Looking for advice, differences & comparison between Cleveland & Buffalo (Delaware: good hotels, neighborhoods)

[zooando]

Hi Folks,

I'm from the Buffalo area, and have posted a variation of this question in their forum as well. Now I wanted a different viewpoint if you see things that you can do in Buffalo that you can't do in Cleveland.

Many years ago, through a mutual friend, I had befriended a person living in the Cleveland suburbs. It had been some time since I had seen him, but then I took my son out to an Indians game in early June and got to see my friend before the game for lunch at Harry Buffalo's. I enjoyed my meal, everyone was friendly, and I loved that it was within walking distance of Progressive Field.

I also got to meet his wife, and two young daughters (both under 2) when we met for lunch. We got to talking, and he wouldn't mind coming up to Buffalo with his family this fall. It got me to thinking, what can you do in the greater Buffalo area that can't be done in Cleveland?

I'm not looking to create a tangent about socio-economic status, ethnicity, what city is better than others. I pose this as a tourism question to locals in Cleveland who may have more of a tourist view of Buffalo.

Thanks in advance

[usaf_1832]

- original Buffalo wing place...Anchor Bar?
- Frank Lloyd Wright House
- Niagara Falls of course

Those are my first thoughts.

[Cleveland_Collector]

Well, I live in Cleveland and worked in the Buffalo-Niagara region for about 10 years. I got to know the city very well. As far as what can't be done in Cleveland, the first 2 things that pop into my mind are professional (NHL) hockey and Niagara Falls. I also found Vidler's in E. Aurora to be quite unique. Otherwise, Cleveland is hard to top. If I can offer you some advice, don't worry too much about it being entirely unique. I found a bunch of gems in Buffalo during my time there which I still hit any time I'm passing through. For instance, take them down to Central Wharf, show them around the nicer areas of downtown a bit, watch the silliness on Chippewa, take them up through the historic Delaware corridor and Delaware Park, take them out to lunch at Jim's Steakout or Ted's Red Hots, go to the English Pork Pie Co., take them for char pit wings at the Buffalo Tap Room (or the Anchor Bar), get some Flying Bison, get bread from Costanzo's, get some wines at Premier, get frozen custard (and beef on weck) at Anderson's, see a show at the Tralf, take the kids to Darien Lake, etc. There's a lot you can do to fill a weekend.

[ClevelandskyMan]

The only benefit of living in Buffalo is that it's within driving distance of Cleveland.

[Cleverfield]

LOL, come one now, let's not poke fun at other people's cities. Lord knows Clevelanders should know what it feels like to have their city unfairly mocked.

[Peregrine]

Originally Posted by ClevelandskyMan

The only benefit of living in Buffalo is that it's within driving distance of Cleveland.

We can all take a joke. As Clevelanders, we certainly can.
I laughed at this.

No MLB or NBA in Buffalo.
Is there a Casino in Buffalo?
I honestly know very little about Buffalo....

[L2DB]

Niagara Falls
Proximity to Toronto/Niagara on the Lake
NHL (even if the Sabres aren't very good)

[Cleveland_Collector]

There is a casino in Buffalo and also Niagara Falls, NY. There's a bunch of them across the border. I don't know how well that goes with kids, however.

Buffalo was good to me. I'll never bag on it. Yes, it's a ways behind Cleveland but it is seeing a good amount of development itself. They finally have more than 2 good hotels downtown which is a huge plus if you want people to come to your city.

[5Lakes]

These two cities are about as similar as you can get IMO.

Cleveland is just larger and has more things that come along with that. Cleveland has a more active downtown, but Buffalo has retained its older neighborhoods better and has more urban neighborhood continuity adjacent to downtown.

The biggest difference in terms of sight seeing in Buffalo is obviously Niagara falls, and maybe some more nearby road trip options to the Southern Tier or Finger Lakes regions.

[zooando]

Originally Posted by Cleveland_Collector

Well, I live in Cleveland and worked in the Buffalo-Niagara region for about 10 years. I got to know the city very well. As far as what can't be done in Cleveland, the first 2 things that pop into my mind are professional (NHL) hockey and Niagara Falls. I also found Vidler's in E. Aurora to be quite unique. Otherwise, Cleveland is hard to top. If I can offer you some advice, don't worry too much about it being entirely unique. I found a bunch of gems in Buffalo during my time there which I still hit any time I'm passing through. For instance, take them down to Central Wharf, show them around the nicer areas of downtown a bit, watch the silliness on Chippewa, take them up through the historic Delaware corridor and Delaware Park, take them out to lunch at Jim's Steakout or Ted's Red Hots, go to the English Pork Pie Co., take them for char pit wings at the Buffalo Tap Room (or the Anchor Bar), get some Flying Bison, get bread from Costanzo's, get some wines at Premier, get frozen custard (and beef on weck) at Anderson's, see a show at the Tralf, take the kids to Darien Lake, etc. There's a lot you can do to fill a weekend.

Thank you for the honest advice. I know most of the visit will be just catching up with each other, but I want to be able to share some sites. I'm not sure how well his two young girls will be able to sit through a Sabres game, not too mention games start at 7 pm. Maybe in the future we can work that in. I know I'll try to figure out which Indians game to get to. Might even try to come to your neck of the woods for a Cav's game too.

Funny you should mention Costanzo's, I picked up some rolls last weekend from there! I will keep these ideas in mind as we work on figuring out which weekend he's bringing the family to Buffalo.