Did you see the legions of hoarfrost-crusted Minnesotans marching in Minneapolis?
Did you wonder why tens of thousands would risk actual frostbite on a day the high reached -9F, putting their bodies on the streets to chant “ICE out”?
Can you imagine being so pissed off at your government? What would it take for your blood to boil such that you leave the warm comfort of your home to join neighbors in the streets?
How far away is Buffalo from Minneapolis?
Buffalo has not seen a local mom shot dead by masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after dropping her son at school. Learned ICE stopped a doctor from helping while she bled out, then seen her declared a domestic terrorist by the president, whose Justice Dept. would investigate her widow while exonerating the shooter.
Then seen ICE agents kill a Veterans Affairs hospital nurse, after taking his holstered legal pistol. Hear the U.S.’s top cops lie about what happened, and why, declaring that the shooters were the real victims. Who’s to blame? Minnesota officials who refused to cooperate with ICE, said the Veterans Affairs secretary, the nurse’s boss.
As you watch the reports from Minneapolis, glad that’s not Buffalo, let’s review the current situation.
With the biggest budget of all U.S. law enforcement agencies, ICE focuses on arresting immigrants and convincing them to leave the country or be jailed. Most people jailed are law-abiding new Americans who have spent years working, paying taxes, checking in with authorities, following all the rules.
The first time a local restaurant owner told me ICE came by and arrested his entire staff, leading them away in handcuffs, I asked, “So they didn’t have their papers?”
“That’s the thing. They did,” he said. “My guys were trying to show their visas and papers, but the officers, they didn’t even bother to look, they didn’t care what your legal status was.”
Months later, most of his cooks and dishwashers are still incarcerated in the overcrowded Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia. So far, immigration attorneys he retained have been able to free one employee, who left the country immediately.
In the meantime, the restaurant owner has been able to keep his business going by hiring a replacement crew. Their wage requirements have gone up, because it’s a riskier business now. The owner is also sending money to the families of his incarcerated workers, families that depended on those New Americans’ paychecks.
The owner’s books are a mess of red ink. Making money from a restaurant is a dicey enough proposition these days without the U.S. government sabotaging his business, deliberately or not.
But for now at least, his sense of moral obligation to his workers is stronger today than his fear of bankruptcy. So every day he turns on the OPEN sign out front to welcome customers, he says a prayer that today is not the day ICE comes for him, and for all the new Americans whose families his business feeds.
How many of our Buffalo neighbors are facing the same dire straits? That’s not clear, because in 2026 the U.S. federal justice system is operating under a new set of rules.
For 35 years, I have covered criminal cases in U.S. district courts in New Hampshire, Florida, Massachusetts, and New York State. When the federal government took a person into custody, as a rule, its agents would acknowledge that fact, as state and local police do.
Today, ICE can keep its list of prisoners secret from the public. When immigration lawyers manage to track down their clients and confirm where they are being held in the federal immigration detention system, ICE frequently moves that prisoner to a different state. Then another state. Being forced to find and re-establish contact with their incarcerated clients slows down an already overburdened immigration court system.
As a journalist, for decades I felt a professional obligation, a duty owed, to draw attention to cases where government officials hurt people by not following their own rules. Today, a reporter publishing a story detailing what a restaurant owner is going through at the hands of federal agents could make matters worse. Because in 2026, federal immigration enforcement policy seems to include “speak up and you’ll get a fat lip.”
Ask the Minneapolis toy store owner whose daughter criticized ICE in an interview. Hours later, ICE agents showed up at the store with an audit notice asking for federal employment forms, payroll records, and the names of past and present employees.
In Buffalo, ICE arrested about twice as many people in 2025 than in 2024. But compared to the scenes from Minneapolis, Buffalo seems all quiet on the ICE front.
The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. One of the reasons it’s quiet in Buffalo is we can’t be sure exactly what happened to neighbors suddenly gone.
This is your notice that some of them are in federal cells. Some in Batavia. Some at the Peace Bridge, Rainbow Bridge, or the Border Patrol station in Tonawanda, or shipped to another state. People who bet their life on America’s promise, Bangladeshis and Italians, Somali, Mexican and Irish.
We are not allowed to know their names. From that perspective, Minneapolis does not seem all that far away.
In Buffalo, one thing we can do to help our new neighbors is spend money in their businesses. With that in mind, here’s some of my favorite immigrant-owned restaurants: 50, a nice, round American number. There’s so many more, you might already have different one in mind.
Words are nice, but also thank workers with your wallet. Maybe get an extra dish to have for dinner Wednesday, or use their menu to cater a dinner party. Tip on takeout, even though it’s completely voluntary. You might be surprised how many megawatts of smile an unexpected $5 bill gets you in Buffalo, a city made of immigrants.
99 Fast Food
3398 Bailey Ave., 99fastfood.com, 716-836-6058
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday.
Buffalo’s Vietnamese veteran scores with reliable pho and bun noodle salad bowls, grilled pork on rice, a hefty pad thai, and the best fried pork-mushroom-noodle stuffed rolls (“Vietnamese egg rolls”) ever. Spicy curry stir-fry and teriyaki chicken plates are also justly popular.
Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine
617 Main St., abyssinia-ethiopian.square.site, 716-563-6602
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Get your kik alitcha and doro wot fix at Buffalo’s only Ethiopian restaurant. Zelalem Gemmeda has served Buffalo since 2011. Vegan and carnivore-pleasing dishes arrayed on flapjack-like injera bread are the stars here, along with crispy beef sambusas in thin-skinned pastry.
Alibaba Kebab
900 William St., alibaba-kebab.com, 716-800-2222
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
827 Military Road, Kenmore, alibaba-kebab.com, 716-919-1111
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight daily.
1100 Southwestern Blvd., West Seneca ,alibaba-kebab.com, 716-608-3333
Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight daily.
Kebab wraps in fresh-made bread, and rice boxes sporting your choice of protein over basmati pilaf, lavished with garlic mayonnaise, lead the board. Alibaba’s tandoori wings, marinated in spiced yogurt then fired to a crisp in the tandoor’s blast-furnace heat, are another great Buffalo wing.
Almandi
797 Broadway, 716-853-1090
Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.
Yemeni family restaurant offers grilled chicken and fish, and lamb haneeth, oven-braised to lushness, traditionally eaten by the handful on a platter of rice. Saltah and fahsah stews arrive bubbling, topped with fenugreek foam, best eaten with fresh bread. Enjoy complimentary broth, a traditional welcoming gesture, and “red tea,” made of black tea, cardamom, and lots of sugar.
Almaza Grill
9370 Transit Road, East Amherst, almazagrill.com, 716-276-8080
Hours: noon-9 p.m. daily.
Peruvian-marinated rotisserie chicken with garlic mayonnaise and zippy herb sauce is a main draw, takeout or dine-in. Then there’s the Lebanese side, with kofta, kibbe, and loubie bzeit, green beans braised with garlic and tomato. Check out the cake case for dessert ideas.
Anastasia’s Artisan Bread Bakery
236 Zimmerman St., North Tonawanda NY, anastasiasbread.com, 716-906-4135
Hours: 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Wednesday-Monday. Closed Tuesday.
Dark rye beloved by northern Europeans, cardamom knots, baguettes, financiers, and much more comes out fresh every morning in North Tonawanda. A couple of Russian engineers with a home-based baking enterprise went brick-and-mortar in November.
As-Salam Diner and Kabab House
1389 Bailey Ave., Buffalo NY, assalamkababhouse.com, 716-725-0603
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday,
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, Sunday.
Cheery servers at Bangladeshi family restaurant bear platters of sizzling lamb shashlik, vats of curry, and six types of made-to-order bread. Appetizers worth meeting include sauteed shrimp tucked into puffy puri bread, and a smashed potato samosa pastry with tamarind and yogurt sauces.
Bamboo Ridge
244 Allen St., Buffalo NY bambooridgethai.com, 716-235-8951
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday.
3574 Walden Ave., Lancaster, 716-288-7800
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Burmese restaurateur Hla Thu brought his Thai, Burmese, Malaysian, and Chinese playbook to Allentown in November. Thai beef salad, Burmese biryani, coconut curries, and crispy whole fish are among popular offerings. Then he opened a second place in Lancaster, offering the same menu.
Buffalo Tikka House
948 Main St., Buffalo NY, see menu, 716-240-9324
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, 10:30 a.m.- 1 p.m., 4 p.m.-10 p.m.
Full-force Bangladeshi Indian restaurant across the street from the Buffalo Medical Campus is an oasis of fragrant curries and fresh-made bread. Notable dishes include paneer tikka, chicken achari, and garlic chili lamb. My favorite Indian restaurant in the City of Buffalo.
China Taste
1280 Sweet Home Road, Amherst NY, chinatastebuffalo.com,716-568-0080
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday. Closed Thursday.
First-rate Chinese Chinese from a highly trained chef makes lacy dumplings and sweet-and-sour pork must-orders. With complimentary peanuts and kimchi, attentive servers, and a speedy kitchen, this is a well-run outfit. Cold Korean noodles, sea cucumber, and West Lake beef soup beckon.
Clay Handi
3054 Delaware Ave., Kenmore NY, clayhandibuffalony.com, 716-877-7797
Hours: 9 a.m.-2 a.m. daily.
Pakistani kebabs, curries, and braises, all served in clay vessels. In fact, everything is – order a jug of mango lassi for the table and everyone gets clay cups. Haleem, a savory mash of lentils, grain, and meat, comes in lamb, chicken, or beef. Vegan triumphs include deeply caramelized bhindi (okra) masala, and smoky eggplant baingan bharta.
Colombo Spice
265 Kenmore Ave., Tonawanda NY, colombo-spice.res-menu.com, 716-810-1282
Hours: 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
Sri Lankan cooks now dispense life-sustaining meals where Jagat Seth and his brother Jai Raj once reigned as kings of the $.99 breakfast with a side of sass. Besides terrific lentil doughnuts, the dish that’s really caught my attention is the special dolphin kothu. Cheese, chicken, bread, and a weapons-grade level of chile heat all in one irresistible package for those who dare.
Cozy Thai
39 Evans St., Hamburg NY, cozythaihamburg.com, 716-648-1016
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday,
4 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
Family-run restaurant updated after the pandemic with a sleek dining room. Classic curries and salads hit the spot, including whole fried fish. But consider pho, Vietnamese beef noodle soup, and seafood and ramen noodles with tea leaf sauce, inspired by the cooks’ heritages.
Crave King
2693 South Park Ave., Lackawanna NY, 716-783-9743
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday-Monday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday.
Fresh bread and vegetable stew stirs the soul at this lowkey Yemeni restaurant. There might be one cook on duty, but you will have his full attention. Ful medames, grilled kebabs, and chicken gallaba, sauteed chicken breast on hummus, are also standouts.
Dulce Hogar Bakery
448 Oliver St., North Tonawanda, dulcehogarbakeryny.com, 716-525-1010
Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
951 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, dulcehogarbakeryny.com, 716-529-9225
Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
Try Colombian dishes like bandeja paisa, a carnivore Disneyland: fried pork belly, Colombian sausage, morcilla blood sausage, and steak, plus plantains, eggs, beans, and rice. Seafood stews, empanadas, and an entire lineup of baked sweets like caramel-cheese buns await.
Falafel Bar
3545 Sheridan Drive, Amherst NY, thefalafelbar.com, 716-436-7000
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon-8 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.
Best-in-show falafel, hummus, and chicken shawarma from Oded Rauvenpoor, the only Israeli chef in town. Crispy chicken schnitzel speckled with sesame seeds and hummus with lamb are standouts, but this restaurant a mile from UB’s Amherst Campus is also a vegan haven, with four eggplant dishes alone.
Falafel House Bakery and Grill
1150 Hertel Ave., Buffalo NY, see menu, 716-259-8743
Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Sunday, Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday, Saturday. Closed Monday.
Beef kabab plate with rice and pickles and beef shawarma plate are my favorites at this Palestinian-Syrian family restaurant. Loaded chicken shawarma fries are a worthy stoner snack, while falafel, babaganoush, and hummus feeds the need for plant-based life forms.
Family Thai
150 Babcock St., Buffalo NY, familythai-restaurant.com, 716-322-1102
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday. Closed Thursday.
863 Tonawanda St., Buffalo NY, familythai-restaurant.com, 716-783-9285
Hours: 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, Friday-Sunday. Closed Thursday.
Try Burmese dishes like tea leaf salad, coconut noodle soup, and egg curry, Thai specialties like larb, coconut curries and yum woon sen seafood salad, and Chinese soups like the pork-laden wonton noodle soup or milky fried fish noodle soup. The dining rooms are homey but the flavors never fail.
560 Amherst St., Buffalo NY, 716-768-3826
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
Ten kinds of buttery baklava land in the display case before noon most days. By late afternoon the kataifi, salty cheese sandwiched between layers of shredded phyllo, baked until golden and drenched in syrup, is usually gone. But the pistachio-centered art of Syrian baker Mohammed Altaleh remains a complete steal, just $11.99 a pound at deadline.
Golden Hill Asian Cuisine
4001 Sheridan Drive, Amherst NY, goldenhillasiancuisine.com, 716-631-7198
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday, Wednesday-Saturday, noon-10 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday.
Menu includes solid Thai and American Chinese dishes, but its glory is the Chinese specialties. Standouts include crispy chicken with fresh spicy pepper, cold beef and tripe with hot oil, and boiled fish with pickled cabbage. Or enjoy a soothing bowl-for-two of West Lake Beef Soup.
Holy Feast
3198 Main St., Buffalo NY, 716-579-5412
Hours: 6 p.m.-midnight Sunday, Monday-Wednesday, 6 p.m.-4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday.
Halal fast food from a truck in a gas station parking lot hits the spot deep into the night in University Heights, including until 4 a.m. Thursday-Saturday. Try the paneer burger, a hefty slab of cheese battered, deep-fried, sauced and served on a bun.
Home Taste
3106 Delaware Ave., Kenmore NY, 716-322-0088
Hours: 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
Dumplings, noodles, and potatoes are strengths of this Northern Chinese restaurant, but salads are standouts too: try the celery with tofu skin. Crispy fried cod, noodle soups, shredded potatoes with chile and vinegar, and pork-stuffed omelet all offer ways to expand your Chinese culinary vocabulary.
Jasmine Thai
1330 Niagara Falls Blvd.,Tonawanda NY, jasthai.com, 716-838-3011
Hours: noon-8 p.m. daily.
Area’s longest-tenured Thai restaurant hits with standards like chicken in peanut sauce, duck curry, and pad thai, but also offers the only mee krob in town, puffy rice noodles wok-fired in caramel until they’re like Cracker Jacks for adults.
Kostas Family Restaurant
1561 Hertel Ave., Buffalo NY, kostasfamilyrestaurant.com, 716-838-5225
Hours: 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday.
Grand-daddy of Buffalo Greek diners still offers Hellenic soul food like horta, dandelion greens, and reliable roast lamb dinners. Pancakes, salads, omelets, and gyro-souvlaki combos are probably the most popular items. Still the most Greek restaurant in Buffalo.
Kuni’s
226 Lexington Ave., Buffalo NY, kunisbuffalo.com, 716-881-3800
Hours: 5 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Want sushi Japanese style? Go see Thaviesak “Vic” Nachampassak, who worked with Kuni Sato before the founder retired. Sushi plus dishes like: hamachi kama, grilled yellowtail collar, or gintara, black cod marinated in sweet miso and grilled. Even a fish fry, in panko crumbs, with gossamer slaw.
La Casa de Sabores
1 Letchworth St., Buffalo NY, see menu, 716-370-1484
Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sunday. Closed Wednesday.
Dominican take-out restaurant offers savory rib-sticking meal boxes dished up to order on the buffet line, or cooked-to-order selections. Tres golpes, “three hits,” tops mashed plantains and pickled onions with fried salami, fried cheese, plus a fried egg.
La Divina Tacos
2896 Delaware Ave., Kenmore NY, 716-447-8989
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
617 Main St., Buffalo NY, 716-248-2622
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Kenmore taco standard opened downtown at International House. Both locations offer tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and nachos in al pastor, birria, and pork. Plus a salsa bar where you can personalize your purchases to your liking, and a rainbow of Jarritos.
La Oaxaqueña Taqueria
4152 W. Main Street Road, Batavia NY, see menu, 585-219-4108
Hours: 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, Thursday-Sunday. Closed Tuesday, Wednesday.
One mile from the Batavia Thruway exit, Nancy Rosario’s restaurant offers an array of tacos, with al pastor (chile, pork, pineapple) and carnitas (roast pork) among standouts. Posole, pork-hominy-tripe-chile soup, is a weekend special. Also shop Monte Alban II, a Mexican grocery, in the same plaza, run by the same family.
Lin Asian Market
929 Tonawanda St., Buffalo NY, 716-948-9235
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
Burmese and Southeast Asian market with lunchtime grab-and-go meals of grilled meat, noodle dishes, and mohinga soup at cash register. Extensive freezer selections of meat, fish, and vegetables, plus fresh vegetables and herbs.
Mahar Moe
3668 Delaware Ave., Tonawanda NY, maharmoeasiancuisine.com, 716-331-3336
Hours: 11 am-10 pm Tuesday-Saturday, noon-10 pm Sunday. Closed Monday.
Owner Ping Fa Li dishes up tickets to Hong Kong, Chengdu, and Kuala Lumpur, alongside rock-solid bargains in General Tso and the usual suspects. Plenty of Sichuan Chinese and American Chinese Rare-for-Buffalo Malaysian dishes like kam heong fish or chicken, and Hong Kong Typhoon Shelter Style, shrimp hidden in a drift of savory breadcrumbs.
Maizal Mexican Kitchen & Mezcaleria
4840 N. French Road, East Amherst NY, maizalmexicankitchen.com, 716-428-5683
Hours: 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Saturday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.
Oaxacan chef Leonel Rosario has more moles on his Maizal menu, foreshadowing his Day of the Dead dinner featuring seven versions of the Mexican simmer sauces. Two moles, poblano and verde, are on the menu year-round. Standouts include birria eggrolls, skillet-bronzed queso fundido, a mezcal library, and Oaxacan tlayudas.
Manito Taco Shop
3958 Lockport Olcott Road, Lockport NY, see menu, 716-697-6085
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
Taco fillings basic and advanced (cecina adobada, lengua, tripa) that you can doctor up at an extensive toppings bar of salsas, herbs, and pickles. They’re served up by a hustling team led by Manito Gonzalez, a cheery taquero with a personality as big as the flavors. My spot when I feel like hammering some queso carne asada fries. Honored as Top 100 Yelp spot in 2024.
Nana Peruvian Kitchen
21 Prospect St., Fredonia NY, 716-401-3048
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday, Tuesday.
Fredonia got a real Peruvian restaurant when Nana opened in a former tavern off the main drag. Brilliant ceviche spiked with lime, chile, and cumin, aji de gallina creamed chicken, and lomo soltado, a stir-fry of beef, tomatoes, french fries, and more, with thrill Peruvian fans, and impress just about everyone else.
Nellai Banana Leaf
4303 Transit Road, Clarence NY, nellaibananaleaf.com, 716-276-3786
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday.
Chettinad Indian cuisine, with more sour, garlicky character, plus South Indian specialties like dosa, idly, and uttapam, rules here. Standouts here include eggplant in tamarind garlic gravy, marina beach sundal chickpea-mango-coconut salad, and chilli parotta, stir-fried croutons in smoky sauce.
Nine & Night Thai Cuisine
414 Amherst St., Buffalo NY, nineandnight.com, 716-541-7963
Hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Thai favorites like fried-egg-topped pad ka pow and bracing green papaya salad are enough reason to visit. Restaurateur Htay Naing also offers specialties worth meeting like black pepper beef and fried ramen coconut noodle, plus mango sticky rice for dessert.
Pattaya Street Food
617 Main St., Buffalo NY, pattaya-street-food.square.site, 716-335-6816
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Elizabeth Sher brings her Burmese and Thai cuisine back to 617 Main St. as International House. That includes coconut milk curry chicken noodle soup, green papaya salad, tea leaf salad, and lotus flower cookies.
Peking Quick One
359 Somerville Ave., Tonawanda NY, 716-381-8730
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday-Monday. Closed Tuesday.
The Chinese-American and Chinese Chinese menus both hit here. Try the slip cucumber, poached tripe in chile oil, or crispy sliced fish. Chinese omelets and shredded chile potatoes may expand horizons. Your food will arrive in takeout containers, but that just makes it easier to bring the rest home for lunch tomorrow.
Pham’s Kitchen
2940 Union Road, Cheektowaga NY, phamskitchen716.com, 716-901-7663
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.
My favorite Vietnamese place for baking banh mi loaves fresh every morning, filling them with pickled vegetables, liver pate, mayonnaise, and three types of cold cuts, all housemade, for $7.75. The pork chop plate and bun cha with pickled green papaya are definitive.
Pho Dollar
322 W. Ferry St., Buffalo NY, phodollarvietnamese.com, 716-768-0049
Hours: 11 a.m.-8:45 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-7:45 p.m. Sunday.
Solid Vietnamese place with praiseworthy pho, bun bo hue, and goi ga, the salad of chicken tossed with gossamer shredded cabbage and carrot. Get the grilled pork and egg on rice for a real diner-level stick-to-the-ribs meal.
Pinoy Boi
617 Main St, Buffalo NY, pinoyboibuffalo.square.site
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Buffalo’s only Filipino restaurant reopened at International House, 617 Main St. in April, along with its companions. That means pork sisig and lumpia, beef kare-kare, lechón roast pork belly, and ube Basque cheesecake, for starters.
Raha Coffee House
370 Amherst St., Buffalo NY, rahacoffeehouse.com, 716-615-5555
Hours: 8 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-midnight Friday, Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday.
Yemeni coffee operation serving full lineup of standard lattes but also Arabic blends involving cinnamon, cardamom, coffee hulls, and other twists. Honeycomb pastries and more sweets are available. Pots of coffee meant for lingering over with friends and a cozy interior has made Raha a late-night magnet for people who want to hang out in a non-alcohol-centered third place.
Sahar Bakery
2784 Sheridan Drive, Tonawanda NY, 716-314-0116
Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Afghan couple in low-profile bakery offer barbari, the tray-sized finger-dimpled loaves also known as Persian flatbread, in white and whole wheat, $5 for two loaves the size of skateboard decks. Plus roht, cardamom-scented semi-dry cake meant to be eaten with coffee or tea. Persian and Middle Eastern groceries line the retail space, slightly larger than a minivan.
Shah’s Food
2487 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, shahfood.com, 716-260-1613
Hours: 10:30 a.m.-11:30 p.m. daily.
Lamb fans should know where this Afghan place is for two specific dishes you can’t find elsewhere. Lamb eggplant kabab, skewers of lamb kofte interspersed with eggplant, and lamb maejuga, a jumbo minced lamb patty chargrilled on the outside, with a heart of oozy cheese and chiles. Afghani kebabs and pilafs anchor the menu here, but there is a falafel plate.
Sofra Restaurant and Bakery
38 Patrick Lane, Depew NY, sofrarestaurantandbakery.com, 716-901-7200
Hours: noon-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Closed Monday.
Buffalo finally has a Turkish restaurant. Enjoy beyti kabab, grilled seasoned beef grilled in lavash dough. Other made-to-order bread-based dishes like lahmacun, pide, and karadeniz yagli, plus a full-scale dessert bakery counter have been drawing folks to Patrick Lane, just a mile from Buffalo-Niagara International Airport.
Taqueria Los Mayas
3525 Genesee St., Cheektowaga NY, taqueria-los-mayas.co, 716-906-3730
Hours: 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.
Best-in-town tacos start with housemade tortillas, and add carefully seared toppings. Then customers make it personal with a 25-choice toppings and salsa bar. Real cheese in the choriqueso, bacon and jalapenos in charro beans, and lard in refritos, helps it stand out from the Mexican crowd.
Thai House
5246 Transit Road, Depew NY, depewthaihouse.com, 716-601-7114
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Between the Thai, Burmese, Malaysian, and Japanese dishes on the menu, everyone can find their own favorite. Standouts include pork and mustard green soup, Malaysian-style roast chicken, and Burmese claypot biryani with cashews and fried garlic.
Tiny Thai
27 Chandler St. Suite 212B, Buffalo NY, tinythai.biz, 716-335-0474
Hours: 3 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. Friday, 1 p.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, Sunday. Closed Monday.
Kae Baramee is a Thai native who grinds her own curry paste for coconut curries, one of the touches that make her takeout spot and truck a beacon for fans. Standouts include gai yang grilled sticky chicken, chicken-and-peanut-stuffed chor muang dumplings, shaped like blue flowers, and hat yai fried chicken.
Wok & Roll
5467 Sheridan Dr, Amherst NY, thewokandroll.com, 716-631-8880
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Solid American Chinese menu with a strong sideline in Cantonese specialties, including a notable assortment of dumplings and other dim sum dishes. Its “juicy buns” aren’t soup dumplings, the Shanghaiese xiao long bao, but they’re close enough to take the edge off.
Woo Chon Korea House
402 Evans St., Amherst NY, woochonkoreahouse.com, 716-626-5980
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, Wednesday, Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday.
Best-in-show Korean restaurant holds area’s only barbecue tables, inset with gas grill so diners can cook their own barbecue. The array of banchan, side dishes, rivals Koreatown, and the japchae, peppery stir-fried sweet potato noodles, hits the mark.
Yalley’s African Restaurant
290 Kenmore Ave., Buffalo NY, yalleys.com, 716-322-1012
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-midnight Saturday.
Ghanaian place that might inspire hankerings for African chow after your first visit. Here I’d try the fufu and peanut soup, jollof rice, and “red-red,” black eyed peas simmered in palm oil. Buffalo and Ghana cuisine both appreciate fried poultry odds-and-ends: one Ghanaian specialty served here is deep-fried marinated turkey butts.
Zereshk
704 Maple Road, Amherst NY, zereshkny.com, 716-458-0081
Hours: 1 p.m.-9 p.m. daily.
New Persian restaurant offering made-to-order kebabs like the classic koobideh and stews like ghormeh sabzi, lamb with greens, kidney beans and tangy dried lime. Opened August 2025 by a couple who met down the road at UB’s Amherst campus, it’s not fast food, but worth the wait.
#30#
