Roadfood in your own city - Ted's hot dogs, Anderson's ice cream, and Duff's chicken wings

Sometimes it takes having a visitor to make you appreciate the multitude of Roadfood options you have in your own town.  I suppose it is that way for landmarks as well.  For example, we never go to Niagara Falls unless someone comes to visit.  But enough of that talk: let's get back to food.

During the winter months, Ted's Hot Dogs offers buy-one-get-one-free hot dog coupons, which I always take great care to cut out and keep in my wallet.   After all, there is a Ted's within a few miles of my office, and you can find one in this area without working too hard.  A trip to Ted's should be a no-brainer, of course.  However.... To my shame, I have had to throw away unused coupons several times this winter and spring without having made a trip to Ted's.   Oh, the horror.  Is there any hope for me?  Maybe it takes an intervention.

A few weeks ago in mid-March, Chris (ayersian) contacted me and told me that he would be driving through Buffalo on his way to Iowa (searching out breaded beef tenderloin sandwiches, among other adventures).  He asked if I would like to meet for a late dinner when he stopped to stay over.  Of course I was delighted, and so my daughter and I met him when he arrived (my wife was under the weather that evening).

First stop: Ted's.  We had some dogs and fries, along with Loganberry juice to drink:



Not shown in that picture are the side orders of chili and cheese for the dogs and fries (along with ketchup for the fries).  The dogs were grilled as usual and were as tasty as ever.

After Ted's, we went next door to Anderson's ice cream, deciding on the soft serve twist and chocolate ice cream:





It was great to spend some time with Chris again.  The food and the company were enjoyable, and it was good to be reminded of what's all around us.  After all, if I can zealously eat Roadfood in Connecticut, there is no reason to miss out on it in Buffalo.

What is great is that this is not the end of the story.  A couple of weeks later, Chris stopped by again on his way back from Iowa.  This time we (all three of us and Chris) went to Duff's for chicken wings.  It was a relatively warm spring Saturday evening, and the place was packed.  We had about a 30-minute wait for a table, but once inside the service was fast and efficient. We ordered the medium wings, which are fairly hot.  Here are a couple of shots of the wings and fries.  "Why fries with chicken wings?" you may ask.  The fries actually provide a pretty good complement to the heat of the wings, not quite as cooling as celery but still a good side dish.





As you can see, the wings from Duff's are coated with sauce and are a bit messy to eat.  We order wings from Mazzia's fairly regularly, and they tend to be a bit drier.  That dryness is not in a bad way, and both places provide excellent wings.

Chris was kind enough to give us a couple of breaded pork tenderloins from his Iowa travels.  I don't know how I had the discipline to wait, but we have just recently taken them out to eat.  Here is a picture of them reheated, cut in half, and waiting to be eaten:



These two BPT's were tasty, crunchy, and filling, and they had suffered nothing from their journey.

Many thanks to Chris for stopping by and visiting with us (and for bringing the BPT's as well).  We enjoyed the time together and regret only that it was a short visit each time.

Nice report, Tarheel.  Those wings look just like I remember them in Beefalo 33 years ago, even down to the bowl.  I wish char/charcoal-grilled hot dogs were common around here...

What?  No pix of the Bearded One?

BT I would never argue with a big bowl o' fries.  And I agree about the quality of the company.  Everything looks amazing!

Great report.  Those hot dog pictures have me ready to check out the opening day for Ocean City's Hot Dog Hut!

Thanks, Don and Nancy

For a place that specializes in wings, Duff's makes some pretty good fries.  They are not so good as the curly fries at Anderson's, but they are crunchy enough and not greasy.  By the end of the evening, all the bowls were pretty empty.  Too bad that my picture of that scene was blurry - I am still working on taking close-ups.

I actually do have a picture of Chris at Anderson's but did not post it for a couple of reasons.  One is that I don't want to beat to death the concept of pictures of RF-er's, although it is nice to know what people look like so that you can  recognize them at a first meeting.  The other reason is that I am in the picture and don't want my image to scare away people who might have gotten an appetite from the food pictures.

ChrisOC


Great report.  Those hot dog pictures have me ready to check out the opening day for Ocean City's Hot Dog Hut!

Thanks, Chris.  I'm looking forward to the day when I can eat outside at Ted's (not too far off) or the other RF places around here.

Excellent report!

I love burnt, charcoal-grilled hot dogs but always have to make them myself.  

Ted's would be welcomed here as well as those great looking wings.  They look meaty!

I guess California chickens are on California diets.

mar52


Excellent report!

I love burnt, charcoal-grilled hot dogs but always have to make them myself.  

Ted's would be welcomed here as well as those great looking wings.  They look meaty!

I guess California chickens are on California diets.

Thanks, Marlene

The dogs at Ted's are well-done but not turned into a lump of coal.  The average doneness is always good: crunchy skin but not so burned that you cannot eat it.  They will cook a dog lightly if you ask, and they will also make one more well-done if you like.  I've found the normal doneness to be very good, particularly with the chili.

I've tried to replicate their dogs at home by using Salon's or Wardynski's, depending on which is on sale (usually both at Memorial Day, July 4, and Labor Day), but can never quite match the experience.  The grill at Ted's is so hot that they can cook the hot dogs in less than 5 minutes, while it takes maybe 15 minutes on a gas or charcoal grill at home.  They are still good at home, but nothing beats the experience at Ted's.

Speaking on being on a diet, I may need to consider one after next week's return trip to Hartford, CT.  Whatever I eat there will no doubt be good, as I have learned this year.

Rob

We ate at Ted's on the Boulevard in Amherst last summer when we went back for my nephew's wedding in Batavia - I was very disappointed that we all got our dogs on stale buns. Kind of crappy after having eaten there for many years when we lived in WNY.

Niagara,
 
That's a bummer.  Good dogs aren't that good with the old, stale buns.  So far I haven't encountered that problem at Ted's, but I will be watching for it.  I would think that in the summer the turnover would be good enough to ensure fresh food.
 
I hope the rest of your trip went better.

C'mon Tarheel - what could be more fun than 3 days in  beautiful downtown Batavia with the in-laws?
 
We did get over to Tom Wahl's in Avon for lunch one day, and we always enjoy breakfast at Tim Horton's. We also took our daughter to dinner at the Anchor Bar for wings & Jenny Cream after we landed in Buffalo.

Whenever we visit the buffalo-niagara area, we stay in transit town(williamsville). it's convenient to the airport, buffalo and the falls. We always make the trip to Ted's on transit rd before we head out for the day . The hot dogs are great and you have to try the loganberry drinks. When I lived in central new york, we would go to the falls every summer for the maid of the mists,etc,and winter for the xmas displays.

When i was a kid, we referred to the Loganberry drink as "bug juice".

Excellent report again BuffaloTarheel!  You are getting to be an old pro at this.  What a great one-two punch Ted's and Anderson's is and so convenient.  And the wings at Duff's look wonderful.

Thanks to all for your kind words.  One of these days I will figure out that "macro" setting on the camera and produce some close-ups that don't leave you all squinting at the fuzziness.
 
About Loganberry, it's one of those drinks that you either like or wonder what the fuss is about (which I guess is try of a lot of foods - no major insight there).  I can take it or leave it and usually have something else.
 

BT-
Since it is something that I can't get at home, I always order the Loganberry when I am at Ted's and Charlie the Butcher's.  If I lived there, I would probably be drinking something else.

buffetbuster


BT-
Since it is something that I can't get at home, I always order the Loganberry when I am at Ted's and Charlie the Butcher's.  If I lived there, I would probably be drinking something else.

That's very true.  At home I don't drink much birch beer, but when in Hartford, CT (where I am now looking forward to an evening at Pepe's with doggdaddy, ayersian, and TnTinCt), I do have the Foxon Park clear birch beer, not just because it is different but that is so good.  Maybe if I lived here I would order something else with pizza (maybe not...)

Buffalo Tarheel is a real RF trooper, holding his own on our epic trip yesterday to Connecticut's Gold Coast.  He reminded me about the beef on weck that I bought at Anderson's last month, so here it is.  I couldn't resist, so I got it to go and ate it for breakfast the next morning!  It came with a little container of horseradish, which was perfect to spice up the tender-as-all-get-out beef.  The weck roll, I noticed, was softer and more pliable than the only other one I've tried (at Charlie the Butcher's).  The only caveat was that there was not a huge surplus of beef piled on it, but this was a fabulous sandwich and one that I'd definitely get again.  Thanks again, Rob!    Chris

Chris,
 
Thanks for posting the roast beef sandwich picture.  I have never had one for breakfast but can see where it would get your day off to a good start. 
 
As far as Wednesday's trip to the Gold Coast, it was a blast, and I hope to write up another trip report (hoping that folks are not tired of reading about the CT places I've been fortunate enough to visit).  All I need to do now is exercise away the approximately 2 million calories I consumed (and am still consuming with Donut Dip donuts at home).
 
Rob

BT, 

Great post!!  Those wings and fries at Duff's look divine!  Sadly, when I visit Central NY, I never get further west than Syracuse.  One of these days...  Love the shots of the dogs and custard.  How far is the drive to Buffalo from Syracuse?

Billyboy,
 
Thank you very much.  I always enjoy your trip reports of NYC and central NY.  One of these days I have to stop at Plainview Farms (I think that's the name) for turkey.  Of course driving after eating turkey might be a bad combination leading to sleepiness.
 
It only takes me two hours to get to Syracuse from my home east of Buffalo.  Depending on where you are coming from and going to, it might add another 30 minutes.  Certainly it's not a long drive, unless it's during lake effect snow.
 
Please let me know whenever you might be heading this way, and I would be glad to show you around.
 

the loganberry shakes are great at teds also.wow tarheel i see no onion rings on that tray.

Starfire62,

Good to hear from another WNY-er.  I have never tried the Loganberry shakes, but I imagine they are very good - the chocolate shakes are certainly good.  Excellent reminder about the onion rings.  It might be a black mark on my roadfood-worthiness, but I actually don't like onion rings.  For that reason I don't think about ordering them, but I know people who like them from Ted's. I'll be sure to let my visitors know about them the next time we go to Ted's.  That reminds me that I have Ted's coupons that expire Sunday - to let them go unused would be another travesty of justice.