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Crazy Jakes, 26 Webster St North Tonawanda, NY 14120
We stopped in to Crazy Jakes with a group of 6 before visiting the historic, Riviera Theater in North Tonawanda. I had previewed the menu at home before we went. I love when restaurants have their menu on their website.
With all wood floors, high ceilings and large open space, it was very noisy. It made it very difficult for our group to have a conversation over the music they were playing and the group at the bar area, not to mention the private party in the next room.
Scott and I decided to start with the Spinach & Artichoke dip. It was highly disappointing. It was barely warm and the consistency was like soup. I did something I don’t do often: I sent it back.
Scott’s fish fry wasn’t a hit either. He went with breaded and said that it, along with the side dishes, were just “eh.” Another member of our group went with the beer battered and he rated it an 8 out of 10. He explained that the fish was good (just his opinion or was the beer battered really that much better?) but the sides were not great. He said he gave it the higher rating because the price point – it was inexpensive so you get what you pay for. I think he may have a future in blogging about local restaurants. Oh wait – that’s my job!
My chicken caesar salad was just OK too. The highlight of my meal was the sesame sticks that came with it. I love sesame seeds and they were delish!
We finished by sharing a piece of peanut butter pie. It was good, naturally. I mean, I think it’s really hard to screw up dessert especially since a lot of places don’t even make their own.
Bottom line: I’m not crazy for Jakes.
(Pardon my terrible cell phone photos. I don’t claim to be a photographer!)
Apollo Family Restaurant, 3387 South Park Ave, Blasdell, NY 14219-1022
Apollo has recently undergone renovations and there were quite a bit of changes including a complete redo of the facade. Unfortunately, all of those changes did not include accepting credit cards. This is not always make or break for us but it certainly does not help if we have to plan ahead to stop and get cash. ATM in the hallway, you say? Well yes, but I certainly won’t be paying fees for using it.
We went in knowing about the cash-only deal and planned ahead for it. You may remember we posted on facebook and twitter about popping in and having to leave because we don’t carry cash. That’s how we were able to plan this time.
We were seated almost immediately however, when our table was ready, we were directed to go sit in the back corner booth and then someone came over with menus a few minutes later instead of someone escorting us to our table. I noticed while we were at our table that they were seating other people this way too. I found this odd since there were several people at the front counter that could all be seating patrons. But, whatever.
The booth was crummy. By crummy, I mean, covered in crumbs. It seems lately that I have experienced an awful lot of crummy or wet seats when we arrive at a table. It’s such a turnoff.
The food was mediocre. Edible, decent, but nothing that was going to make us run back for more.
The highlight of our visit was a fantastic waitress. I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get her name. She was super friendly and on top of things. Unfortunately, that won’t be enough to bring us back.
Disclaimer: Taken with a cell phone, not indicative of Wendy’s work as a photographer! 
Root Five Waterfront Restaurant, 4914 Lake Shore Rd Hamburg, NY 14075
On Sunday, April 28, my family of three drove about 30 miles from our house in Alden to Root Five Waterfront Restaurant in Hamburg. We’d heard good things, and we decided to visit them during Local Restaurant Week. Their entry on the Local Restaurant Week website showed the following:
“Dinner for One for $20.13 Includes:
(Tax and Gratuity Excluded)
1. Fresh Pasta, Steak, or Seafood
2. Cup of Soup or House Salad
3. Dessert
Dinner for One for $30.13 Includes:
(Tax and Gratuity Excluded)
1. Fresh Pasta, Steak, or Seafood
2. Cup of Soup or House Salad
3. Dessert
Dinner for Two for $40.13 Includes:
(Tax and Gratuity Excluded)
1. Fresh Pasta, Steak, or Seafood
2. Cup of Soup or House Salad
3. Dessert”
I was wondering how you could get the same thing for $20.13 or $30.13, but more on that in a bit.
We arrived to a fairly full parking lot (we got there just before 5pm on a Sunday) and we hadn’t made reservations but we were seated pretty quickly anyway. It seemed there were a lot of guests there for a party in an upper dining area, and there were also quite a few people in the bar area. Since the patio is not yet open for the season, we sat in the lower level indoor dining room, which is not very big – about 12 tables? Our server seemed, not nervous, but just a little unsure of himself. When I asked for a glass of milk for our son, he said, “Uh… yeah, I can find you one.” FIND us one, like milk is some strange thing that is never ordered? It took a little longer than I expected, but he did come back with a glass of milk. My husband ordered Pepsi and I don’t remember the server ever asking him if he wanted a refill at any time throughout our meal.
They gave us a “restaurant week menu” that made it clear why there was a $20.13 meal and a $30.13 meal. You couldn’t just order a pasta, steak, or seafood dish – you could order ONE pasta/steak/seafood dish to get the special price. That would have been nice to know ahead of time. Also, to take advantage of the special, you had to choose only the “dessert of the day” which was a Heath/Kahlua cake of some kind. Because of these restrictions, we did not end up ordering any of the restaurant week specials.
I ordered the Short Ribs ($16) described as “Boneless short ribs braised with root vegetables served a top of mashed potatoes and vegetable du jour.” The short ribs themselves were cooked fine (medium) but were not especially flavorful. The gravy was quite salty, a turn-off for me. The mashed potatoes were really good, with nice big chunks of potato still left in (if you like that kind of thing – I do!). They had good flavor and weren’t too buttery or salty. The “vegetable du jour” was just julienned zucchini, squash and carrot. It was basically flavorless. I was not overly pleased with my dinner choice.
My husband ordered the 12oz. Strip Steak ($22) described as “Served with a jumbo mushroom cap stuffed with fontina and bleu cheese, mashed potatoes with a cabernet red wine demi and vegetable du jour.” Whenever my husband is unsure of what to order, he gets strip steak. He ordered it medium and it was fantastic. He let me taste it and it was cooked perfectly and seasoned wonderfully. I was very jealous. He loved the demi glace and thought the potatoes were good. He didn’t touch the vegetables. He gave me the “jumbo” cheese-stuffed mushroom cap (it wasn’t that big) – it tasted exactly like I expected (nice mushroom flavor but everything kind of gets overpowered by the bleu cheese, so you have to like that flavor – good thing I do).
They had a good kids menu that included favorites like chicken fingers, macaroni & cheese, and hamburger with fries, and also non-standards like a 6oz chicken breast, a 4oz. filet, and pasta with red sauce. Our son (age 6) chose the hamburger with fries ($7). When it came my husband and I both commented on the size of the burger! The meal came on a full-size dinner plate and had a very big burger and a full side of hand-cut fries. I was very pleased with the size of the meal for the price. Our son liked the burger but could only eat about half of it and the waiter did bring ketchup/mustard/relish at his request. I tasted the burger and it was really delicious – seasoned well, not just a plain, tasteless patty, and the fries tasted good too.
Well, when our bill came it turns out the waiter brought our son (and charged us for) the regular “pub fare” hamburger & fries – which was $9.50. I did not think for a moment that our 6 year old son should have had to specify that he wanted the KIDS MENU burger & fries. Obviously we couldn’t really complain as he had already eaten it, but if you go there with a child I guess make sure you SAY that the child is ordering off the kids menu! It was only an extra $2.50 and the burger was good, but it was a mix-up that shouldn’t have happened. And we had to bring home the other half of the burger that was too big for him to finish.
The staff was courteous & polite throughout the visit and my husband would definitely return for that strip steak, I just wish our server had been a little more on top of things.
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Contributed by Wendy Mitchell. Wendy Mitchell is a local photographer who has lived in the Buffalo area since 2004 (originally from the Southern Tier). She has lived with her family in Alden since 2008. With a picky eater for a husband, eating out can often be a game of finding restaurants with a combination of the most standard options AND something a little new & exciting! When one person likes Thai, Korean, Indian, Ethiopian, etc. and the other person would be just as happy staying home & ordering a pizza and chicken wings, eating out often happens as take-out!
Armor Inn Tap Room, 5381 Abbott Rd, Hamburg, NY 14075
Barbeque and burgers and fish fries, oh my! We headed out to the Armor Inn Tap Room on a complete whim. I had contacted them through their facebook page to check if they had kids meals. Not only do they have kids meals, but they are very reasonably priced and come with a drink and ice cream. Any place that has inexpensive, all inclusive kids meals is alright by me!
When we arrived, the parking lot was completely full. We were not sure what we were going to do. As we exited the lot, we saw that they have additional parking on the opposite corner. We were relieved to find a spot but not so happy about having to cross such a busy intersection with no sidewalks with our seven-year-old in tow. Because of coming from the other parking lot, we entered through the front door. What we didn’t know was that the hostess station was near the back door which is where we would’ve entered if we would’ve been able to park in the regular lot. So we had to traipse through the whole restaurant to get to the hostess station. AWKWARD. Thank goodness that ended the uncomfortable part of our experience and started with the great part.
The building looks nothing like it used to before it was Armor Inn Tap Room. It has a very nice atmosphere, two bars, a beautiful nice dining room with a huge outdoor seating area with fire pits. I SO want to sit out there on a cool summer evening.
I haven’t even mentioned the FOOD yet!! I’m not sure that words are even necessary when I have attached these great pictures to this post! The fish was absolutely huge. I peeked over and Scott enjoying his fish and asked how it was. He gave a look that I haven’t seen in a while and said “It’s SO good!” Me and my boy each enjoyed a burger. Flavorful, juicy and everything you can ask for in a burger. I wanted to try barbecue but we had upcoming barbecue plans so it’ll wait until next time…. and there WILL be a next time. My compliments to the chef!
White Linen Tea House, 6610 Shawnee Rd North Tonawanda, NY 14120
http://whitelinenteahouse.webs.com/
Photo courtesy of Wendy Mitchell Photography. To see more photos of the shower at White Linen Tea House, visit Wendy’s site here.
I had the distinct privilege of attending a bridal shower at the White Linen Tea House in North Tonawanda. What a fantastic place to hold a shower. The invitation asked the guests to wear tea party hats and it was so much fun to get dressed up.
As we arrived at our tables, we were handed an extensive tea menu. There were so many teas to choose from that it was a very difficult choice! Everyone was served their own little, adorable tea pots. The menu for our event consisted of soup, salad and then a three tiered silver tray of tea sandwiches, scones and dessert squares were served to each table.
I urge you to check our their website for the full menus. Besides privately booked events, you can go for a lunch or afternoon tea. They have teas catered to kids and they even have a package for a kids tea party. It makes me wish I had a little daughter! 
I’m not quite sure my very boyish-boy would be willing to sip tea with me.
It’s worth the drive, not just for the tea and food but for the experience.
McPartlan’s Corner, 669 Wehrle Dr Buffalo, NY 14225
http://www.mcpartlanscorner.com
When I asked my readers to tell me where the best fish fry is, McPartlan’s was on the list. We had been here one time before b.c. (before child) and I don’t remember being very happy with it though I don’t remember why except for there being a long wait (and being skipped because they didn’t have our name right on the list). That was many, many moons ago.
Knowing that it was during lent and that we were arriving during prime dinner hours, we expected to wait for a long, long time. We entered into an odd hallway that you could go left or right with doors at both ends. Luckily, other patrons who were waiting spoke up and let us know that we wanted to the door on the right to get onto the list. I don’t remember this hallway from many years ago. We waited in the hall and there were signs and articles posted all about McPartlan’s famous fish fry.
I was surprised to be quoted a twenty minute wait time. It turned out to be a little longer than that but not by much. Not bad for a Friday during lent.
Naturally, Scott had a fish fry. He opted for potato salad and coleslaw and stole my fries. That’s usually the way it goes if it doesn’t come with all of the fixings he likes. I went with fried shrimp basket and the kiddo has a grilled cheese. There did not appear to be a kids menu so this was off of the regular menu. That was disappointing but at least there was an option for him.
The verdict on the fish fry: it was good but nothing special above and beyond what other places have. We’d go again.
Mulberry Italian Ristorante, 64 Jackson Ave., Lackawanna, NY 14218
http://www.mulberryitalianristorante.com/
Mulberry is one of those hidden gems. It’s in a neighborhood in Lackawanna off Route 5 that you wouldn’t know about unless this was your destination. We only heard of it after we saw it on Food Network. Scott HAD to try the dish they featured since he has a thing for stuffed peppers. Unfortunately, because they change specials daily, despite the fact that we have now been there three times, we have still not been able to coordinate to be there on the days when they have what he wants.
Nevertheless, we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our meals every time. So much so that Scott chose this for his birthday dinner. We made reservations more than 2 weeks in advance (which I HIGHLY recommend) because we were going on a Saturday night. We were seated within five minutes of checking in while others were told the wait was an hour a half!! We went through salads and dinner in under an hour. Usually I would say that is a good thing but I would’ve liked it to have been a bit more leisurely since it was a date night.
Scott ordered the veal parm and I had the home made cheese ravioli with a (giant) meatball (pictured above). Everything was delish and the service was absolutely fantastic.
