I Love My City

[TheCADJockey]

The Incredible History of Buffalo, NY in 5 Minutes

Buffalo catches a lot of flak from the media and it is usually from an uniformed, one-sided opinion. I love everything about this city, struggling sports teams and erratic weather included. There is new craft beer, and breweries popping up everywhere and smaller neighborhoods are growing into funky places to spend some time shopping, eating and drinking.

Resurgence Brewing Company

Flying Bison Brewing Company

Lockhouse Distillery

What do you love about your city and if anyone was to visit, is there anything they absolutely must see or do?

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I love my city because none of you would come here to visit.

 

[soccerdad]

Buffalo is only a good place if:
- you like hunting and fishing
- you appreciate bars open late at night (or to the early morning)
- understand the Canadian Ballet across the river
- appreciate the overall majesty of the river
- appreciate quality post secondary education options
- long for serious traffic jams
- like the distinct 4 seasons
- appreciate diversity in religion, ethnicity and race
- like getting in and out of downtown with ease
- appreciate riding your bike to another country
- genuinely like many people from that country

otherwise it kinda sucks

 

[Homercidal]

I like my city because it's NOT a city!

I think they are great places to visit on occasion. Grand Rapids is the nearest real city to me. It's great. Too many breweries and taphouses to count. Great sports culture (Red Wings AHL affiliate!)

Good place to spend a day and then go back home to (relative) peace and quiet. In fact, I should have thought it out better when I was young and bought a house OUTSIDE my small town's limits!

 

[Natdavis777]

I like my city because it's NOT a city!

I think they are great places to visit on occasion. Grand Rapids is the nearest real city to me. It's great. Too many breweries and taphouses to count. Great sports culture (Red Wings AHL affiliate!)

Good place to spend a day and then go back home to (relative) peace and quiet. In fact, I should have thought it out better when I was young and bought a house OUTSIDE my small town's limits!

Grand Rapids is awesome! My buddy and I went to the NHC this past year and I absolutely loved the city (except they didnt have Uber yet). Our hotel was just outside the city so we taxi'd in and out every day but once you were in town everything was in reasonable walking distance and the atmosphere was great.

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I'm not a fan of any city. Oh it's nice that cities exist, they do have a lot of things you just don't find outside the city, but when it's time to go home, I want to go home to peace & quiet. I really hate having to live in town; but I'm working on it.
Regards, GF.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I'm not a fan of any city. Oh it's nice that cities exist, they do have a lot of things you just don't find outside the city, but when it's time to go home, I want to go home to peace & quiet. I really hate having to live in town; but I'm working on it.
Regards, GF.

I grew up in the sticks and moved to Buffalo for college and never left. It just makes too much sense for me right now to be here right now and business is crazy. Maybe when I have kids I'll take a step back and settle back down with some property and no neighbors.

The Ghosts of Brewing Past - “In 1908, Buffalo’s brewers alone made so much beer that if Niagara Falls flowed with beer instead of water, it would take over one minute and 18 seconds to flow over. In that same year Buffalonians drank almost all of the 31 million gallons of beer produced here. What that boils down to is 22 gallons of beer for every man, woman and child in the area. All this beer came out of 25 local breweries scattered across the city.”

 

[Homercidal]

I grew up in the sticks and moved to Buffalo for college and never left. It just makes too much sense for me right now to be here right now and business is crazy. Maybe when I have kids I'll take a step back and settle back down with some property and no neighbors.

The Ghosts of Brewing Past - “In 1908, Buffalo’s brewers alone made so much beer that if Niagara Falls flowed with beer instead of water, it would take over one minute and 18 seconds to flow over. In that same year Buffalonians drank almost all of the 31 million gallons of beer produced here. What that boils down to is 22 gallons of beer for every man, woman and child in the area. All this beer came out of 25 local breweries scattered across the city.”

So, thank you Buffalo for helping inspire prohibition!

Actually, that only comes out to 4 and a half 5-gallon kegs each year. Take the kids out of the equation and it's like 8 kegs per year. Not too bad. Except we all know that it's a small percentage of people actually drinking all of that beer.

What a bunch of drunks!

 

[TheCADJockey]

So, thank you Buffalo for helping inspire prohibition!

Actually, that only comes out to 4 and a half 5-gallon kegs each year. Take the kids out of the equation and it's like 8 kegs per year. Not too bad. Except we all know that it's a small percentage of people actually drinking all of that beer.

What a bunch of drunks!

It ended up being kind of a sad read. It is the only thing I find upsetting around here, all the amazing buildings that have, or are slated to be reduced to rubble. There is so much history getting torn down, but at least we are rebuilding. I wish I had the means and experience to open a brewpub around here.

I did take a drive by one of my favorite neighborhood buildings on Monday though. Love this place.

Connecticut Street Armory

 

[mtnagel]

I grew up in Buffalo and still have lots of family there. I left in 1999 after graduating college to get a job. I do like seeing all the new breweries there. We went to Resurgance when we were there over the summer and we went to Old First Ward over xmas. We also went to Blue Monk, Moor Pat and Crabapples, which all have a great selection. Despite all that, it would take a lot to get me to move back.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I am ashamed of myself for having not visited Blue Monk yet. Every time I've gone, there is a line out the door. Their menu looks drooly... I will make it there some day.

Blue Monk - Look at that tap list...

 

[mtnagel]

As for what I love about my current city, Cincinnati, there is a lot.

I love the resurgence it's experiencing in the last 5 years or so. So many new breweries, bars and restaurants opening up.
I love the homebrew and craft brew scene here. I've made a bunch of friends in the last few years because of it.
I love that we have a few major sports teams, museums and theatres.
I love that we are within a 30 minute drive to 2 other states, which means I can get beers we can't get in Ohio in a short drive.
I love that we are a less than 2 hour drive to 5 other major cities that all have great things about them (Dayton, Indy, Columbus, Lexington and Louisville).
I'm sure there is other stuff that I'm forgetting.

 

[mtnagel]

I am ashamed of myself for having not visited Blue Monk yet. Every time I've gone, there is a line out the door. Their menu looks drooly... I will make it there some day.

Blue Monk - Look at that tap list...

WTH?? Never been a line for us. But we haven't gone for a special tap release. We were there on January first and we closed the place down trying to watch the end of the Bama/Ohio state game. No one cared but us and the bouncer (and I wasn't rooting for OSU). Anyway, there is always something great on the draft list and they always have special bottles. I'm sad we missed the BCBS release, but we left the day before.

But seriously. You need to go. Like today.

And that tap list is way out of date. They update their facebook page more often. This is what you could have today:

1) Perennial Abraxas
2) Firestone Walker XVIII
3) Dogfish Head 120 Minute
4) Ballast Point Grunion Pale
5) Jacks Abby TrIPL (triple India Aple Lager)
6) Dogfish Head World Wide Stout 2012
7) Ommegang/Boulevard Spiced Saison
& more

 

[bobeer]

I have a lot of gripes with where I live but if you do choose to come visit we have several things you can do no matter what you're into.

If you dig the city go to DC. There's tons of museums, music, sports, memorials, etc. Balitmore is only about 45 mins away if there's no traffic. There you can see the national aquarium or see an O's game at a historical ball park.

If the city aint for you, as it aint for me, you can go west to Shenandoah National Park and drive on Skyline drive to see the Blue Ridge and/or the nation forest. There's a ton of small towns around that have shopping and good places to eat. There's also a few caverns you can tour as well.
You can go down to Occoquan, the town for shopping/eating, or the waterfront for sailing, tubing, etc. There's also places to go tubing on the Shenandoah river in the summer too.

Locally where I am there's a lot of shopping, bars, breweries, vineyards--lots of vineyards, small towns to check out, lots of hiking, fishing, camping, etc... You just have be willing to deal with huge crowds. Esp in the summer.

EDIT: Guess I"ll list the breweries since this IS a beer forum...
Victory is coming to Leesburg.
Crooked Run
Leesburg Brewing Company
Corcoran Brewing Company-- Also a Vineyard
Roger Knoell’s Barnhouse Brewery sells beers from his back yard one weekend a month
Adroit Theory
Old Ox Brewery
Lost Rhino
Old 690 Brewing
Portner Brewing in Alexandria
Port City in Alexandria
Prince William Brewing in Gainesville
Old Busthead
BadWolf Brewing in Manassas
Heritage Brewing in Manassas- right across the street from Badwolf
Sweetwater brewpubs-- there's 3 of them spread around the area. Excellent food- my go to eat out place.
Stone is opening in Richmond and Green Flash is opening in VA Beach.
I'm sure there's a few I forgot but yeah, we got breweries. Most of there are within an hour or so radius from each other.

In the winter there's several ski resorts that are within a day trip distance you can hit up. There's also ice skating, Ice sculpture tours at the national harbor not to mention gambling now that the laws changed in MD.

The beach is a few hours away too in the summer or even winter. The DE beaches are the closest to where I am but VA beach is 4 hours away too. In the winter the places are dead so it's a better time imo but in the summer VA beach is fun with outdoor concerts on the beach.

All-in-all it's not a bad place to live as long as you can afford the insane cost of living and the huge crowds and crazy traffic. I'm from here, which these days is rare to find a native, so these 3 drawbacks totally kill it for me but if you're visiting you can deal with it for a few days.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

Great idea for a thread CAD

Columbia isn't a huge tourist attraction, but it is a budding beer city.
Breweries:
1) Conquest Brewing Company
2) River Rat Brewing Company
3) Swamp Cabbage Brewing Company (Chocolate Brown is OUTSTANDING)

Old Mill Brewpub in Lexington is worth the trip too IMHO. There's also the Hunter Gatherer, and Krafty Draft (can't attest to their quality) in the area.

If you have the choice to come in the summer, don't come in the summer. Columbia's motto is "Famously Hot" for a damn good reason.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Great idea for a thread CAD

Columbia isn't a huge tourist attraction, but it is a budding beer city.
Breweries:
1) Conquest Brewing Company
2) River Rat Brewing Company
3) Swamp Cabbage Brewing Company (Chocolate Brown is OUTSTANDING)

Old Mill Brewpub in Lexington is worth the trip too IMHO. There's also the Hunter Gatherer, and Krafty Draft (can't attest to their quality) in the area.

If you have the choice to come in the summer, don't come in the summer. Columbia's motto is "Famously Hot" for a damn good reason.

It is pretty exciting, regardless what people think of where they live, that it seems the craft beer culture is booming everywhere. I'm not sure however, how I feel about the name Swamp Cabbage Brewing Co. Just sounds blech :cross:

I'll put this place on the back end of my list of go-to's then, I don't do hot hehe.

 

[hoppyhoppyhippo]

I miss my old "city" I say it in parenthesis cause New Brunswick is very small. But I loved it. I miss it. Had some awesome restaurants, a cool brew pub. And what I loved the most about it, was I could easily get away from it if I wanted to and go to a different city or town. I wish I could have instead of moving to NH moved more in town, but I didn't have the cash or an immediate roommate. Someday I'll probably go back.

 

[Cheesy_Goodness]

It is pretty exciting, regardless what people think of where they live, that it seems the craft beer culture is booming everywhere. I'm not sure however, how I feel about the name Swamp Cabbage Brewing Co. Just sounds blech :cross:

I'll put this place on the back end of my list of go-to's then, I don't do hot hehe.

During the Fall and Spring months it's absolutely beautiful (but allergies can be a bitch). I'm sure there are hotter places in the south during the summer but that won't stop me from complaining

Fun fact: The SC state tree is a Palmetto tree, and a new plant looks fairly similar to a cabbage. Somewhere along the line the term "Swamp Cabbage" became a regional thing and that's where the name came from.

 

[TheCADJockey]

Just found this and got a kick out of it... thought a few others would as well.

@supervisingchildren

 

[passedpawn]

Too cold. Sorry. No can do.

 

[1977Brewer]

I genuinely love my town. I was born and raised there, it's still small enough that I feel like I know almost everyone, and we're turning the corner on a culinary revolution that has me excited to live there, finally. We didn't get alcohol in restaurants until 2000 and didn't get liquor and beer stores until 2008.

 

[TheCADJockey]

I genuinely love my town. I was born and raised there, it's still small enough that I feel like I know almost everyone, and we're turning the corner on a culinary revolution that has me excited to live there, finally. We didn't get alcohol in restaurants until 2000 and didn't get liquor and beer stores until 2008.

Wow.

I just read today that a restaurant in the small town I grew up in is opening a small brewery. First one in the town. Excited to see what pans out.

 

[soccerdad]

What small town?

the small town I grew up in is opening a small brewery

 

[TheCADJockey]

What small town?

Warsaw, NY

 

[soccerdad]

No $hit ! We spent many weekends in Warsaw at a little cabin with no water or electric and a small pond by the cabin. It was probably a 15 acre track where we could engage in all forms of debauchery with no real harm since we would arrive sober, park the cars, and not leave until we were sober.

 

[TheCADJockey]

No $hit ! We spent many weekends in Warsaw at a little cabin with no water or electric and a small pond by the cabin. It was probably a 15 acre track where we could engage in all forms of debauchery with no real harm since we would arrive sober, park the cars, and not leave until we were sober.

Haha that's awesome man! I wonder where that was. I grew up there, and thought I hated it. Always complained I was bored and there was nothing to do, not realizing that being able to escape into the woods for a day was more than I needed. It's an amazing place to grow up.

 

[soccerdad]

The best I can tell - looking at a map 40 years later - it might have been off Burns Rd between 20A and Oatka

 

[SupervisingChildren]

My fiancee's parents live in Attica, and I've driven into Warsaw plenty of times on my way to fishing the east koy. The misses and I always loved seeing the giant red brick mansion on 20a before getting into town, and always talked about how it would be awesome to own it.
I love Buffalo since people tend to take care of each other here. Like when we get a blizzard, people help their neighbors dig out. Also, the architecture is cool, and then factor in beer and it's even better.

 

[b-boy]

I am ashamed of myself for having not visited Blue Monk yet. Every time I've gone, there is a line out the door. Their menu looks drooly... I will make it there some day.

Blue Monk - Look at that tap list...

You have to get to Blue Monk! Best beer selection in the city IMHO. The Duck Fries and mussels are fantastic.

Also, Schnitzel and Company in my neck of the woods (Getzville) has a decent German beer selection. That's my new hangout. I can't pronounce a single beer on the list, but I just point. the food is amazing.

They also have Brew Crew night the 3rd Monday of every month. For $30 you get food and 5 pints of whatever they are reviewing that month. They always have a theme, and a speaker. The food is great, and the beer is better.

 

[soccerdad]

First stream trout i ever caught was in the east koy