48 Hours in LGBT Buffalo
Heading to Buffalo for the weekend, eh? Smart move! Regardless of the main purpose of your trip—business, pleasure, friends, family—be sure to allot some time to see the town, and prepare to be pleasantly surprised by how much the area has to offer lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgendered visitors.
Before Your Trip Begins
While there’s something — more likely several somethings — going on just about every weekend of the year, the specifics change constantly and are often hard to predict, so the best way to find out what’s going on while you’re here is to do some advance work online. The website for Outcome, the area’s gay newspaper, contains entertainment listings, while the site BuffaloGayBars is a handy guide to local nightlife. You’ll learn about even more upcoming events among the posts on the general-interest website Buffalo Rising, and if you want to do some in-depth research into dining options, try the interactive reviews at Bill Rapaport’s Buffalo Restaurant Guide.
Friday Night
If you’re looking for live entertainment, grab a copy of Artvoice, which comes out every Thursday, and Gusto, the entertainment supplement found in Friday’s Buffalo News when you first hit town. Both of these should prove very easy to track down no matter what neighborhood you’re in. While you’re browsing, you might note that ticket prices for concerts, plays, sporting events, and most other activities tend to be significantly lower here than in larger cities, and there’s certainly no shortage of options.
For your first meal in a town rich with quality restaurants at every point on the economic scale, we’re going to recommend you spend Friday the way generations of Buffalonians have spent it: at one of the city’s seemingly infinite fish fries. A legacy of Buffalo’s Catholic roots, this tradition extends year-round (and if your trip happens to fall during Lent, expect a hefty wait for a table at the more popular establishments). You can partake of this meal in a working-class hole-in-the-wall or a swank upscale bistro, but for the purposes of today’s demonstration we’re sending you to Hamlin House (432 Franklin) for several reasons: the food is good, the building dates back to 1865, it’s in the heart of the Allentown neighborhood, and odds are excellent your gaydar is going to go off over and over as you look around the room. It’s friendly, it’s unpretentious, it’s classic Buffalo.
After dinner—depending on what you’ve learned—you might trek up to the Albright-Knox (1285 Elmwood Ave., 716-882-8700) for their “M&T First Fridays at the Gallery” series, featuring an always-engaging mix of performances, films, guided tours, DJs, and all manner of other fun. Or stay downtown and catch the latest show from Buffalo United Artists, which since 1992 has produced both classics of gay theater and new works by gay and lesbian playwrights), or any of more than a dozen other professional theaters in the area. While in the Theater District, show-tune queens will want to seek out Michael Bennett Lane, named for the Buffalo-born creator of Dreamgirls and A Chorus Line, for a photo op. (It’s a tiny little passageway on the east side of Main Street between the Town Ballroom and the Market Arcade.) If you’re really into the bar scene, you can get a head start with a visit to Club Marcella, but there’ll be plenty of time for that tomorrow night.
Saturday
Enjoy a healthy and delicious breakfast at Betty’s (370 Virginia St.), a smallish but very lively café just off Elmwood boasting an extensive vegetarian menu (along with plenty of treats for carnivores) and rotating exhibitions by local artists. (This spot is even more popular for Sunday brunch, but we’ve got other plans for you tomorrow.) You’ll be fairly near Babeville (341 Delaware Ave.), Ani DiFranco’s newly opened multi-million-dollar concert venue, notable for its visual elegance and dazzling acoustics, so if you’re not planning to see a show there during the weekend, you can still get a good sense of the place. While you’re there, be sure to check out the latest exhibition at Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center in the rear of the building. It’s one of the longest-lasting artist-run organizations in the country, and its dedication to LGBT programming (visual art, film, video, music, and literature) dates back to the mid-80s.
In the afternoon, take a walking tour to enjoy the many treasures of downtown (seeking out such landmarks as City Hall, Louis Sullivan’s Guaranty Building, and the Ellicott Square Building), the mansions along Delaware Avenue’s “Millionaire’s Row,” or the slightly more humble but equally impressive residences of Allentown. For an excellent self-guided tour, click here.
If you really want to experience the full range of what Buffalo has to offer, splurge and make a dinner reservation for Rue FranklinThe New York Times and Esquire suggest. If you come in the summer, don’t miss the breathtaking courtyard. (341 Franklin St.). “The Rue,” as it’s nicknamed, is just past Allentown at the edge of downtown and the Theater District. This upscale French restaurant was on the cutting edge of Buffalo’s now-thriving fine dining scene when it first opened over twenty years ago, and it’s still at the very top of the list, as glowing reviews in
In the evening, try a concert, since live music is one of the things this city does best. Depending on your taste, that might be a performance by the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra at the acoustically flawless Kleinhans Music Hall, or a touring indie act at Babeville. Perhaps your trip will even coincide with a performance by the Buffalo Gay Men’s Chorus, whose shows invariably sell out. Whatever your choice, grab a post-show drink and a bite to eat at Sample (242 Allen St.), a fun, innovative new Allentown stop where you order miniature versions of exquisitely prepared dishes. 
While you’re there, duck your head in the door at Nietzsche’s, one of many local venues where Ani D. honed her singing and playing skills in her teenage years; you’ll find it’s eternally a great place to catch both rising singer-songwriters and national touring acts. I
n Buffalo, the night is still young, because the bars don’t close till 4 a.m., so this is your chance, if you’re so inclined, to check out gay and lesbian nightlife. The names and locations of the half-dozen or so bars change from time to time, but the vast majority of them are located with walking distance of each other, in the general vicinity of Allen between Main and Delaware. Because they’re so close, you can pick and choose: a trendy martini at Fugazi (503 Franklin St.), a cold Labatt Blue on the back porch at Adonia’s (20 Allen St.).
Sunday
Don’t stay up too late Saturday night, because you’re starting the last day of your trip with a few laps around Delaware Park with the Buffalo chapter of the international Frontrunners/Frontwalkers gay/lesbian organization. This long-running group (pardon the pun) meets every Sunday at 10 a.m. (and Tuesdays at 6 p.m.) year-round at the snack stand on Meadow Road near Nottingham Court before tackling the oval-shaped track that takes joggers and walkers through one of the many parks Frederick Law Olmsted designed for the city when it was young. Afterward, you’re welcome to join the group for a bite to eat at a local diner, but we’re going propose that you make your way through or around an even prettier part of the park to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery (1285 Elmwood Ave.) for brunch at the museum’s restaurant, Muse, and a trip through the Albright’s world-class permanent collection of modern and contemporary art.
From there, you’ve got a number of options: if you want to continue in museum mode, head across the street to the Burchfield-Penney Art Center (1300 Elmwood Ave., on the campus of Buffalo State College), whose focus is artists with a present or past connection to Western New York. Namesake painter Charles Burchfield looms large in the permanent collection, of course, but you’ll also find work by world-renowned contemporary artists including Cindy Sherman and Robert Longo, as well as sculpture, crafts, video, and an excellent series of short-term exhibitions. A short block away is the Buffalo & Erie County Historical Society
Speaking of shopping, another excellent option for the afternoon is a stroll and/or drive down Elmwood Avenue from the Albright back toward downtown. Among the more than 80 retail establishments between Forest Avenue and West Ferry you’ll discover men's clothing (Get Dressed, 576 Elmwood), and trendy contemporary clothing for men and women (Urban, 504 Elmwood). For fine jewelry, don’t miss Aurum (487 Elmwood); book lovers will want to explore the well-stocked gay/lesbian section of Talking Leaves Books (951 Elmwood). You’ll spot approximately 40 restaurants on your travels, so make mental notes about places to return to on your next visit.
Worked up an appetite yet? For the last meal of your stay, unless you’re a vegan, you just know you can’t leave town until you’ve had a dozen chicken wings in the city that made them famous, so head to the Anchor Bar (1047 Main near North), the very restaurant that made them what they are today, or Gabriel’s Gate (145 Allen), home to a particularly large and tasty variety. (Two notes: first, we don’t call ’em Buffalo wings around here; second, you can find extraordinary examples all over town, and everyone has his or her passionately defended favorites, so don’t hesitate to ask.)
By now, you’ve surely got a plane to catch or a road to hit, and we’ve only scratched the surface. As you leave town, think about what you’ll do on your next trip to the area: In-depth investigations of Frank Lloyd Wright’s acclaimed Buffalo work? Day trips to Niagara Falls or maybe East Aurora, home of the Roycroft campus and the Arts and Crafts movement? Antiquing in Clarence? Tours of nearby wineries? The possibilities are endless!
