WEIRD. Since when did buffalos have wings? It’s chicken for heaven’s sake!

No Buffalo, just chicken

Silly me. If there is one thing traveling does best to me, it is educating me in more ways that I can fathom. Take for example this famous finger-licking specialty that is just about in every watering hole’s menu -- the Buffalo Wings. It’s the deep-fried chicken wings, unbreaded and coated in a sauce of vinegar-based cayenne pepper hot sauce and butter, served hot with celery sticks sidings and blue cheese dip. How it got its name evades me. Not until I made it to Buffalo in Upstate New York.

Buffalo wings was born in Buffalo. Oh dear, I have painted the bison with chicken wings in my mind. It’s pretty much like Key Lime Pie, which originated in the Florida Keys, the sinister-sounding decadent dessert, Black Forest Cake, which was named after the wooded mountain range in Germany, etc. Sorry, I just eat them but never really knew how their names came about until I came across the information regarding the food’s history.

Anchor Bar, said to be where Buffalo grew wings.

So how did Buffalo sprout wings? There are several different stories about how Buffalo wings came about but one joint’s story seem to be the most related, that of Anchor Bar’s.

Its version of the story is that it was first prepared by at the Anchor Bar by Teressa Bellissimo, who owned the bar along with her husband Frank. On a late night, their son arrive unannounced with a group of college friends and Teressa needed a to whip up a fast and easy snack for her guests. She came up with the idea of frying chicken wings, which was normally thrown away or kept for stock, and tossing them in cayenne hot sauce.

Teressa had deep fried the wings and flavored them with a secret sauce. The wings were an instant hit and it didn't take long for people to flock to the bar to experience this new taste sensation. From that evening on, Buffalo Wings became a regular part of the menu at the Anchor Bar.

No, this is not Teressa Bellissimo.

This is Teressa... or a statue in her honor.

And the story of "the wings".

So where are the buffalos? Oh, they’re long gone. But luck was on my side and I got to sit beside one on a bench along Elmwood Street recently, and that was good enough for me.

Buffalo? This one by me was good enough.

Making it to Buffalo, aka the Queen City and the seat of the Erie County, was a treat. It was short but sweet and unbelievably fun for a place that I initially thought was a small town. Well, it was the scene I caught—few vehicles on the street, even few people on it, quaint shops lining the main street, tree-lined sidewalks by fence-less houses of various architectural influences, old, well-reserved structures standing next to new ones—and I like that it’s unhurried pace and leisurely vibe.

Saw an occasional car or two on the road....

An institution on this street-- Vito, the neighborhood barbershop.

But it wasn’t that way before for Buffalo has seen its heydays. From a small trading community grew quickly to one of the largest cities in the US after the Erie Canal opened with the city as the Western terminus, then became a major railroad hub, and the largest grain-milling center in the country. Fortune was reversed in the late 20th century when shipping and trains were rerouted and heavy industries were relocated. The population declined.

The population may have declined back to the 1900 levels but Buffalo today is the second most populous city in the NY State. I wonder where the people were (I later found out the citizens were in the mall!).

And a few people enjoying the morning sun. This one is stylish.

As to how Buffalo got its name is still unclear. It’s said it was named after the creek in Niagara, a corruption of the phrase beau fleuve (beautiful river) uttered by the French explorers upon seeing the waterway, or even from the bison, which was improbable because there were no bison in the area.

Where the "beau fleuve" flows -- the Niagara Falls

What is certain to me is Buffalo may be a slow-paced city but it’s filled with exciting places to dine and explore. And number one on our list is to visit the renowned bodies of water, the Great Lake Erie and Niagara Falls....

Jovic, Tenny, me & the sunset at the Great Lake Erie.