Mr Chips Shuffles off to Buffalo

 I was fortunate to have two full days to explore the Buffalo-Niagra area before embarking on the official Roadfood tour. It has been a grand opportunity to sample roadfood places and visit the natural and historical sights of the area.
       Day one began with a visit to the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site(Wilcox Mansion) near downtown Buffalo. This was the home of TR's good friend Henry Wilcox and it is where he took the oath of office after President McKInley's death. The room where he was sworn in has been recreated faithfully, there are new exhibits about the 1901 Pan Ameerican exposition where Mckinley was shot, and a presenation about TR's takes n the issues of his day. The site was closed for 18 months but the new exhibits make the place a much more interesting place to visit than when I last visited in 1982.
     Lunch was at Louie's Hot Dogs in Tonowanda. This is the place that invented the foot-long hot dog and of course I had a fully dressed hot dog with the western New York topping of dandelion greens and my drink was loganberry juice. Tasty, rich and filling. I liked the char of the dog and loved the toppings. Dessert was in the Kenmore area of Bufffalo, a small but delighftul frozen custard at Anderson's(roadfood reviewed) as well as an apple  sundae at Cordrell's Candy and Ice Cream shop.
     Spent the afternoon on the American side of Niagara Falls. Though I've been tto the falls 5 or 6 times, I had always gone to the Canadian side. I took my first trip on The Maid of the Mist and was impressed by the spray and the thunder up close of Horseshoe Falls. It does not seem to matter how cliche the falls seem, they are always an awe inspiring sight.
     I took the opportunity to hike to Goat Island and get an up close view of the Niagara River rapids and a view over the top of the American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. The rainbow at the bottom of the falls was spectacular and the roar once again very impressive.  I could not have asked for a better day or a better experience.

Sounds like a good start Mr Chips. 

Thanks for the kind words, Joe

End of Day 1:
               I've have always been something of a listmaker when it comes to travel.  One of my lists is U.S. Presidential sites. I have visited a birthplace, home, gravesite, or museum of every presidents sans Bush the younger and President Obama. Two presidents called the Buffalo area home, Millard Fillmore and Grover Cleveland. Late Thursday afternoon I visited Millard Fillmore's grave at Forest Lawn cemetery in Buffalo. There is an ornate monument there, produced by the DAR.  Fillmore's headstone has a very simple M.F. on it and the grave itself is on a hillside alongside the graves of his two wives and daughter.. The only personal interest is that it was the 100th presidential site I have visited.
       The evening was spent roadfooding. I stopped at Charlie the Butcher's(located right next to the airport) for my very first beef on weck and birch beer.  The beef was tender, the kimmelweck salty, and the horseradish pungent. The staff was friendly and worried that I might not like beef on weck.( a needless concern), The sandwich was delightful and  I loved the bich beer. Interested folks should  check out the review here on the website and catch the picture of Charlie in his hard hat. It captures the flavor of the place and the sandwich is very good.
    Not far away from Chalie's is the McPartland's Corner Bar, a family run place in its 3rd generation. It has been voted best fish fry in the Buffalo area several times and the fried fish I had(haddock) was excellent, flakey, golden and not greasy. And I felt I had stepped into a Cheers episode. New arrivals were greeted by name and updated their lives to the foks at the bar.. Lots of great conversations about local events and updates on people's lives. My waitress knew I wasn't a local and perked up when I told her what  I was doing, specifically mentiong Duff's and Parkside candy as places I ought to visit. McPartland's was a fitting end to a wonderful first day.

Day 2 of the trip started with something very special. President Millard Fillmore's home in Easr Aurora was not open at a time I was able to visit so the caretakers arranged a special private tour for me in the early morning. I was grateful to them and had a nice tour. Apparently President Fillmore built the house himself as well as the tables in the house and it was orignally located on the main street of East Aurora across from his law office. One child was born there and he moved away from the house after living in it for four years. Fillmore's first wife died from an illness she picked up during the inauguration of his sucsessor and a few years later he married a rich widow. He spent much of the rest of his life living as first citizen of Buffalo, helping start the city''s university, its art museum, and its civic improvement programs.  Fillmore most resembled Gerald Ford, another accidental president . I thoroughly enjoyed my tour and very gracious guide.
       My lunch was at Grover's Bar  and Grill in East Amherst, New York(reviewed on this site). It is renowned for its Friday fish fries and its ginormouis 14 ounce cheeseburger. I had the the cheeseburger and was impressed. Cooked to order, dressed with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes, it was a great burger. Tasty, charred perfectly, with the bun simmering in burger juices, it was as good a burger as I've had in quite. As a bonus. I discovered the place was located on the site of Buffalo president Grover Cleveland's hunting lodge so I added to my Presidential visit sites without even knowing it.
       I then drove to Lockport where I spent the afternoon on a cruise along the Erie Canal. I was taken by our trip  to Canal locks 34 and 35 where we were slowly lifted through both locks about 50 feet to the upper canal. We cruised under  the widest bridge in North America and through a rock cut of about 3 miles that had to be cut with pick axes so the canal could be built. We listened to folk songs about the canal. We returned, cruised under a pair of lift bridges served by one operator who had to to raise and lower one bridge, drive a short distance to the next bridge, and then raise and lower that bridge. It was impressive and I don't envy his job on busy days where he might have  toraise and lower the bridge 40 to 50 times.
       It was a good expeience. I have read about the Erie Canal all my life and it  was marvelous to ride on it and get a feel for the experince.
      I had a few hours to kill and decided to go to Buffalo's Art museum, the Albright-Knox galleries which are open until 10 p.m. on Fridays and are free after 3 p.m. I saw lots of students, parents with young children, and seniors taking advantage of this. And the collection is one of the best I've seen ouside of the largest American cities.   American abstract expressionist were well represented by Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell.De Kooning, Warhol soup cans, a Lichtenstein and a great painting by Jasper Johns.  There was an exhibit about psychedelic art of the sixties, including art from several albums I owned by Hedrix, Cream and Uriah Heep. i wished son Sam had been there to see the art of my youth.
      The European collection was even more amazing.  Every major impressionist, Cubist, surrealist, simply any major  European artist was represented by good work(Magritte, De Chirico, Giacometti, Picasso, Vas Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Matisse, Gaugain, Renoir). It was wonderful and totally unexpected. This gallery is a strong recommendation if you are in Buffalo.There was lot of more recent stuff but museum fatigue had set in and I was just too tired to view the art. This place was one of the unexpected pleasures of travel, where beauty pops up in an unexpected way and surprises and delights you.

Day 2 ended up with a major eat and greet at Eckl's restaurant in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park. Buffetbuster had arranged a dinner meeting with Buffalo Tarheel, Chi Town Diner,North Carolina, Wandering Jew, and B B's s.o and her daughter. Eckl's is a fine German place with superb porki chops, potato salad. and ,of course, beef on weck. There were  a lot of other folks not all of whose name I caught. It was delightful meal with shared foods and good conversation. An excellent chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones. An great  start to the roadfood weekend.

I believe that Mr Chips is one of the last holdouts in Buffalo as he is heading back home Tuesday Morning.

I met Mr Chips for a quick breakfast this morning at a local Coffee House Chain called Spot Coffee just outside of Buffalo in Williamsville.

Since Mr. Chips is a native Oregonian I figured that a coffeehouse would make him feel right at home !

And it did Dale. it was good to see you again and nice to have a latte. I'm still in Buffalo and will fly west tomorrow.

mr chips -

I love your adventures...you have such a strong combination of interests and when combined...it's a recipe for fun and good times!  Great seing you!

Mr. Chips,
 
It was a pleasure to meet you this weekend, and my only regret is that the time went so quickly.  Thank you for a great write-up of your travels.  You could be as good an ambassador for Buffalo as you are for Portland.  You're motivating me to visit some local spots that I have not been to - even places that are not restaurants!
 

There's more to traveling than just food!

What an interesting trip.  

Day 3 began with a guilty food experience. I have seen the signs  for Tim Horton's all over Canada and had no idea what it was. There seemed to be one every 10 blocks in Buffalo so I decided to check it out to see what the fuss was all about. I was not impressed. The coffee was adequate, the doughnuts were, well.doughnuts. It reminded me of Dunkin' Donuts except it said washrooms instead of restrooms and there were Ted Horton hockey cards. Glad i checked it out but I can't figure out why there have been several threads about the places on Roadfood.

Day 3 of my trip was day 1 of the roadfood excursions. The day's beginning is always exciting. It's always a mix of familiar faces and newcomers; long time contributors and rookies. We are dedicated to good food and good times. The conversations are always interesting because so many of us are highly opinionated, fluid conversationalists who like to talk.
     Dale(Wandering Jew) sat beside me and ChiTownDiner,  Buffetbuster,and Tintin were close by. Michael Stern had us introduce ourselves and kept up giving us information about the places where we were eating.
      Other threads have better pictures and give full accounts of the day so I will summarize and write about my experiences and feelings but may not go into as much detail as others.
     Our first stop of the day was Dinosaur Bar B Q in Rochester. Our bus parked on a bridge over the Genesee River and we had a short walk to the riverside place. I had a rib, really good beans, and the western New York specialty of salt potatoes which were a salty, buttery delight that Mr. Stern had highly recommended. The atmosphere was southern juke joint and we were served at a buffet. Good food, excellent conversation and friendly staff.
 More to come

mr chips-
I am thoroughly enjoying your trip report so far.  Even though I was there for part of the time, it is always nice to hear about it through someone else's eyes.  And the mixture of sightseeing stops really adds to the report.  Looking forward to reading more!

Hi Mr. Chips,
 
Thanks for the wonderful trip reports.  They gave me more reasons to return to Buffalo, depending on the welcome at the border!  I think the best way to do this is to pull up, turn the engine off and settle in for a chat...  Going home I was quizzed about the weekend and asked for my favourite of all the places we visited.  By that point my brain was custard but I was even able to spell Schwabl's.
 
Re Tim Hortons: I didn't visit one on this trip but will go back to the Tims that was near the Roadfood Weekend hotel.  That's two reasons to return to that area: Tims and Charlie the Butcher(?).  Beef on weck at Schwabl's was my weekend highlight and I want to see what the competition does.  So when I do my next weck weekend I'll check out Tims to see if they offer the same menu as here in Canada and whether the coffee tastes the same.
 
My personal favourite (no, that is not a spelling mistake) at Tims is the turkey club on brown - the honey mustard is a great touch.  They've recently added several blueberry items - may be just seasonal but they're wonderful.
 
You've made me think about the Canadian addiction to Tims.  Consistency, maybe, but I think the coffee flavour (yup, we use u here) is stronger than Mcdonalds or Coffee Time.
 
If you ever do a Roadfood tour of Tims, be sure to visit the Hamilton, Ontario, location that was the first-ever Tim Hortons.  It hasn't been modernized and there's a showcase of hockey memorabilia.  (An aside: Hamilton, Ontario, is the location of the most recent Woody Harrelson movie that debuted last week at the Toronto International Film Festival.)
 
Thanks to everyone for a fantastic weekend - Jane, Michael, Stephen, what a team!
 
And can someone tell me how to create an avatar?
 
Cheers,
 
Carol

Carol, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for the input on Tim Hortons.

This board doesn't use avatars or signature lines.

MikeS.

Carol Dilworth


Hi Mr. Chips,
 
Thanks for the wonderful trip reports.  They gave me more reasons to return to Buffalo, depending on the welcome at the border!  I think the best way to do this is to pull up, turn the engine off and settle in for a chat...  Going home I was quizzed about the weekend and asked for my favourite of all the places we visited.  By that point my brain was custard but I was even able to spell Schwabl's. 
  
 
Cheers,
 
Carol

Carol,
 
Did the customs agents ask you why you had been in the States and then heard about the RF tour?  I was wondering what they thought of it - maybe they were looking for ideas as well.
 
Glad you came to the tour.

MikeS.


Carol, it was a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for the input on Tim Hortons.

This board doesn't use avatars or signature lines.

MikeS.

Mike, did I use the wrong term?  How do people develop a code name at the left of their messages?  Thanks very much.  Carol

Buffalo Tarheel

Carol Dilworth


Hi Mr. Chips,
 
Thanks for the wonderful trip reports.  They gave me more reasons to return to Buffalo, depending on the welcome at the border!  I think the best way to do this is to pull up, turn the engine off and settle in for a chat...  Going home I was quizzed about the weekend and asked for my favourite of all the places we visited.  By that point my brain was custard but I was even able to spell Schwabl's. 
  
 
Cheers,
 
Carol
 
Carol,
 
Did the customs agents ask you why you had been in the States and then heard about the RF tour?  I was wondering what they thought of it - maybe they were looking for ideas as well.
 
Glad you came to the tour.

 
 
The Customs Agents going (US) and coming home (Canadian) hadn't heard of the Roadfood tour and both of them asked really specific questions.  Yes, I think the young lady on the way home might have been looking for a recommendation.  But the young fellow on the way into the US just barked at me; I was shaking by the time I'd convinced him that I was just a tourist trying to cross the border to spend some money.
 
There is a pass called NEXUS that people crossing from Canada can get; maybe you can too.  I assume that it's a fast-track, pre-clearance.  Presumably you would have to renew it from time to time.  I don't know the cost, but I have a Muslim friend who lectures and vacations with his famiily in the US and has NEXUS, probably very wise.  It wouldn't be worth my while for the few times each year that I cross, but I really wonder where my rights kick in as to how much information I have to provide.  On a trip to Michigan for a family party, I had to describe the cakes I'd baked - he said that's because he wanted to decide whether to confiscate them for himself!
 
This is the first time I've participated in a forum so I'm going to tell you here about Canadian beer.  Maybe some day I'll figure out how to start my own forum on Canadian food.  The weekend made me think of lots of ideas for travellers.
 
In addition to Labatts Blue and Molson Canadian, we have some regional products that you can purchase at Duty Free.  My Michigan relatives enjoy Alexander Keith's from Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Sleemans, Creemore and Wellington are produced in Ontario.  Canadian beer is stronger than American beer.  That's why I was able to down two bottles of Genesee Light within an hour of each other...  We could probably do a whole forum on why I felt the need to explain that, but let's not.
 
Carol

Carol,
  Thanks for the description of you experiences crossing the border. I sure miss the days of merely telling the Canadian officer where we were going in Canada and then telling the US guy that all we bought was gas and dinner !

Check the Beverage forum on this site for a thread about Canadian Beer. I recall reading some good discussion there about "Strange Brew" in the 'Great White North'!!

I too sadly recall the days when crossing the border was as easy as buying a gallon of milk. I packed my passport this trip but forgot to tell my rental car company I might go to Canada so could not go, The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls seems a bit longer now.

mayor al


Carol,
  Thanks for the description of you experiences crossing the border. I sure miss the days of merely telling the Canadian officer where we were going in Canada and then telling the US guy that all we bought was gas and dinner !

Check the Beverage forum on this site for a thread about Canadian Beer. I recall reading some good discussion there about "Strange Brew" in the 'Great White North'!!

When I was younger, all the guys working the US side of the bridges in the summer were teachers moonlighting during summer break, and since my parents both taught,  crossing back into the States for me only involved the Customs and Immigration guy going "say hi to your mom & dad" and waving me through.
 
The most in-depth crossing I remember was when I was in college and was coming back pretty wasted from Toronto about 3 AM after having seen the Stones at Maple Leaf Gardens - Mr. Haggerty, my high school english teacher asked if my mom knew I was out that late and waved us through, long hair and all. 

Day 3 continued with a visit to Nick Tahou's. I was probably the most impressed member of the tour. Much of misspent youth was spent at truck stops and pie shops and this place brought back fond memories of late night adventures and my former cast-iron stomach. 
    I opted for the white dog plate which had beans, fried potatoes, mac salad, hot sauce and other things all smooshed together in a delightful mix of flavors. Best greasy spoon food ever. My thanks to Mr. Tahou for comping us the food, Wandering jew(Dale) for splitting the plate and saving my stomach, and Jane, Michael and Stephen for taking us to wonder monument to late night American food.
     After the meal we were given fresh apples and a brief history and tour of Rochester. I liked seeing High Falls and the locally produced cider and beer that he gave us were great complements to the food.
     Next stop was the LDR char pit and Abbot's custard for steak sandwiches and frozen custard. Surprising to me, the places were located next to a park(with a beach)on Lake Ontario. I got my sandwich to go, grabbed a pumpkin custard cone at Abbot's and walked along the beach for about 45 minutes. The custard was delightful, the sandwich, thin sliced and incredibly tasty and the lake spectacular. Waves were gently crashing, boats leaving the harbor, and heading out, families and couples were enjoying the sand and warmth and I simply sucked in the vibe. I love the trips but I just wanted to be alone and enjoy nature for a brief time.
     I rejoined everyone and discovered than everyone's food (except mine) had been comped again and again had great conversation with Ayersian (Chris and Amy) and Buffetbuster and the Meltons. This was a marvelous stop.
       We all had a big surprise after this. Stephen Rushmore had arranged for us to go to a swap meet in Albion,and enjoy a fundraising barbecue for a local volunteer fire department. The culinary treat was Cornell chicken, a vinegar, egg and other stuff marinade that gave the chicken a very satisfying crunch and tang. There were homemade pies from local Mennonite and/or Amish women and a nice vibe at the swap meet. I thought of my roadfood friend Bill Voss as I walked around. A fantastic and totally unexpected experience  and I cannot praise Mr. Rushmore enough for arranging this experience.
      Evening was spent Steve's Pig and Oxtail Roast in Lackawanna, a place reviewed in the new Stern's book. The food was disappointing but the company of my fellow roadfooders was not. Again my thanks to Dale for splitting a plate and saving my stomach. It was a wonderful and very full day.

mr chips


Day i continued ith a visit to Nick Tahout's. I was probably the most impressed member of the tour. Much of misspent youth was spent at truck stops and pie shops and this place brought back fond memories of late night adventures and my former cast-iron stomach. 
    I opted for the whit dog plate which had beans, fried potatoes, mac salad, hot sauce and other things all smooshed together in a delightful mix of flavors. Best greasy spoon food ever. My thanks to Mr. Tahout for comping us the food, Wandering jew(Dale) for splitting the plate and saving my stomach, and Jane, Michael and Stephen for taking us to wonder monument to late night American food.
     After the meal we were given fresh apples and a brief history and tour of Rochester. I liked seeing High Falls and the locally produced cider and beer that he gave us were great complements to the food.
     Next stop was the LNR char pit and Abbot's custard for steak sandwiches and frozen custard. Surprising to me, the places were located next to park(with a beach)on Lake Ontario. I got my sandwich to go, grabbed a pumpkin custard cone at Abbot's and walked along the beach for about 45 minutes. The custard was delightful, the sandwich, thin sliced and incredibly tasty and the lake spectacular. Waves were gently crashing, boats leaving the harbor, and heading out, families and couples were enjoying the sand and warmth and I simply sucked in the vibe. I love the trips but I just wanted to be alone and enjoy nature for a brief time.
     I rejoined everyone and discovered than everyone's food (except mine) had been comped again and again had great conversation with Ayersian (Chris and Amy) and Buffetbuster and the Meltons. This was a marvelous stop.
       We all had a big surprise after this. Stephen Rushmore had arranged for us to go to a swap meet in Albion,and enjoy a fundraising barbecue for a local volunteer fire department. The culinary treat was Cornell chicken, a vinegar, egg and other stuff marinade that gave the chicken a very satisfying crunch and tang. There were homemade pies from local mennonite and/or Amish women and a nice vibe at the swap meet. I thought of my roadfood friend Bill Voss as I walked around. A fantastic and totally unexpected experience  and cannot praise Mr. Rushmore enough for arranging this experience.
      Evening was spent Steve's Pig and Oxtail Roast in Lackawanna, a place reviewed in the new Stern's book. The food was disappointing but the company of my fellow roadfooders was not. Again my thanks to Dale for splitting a plate and saving my stomach. It was a wonderful and very full day.

In WNY, "Cornell" chicken at a volunteer fire company barbecue usually means Chiavetta's marinade. I grew up eating this, and buy it in quarts on line to marinate it here for cookouts. It's also good on pork chops.

Day 4 of my trip was the Roadfood tour of the Buffalo area. We began the day at Schwabl's, home of what many believe to be the best beef on weck in Buffalo. The owners opened the place early and hired extra carvers so we would be served quickly and efficiently. And the beef on weck was one of the best meals I have ever had in my life. The kimmelweck roll was very salty and the balance of salt to meat was perfect. I had mine done medium well and the beef, juice and salt combined for an explosion of pure joy in my mouth. It was the platonic ideal of roast beef and a sensual delight. I have never had roast beef that wonderful before. Go to Schwabl's before you die for a taste of heaven.
     The servers and owners seemed generally appreciative of our business and even seemed a little shy about my effusive praise. But it really was one of the best things I've ever eaten.
     Stop 2 was at Ted's Hot Dogs in Towawanda. The charred red hots are a western New York speciality and they did not disappoint. I loved the char and the feel and my only concession was that I had a regular instead of a foot long red hot. A damn good dog.
      Walking across the street to Anderson's Custard I treated myself to a baby cone of pumpkin custard that was divine. Buffetbuster's thread has a picture of me eating the cone lustily so it is probably pretty obvious I enjoyed the treat.
     Our next stop was Parkside Candy, a delightful candy and ice cream shop with internal decor that resembled the wild movie palaces of the 20's and 30's. The stop at Anderson's had me ice creamed out so I nibbled on sponge candy, a milk chocolate delight that is rich but not oversweet. I also chatted with a lot of folks and simply enjoyed the stunning interior during our time there.
    Our next stop was the Anchor Bar, the place that invented Buffalo Wings in the 60's. We were seated communally and served plates of wings that were either mild or medium with hot sauce available on the side with blue cheese, celery and carrots as the usual companion sides. Got to meet moderator Mike S and spouse and enjoyed the food. I think we got the side room because the Bills game did not begin for another hour .
      We went back to the hotel and a few of us went to Antoinette's in Williamsville. I bought sponge candy,(Michael Stern strongly suggested milk chocolate instead of orange and I did so)and another Buffalo candy speciality,the Charlie Chaplin. Chocolate, again very light and a taste treat.
     Then back to the hotel for a night of football and rest.

Carol Dilworth


That's two reasons to return to that area: Tims and Charlie the Butcher

Wednesday, I flew to Buffalo to pick up a truck to bring back to Long Island. Thanks to the Roadfood review, I planned to have lunch at Charlie the Butcher's and to stop later at the Cornell Dairy Bar in Ithaca. My Beef on Weck, mustard egg Potato Salad and Birch Beer was very good. As I was leaving, I looked across the street and there was a Tim Horton's. Having read about them, also on this site, it was the perfect opportunity to try. I got a sour cream (unglazed) donut and coffee to go. Both excellent and the coffee helped me make Cornell with some time to spare, a few hours later. The Espresso Chunky Chip ice cream was delicious as was the chocolate milk that had been very favorably reviewed here.

I had my very own mini Roadfood tour and it was really perfect. I arrived home a little after 10 pm feeling very content.

Carol, I love your new Roadfood handle. Please write often about the joys of Canadian cuisine.

Day 5 I was back on my own. Wandering Jew(Dale) set up a morning meeting at Spot Coffee in Williamsville(as mentioned above). I had my first latte in a few days and a pleasant farewell conversation before he began his drive back to Rhode Island. I appreciate Dale's company and hope to visit him in Rhode Island some day.
     My final day in Buffalo was dedicated to Frank Lloyd Wright and touring houses he designed in the area. The first place was the Martin House complex near Buffalo's Delaware Park(designed by the same gentleman who designed NYC's Central Park.). Buffalo corporate exec Darwin Martin was very much taken with Mr. Wright's work and gave him a virtually unlimited budget to design the family compound which included a carriage house, a second smaller house for Mr. Martin's sister, a gardner's cottage. and a covered walkway. The site had fallen into some disrepair and a couple buildings had been torn down and the interiors redesigned in the others. In 1992, a non-profit foundation was set up to repair the homes, rebuild the structures that had been torn down and put Mr. Wright's original design back in place as much as possible.
     The compound was built between 1907-1909 and very much in the Prairie style of Mr. Wright's early work. There are the overhanging roofs, copious amounts of windows with intricate designs stenciled on them and of course, much Wright designed furniture. There still needs to be a lot of work done but what is there is impressive. One gets the sweep of Wright's imagination and Mr Martin's patience and willingness to pay for and indulge Wright's creative flair. A well-spent morning.
   Parking for the house ws at the Buffalo zoo so I spent a couple hors there. It is very old-fashioned, taking up a tiny portion of Delaware Park and the first zoo I've ever seen with houses just  across the street No real environmental design, just paddocks and steel cages. Nice for kids but not worth a whole lot of time or money unless you have a little time to kill..
   

mr chips


Carol, I love your new Roadfood handle. Please write often about the joys of Canadian cuisine.

Butter Tarts - now there's the joy of Canadian cuisine.