In the past year since we relocated iLounge’s main editorial location from Southern California to Western New York, I’ve been thrilled to receive occasional comments and e-mails from nearby readers—notes that they’ve seen their home towns on our iPhone map screenshots, and caught the little area references we sometimes slip in to other photos and articles. As much as people enjoy being part of the iLounge community, I take pride in being a part of my local community, too.
Today, after many months of quiet building, I’m ready to share something new with iLounge readers who might be interested in knowing what I’m up to when I’m not covering iPods and iPhones. It’s called Buffalo Chow—an opinionated guide to Western New York’s famous foods, best restaurants, and related topics. Buffalo Chow is a place where fans of Buffalo chicken wings can learn the differences between authentic and wannabe versions, where our local Roast Beef on Kummelweck sandwiches and world-beating, FedEx-able Buffalo-style pizzas get the international exposure they deserve, and where Buffalo’s 100 best foods and restaurants are listed, with cool photography. It’s my personal baby, and not affiliated in any way with iLounge, but I run it with the same strict editorial standards that iLounge has operated under.
I realize that some people aren’t going to care, and that given the broad international scope of iLounge’s coverage, others may wonder why I would spend my time on anything so decidedly local and arguably esoteric. My answer is simple: as nice as it is to focus on products that have become globally important, I truly love living and working in Western New York—this area has a lot to offer its citizens, as well as the rest of the world. Buffalo Chow is my small contribution to making my community better, by pointing out what’s so great about our area’s famous foods and restaurants, and by working to help people around here realize what types of things we’re missing relative to other major cities.
It’s worth a brief note that I’d initially planned to do most if not all of Buffalo Chow’s photography and writing from an iPhone. Once I saw how the pictures were turning out, and concluded that long-form typing isn’t really feasible on the iPhone, I dropped that idea in favor of using a real camera and real keyboard. Hopefully, the next-generation iPhone brings this dream a little closer to reality.
As my lunch break (mmmm… lunch) draws to a close, I invite you to check out the site. Learn a little about Loganberry, Buffalo’s famous char-grilled hot dogs, our sponge candy and pastry hearts, and some of Western New York’s locally produced wines, amongst other topics. If you’re from outside the area, you may even find notes on restaurants, snacks, or drinks that are famous where you live. In any case, I hope you enjoy Buffalo Chow. It will continue to grow and improve over time.
