Buffalo, NY has its fair share of iconic culinary fare, especially for a small city! While you could visit various restaurants and bars throughout the city to taste every staple food Buffalo is known for, Sahlen Field offers the best of Buffalo dishes under one roof. The home of the Buffalo Bisons minor league baseball team offers several dining options inside, ranging from vendors around the stadium to the Consumer’s Pub at the Park mezzanine lounge.
Famous Buffalo Foods to Try at Sahlen Field
Some of the best food in Buffalo traces its roots to the city’s Polish, Italian and German immigrant influences. Even Buffalo’s neighbors to the north in Canada played a role in some of the most popular specialties in the region. Enjoy high-energy sports events all while getting an authentic taste of Buffalo with a visit to Sahlen Field!
Chicken Wings
Perhaps the most recognizable Buffalo staple dish is the chicken wing. This dish was created back in the 1960s when chicken wings were considered undesirable and disposable. Though there are disputes about who in the city first invented the Buffalo wing as it is known today, this classic restaurant feature can be found on menus around the world in a variety of flavors. However, wing lovers have to try authentic Buffalo wings, which are unbreaded drummettes or flats deep-fried and tossed in Buffalo sauce and melted butter. Don’t forget the side of the blue cheese for dipping!
Beef on Weck
Aside from wings, beef on weck is one of the most famous Buffalo foods. This sandwich is made with rare, thin-cut roast beef piled high on a kummelweck roll with horseradish and a side of au jus for dipping. The beef on weck is said to have been created roughly a century before the chicken wing after a German baker created the kummelweck roll, which is characterized by kosher salt and carraway seeds sprinkled on top. Pub owners eventually took the roll to create the beef on weck with the idea that the salty bun would encourage patrons to buy more drinks. Today, this sandwich remains a Buffalo favorite and is known outside the region as well.
Buffalo-Style Pizza
Visitors to Buffalo might not notice anything unique about Buffalo-style pizza at first glance. However, there are a few signature details that make Buffalo pizza all its own. Depending on who you ask, Buffalo-style pizza is sometimes described as a blend of either Detroit-style or Chicago-style pizza with NY slice influences. Local pizzerias use a thick crust to achieve a crunchy exterior and chewy middle, a sweeter tomato sauce, a massive helping of cheese and Cup & Char pepperoni. La Nova pizza, one of Buffalo’s most well-known slices, is available at concessions.
Pizza Logs
Though Buffalo isn’t home to pizza, it is home to the pizza log. Since its inception back in the early 1990s just north of Buffalo in historic Niagara Falls, the pizza log has become a classic finger food choice at Bisons games, bars and more. The original pizza log is essentially an eggroll filled with gloriously gooey mozzarella cheese, classic pizza sauce and pepperoni. Concessions sell this local snack throughout the stadium.
Sahlen’s Smokehouse Hot Dog
Baseball and hot dogs go together like summer and sunshine. Sahlen Field gets its namesake from the fifth-generation family-owned Sahlen’s Packing Co. Going as far back as the late 1860s, Sahlen’s has been producing hot dogs, Polish and Italian sausages, and deli meats. You’ll find both Polish and Italian sausages served up in the Pub at the Park buffet as well as traditional dogs available in main stadium concessions.
Pierogis
Pierogies might not be the first dish that comes to mind when you think of baseball. However, they’re beloved at Sahlen Field. As a nod to the city’s strong Polish ties, the Pub at the Park and vendor concessions serve up an array of these delicious dumplings filled with ingredients like potato, cheese and ground meat.
Loganberry
Unless you’re a Western New York native, you’re probably unfamiliar with loganberry. This sweet, deep purple drink comes as the result of an accidental crossbreeding of blackberries and raspberries. Once a popular beverage across the border at Crystal Beach Amusement Park in Crystal Beach, Ontario, Buffalo co-opted the drink just before the 1950s. Loganberry is commonly served as a standalone beverage or as a featured flavor at local breweries. Keep an eye out at Pub at the Park and other brewery vendors for loganberry-flavored ciders or sour beers to try something new.
Visit Consumer’s Pub at the Park
Open two hours before the first pitch, Consumer’s Pub at the Park offers diners an all-you-can-eat buffet with a rotating selection all season long. There’s also a full tap lineup of some of Buffalo’s best local craft beers to try. Guests can find the Pub at the Park on the mezzanine level of the first base side of the ballpark. Enter the stadium via the Washington St. entrance or from inside the stadium near Section 112 and take the elevator or stairs to reach the mezzanine. Call to make a reservation today!