By Paul Lane
CNHI
NORTH TONAWANDA —
A New York City-based food blogger had nothing but kind things to say about a recent swing through Western New York.
Regina Schrambling, who runs the gastropoda.com blog, said after her most recent visit that Buffalo is “the most overlooked destination in New York state.” She and her companion visited Premier Gourmet in the Town of Tonawanda, Marotto’s Restaurant in Kenmore and the Lake Effect Diner in Buffalo, as well as the Kenmore Farmers’ market.
At ever stop, she loved the prices as well as the cuisine.
“You will never stagger out of a Buffalo restaurant hungry,” she concluded.
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Where a Manhattanite foodie was laudatory of Buffalo-Niagara, the Manhattanite financiers at 24/7 Wall St. weren’t nearly as kind.
The business-themed website put Buffalo atop its list of America’s 10 most dead cities, a list that took into account population shifts, crime rates, abandoned properties and other factors.
:Buffalo prospered during World War II, as did many northern industrial cities,” the site said. “After WWII, the manufacturing plants returned to the production of cars and industrial goods. The population rose to more than 500,000 in the mid-1950s. It is half that today. Buffalo was wounded irreparably by the de-industrialization of America.
Other cities on the list include Cleveland, New Orleans, Albany and Hartford, Conn.
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Looking at the bright side of that equation, at least having fewer people makes more land readily available in the region.
Buffalo-Niagara came in at No. 5 on Wallet Pop’s list of the five most affordable U.S. housing markets. The consumer finance website cited the region’s numerous stately homes, fairly low prices and easy access to the University at Buffalo.
“If you like it cold in the winter, and inexpensive year-round, this is your city,” the site said.
Topping the list was Syracuse.
