Saylor & Old Time Roots

I'm a history nerd. One of those real annoying ones who has a comment to make whenever something historical can be brought up. On a recent trip to DC with my boyfriend, his six year old son, and family, I often gave long explanations on the history of monuments and little known facts about Presidents. I expected a captivated audience, because who doesn't want to know who James Kilroy was during World War II? However, I quickly was talking to the back of a six year old's head as he thought to himself, "here she goes again" and ran off in the other direction. 

Fast forward a few weeks later; I'm sitting at my desk in my office at work when I receive a phone call from Dana Saylor, a local historian  and genealogist wanting to visit the archives at St. Mary's School for the Deaf to research for a client. She came in to meet with me a week or so later, and I was absolutely fascinated by what she did for a living. 

After that initial meeting with Dana I often thought about what she did and how important it is to this area. There are so many things that impress me about Buffalo, but I love how important tradition and "roots" are to the people of this area. 

I contacted Dana, and asked her if we could chat some more about her business Old Time Roots. Old Time Roots is a small business based out of Buffalo that helps clients go back in time and learn about the history of their family or property. Old Time Roots offers professional genealogy research as well as property research. Once a consultation appointment is set up with clients, Dana can determine how much time she will need to research, and can price quote based on the depth of the project. She typically charges around $25 per hour for her services, but package deals can be worked out during the consultation appointment. 

Dana, who grew up in Sterling, NY, studied Studio Art and Art History at Oswego College and graduated in 2001. While studying art history, some of the classes had to do with architecture, and Dana really enjoyed learning about the history behind buildings. After graduating she really wanted to learn more about "where she came from" and traveled to Italy to do some research. After finding out so much on her family and enjoying what she did, she decided to start up the business Old Time Roots in 2009. 

Dana loves a new challenge and says the most satisfying part of the job is finding out that piece of information her clients have been looking for. Putting together the pieces for her clients can be difficult, and there can be many roadblocks, but Dana is very creative in finding answers. 

"Clients should hire me because I love history. I live for research and finding out information about this area. While I love researching online and using the newest technology, I am well versed in traditional research methods so my clients get the best of both worlds. I am dedicated to each "mystery" I am trying to solve. " Dana told me.

I could tell the passion in Dana's voice as we spoke and was thrilled to see another Buffalonian deeply rooted in this area. While Dana didn't grow up in Buffalo, within a few months of moving here she found a great community of people and felt like she had lived here her whole life. Dana and her husband are also artists, and Buffalo is a great spot for artists to independently work and be successful. 

As is the case with most of the people I interview, we quickly start talking about the city and when I asked Dana what her favorite thing about Buffalo is, the answer was easy, "The people! The people in Buffalo make it all come to life here. They are so open hearted and willing to help. I'm always blown away by how incredible the people are here. It makes my work so much easier and enjoyable!" 

As I wrapped up my interview with Dana, I asked her how one would get started if they wanted to begin property research or diving into their family history. Her suggestions included checking out your attic or basement for old photos or documents you may have tucked away in a box. Many pieces to the puzzle could be sitting in your home, or could be discovered by chatting with some of your relatives, or even neighbors. 

Once you start to find some of the pieces (or if you aren't sure where to start), you can contact Dana at (315) 525-7474. Her website is www.oldtimeroots.com and you can find her on Facebook and Twitter.

Dana inside Thin Ice on Elmwood

Taste Of Buffalo 2012 - Krystal's Picks

The Taste of Buffalo is one of those staple summer events that many Buffalonians look forward to each year. This two day event brings together over 50 restaurants, a handful of local wineries and vendors from throughout WNY to put on the largest two day food festival in the United States.

We decided to hit it up right when it opened on Saturday, July 7th at 11am. My boyfriend and I each bought $20 worth of tickets, and off we went. 

With $40 worth of sampling to do, we were able to taste so many different items. Out of everything we tried, there were only a few misses among so many outstanding items. The best part about The Taste of Buffalo is that it always gives me a handful of new restaurants to try out! 

I won't go into the details of every item we tried, but here are my top five picks from the festival, with a few other honorable mention items to follow. 

The Cheesy Chick's Lucky 7 Sandwich - It was the first item we tried for the day, and besides the fact that it was the biggest "bang for the buck" in terms of ticket cost and what we got, it was absolutely delicious. The sandwich is a combination of seven different meats and cheeses with onion, garlic and spices on Italian bread. It was absolutely outstanding, and set the bar high for the rest of the day! 

Papaya's Koren BBQ Short Ribs - This was one of the last items we had and it was cooked perfectly. The ribs were tender and full of flavor. I was at Papaya for the first time a few weeks back, and I'm already looking forward to getting back there. 

Garris Bar-B-Que's Catfish Nuggets - While I thought they could have used some kind of sauce to dip them in, the catfish nuggets were one of the items I was looking forward to trying and they didn't disappoint. They were crispy and the fish was delicious. I need to check out the restaurant on William Street soon!

Carmine's Seafood Stuffed Mushrooms with a Lobster Sauce - These mushrooms were huge and packed with flavor. The lobster sauce to finish it off was delicious. I have never checked out Carmine's before, but am looking forward to getting there soon. 

Eddie Ryan's Pot Roast Sandwich & Reuben - Both were delicious and both were incredibly flavorful. Good reubens are hard to find, but this is one place you need to check out! I kept asking myself why I haven't been there before, but quickly realized I hardly ever get out to Lancaster. Now I have a reason to! 

Honorable Mention Items:

- Krazy Corn from Lloyd's Taco Truck - Where the heck has this stuff been all my life and how in all the times I've checked out Lloyd's did I not get this? So beyond delicious. 

- Fat Bob's Mac & Cheese - This is one item I get every year and it always makes me happy. In my opinion, they have the best mac and cheese in Buffalo. The rest of their menu is great too! 

- Turkey Slider from Dinosaur BBQ - All I have to say is, DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO GET THESE PEOPLE TO BUFFALO! I have heard there are more serious talks to bring them to Buffalo, and I know I'm not the only one happy about this. 

If you missed out on this year's Taste of Buffalo, you need to make sure it gets put on the calendar for next year, NOW! Out of towners, this is the perfect weekend to make a trip to Buffalo. It is truly a community event that is filled with so much Buffalove!