After a good attempt to start early we were on the QEW to Buffalo. We got a bit delayed at US Customs but the volume of travellers was very high due to Ontario's new statutory holiday, Family Day. The US Customs officials were very nice and they did the best they could to process the heavy volume of visitors as quickly as possible. We first met some other friends at the Fashion Outlet Mall, had lunch and did a bit of shopping. Afterwards we went to the hotel to check in and freshen up. Our group was looking forward to dinner at the Pizza Plant on Transit Road but they were on a long wait list so we went across the street to Appleby's. They were busy too but they accommodated the six of us fairly quickly and I have to say that not only did we have a great meal the service was outstanding.
After dinner we all headed back to the hotel for a night cap. Bier Guide & Andrew just made it to the store before closing to pick up a growler of Southern Tier Imperial Choclate Stout. This is what Bier Guide had to say about it: "Smooth,velvety and super chocolatey. It was rich but so easy to drink for an imperial."
Day Two
Andrew, Isako, me & Bier Guide in front of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (http://www.albrightknox.org/geninfo.html)After breakfast and saying goodbye to Rick & Sabrina who were headed back to Toronto a day ahead of us, our happy foursome headed to the Albright-Knox. It is a great contempory art gallery in downtown Buffalo. On a grey, wet day like this one, it was the perfect place to be. There was a minimalist collection of pieces from various artists presented with colours being the primary criteria for groupings. They also had many of their permanent collection on display.
Coles Restaurant (http://www.meetmeatcoles.com/)After the gallery, we were all pretty hungry so we decided to head over to Coles for a late lunch/early dinner. Bier Guide had been there in the past & this place came highly recommened by Eric of BierGotter.
The impressive Beer Menu - Bottles & Draught....drooling....mmmmm. (click on the pictures to enlarge image)
Bier Goddess inspecting her taster very, very carefully.
Premier Gourmet a must for all visitors to Buffalo who seek good beer & fine gourmet cooking ingredients.
Day Three
Bier Guide & Isako had a very bad night of food poisoning. We cannot be sure but the suspect food must have been the blue cheese on their Kobe Beef Burgers at Coles yesterday. It was the only thing that they ate that was in common and it was something that Bier Goddess & Andrew did not have. It was a bad turn of events but at least this happened near the end of our trip.
After a quiet morning of nursing very sore tummies we headed out to Consumer's Beverage - another must see for beer lovers visiting Upstate NY.
Andrew, Tom & Isako.We made it through the stop at Consumer's Beverage although Bier Guide was struggling just to muster enough energy to pick out a few bottles. We had introduced Tom, who works at Consumber's, to Andrew & Isako to share his beer wisdom and help narrow down the selection. Thanks Tom!!
