06/26/07 11:57 - 85ºF - ID#39812

Retail rant!

Everyone knows working retail sucks so why do I even have to explain? I guess I don't, really. How does one end up in a field that so completely universally sucks anyway? I guess it's the fact that since I was a child I wanted to own my own store...yeah that's coming along well. Anyway, in Orlando I was able to blame most of my crap customers on the fact that it was Orlando and everyone there was rude, obnoxious and wanted to murder everyone else, which is of course true. Now, this job is making me hate Buffalonians (or Western New Yorkers if you will) just as much and that's a damn shame.

Everyone here is so damn CHEAP it blows my mind. One of the other store managers I talked to said "Buffalo is the only place where if you buy a new car, you'll brag about how little you paid instead of how much you paid." That statement seems very true and odd to me. They come in repeatedly taking advantage of and working the system in every legal yet unethical way possible to save a couple bucks...or in one case this week, 14 cents. Seriously, if you people in Amherst are that poor I will start up a fund for you where I personally donate my own hard earned money to save your bank accounts. Now we have multiple locations...one of which is exactly 2.5 miles away and took me 3 minutes to reach the other day. When I'm out of something involved in aforementioned savings and offer to call that location to see if they have it in stock I get "ohhhh I can't go allllll the wayyyy over there!!!!!!!!" Are you freaking kidding me? There is no place in the Buffalo metropolitan area that is a far drive. People here are CHEAP as HELL and can't be bothered to drive more than 1 mile from their homes. Jesus.

Permalink: Retail_rant_.html
Words: 323
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: food

06/02/07 08:06 - 84ºF - ID#39505

Eats

What's your favorite place to eat in WNY?
I'm trying to try out as many different unique places as I can but find it difficult to get information on places since most don't seem to have websites or anything. For example, I was trying to find a menu or website for Empire Grill or Mother's but couldn't come up with anything useful.

chico writes at 03:03:25 06/26/07 - Comment #20152: I defer to the other, more experienced Thai diners. I have not even eaten at Saigon Cafe yet (so there, (e:jenks) !) so my basis for comparison is artificially limited. While we're on the topic, my old downstairs neighbor had good things to say about The King and I on Kensington.

When I interviewed for my job, the chair asked, "What do you like to do when you're not at work?" And I thought for a second, and replied, "Well, I like to eat." He laughed and said Buffalo was the place for me. I do think that there's a lot of very good food in Buffalo with a low or reasonable price tag.

No one mentioned sushi yet, I had Kuni's Takeout once and liked it a lot, and prices seemed reasonable. But I'm hardly a sushi connoisseur. Unfortunately, for Ethiopian, I think one still has to drive to Rochester. But I've been meaning to check out the Somali takeout place on Grant Street, has anyone been there (I think it's called Somali Star)?

Stillwater (on Delaware in Allentown area) has nice food but is expensive, and I think that the dining room lacks atmosphere. The bar has atmosphere, but the last time I stopped in there it was deserted.

Sounds like I need to have pizza at Aroma! Brick oven, yum.

jenks writes at 02:42:53 06/26/07 - Comment #20150: I had Jasmine the other day- and thought it was not NEARLY as good as saigon cafe. The green curry, at least.

and- damn chico! You've been here a lot less time than I have- and you've eaten EVERYwhere!

and james- yes, aroma's pizza is that good.

james writes at 01:14:14 06/26/07 - Comment #20144: korean food?
I have been craving Bulgogi like a fiend and had no idea where to find some delicious Korean smack. Thank you.

Mother's I think is skipable. The only reason you would want to go there is if you wanted a nice dinner at 11:30PM. Other than that there are a dozen of other delicious places at that price range.

I have eaten at about three thai places around here and have yet to like any of them. So...

I hear Aroma on Bryant has brick oven, thin crust pizza so good you would sell your eyes to have another bite. Hm... I guess I am not making dinner tonight then.

To a Buffalo native, this may sound silly, but Andersons' is ridiculously good. Beef on weck is standard here like tortillas are standard in Mexican food. Sure, thin sliced roast beef on a bun covered with rock salt doesn't sound like anything to write home about, but sweet beefy lord it is good, so good.

leetee writes at 12:54:14 06/26/07 - Comment #20143: Huh... funny, we all have our own tastes. I think Taste of Thai and both Saigons are better than Jasmine. Buffalo has some good Thai, so i say try them all and make your own choice. Spicy Thai on Sheridan is in the same area too...

i totally agree with (e:Chico) on Indian food... although good, there are better Indian food places than India Gate on Elmwood. Star of India on Delaware in Kenmore is pretty good, too.

Woochon is the same place i am talking about... i think it's called WooChon Korea House.

People rant about Betty's, but the staff there are totally obnixious. We tried to eat there once and gave up. Hopefully, the guy that swore and me and told me to get out got fired years ago.

chico writes at 12:40:37 06/26/07 - Comment #20142: Left Bank and Hutch's are very, very good but sometimes difficult to get seated, definitely call ahead. Bacchus on Chippewa has a nice wine list and can turn out some very nice meals from time to time.

For cheap Italian food in the city, see my post (e:chico,38657) and comments from (e:mrmike) and (e:zobar) . For upscale Italian, Ristorante Lombardo on Hertel Ave near Commonwealth is very nice and the food has always impressed.

For Thai, surprisingly perhaps, Jasmine on Niagara Falls Boulevard is tasty. And Taste of India on (I think) Sheridan is delicious, probably a little better than Elmwood Ave's India Gate, even though it is run by the same people. For Korean, Woochon on Evans in Williamsville comes highly recommended by a Japanese student of mine but I haven't tried it yet. For pan-Asian in a contemporary restaurant with a good vibe, try Papaya on Chippewa, and then go next door to Chocolate Bar for dessert and/or after-dinner drinks.

For wings, Gabriel's Gate on Allen Street in Allentown is best in my book, though it is fun to take out-of-towner guests to the Anchor Bar on Main Street near North. For a panini and a drink (including some good beers in bottles), try Allen Street Hardware.

For brunch or lunch, I really like Betty's on Virginia just west of Elmwood Ave. And for cheap eats and questionable service, there's always the Towne Restaurant on Allen St at Elmwood, I'm getting hooked on their Greekburger (lamb and beef combined).

btw, I really like that Empire Grill. Have had a couple of really good meals there, including a delicious pulled pork sandwich (better than most, including Fat Bob's BBQ on Virginia Place), and had a breakfast burrito that was lights-out good.

Oh and for the WNY classic beef-on-weck, so far my personal fave is the Wellington Pub on Hertel.

For pizza served with a snarl, New York Pizza on Allen Street has the closest thing to thin-crust NY/NJ/Long Island style pizza in Buffalo.

Places I've had problems with or have been disappointed by: Vino's on Elmwood Ave, Fiamma Steakhouse on Hertel Ave.

leetee writes at 12:16:44 06/26/07 - Comment #20139: Gee, i do not know how a foodie like me missed this post.

In the better late than never category, here are my favorite places to chow down.

Palenque on Niagara Falls Blvd by Sheridan. Excellent TexMex.

El Cannello on Dingens, by the old toll booths. good tex mex and dirt cheap lunch specials.

The Red Pepper on Maple by the Boulvard Mall. Good, inexpensive chinese, great lunch deals and darn good Pho.

Zhang's Buffet on Union by the Walden Galleria. good all round chinese buffet.

Saigon Cafe on Elmwood and Saigon Bangkok on Niagara Falls Boulevard between Kenmore and Main. Very good thai

Taste of Thai on Hertel. good thai, good service, great deals for lunch.

Falafel Bar on Elmwood. tiny place, good falafel and mediterranean.

Korean House on Evans Road in Williamsville (or is that still Amherst?). little higher in cost, but good food. the lunch bento boxes are good.

the Royal on Sheridan and Military. good greek, and american home style food. prices are decent, too

La Nova. I think their pizza is the best in town. their ny style rocks.

mk writes at 02:21:09 06/03/07 - Comment #19159: chef's is my favorite restaurant in buffalo. has been since i was a year old.

jenks writes at 12:02:07 06/03/07 - Comment #19158: yeah left bank is one of my all-time faves, and I'm digging trattoria aroma (bryant and ashland) a lot right now.

mike writes at 10:53:23 06/03/07 - Comment #19155: Left Bank is my favorite restaurant at the moment

jenks writes at 08:44:20 06/02/07 - Comment #19142: i second the vote for bill rappaport's. Pretty primitive but very comprehensive.

paul writes at 08:37:42 06/02/07 - Comment #19140: Back a few years ago I built an awesome site for posting meal reviews and menus via cell phones. People were not ready for mobile stuff and it is gone now.

Two good resources are artvoice :::link::: and Bill Repaport's :::link:::