Where did you get that shirt?!?! I live in Chicago now and people out here have no clue where Buffalo is. When I tell them I went to school there they just look at me with a blank stare.
Where did you get that shirt?!?! I live in Chicago now and people out here have no clue where Buffalo is. When I tell them I went to school there they just look at me with a blank stare.
Really? I always thought that people from Chicago had at least an average intelligence, I guess I was wrong.
French-dipped sandwiches were popular long ago, but there isn't a 'craze' going on here in LosAngeles because there are only a few restaurants still offering it. Most people don't know what french-dipped it is. In that respect it is similar to the beef-on-weck sandwich: it's nostalgia.
I hope readers will disagree with me and prove me wrong, but Buffalo doesn't have a cuisine. Street food vendors are usually a source of creativity, but Buffalo doesn't have a real street food contingent. Immigrants are a vital source of new food introductions, but Buffalo has few immigrants compared to other areas of the country. The only established restaurants that have carved a niche as uniquely Buffalo are the Anchor Bar and Anderson's.
Where is Buffalo is more a state of mind than an issue of geography and Buffalo has been wrestling with that identity for decades.
I agree with Eric's characterization of Buffalo as an economically challenged impoverished city (except for a few parts of it), but I'm not sure whether it produces an unusually stronger than average work ethic.
"It's a culmination of an economically challenged impoverished city that produces a strong work ethic, which transcends into a lifestyle."
If Buffalo truly had a stronger work ethic than most places, wouldn't that result in a lot more companies choosing to create jobs here? Why wouldn't it? All other things being equal, one would expect business when deciding where to create jobs would be very attracted to an area that's unusually hard working.
Or are the disadvantages to doing business here even stronger than the strong work ethic? I suppose that's possible.
Personally I don't see the need for "high end" cuisine.
I lived in Asheville, North Carolina. Where everything had a high end angle. People were very easily annoyed with it. I think people forget that a majority of the country is middle class, and when it comes to food. They just want good food. Which we have in Buffalo. We have the chicken fingers, wings, beef on wick, Buffalo pizza, Salen's hot dogs, and many more.
Isn't that enough? I mean we must be doing something right when there is a Buffalo foods website, where those who've left or visited buffalo can order some of their favorite products.
I think we a fantastic city, and need to play up all the wonderful titles we have. We have one of the safest towns in America right in the area, we were voted one of the nicest cities, one of the cleanest, and an all around "american" city.
Maybe we should complaining about the bad aspects of Buffalo, and finally shift into fixing those problems.
I totally agree with griffin. High end cuisine doesn't have any reflection of culture of place specificity. They just follow national trends and attitudes about food irrespective of place. They can try and blend local flavor into their dishes but in the end you are still yearning for more.
the fact that we have so many corner bars and restaurants is one of the reasons I like Buffalo. You have plenty of options to go for food where an individual cooks food they like as best as they can and think that the culture of Buffalo comes through much more. Whether you go to places like Niagara cafe, CPG's, The Dalmation, Casey's Tavern Gabriel's Gate, or Anchor bar you are always a welcomed guest and good company for those around you.
In my experience with Buffalo workers, I find them to be relatively unmotivated and distrusting of corporations and management. This seems to be a pervasive culture, probably ingrained from the "blue collar heritage" and collective bargaining culture that seems to be pervasive in this area. I find workers in other areas of the country to be more eager to learn, grow, and advance in their careers; they tend to go beyond expectations set by management for their own advancement. I am not sure if the perceived sense of complacency and mediocrity is a result of collectivism or lack of other opportunities, but it is an integral part of the Buffalo culture. I find it very difficult to find good employees in Buffalo, they don't seem to have the drive and determination that other workers have. I find that they generally distrust corporations and management, they don't handle change very well no matter how positive it may be for them.
On the other side of the coin, I find that managers from the Buffalo area do not trust their employees, there is a sense of distrust on their side as well. The feeling that employees are always trying to get something over on the management seems pervasive among managers that I work with and speak to. I am sure that this is a chicken and egg argument, but that doesn't make the perception any less real.
I also find a general distrust and reluctance to use and integrate new technologies, despite the importance that it plays in the future of Buffalo. We are behind other citieis in terms of technical education and savvy, just look at the Information Technology groups, and other professional groups, as examples of where our priorities are.
The collective malaise and lack of esteem is as pervasive in the workforce as im other areas of the area's culture. I am not sure that this is something that is going to be fixed if we continue to focus on our 'blue collar heritage', a heritage of collective bargaining where tenure supercedes ability and motivation. If we shift focus to individual contribution, motivation, and innovation, then we might just stand a chance.
PaulBuffalo, seriously? I'm surprised you would think that Buffalo doesn't have a "cuisine". Anderson's and the Anchor Bar are the stereotypical Buffalo restaurants; places that people who don't know the area go to because they don't know of anywhere else. But there are places on almost every corner that have typical Buffalo food unique to Buffalo--just try to get a decent pizza anywhere else in the country & you'll know what I mean. Even friends who live as close as Syracuse whine about the terrible excuses for pizza out there. Not to mention the fact that there are so many products popular in this area that you simply cannot get anywhere else. Any of our friends visiting from out of town are sure to be shown the many treats available only here, and they're always impressed and surprised: loganberry, weber's mustard, sponge candy, Frank's, Salen's, chicken finger subs, and of course beef on weck, pizza and wings. I know there's more but that's what comes to mind right now (I hear Frank's distribution has expanded, so you might be able to get that elsewhere now). Other than pizza & wings, etc. we do have plenty of ethnic restaurants throughout the city and the suburbs (vietnamese, thai, italian, indian, mexican, sushi, greek, mediterranean...), but like griffen said there is undeniably a middle-class, comfort food style that Buffalo does perfectly--that not many other places do.
LightoftheMoon, I was glad to read your comments. Cuisine is simply the style or method of cooking characteristic to a particular region -- there's nothing 'high end' about that -- and I think Buffalo had that long ago before the age of fast food and chain restaurants. Buffalo used to be a true melting pot but it has become more homogenized.
No offense, but Buffalo has bland pizza. Thin slices, non-packaged dough, fresh mozzarella, fresh herbs, non-canned sauce and a wood or coal burning oven are the signs of real pizza and there are very few places in the country outside of NYC that do pizza well. (I'm still trying to find a decent slice here in LA.)
The ethnic cuisines you mentioned above (Vietnamese, Thai, Italian, Indian, Mexican, Sushi, Greek, Mediterranean) are identified by the flavors and methods unique to their regions. Local Buffalo restaurants have to use local ingredients in order to create a true Buffalo cuisine. Chicken wings and beef-on-weck are culinary knockouts but, Buffalo, what have you done for us lately?
Umwelt - Your comment agrees with my impression of the reputation this area's work force has, fairly or unfairly - as antagonistic to business and profit-seeking.
I'm curious to what you're referring when you wrote "just look at the Information Technology groups, and other professional groups, as examples of where our priorities are"? That part of what you wrote lost me.
I was distracted when I wrote that, sorry if it went astray.
To clarify and summarize my previous post, it is my impression and experience that the Buffalo workforce lags behind other areas in terms of motivation, trust, self-direction, determination, and drive. Workers exhibit a collective sense of entitlement (I am owed this job), coupled with a general lack of trust (the management is out to screw me), a lack of motivation (no good deed goes unpunished or if you do more they'll expect more), and general malaise. In general, workers seem to be focused on doing the minimal amount of work while biding their time to retirement. I have several workers in the 20s who have told me that their career aspiration is to stay employed long enough to retire.
In other areas of the country that I have worked as employee, manager, and business owner; I have found a much higher sense of drive and motivation from employees. When asking a 20 something employee in DC about his/her career aspirations; I would typically hear ideas of being a business leader, entrepreneur, C-level executive. I rarely find employees with these aspirations in Buffalo. Entrepreneurship in DC is creating a Global Business, in Buffalo it seems to be opening a hot dog cart or t-shirt shop.
I belonged to several professional organizations in the DC and Raleigh areas, they would routinely bring in industry experts for presentations, discuss new technologies and offer opportunities for professional development. Meetings that I have attended in Buffalo could be summed up as mediocre networking sessions, with a board member as the presenter of the month. The only industry experts are those who are looking to sell something to the crowd while they expand their list of industry leads.
This is a difficult area to do business in, the taxes and utilities are higher than other areas of the country. The workforce is unskilled and somewhat untrainable, etc. etc. etc. It has all been said before, if you want to change the perception of the area, then it starts with the people who live here. I have an opening for a Senior Manager in my company, but I have decided to limit the search to candidates from outside the WNY area. I haven't found anyone qualified and suitable to fill the role in the six months since it was posted. The good news is that this will probably bring one more family to WNY, but the bad news is that they may not want to live here.
Umwelt - Thanks for clarifying. Both of your comments make very good points.
Report this