Olive Garden - Buffalo

All of the Olive Gardens in Ontario have closed, but I used to hear about their cheap pasta lunch specials and all you can eat breadsticks and salad. I finally got to try it in Buffalo!

The breadsticks weren't very good and the salad was okay. (The salad was an extra $1.50)

I don't really like olives, so by the end of the shared bowl, we had a lot of olives remaining. 

Chicken gnocchi soup

It was really thick and chunky with gloops of soup. I think my first bowl was the last dregs of their soup, the next soup bowl was a little better, but it was still super thick and kind of flavourless. 

Grilled Chicken plate (Quesadilla) and Meatball Sandwich $6.99

The grilled chicken plate was really disappointing - I thought we'd get more food than just four tiny quesadilla. At least it was tasty? I couldn't believe they used the breadstick to make the meatball sandwich. 

Overall: I was super disappointed with the Olive Garden, the food was not really satisfying or particularly tasty. However, there were so many people eating here? I'm confused - did I get the wrong menu or something? How is it so popular? I think East Side Mario's is so much better (which makes sense that Olive Garden moved out of Canada).

Website: https://www.olivegarden.ca/home

Pistachio Ice Cream in USA

Nov 12, 2017 - Buffalo: Häagen-Dazs 

I love pistachio desserts! (I have a ton of blog entries to back it up too). 

Randomly, before my trip, I decided to look into Halo Top ice cream and I found that they had pistachio ice cream in the US! So, when we made a trip to Walmart, I went down their ice cream aisle to take a look.

I was so surprised the US had so many varieties of pistachio ice cream!!! Then I got upset, because all these pistachio ice creams were literally a 2 hour drive away from Toronto, but we don't get them because we're in Canada.  

I ended up buying the Häagen-Dazs pistachio because I was most surprised by it on the shelf in the US.

I had pretty high expectations for a Häagen-Dazs pistachio since they're known for high-end tasty and creamy ice cream. I tried it, and I was disappointed - it tasted like it was more vanilla ice cream with tiny bits of pistachio in it than actual pistachio flavoured ice cream. The pistachio flavour was super light (it tasted mostly of vanilla) and the pistachio chunks were rather few. I understand that pistachios are one of the most expensive nuts in the world, but this tub of ice cream was unsatisfying for my pistachio dessert craving. 

Griffon Gastropub - Buffalo

We finished a full day of shopping at the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls USA and dropped off our stuff at the hotel before heading back out for dinner.

When I was researching places to eat, I saw pictures of Griffin Gastropub's gnocchi poutine and I was pretty excited to try it!
Unfortunately, they took it off their menu when we asked about it. Instead, we got some other food. 

Griffin's pub platter with chicken tenders, onion rings, fries, mozzarella sticks and pizza logs $14
Everything was really tasty on the platter and the three assorted dips were really fun! The fries were really good with the spice rub on top. It was a pretty hefty portion for an appetizer. 

Surf and Turf burger $14
Lobster and crab cake on top of a burger on a delicious egg bun with crispy onions on top and served with their yummy fries! It was really good!

Chicken Gruyere $16
Two pieces of chicken breast served with caramelized onions, mushrooms, zucchini, tomatoes, peppers, shell pasta and gruyere cheese all baked in the oven was a delicious meal! It was cheesy, seasoned perfectly and oh so good! 

Overall: The food was really good and the portion sizes were great! The service was also decent (except when we were trying to settle the bill). I'm a little sad I didn't get to eat the gnocchi poutine, but they still have a great menu of yummy food.

Website: http://thegriffonpub.com/

The Cheesecake Factory - Buffalo

My trips to the US aren't complete without at least one stop at the Cheesecake Factory! Here was my obligatory stop at the Walden Galleria Cheesecake Factory. 

Where I got cheesecake to go: 

Adam's Peanut Butter Fudge Cheesecake $7.95

This was the perfect way to save a slightly disappointing lunch from Charlie the Butcher's. It had lots of peanut butter flavour and it was a heavy and decadent cheesecake - which was exactly what I wanted. 

Website: https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com

Charlie the Butcher - Buffalo

A lot of Torontoians come down to Buffalo, NY for outlet shopping since outlets are so much cheaper in the US than in Canada - so we went on a 3 hour road trip to Buffalo!

Once we crossed the border, we headed straight to Charlie the Butcher for their famous Beef on Weck.

 The Original Location

Very cute diner style place

Beef on Weck $6.99 and Pulled Pork Sandwich $6.49

The buns were really interesting with the kosher salt and some sprinkled caraway seeds on top - it was also really salty. The beef was rare and there was some horseradish already in it (which surprised my taste buds since I didn't expect it). I think it was an interesting roast beef sandwich, but nowhere near the best roast beef sandwich I've had and it wouldn't be something I'd come back to Buffalo for. The pulled pork was slightly better (mostly because it wasn't as salty), but it was still kind of boring. 

Website: https://www.charliethebutcher.com