Hungrytommy ..
Yelp
Our 2023 family summer vacation wrapped up in Niagara Falls last week, and the drive home sent us through Buffalo, NY namesake of one of my favorite foods, the buffalo wing. There was no chance I was driving through Buffalo without stopping for wings, and although they were invented at the Anchor Bar, it gets pretty rough reviews these days. So after a bit of research, I decided we should try out Gabriel's Gate.
The building that houses Gabriel's Gate dates back to 1864 and the atmosphere is anything but modern. My table had a strong lean to it, enough that I wasn't sure my wings were going to stay on the table. Luckily they did.
The food here is more than wings, with burgers, sandwiches, pasta, and steaks. I ordered a Cottage Street, their version of beef on weck. If you don't already know, beef on weck is another Buffalo specialty food, a roast beef sandwich served on a bun topped with salt and caraway seeds called a kummelweck roll. It comes with chips, but I upgraded to onion rings. I particularly liked the salty bun especially with some horseradish on the beef. And the onion rings were a good call, nice and thick with good batter.
But we didn't come for roast beef, we came for chicken and that's what matters most. So what's the verdict? Well, these are really great wings. They are the perfect size. They are both crispy and meaty. And the sauce, we ordered "hot", was spicy but with great flavor. Still I was hoping for something magical, a bite that would make me think, "Now I know what a buffalo wing should be!" That didn't happen. So it's not that these aren't great wings, it's just that there are great wings outside of Buffalo too, ones that I don't have to drive eight hours to eat.
My son, who wouldn't eat a buffalo wing if you offered him a million dollars, got grilled cheese and french fries. They make a damn near perfect grilled cheese at Gabriel's Gate, and I do encourage you to get your kid to order one, assuming they won't eat buffalo wings either. Here's why: you can steal some from them and rub it around in the left over wing sauce and have some of the best grilled cheese you could ever hope to enjoy. And that was my final bite at Gabriel's Gate.