Niagara Falls, slowley I turned, step-by-step…

We just got back from a trip to Niagara Falls. We left on a Friday and came back on Monday. It was only 7 hours from our house so it was a comfortable drive.

Park Place Bed and Breakfast

We stayed at a quaint bed-and-breakfast in Niagara Falls, NY. On Saturday morning we went to quilt and fabric stores in Buffalo and Lockport. In the afternoon we took a ride on the Erie Canal.

Erie Canal

Come evening, it was time to find some food.

It seems that the Western part of New York, around Buffalo, is known for two kinds of food, Buffalo wings and “Beef-on-Weck.” I believe Buffalo wings are self explanatory, but Beef-on-Weck probably needs to be further elucidated. The Weck is short for a Kummelweck bun, a large Kiaser roll shaped potato bread that is sprinkled liberally with coarse salt and caraway seeds. The beef is moist, juicy roast beef, cooked medium rare, sliced thin, dipped in au jus and stacked high on the Kummelweck bun. The top of the bun is lightly dipped in the au jus also. The Beef-on-Weck is best with horseradish sauce, although I have heard of using mayonnaise. The taste is unbelievably good. It has to be the total combination, because the roast beef is nothing fancy. The buns are good but not outstanding by themselves. It has to be the salt, caraway, potato bread, beef and horseradish that make it sooo, delicious. We ordered one apiece then went back and ordered another one to split. The place to go in Buffalo is Charlie the Butcher’s. There is little or no ambiance but the Beef-on-Weck is outstanding.

We also tried the local loganberry drink, made from, what else, loganberries grown around the Buffalo area. It was O.K., kind of a cross between cherry lemonade and raspberry tea. We tried to find some to bring home, but the local Wegman’s did not have it. J wanted some loganberry jelly too, but we could not find it either. We went back to B&B in Niagara Falls disappointed and stuffed.

Sunday we did the Niagara Falls State Park.

Niagara Falls (New York Side)

We bought a Discovery Pass, which got us an all day pass on the trolly that services the whole park, passes to the Discovery Center Geological Museum, the Aquarium, the IMAX movie about Niagara Falls, the Maid of the Mist boat ride

Maid of the Mist

and the Cave of the Winds. We did everything but the Cave of the Winds. That was the same as standing under a fire hose turned on at full blast. It was 45F outside and we did not want to get wet and cold. On the other hand, the Maid of the Mist boat ride into the falls was great.

After spending all day in the park, we decided to go into Buffalo for some food, again. This time we decided that we had to have some Buffalo hot wings. I had done some research on this before we left and found that the place to get the best Buffalo wings was Duff’s Famous Wings. We arrived there about 6:30pm. The place was packed. We were told it was a 45-minute wait to get a table. I asked if we could order take out. I ordered, then the waitress told me it would take 30-minutes. We should have just waited for a table. Finally, our order arrived, we scurried to the car and flew back to Niagara Falls.

The wings were O.K. I guess we are just not wing fans. I always believed they were too much work for what you got (kind of like artichokes). We will not be ordering wings in Buffalo again.

That was the sum of our trip. The weather was chilly the whole time we were there. The scenery on the way up and on the way back was beautiful. The trees were in full color change and the fall colors were breathtaking.

Fall Colors in New York

I highly recommend the trip, but go in the late spring or summer when you can get wet and enjoy it.