Winging It (or Not)

There was a wrinkle in the time-space continuum when we checked in at the Lord Amherst Motel. The colonial décor conjured up the bicentennial. The bathroom even had a throwback to earlier days: a slot built into the ceramic wall tile for dropping in used razor blades!

We thought we should have some Buffalo wings to commemorate our trip. The Anchor Bar—where, reportedly, someone first fried up wings and smothered them in hot sauce—was in the opposite direction, back downtown. It was drizzly out and I was starting to sniffle. A former Buffalonian in Florida recommended Duff’s, which happened to be about five minutes away from the motel.

Duff’s was packed but we seemed determined, so we went in and put our names on the list. It’s a divey little place that opened in 1946, and they’ve been “wingin’ it” since 1969.

Duff’s is so popular, people park anywhere (including in front of the neighboring businesses) in order to eat there! In fact, when we walked in, there was a hand-written note on the front door asking patrons to PLEASE not park in the Falafel Bar’s parking lot. Falafel Bar?

David happens to love falafels. It’s a Middle Eastern dish—balls of chickpea flour and spices, fried and served in a pita with lettuce, tomato, and usually a sauce like the Greek tzaziki, made with yogurt and cucumber. But we were here for the BUFFALO WINGS! Right?

After a few more minutes waiting in the increasingly busy, noisy vestibule, we both admitted that we really weren’t that keen on chicken wings (they’re SO messy anyway!) and what we’d really like to try was…You guessed it, The Falafel Bar, two doors down.

We had an amazing meal of falafels, grilled chicken and potatoes, Greek salads, lentil soup, hot tea—we were stuffed and happy. And we didn’t miss the wings at all.