Shuffle off to Buffalo

Several months ago, in anticipation of Cindy’s sixty-second birthday, I asked her where she would like to celebrate. I thought she might choose Paris or Milan or a cruise but instead she surprised me by saying Buffalo! She had always wanted to see Niagara Falls, so I started planning for a four-day romp in Western New York.

We flew to Buffalo on Saturday and surprisingly the little United Express puddle jumper had a first class and we were upgraded, so the trip started off swell with lovely cocktails as we winged our way north. We landed in a lot of rain and were soon in a taxi taking us to the Embassy Suites Hotel. I had tried to book a suite at the Hyatt but there was a very large convention of Veterans taking part in the Golden Games, some sort of sporting activity event. They filled all the rooms at the Hyatt so I thought I would try Embassy Suites. We were very quickly impressed with the lovely service upon arrival and the very, very large set of rooms that we were given. We settled in and went down for the Manager’s Reception, a free event for all guests that features lousy wine, never-before-heard-of Scotch and what looked like the remains of food. Seems we got there for the last half hour of a two-hour event and the locusts had decimated whatever food there had been. I have never seen so many tattoos on so many overweight people wearing muscle shirts, and don’t get me started on the men!

As the crowds disappeared when they closed the bar, Cindy and I remained to finish our cocktails and plan dinner. It was still raining and the hotel did have a restaurant, but we were on the fence about a hotel restaurant. Cindy noticed one of the people helping with the tables had shoes with the heels on springs. They looked like circus shoes so we said hello and asked about the shoes. Turns out that he was the chef from the kitchen, Travis by name, and he told us all about how comfortable the shoes were (Z-Coil Pain Relief Footware). We asked about anything special for dinner and got to talking and he realized we knew something about food. He said to go right into the dining room and he would take care of everything, and he did. It was a lovely meal with complementary starters that included little spoons of Caprese salad, a little bowl of hot clams in a lovely broth, and some shrimp in a bleu cheese sauce. Next came a veal chop for me that was just lovely and a delicious spinach salad with grilled shrimp for Cindy. We are not dessert people as a rule but out came Travis bearing three wonderfully fresh desserts with berries and chocolate and whatever, since I can’t remember everything on the dish. I do remember that we ended up having cognac at the bar and thinking that Buffalo is really cool.

The next morning we wandered around downtown and we were struck by all the people in wild costumes and colorful hair. Turns out it was the final parade of Gay Pride Week, and what a parade it was. That afternoon we walked to a fabulous Sunday matinee orchestra concert – the Buffalo Philharmonic conducted by JoAnn Falletta. We got there early enough to hear the conductor’s pre-concert talk – she was marvelous – and the actual concert of all Italian music was excellent. Starting with Monteverdi and some Renaissance-era drumming (very cool) and ending with “Prologue in Heaven” by Boito – we hadn’t heard of that one but it included a “thunder machine” in the percussion section for the wrath of god bits. The star of the show was a young violinist who’d been called in about a week ago to substitute for the scheduled soloist on the Paganini Concerto No. 1. Cindy had heard that piece a hundred times but she had never “watched” it – oh my, the technical difficulty is jaw-dropping. The soloist (Rachel Lee) was so good that the audience clapped after the first movement because they were so impressed, not because they didn’t know any better. Kleinhans Hall, built in 1940, is absolutely marvelous, designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen (father and son); we’d only heard of Eero until now since he did Dulles Airport some 50 years ago. (Actually one of us knows Eero because he’s often in crossword puzzles.)

That night we were stymied as to where to eat since Sundays are slow in Buffalo. We ended up in a steak house where the food was very good but oh my, the prices. Those just made it not as enjoyable as it could have been. We ended the evening again at the hotel bar, which took some of the sting off the evening meal.

On Monday, June 3^rd, we went to Niagara Falls for the actual day of Cindy’s birthday. Getting there was almost as interesting as the falls. Seems that no one at the front desk of the hotel really knew anything about public transportation, but after a lot of hits and misses, we figured out where and when to get on the #40 bus. It took us from downtown Buffalo to the Niagara Falls Tourist Center for only $2 for Cindy and $1 for me! A taxi would have been $70 so we felt virtuous. The falls are fabulous, simply stunning, so beautiful and so impressive. We walked across to the Canadian side and stood transfixed on the Rainbow Bridge as we looked and listened to the falls. We had seen the mist of the falls from the bus when we were still ten miles away but to be right there was breathtaking. We took the boat called Maid of the Mist, which takes you practically under the falls where the roar is so strong you can’t talk – they give you slickers so that you don’t get wet. Right; everyone gets soaked! It was great fun and afterwards we met some Toronto friends for lunch – for them it was a 2-hour drive. Niagara, Canada (the town) is TACKY but everything else around there is wonderful, including the giant Ferris wheel, (Niagara SkyWheel) which gives you extra-special views of the falls.

Buffalo is surprisingly interesting – beautiful architecture at every turn. Unfortunately it’s been dying for years due to a lack of industry (jobs) – the population has gone from 570,000 in 1929 to 270,000 today. We toured City Hall, which was built in 1929 and is filled with wonderful art as well amazing artistic detail on every wall and ceiling. Even the elevators are gorgeous inside – inlaid wood and brass.

We saved our best dining experience for our last night. Our dear friend, JJ Boissier, a Buffalo native, told us not to miss Rue Franklin. Oh my goodness, are we glad we didn’t. From the moment you walk in you feel like you have left Buffalo at the door and entered a warm, relaxed French Auberge. We had a table that looked onto an exquisite garden and enjoyed our coupes de Champagne as we read the menu and listened to our waiter explain specials and standards. It was a memorable meal and culinary experience that truly was the highlight of our dining adventures, and we had many, including Buffalo Wings, Beef on Weck and a Chicken Sausage sandwich that would knock your socks off.