New York's 'Buffalo Wing Trail' Is A Tasty Pilgrimage To Historic Pubs In The City That Made Them Famous

From pizza and bagels to pastrami sandwiches and legendary hot dog stands, there's no shortage of food highlights in New York City. The Empire State was also the birthplace of America's favorite chicken wing, first served by Teressa Bellissimo at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo in 1964. Bellissimo, who was clearly a culinary sage, hacked up the wings, deep-fried them, coated them in a vinegary-buttery hot sauce, and added blue cheese dressing and celery to serve. The appropriately named Buffalo wing was officially born, and Americans never looked back.

Buffalo, nestled on the border with Canada in upstate New York, is an underrated city with a gorgeous waterfront and stunning botanical gardens. And 60 years on, it remains the best place on the planet to eat Buffalo wings. The Anchor Bar is still open today and serves wings — up to 2,000 pounds' worth daily — using Bellissimo's secret recipe. Visiting the restaurant is not just an exercise in sentimentality; in 2003, it won a James Beard Award for its timeless appeal and quality food that's inseparable from Buffalo culture.

The Anchor Bar is just one of many Buffalo wing specialists in the city. Restaurants like Wingnutz, which Food and Wine Magazine claims serves the best wings in the country, should also be penciled into your itinerary if you're in the area. But if you want to get a real sense of the history of the wing in this corner of America, embark on the Buffalo Wing Trail, comprising 14 neighborhood pubs in and around Buffalo.

The size of your appetite will determine how many pubs you dine at on the Buffalo Wing Trail. Eleven of them form a loose ring around Buffalo, while three more are found further south in Orchard Park, Hamburg, and Aurora. A good plan of action is to finish up at the Anchor Bar, leaving the best — or certainly the most storied — wings until last.

Elmo's is another favorite, famed for its double-dipped wings, which are fried, dipped in sauce, grilled, then dipped in a second sauce. The restaurant doesn't look like much, located in a characterless mall (on an equally unremarkable highway), but the wings speak for themselves. Even the Buffalo Sabres hockey team used to frequent this joint after practice. Glen Park Tavern is a much more charming pub that has been a Williamsville institution since the late 1800s. The wood-paneled decor evokes those antique years, but the food is fit for a modern palate, with its Sicilian wings draped in Parmesan, garlic, and basil, and a secret ingredient that helps the sauce cling to the crispy skin. 

Nine-Eleven Tavern is a good spot for the purists, specializing in a flavor-packed Buffalo sauce and wings that come in only four styles: hot, medium, mild, and plain. You may need to loosen a few notches on your belt buckle while you're in town, but the Buffalo Wing Trail is a must for foodies and a great way to escape the hustle of New York City.