7. 1. 6.

When I began this blog of mine over six years ago I never imagined the amount of love and passion I would have for the city that I am so lucky to call home. Having always loved this region I didn’t think it would be possible to find deeper meaning, deeper roots and deeper passions that I have come to find, but it has happened and there is so, so much to be grateful for in our region.

Since it is “716 day” I thought I would share my list of favorite (favorite!!) restaurants, venues, activities, events, and people I like to follow. I know I missed A LOT on this list (it’s so hard to think of it all), but take a look. Let me know what are some of your favorite things in the 716 - places you like to go, events you like to attend and people you like to follow.

Western New York may be a small region compared to big cities, but it has a ton of talent, pride and passion to share with visitors and those that are lucky to call it home.

Favorites broken down by category:

Brewery: Resurgence – Have you checked out their new location at 55 Chicago? If not, definitely put it on your list of things to do

Restaurants:

• Southtowns: Alchemy Wine Bar/The Grange

• Downtown Restaurants: Marble + Rye, Hearth + Press (especially before a show at Sheas), Hydraulic Hearth (love their outdoor patio in the summertime), Cantina Loco is my favorite spot for guac, and chips and they are my favorite spot for margaritas. Love Wasabi on Elmwood for Sushi

• Northtowns: Share on Main Street, TCB on Transit Road and Greens on Transit

Cocktails – Duende at Silo City is a pretty cool, chill place, Angelica Tea Room, Just Vino on Main Street, Blackbird Cider on Chandler Street, The Terrace at Delaware Park is a beautiful spot as well, those views of Hoyt Lake are BEAUTIFUL.

Dog Park: Hands down my Harlie girl loves the Knox Farm – whether its running around at the dog park or walking the trails it’s a happy place for her

Workout Spot: #REVLIFE is the best life. Any class at Revolution Buffalo is sure to be a fun time. It is my happy place. A place where I take in all the positive vibes that I can. I also love Love in Motion yoga. Kate and Kath bring those feel good vibes with every flow

Outdoor spots: Hands down The Outer Harbor is my favorite waterfront spot and a spot that I never get sick of. Whether it’s a run, walk, the views or visiting Tifft Nature Preserve it has a special place in my heart. Delaware Park and Artpark are also places I love to visit outdoors

Fun things to do: A fishing excursion with Brookdog Fishing is a blast and I highly recommend for anyone (at any fishing level). The Buffalo Pedal Tours are so much fun, Hatchets & Hops is also a fun place to check out as well as the Silo City tours with Explore Buffalo

Coffee Shops: Remedy House, Tipico, Public and Overwinter

Favorite places: The Buffalo Zoo (that’s a given; I mean if you know me you know how much I love animals (more than some people)). The Aquarium is another favorite spot. The Science Museum, kayaking, The Buffalo Central Terminal and the Broadway Market

Shops I love to visit: Anna Grace on Elmwood, Mod Nos on Hertel, Winkler & Samuels Wine Purveyors at 500 Seneca, Pegs Hardware

My spots for wings: Nine Eleven Tavern in South Buffalo is a hole in the wall, but the wings are one of the best in town (in my opinion), I am also a fan of Carbone’s on South Park and Duffs

Favorite social media accounts to follow/motivate me, locally here in Buffalo: Buffalo Boss Babes, Christy at Wild Blossom Hollow, Lloyds, The Buffalo Zoo, Adventures are Waiting (Jess Kelly), BKind City, We Must Dash, Indie Twenty (Rachel), Love in Motion Yoga, Balanced Bright Life (Jessica Reagan), West End Interiors, Yoga Steve (Steve Procknal), and Lauren from Rev @liittlelauren

Favorite summer time events: Jack Craft Fair and new this year – Door Open Buffalo/Explore Buffalo, I always try and visit Shakespeare at Delaware Park too, it’s a classic summertime activity in Buffalo. Wines in the Wild at the Zoo is also one I always go to. For me being an event planner I feel like I attend a lot of events not just plan a lot so when a new event is created or its an event I have never been to – that excites me more than a recurring event, unless it has “wowed” me.

My bucket list of things to do before summer is over: Visit the new Explore & More, A hot air balloon ride (this has been on my bucket list for years), learn/try to paddle board – all those years at the Harbor and I never had a chance to do it then, visit Shirt Factory in Medina, and take a class with Ren at Rise Fitness.

-B

A Staple on the East Side of Buffalo

I said this in my blog post from 2015, the Broadway Market has been a staple in my childhood. Growing up on Fillmore my family and I would frequent the Market on what seemed to be a weekly basis stopping at the comic book stand (Blind Eddie’s) to pick up the latest Betty and Veronica comic on the corner of Fillmore and Broadway afterwards. Since moving to the suburbs in my junior high years we still would visit the Market but not as often. Fast forward to my adult life now and I visit it multiple times a year and with this week being Holy week I am there a couple times within just a few days.

Seeing the Market back in the 1980’s-1990’s and comparing it to now - my oh my how it has changed, I can only imagine how it was when it first opened. From being a place that people would make a part of there daily and weekly routines to now only visiting during the Easter season, it makes me thankful for the time I was able to see it really active.

The Market was created “As immigrants flocked to the east side of Buffalo in the late 1800’s. They looked for the continuation of old world customs in their new and unfamiliar environment. While they wanted to enter the mainstream of city life, they also sought to preserve their Eastern European traditions and heritage. The Broadway Market would prove to serve these needs quite well.” (The Broadway Market -History).

“Started by a group of citizens on a city donated parcel at 999 Broadway in 1888, the Broadway Market quickly became a community meeting place–a place ideal for combining business with socializing and for sharing with one another the latest in gossip and news from the old world. “ (The Broadway Market - History).

As people visit the Market during this week to pick up their traditional Easter pieces, it makes me think what is being done during the rest of the year to help activate the Market. I know last summer they tried to host a series of farmers markets, how successful was that I’m not quite sure. In a news piece Spectrum News posted on 4/14/19 it sounds like plans to make improvements are in the works and over the course of the next couple of years visitors should be able to see those improvements, hopefully calling people to visit more often than just during Holy week.

Visiting my friend Shanna in Milwaukee this past Fall she took us to Milwaukee Public Market - a gathering place where people can eat, get fresh food and even take a cooking class from time to time. To have something like that in Buffalo I think would be great and I think taking ideas from that Milwaukee Public Market and applying to the Broadway Market may be what it needs to reactivate and reinvigorate that area on Broadway and the Market in general. Right now in my opinion Its the dedicated vendors who have been there for decades and the families who are passing down there traditions to the younger generation that keep the Broadway Market thriving. Hopefully if the City invests in the East Side and allots money for improvements in the Market it will last for many more years to come, I guess only time will tell. Maybe its because its been a part of my life, but I feel that at the end of the day the elected officials need to invest more time and efforts in seeing the Market improve.

Lastly here is a shameless plug - follow me on Instagram as I visit the Market this week and come visit me on Monday, I’ll be one of the judges for Buffalo’s Best Kielbasa contest at the Market beginning at noon. Come join in the Dyngus Day festivities.

-B

A special thank you to Aniela Baj from Council Member, Fillmore District David Franczyk’s office and Beverly McLean, President of the Friends of the Broadway Market District, for providing me with information for this piece.

Paczki Day!!

Today is Paczki Day,  a Polish tradition that on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday, the people of Poland would use up food so that it would not be spoiled or wasted. The reason for this was because  Lent was 40 days of fasting; meaning one meal a day and full fasting on Friday. Any rich foods were not allowed. Families would use up their eggs, butter and sugar and fruit by treating themselves one last time before Lent began with these rich donuts.

While I am sad to miss it this year because I'm out of town {maybe I'll search for something similar, here in Costa Rica..hmm..}, I'm excited for those who are celebrating {I'm talking to you Ben & Chad, don't let me down!} and heading to the Broadway Market  {my favorite place to get them} or their favorite local bakery to enjoy these "oh so bad" for you, but "oh so good" treats. If you are going to the Market, it is open from 7am-5pm today. 

Enjoy! 

-B

My Morning With Seek Axiom and Bkindcity

This past weekend I got to send my Saturday morning with two friends who honestly bring out the best version of yourself. If you know me personally, you know I'm not a big fan of being in front of the camera- I prefer to be behind the scenes, but I wanted to do something different and just have some fun, so I asked Ryan from Seek Axiom to take some photos of me that I can use for my blog. Katie from Bkindcity joined us as well. Thank goodness she did because she fixed me up, provided some tunes for the day and told me what to do because I had no clue most of the time. We started the day at Tifft Nature Preserve. Ryan captured some really amazing photos and some fun candid ones too. Here are some of my favorites from this location.

We then headed up Fuhrmann Blvd. to Wilkeson Pointe {of course I had to get some shots at my work!} Here are a couple of my favorites from that location.

From the Outer Harbor we headed to "my roots" the east side of Buffalo. We visited the Broadway Market while they were having there BBQ & Brews event on the rooftop and we captured some of these shots below.

And then we ended at the corner of Fillmore and Broadway at the new Welcome mural that was created and completed a couple weeks ago.

One of the best things I got out of this day was not just pretty amazing photos, but it was the opportunity for me to be around new friends, to learn more about them and to just have fun and live life in every experience I get to have. Each experience we get to have shapes us into the person we are and right now in my life I want to seek more opportunities, so in the words of Seek Axiom "Seek everything you have yet to experience."

Thank you Ryan and Katie for a fun day full of laughs, I can't wait to do it again! - xo - 

-B 

The Broadway Market

Growing up on Fillmore Ave, the Broadway Market has been a permanent staple in my life since I was a child. While it was more of a "booming" neighborhood when I was younger, now it is only a hot spot to go during the Easter season. People {I lose that word loosely} are scared or have a bad perception of the area where the market stands in their head. While I will agree that the neighborhood has deteriorated as I've gotten older, the market still has a lot to offer. The last few weeks I visited the market to pick up some essentials, such as meat from Lupus Meats and homemade pierogi's from Pott's Deli. Not only are these staples that have stood still at the market for years, there are also wineries that offer wine sampling, Gridlock Lacquer offering handmade nail polish for sale and Hands and Paws Cookie and Treats that offer doggie treats for man's best friend. There are also a handful of other local stands that sell seasonings, baked goods and misc. items.

Its sad to see what I think is a staple in Buffalo, falling apart and not being able to get the funding it needs to replace the roof or fix the cracks in the floor. Sometimes you need to put a little more into a building than just a coat of paint. I think the City of Buffalo should put more than just a few hours of their time into this Buffalo staple and market the Broadway Market as a place to go throughout the year and not just at Easter time...

Its great to see all the great things happening down at Canalside, but in my opinion there are other areas we should focus are attention on as well and not just half ass it {excuse my language}. The Broadway Market is just a short trip away and my hope is that people can see the life that it still has and what it could be if it just got a little more TLC.

Broadway Market on Facebook and Twitter.

-B

{Those are some big pickles!}

{A look inside the market}

{They have plenty of horseradish if you need any}