Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - It's time, once again, to get your taste buds ready for the Spring Edition of Buffalo Restaurant Week, starting this Monday, April 15 and running through Sunday, April 21.
The biannual event hosted by Visit Buffalo Niagara is a chance to celebrate Buffalo’s unique spin on food. Whether it'd be iconic fare - great Italian food, chicken wings and beef on weck - beloved menu classics, creative chefs or diverse offerings, there's something that's available for residents and visitors alike.
At this time, around 90 restaurants in Erie County have already filed with Visit Buffalo Niagara to take part in the week of festivities, with more restaurants being inquired to sign up and join the fun in the days leading up to Monday.
"So far, we are pacing 30 restaurants ahead of where we were last year at this time," said Patrick Kaler, president and CEO of Visit Buffalo Niagara. "We know that the restaurant industry is very busy, and we will be well over 100 restaurants by the time that we kick this off on Monday of next week. We're very excited about those possibilities."
One of the special venues this upcoming Restaurant Week in Western New York is the Southern Junction Barbecue, located at 365 Connecticut Street in the City of Buffalo. Chef Ryan Fernandez was recently recognized nationally for innovation as one of five James Beard award finalists in the emerging chef category. That award will be given out in June.
The spotlight on Fernandez, who fuses Southern Indian and Texas tastes into his menu’s offerings, is one benefit of setting aside a week to celebrate restaurants.
"What I enjoy about the opportunities that Restaurant Week provides both residents and visitors is that it gives them a chance to try new restaurants and try the variations of food that we have," Kaler said. "We do have flavors from around the world. I think this helps expose the restaurant scene and its diversity."
This year’s participating restaurants are listed on Visit Buffalo Niagara's website, many with prix fixe menus or other special offerings created for the week.
This will be the fourth Restaurant Week coordinated by Visit Buffalo Niagara, in collaboration with the New York State Restaurant Association’s Western New York chapter. It is an invitation for visitors, local diners, and even our Canadian friends to try new offerings from local restaurants, taverns, bistros, diners and cafes.
"Whether you're visiting Buffalo for a sports competition, a convention or a leisure getaway, we know that one thing every visitor does when they come to our destination is eat. That's a fantastic thing, so that's one thing that everybody has in common," Kaler said. "And something that we heard during the pandemic from our restaurants is they cannot survive by just the local patronage alone. They do need the visitor economy and the visitor dining to help keep their restaurants afloat. So this is why VBN took over restaurant week following the pandemic, and put our staff, our financial resources, and our marketing resources behind this critical sector of our visitor economy."
Buffalo has an increasing reputation as a place with a lively and innovative food scene, according to Andrew Galarneau, founder of fourbites.net and independent food writer and restaurant critic. He says Western New York is a particularly welcoming place for food entrepreneurs.
"Buffalo food is more than wings and weck and pizza. With two restaurants, Waxlight Bar a Vin and Southern Junction, making the top tier of a nationally judged restaurant contest that travelers set their itineraries by, it's really going to help," said Galarneau. "I think it's great, and if anybody's listening, Buffalo has great wings, weck and pizza, but we have a whole lot of other things here. And here's the thing: You get big city diversity at Buffalo prices, so maybe you should check it out."