Victuals in Buffalo: The Eights

I praise many eats and eateries on this blog. My praises are merited as are my critiques. I know food. I care about it deeply. So when I have a meal like this, like the meal I had at Buffalo, New York’s The Eights, it’s a big deal. The Eights is a bar and bistro with a very vegan menu of delicious and thoughtful options that speak volumes of the owner’s (owners’?) regard for quality food. With mouth-watering bar food options, The Eights is one of the best vegan options I’ve had in a long time.

It’s easy to find healthful vegan fare. But to find well-done vegan pub fare that is hearty and more than deep-fried? Now that is something. The Eights achieves tenfold what countless vegan “comfort food” eateries attempt and fall short of. I just hate that it is so far away from my home in Brooklyn. Here are their avocado fries with their “honey” mustard dipping sauce. Delicious, pure and simple.

Looking closer we see the delicate pale green inside. The fried outside was crisp, not overly greasy, and the inside creamy avocado. You know avocado. Imagine that fried. Absolutely amazing.

For my entree I chose the Beef on a Weck. What the heck is that? It’s a Buffalo-born sandwich that became a local favorite after German immigrants working on the Eerie Canal brought over their kummelweck bread, a soft and salty roll topped with caraway seeds. After reading its fascinating history here, it’s clear that The Eights’ version of Beef on a Weck is true to form. That famous weck is served with a sloppy, soaked seitan au jus, fresh grated horseradish that just about kicked my behind and three fried pickles. This meal was so spectacular… and so perfect an accompaniment, a Wolaver’s.