Our city is synonymous with beer, snow, sports, and wings. Buffalonians may fight these clichés or embrace them; either way Buffalo will continue to go down in history as the home of the Buffalo wing. Last weekend (Aug 3 and 4) was the Buffalo Wing Festival’s 10th celebration of the crispy finger food. Of local festivals that have come and gone the Wing Fest’s staying power is a result of raising approximately $200,000 for local charities and serving almost 3 million chicken wings with 100 sauce varieties to over half a million hungry visitors over the years. Drew Cerza, also known as the “Wing King,” started the Wing Fest as a response to its fictional appearance in the Bill Murray movie Osmosis Jones. Buffalo’s fine dining scene has been growing at a rapid rate, but we continue to remain true to our pub food roots. “There’s a lot of comfort food here such as wings, beef on weck, and fish fry. Our food culture has taken off from regional to white table cloths, but you will still find that Buffalo personality on the menu” Cerza said. Stay updated with the Buffalo Wing Festival at buffalowing.com.

-jill greenberg