What's that Smell? Mushroom Gravy?

August 4th, 2013

Buffalo- the Queen City is the butt of many jokes on both sides of the border about its aesthetics, weather, and being the poor cousin of New York City. It is also noted as having a smell. Now, I have only been to Buffalo a couple of times but I thought that everyone was talking about some sort of industrial smell- much like Hamilton's steel smell (which is not as bad as everyone says by the way- maybe in East End...). To my surprise, it was an almost pleasing smell.

Walking around Downtown Buffalo with Paul and Andrea, we took a view of the sights of the city before the baseball game. When we stopped to smell the roses so to speak, Paul turned to us, and said, "What's that smell?". I took a big whiff and I think you already know the answer, I said "I think it's.... mushroom gravy?". "Definitely mushroom gravy." Paul said. Turns out, we were sort of close. We found that General Mills actually has a factory and Buffalo, and that smell is actually Cheerios. One Buffalo writer has gone as far as suggesting that they should be promoting that the city smells like cereal. Perhaps, it is not the worse idea, but I digress. The trip also saw the brief appearance of "Buffalo Steve" where Paul and Andrea at least humored me into believing I was delivering one zinger after another. Well Paul was telling me I was anyways.

After another border adventure, not quite as bad as our Chicago trip- no nerd gang this time, we checked into the Adams Mark Buffalo. The hotel itself is not far from the border, or Coca Cola Field- the home of the Buffalo Bisons baseball club (Triple-A Affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays). It is not the Ritz, but it is probably one of the nicer hotels in its price range. We got a great deal on Priceline or Hotwire, one of those internet discount sites, and it turned out to be perfect for our uses. The hotel is the relic of an upscale hotel chain that has long since disbanded but still retains the name. The rooms themselves are pretty comfortable and there is a big pool and restaurant- neither of which we had time to take advantage of.

The Pearl Street

On a previous trip to Buffalo for a Pearl Jam show, Andrea and I had stopped at the Pearl Street Bar and Grill and we enjoyed it so much we took Paul with us this time around. They have a great variety of beers, food, and the bar's atmosphere is one of the best in Buffalo. They usually have at least 10 of their own selections available on draft in sizes for the lightweight (10 oz) to something called the Annihilator- a 180 oz beer tube! I don't go that far but my personal favorite beer at Pearl Street has to be the Don Cherry Cherry Wheat, despite being named after the Gregg Zaun's idol.

To compliment my beer, I had to go with one of the Buffalo Classics, the Beef on Weck- a very filling roast beef sandwich on a caraway bun (kimmelweck). If that doesn't entice you, there is large burger and pizza selection, wings, ribs, salads, and even fish tacos. The prices are relatively affordable as well with the average meal running from $10-$12 not including beverages.

Minor League

Coca Cola Field is right off the highway from the border, and is probably one of the most fan friendly places to watch a baseball game, and was a great introduction to minor league baseball for us. I was clamoring for years for the Blue Jays to move there AAA club to Buffalo and it finally happened in 2013- one of the good things about last year!

The stadium itself is by no means imposing but the ballpark has a great feel, and the fans are really friendly, except to the opposing players. One Pawtucket Red Sox player kept getting the gears from a fan in the second deck- I guess Hazelbaker was asking for it. I could have sworn I was in a scene from Rookie of the Year. One Bisons fan questioned her husband why mascot/baseball player Munenori Kawasaki was such a popular guy with Jays fans. His response was something like, "He's just a fun guy".

There was a great food selection at the park, and a good selection of craft beers. Even though we had not eaten that long before, we indulged in a few treats. All the Buffalo classics are represented here- beef on weck, sausage, fried bologna sandwiches and of course chicken wings. They even brought Poutine in this year to cater to the increased cross-border visitors for Bisons games.

The game itself featured some prospects- mostly for the Red Sox- Aruba's Xander Boegarts, who showed off his glove and bat. It was clear he was going to be someone to watch, and why Boston coveted him so much. The Bisons didn't seem to show up for the game overall- losing 8-1, including a boneheaded play in Center Field by Anthony Gose when he seemed to lose the ball in the lights and two runs scored. Kevin Pillar got the Bisons only RBI.

After the game, they provided the fans with a Bisons Home Run Derby and Fireworks. It was a lot of fun with Luis Jimenez hitting the most dingers into the dark Buffalo sky. Despite the dreadful score in the game, it was a very fun night- and I would go back to Coca Cola Field in a heartbeat.

We capped our trip off with some outlet mall shopping at the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls the next morning but heading home.

Next blog.... "Into the Sedona Sun"