In a town where you might not expect to find a southern/soul food place, Wood-Ridge, you will find the best new casual/informal restaurant to open in Bergen County this year: Buffalo’s
Chicken Shack. This place has been open for several months, and, honestly, I’m surprised there isn’t more buzz about it. It is a true winner. This restaurant has incredible food at very reasonable prices, including the best buffalo wings in Bergen County.
The restaurant is owned by Darrin and Tiffany Miles. Everyone calls Darrin “Miles”, so I’ll refer to him as such in the rest of this post, since I’ve never called him Darrin. Miles is almost always in the restaurant cooking up some awesome stuff with his staff. The highlight of his menu is his terrific buffalo wings. These wings are HUGE. (One of the slogans of the place is “No Pigeon Wings”, and they really mean it. ) They are battered/breaded (just how I love ‘em!), and covered in a delicious spicy, just ever-so-slightly sweet sauce. A touch different from what you might expect, but still stellar. The wings are always big, meaty, and perfectly cooked.
His other food is great too, including his regular fried chicken and his awesome sides and appetizers. The mashed potatoes and gravy are great, and he makes great baked macaroni & cheese. I’ve been in mac & cheese withdrawl since CC’s
Barbecue Pit in Haledon closed, but Miles has finally filled the void! (Why is it so hard to get good mac & cheese at a restaurant in Bergen County?)
Last night, I tried two new things for the first time: the chili (offered from September to I think April or so), and a pulled rib sandwich. The chili was excellent. Lots of meat, great flavor, nice and thick. It doesn’t quite topple Bergen County’s champion chili, the Fire in the Caboose chili at the
Hot Dog Caboose in Midland Park, but it’s a very solid silver medalist.
And then there was the pulled rib sandwich. When I ordered it, Miles said to me, “That’s mean stuff, man” and boy was he right. (He, of course, meant that comment as praise.) Holy. Freekin. Cow. For $5.95, I got a huge, beautifully toasted roll laid open on the bottom of the container, and what must’ve been close to a pound of pork slathered in a wonderful sweet tangy barbecue sauce laid on top of the roll. I had to eat it with a knife and fork, and I had plenty for leftovers!
Miles is planning to roll out a new menu in a few weeks, with new offerings including jerk wings, buffalo shrimp, and banana pudding and peach cobbler for dessert. I can’t wait!
You can eat in or take out. Miles has a lot of great specials, including a special for each day of the week and additional “Facebook Friday” specials posted on the restaurant’s facebook page. He also runs some very cool events. In August, he had a big spicy wing challenge sponsored by Zantac! I couldn’t make it, but the pictures online made it look like a lot of fun.
If you live anywhere in the Northeast quadrant of NJ (and even further away), you need to check this place out. Incredible food, incredible prices, and great owners/chefs who deserve lots and lots of success. Please check them out. I need them to stay around for the next couple of decades!
http://buffaloschicken.com/
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