Buzz Blog

Remember Oscar Torres?

He was the young man from Brooklyn who works for the Federal Reserve Bank and was sent to Buffalo for a month or so, thus missing Hurricane Sandy. And he was dining every night in the Hyatt lounge, hanging out with Jackie Jocko, going to the Philharmonic, making friends.

Here is the link again in case you have forgotten.

Oscar has not forgotten us.

Jocko said Oscar called him!

"He was crying," Jocko said. "He misses Buffalo so much."

We are not sure if Oscar was exactly crying. Jocko can be, shall we say, dramatic in his speech. But we do take this to mean that Oscar does yearn for Buffalo and the life he had here.

Oscar, Buffalo misses you too! And don't forget, you can always move here.

"I think he will," Jocko said.

There's a special feeling nothing in the world can buy... When they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie! ... Buzz wrote that on Facebook, reporting on our breakfast.

Pumpkin pie and coffee is the greatest breakfast!

Then, to my delight, other suggestions came pouring in.

"Mashed potatoes fried in the pan," wrote one gentleman.

"Whipped cream in the coffee. Why should the pie have all the fun?"

"And a tiny shaved-off slice of chocolate cream pie too."

Let the feasting begin.

We have not yet begun to eat!

Buzz went last night to Iris, on Maple Road in Amherst, to see the jazz singer Mary Stahl. That is Mary pictured above with her pianist, Jim Calabrese, in a News file photo we love.

The musicians were great. But the restaurant's menu was equally entertaining.

It is the most eggheaded menu we have ever seen!

There is a burger called Beowulf. It is a bacon cheeseburger identified with a quote: "The squealing beast hath been slain."

Another burger is the John Steinbeck. "No mice, no men. Only beef, I promise."

The "signature burger" topped with nacho cheese and jalapenos is called the Inigo Montoya. That one has the best quote: "You killed my father, now prepare my meal." Darned if we know what that quote means, but it is certainly dramatic.

Alas, this bodes ill for the economy.

There must be English majors back there flipping burgers!

You know the Canada goose.

Now meet the Canada turkey!

A buddy went to the Niagara Falls Walmart the other day to choose a cheap turkey. She could not help noticing that gathered around the display of bargain turkeys were customers with carts piled high with them. We are talking dozens of big, slippery turkeys! Unlike Tops and Wegmans, Walmart placed no limit on turkey purchases.

Our friend, who is holding a small gathering, searched high and low until she found just the right turkey to suit her needs. She set it aside and, as she did so, spoke up, Buffalo style, to the other shoppers.

"This is my turkey," she laughed. "I'm just going to run and get a cart."

When she got back two minutes later, her turkey was gone. It was in a cart with a dozen other turkeys! The owner of the cart was standing over it, hostile. He would not give it back.

It is a turkey-eat-turkey world out there!

Our friend says she learned that the turkey-gobbling shoppers were from Canada and they were buying the bargain birds to resell them up there.

It must be some law of nature.

The geese fly south.

The turkeys fly north!

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, and it is the light of the refrigerator, stocked with goodies for the holidays ahead.

You know Thanksgiving is upon us when the diet police come calling!

Best Fitness, with branches in Tonawanda and Buffalo, is the latest voice crying in the wilderness, telling us we can all expect to gain between one and two pounds this season.

One or two pounds? That's all? Best Fitness read our mind. "Even though this doesn't sound like a lot, the subjects did not lose the weight," they write, citing a ponderous study.

The bitterly competitive battle is now on for Most Useless Holiday Diet Tip. Looking over Best Fitness' list, we nominate:

"When you are at parties, pick up a small plate and fill it up with veggies and fruit."

All we hear is: "Pick up a small plate...." You can fit a lot on one small plate!

And: "Eat small low-calorie meals throughout the day."

All Buzz hears is: "Eat .... throughout the day."

Watch it, holiday diet police.

Watch what you tell us!

True-to-life shot of Buzz's dining room, illustrating the hazards of this time of year...

The collapse of Hostess has emboldened other makers of sugary treats.

They are becoming more aggressive!

Buzz found an several-inch-high pile of coupons for Dunkin Donuts at, of all places, the Buffalo Athletic Club. Huge sheets of coupons, for all kinds of treats. They were  front and center, too. At the counter where you sign in. This was at the BAC For Women, on Colvin in Tonawanda.

"Doughnut coupons at the gym!" we marveled.

The attendant just laughed. (Ho-ho.... ho!)

Those doughnut makers are becoming brazen!

By the way the Donut Queen above comes from Mom's Basement, a site with all kinds of vintage ads.

Have another ...

...and another.

Seen, and admired, at Tokyo II, the Japanese restaurant on Delaware at Linden:

The cat is about a foot high. It sits by the koi pond when you walk in. And the reason the arm is blurry is that it waves at you.

Note the cleaning supplies in the background. This is one of those places where they have been known to sweep through on aggressive and stinky cleaning crusades while you are still eating your sushi.

Buzz doesn't care for the smell of the cleanser. But on the other hand there is that classic cat.

That, and they let you re-use your 10 percent off coupon.

We'll be back!

We tend to take our treasures for granted here in Buffalo. We do not realize how impressive they look in a new light!

Take the picture up above! It is of the boogie pianist Annie Philippone, sitting at the upright piano, with pianist Jackie Jocko on the right in the foreground. It looks like a painting by Charles Burchfield! You look at it and think: That is the hippest place in the world and how do I get there?

One woman wrote as much on Facebook, where the picture was posted.

"Where is this joint?" she asked.

And of course it is Nietzsche's, 248 Allen St.

Nothing touristy about it, just been there forever, growing like moss, organically over time. Right in our own back yard.

Lucky us!

Spotted, and appreciated, at Airport Plaza...

Is that appetizing or what?

When was the last time you saw that sign?

We will now step back and show it in context...

Buzz has not dined there but we will make it a point to in the near future. That Reuben must be tried.

And, of course, the Zywiec!