BUFFALO EVERYTHING

The Definitive Field Guide, Origin Histories, and Companion Cookbook to Western New York Food

By Arthur Bovino (The Countryman Press / W. W. Norton)

Western New York is the comfort-food capital of America—a fiercely independent culinary ecosystem built across immigrant kitchens, 19th-century saloon culture, and generational neighborhood taverns.

Following exhaustive, on-the-ground fieldwork across more than 120 historic spots, food writer and culinary historian Arthur Bovino produced the definitive, two-volume documentation of the region's food culture.

Critical Acclaim & Press

"Arthur Bovino may know as much about Buffalo's food scene as anyone in Western New York... The nearly 400-page book may be as comprehensive as any ever written about Buffalo food."

— Brian Hayden, Visit Buffalo Niagara

"It’s the comfort food capital of America, you could argue... Bovino pens the definitive guide to the city's food history, unearthing the true stories behind its most iconic dishes."

— WKBW-TV Buffalo (ABC News)

Buffalo Everything: A Guide to Eating in the Nickel City

The Origins, The Culture, and The Essential Ranked Guides

Moving far beyond bar-food clichés and tourist folklore, Buffalo Everything delivers the first comprehensive historical account and curated ranking of Western New York’s signature dishes:

  • The Definitive Wing Lineage & Master Rankings: The exhaustive investigation into Buffalo chicken wings. Unpacks the competing origin accounts, documents John Young’s pioneering mumbo-sauced wings on Jefferson Avenue alongside the Anchor Bar timeline, and ranks the finest wing joints in Western New York—from classic neighborhood gin mills to pit-charred and Cajun-seasoned innovators.

  • Buffalo-Style Pizza Taxonomy: The definitive guide to one of America’s most distinct, under-reported regional styles—defined by its airy, focaccia-leaning crust, rich sauce, and charred pools of cup-and-char pepperoni—featuring authoritative rankings from Bocce Club and La Nova to neighborhood institutions.

  • The Nickel City Roster: Historical context and where-to-eat rankings for Beef on Weck (Schwabl’s, Charlie the Butcher), Friday fish fries, charcoal-broiled Sahlen's hot dogs at Ted’s, winter Tom & Jerrys, sponge candy, chicken finger subs, stinger subs, and late-night fried bologna.

The Buffalo Everything Cookbook

70+ Authentic Recipes from the Nickel City and Beyond

The standalone kitchen manual translating Western New York tavern traditions and bakery staples for the home cook:

  • Authentic Regional Standards: Master the precise formulas for genuine Buffalo wing sauces, scratch blue cheese dressing, caraway-and-salt kummelweck rolls, slow-roasted beef on weck with fresh horseradish, and Buffalo cup-and-char pizza dough and sauce.

  • Tavern & Road-Trip Favorites: Tested recipes for Western New York cornerstones including spaghetti parm, pizza logs, stuffed banana peppers, Cornell barbecue chicken, Chesterfield-style chicken riggies, and Naples grape pie.

  • Buffalo Crossover Formats: Contemporary adaptations applying classic Buffalo flavor profiles to new formats—including Buffalo chicken pot pie, loaded disco fries, and hot-sauce-glazed savory waffles.