Your City's "Pittsburgh" Bar

[benp]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

my first exposure to the almighty "buffalo wing" was as a kid back in the '80s. a buffalo native named Joe Prudden came to evanston to attend northwestern, after which he opened a restaurant in town named "Buffalo Joe's" in 1984 serving up a pretty authentic rendition of his hometown's signature food item. it instantly took off among university students and locals alike. it's still going strong nearly 4 decades later, and consistently ranks as one of chicago's better wing joints.

being only 8 years old at the time, and growing up in neighboring wilmette, i don't well remember a time when the buffalo wing wasn't a thing, but it was still pretty damn niche back then. it probably wasn't until the late '90s when every single bar and grill in the city (the nation?) was seemingly required by law to serve (often mediocre to bad) buffalo wings.

Growing up in Buffalo in the 60s and 70s, wings were just something that was always around. Typically bars offered 10 cent wings along with all of the other assorted bar food. It was also a cheaper alternative to a bucket of chicken at the fried chicken takeout places. It wasn't until I was in college at UB in the late 70s that I realized outside of Buffalo they didn't really exist, as downstate students went absolutely nuts for them. I think what initially popularized them the most was when Frank's Hot Sauce became the default seasoning, which has an addicting quality that I still prefer even today. Local pizza parlors then began adding wings to their takeout menus, which expanded their customer base exponentially beyond bars and fried chicken restaurants.

[pj3000]

Originally Posted by benp

Growing up in Buffalo in the 60s and 70s, wings were just something that was always around. Typically bars offered 10 cent wings along with all of the other assorted bar food. It was also a cheaper alternative to a bucket of chicken at the fried chicken takeout places. It wasn't until I was in college at UB in the late 70s that I realized outside of Buffalo they didn't really exist, as downstate students went absolutely nuts for them. I think what initially popularized them the most was when Frank's Hot Sauce became the default seasoning, which has an addicting quality that I still prefer even today. Local pizza parlors then began adding wings to their takeout menus, which expanded their customer base exponentially beyond bars and fried chicken restaurants.

Wings have been a staple in bars in SW NY and NW PA since the 70s... but the area is certainly within Buffalo's orbit.

I would imagine the situation was similar back in the day east of Buffalo to the Rochester area?

[benp]

Side note on Pittsburgh and its food. My first trip through Pittsburgh airport (when it was still a hub) I recall there was a small food stand, just a nook, with a guy standing at a table cutting slices off a giant slab of beef, and two beer taps - one for Iron City and the other Iron City Light. I loved it! None of that showy gourmet stuff! I knew right away Pittsburgh was my kind of city.

[xzmattzx]

Did these places that did chicken wings decades ago, importing the local food from Buffalo, double as Buffalo sports bars? I know that some of the truly authentic cheesesteak places around the country and world (those that import Amoroso rolls) tend to double as Philly sports bars, if they have a bar. Those without liquor licenses end up being just a taste of Philadelphia abroad.

[JManc]

Pizza and wings have been a thing in Utica (well outside of WNY orbit) as far as I can remember. 80's or so. I think the wing phenomenon outside the region is no more than 20 years old. At least places like Houston which is mostly chains and a Buffalo Bills bar.

[Crawford]

I didn't notice the ubiquity of the pizza-wings takeout combo thing until undergrad in Ithaca in upstate NY.

Actually, to this day, not sure if that's the norm outside of Upstate. Usually Buffalo Wings are associated with bar food, not pizza takeout. Definitely in NYC, wings are associated with bar food. And same in the Midwest (or at least Michigan).

[benp]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Did these places that did chicken wings decades ago, importing the local food from Buffalo, double as Buffalo sports bars? I know that some of the truly authentic cheesesteak places around the country and world (those that import Amoroso rolls) tend to double as Philly sports bars, if they have a bar. Those without liquor licenses end up being just a taste of Philadelphia abroad.

I know one of the first ones that opened in Houston in the late 80s early 90s was. It was owned by a former Miami Dolphins player, and it was full of Buffalo memorabilia as well as his Miami Dolphins stuff. Buffalo Wings and Curls on 34th Street and 290, Houston. Even BW3 was Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck, before they dropped the weck.

[JManc]

Originally Posted by benp

I know one of the first ones that opened in Houston in the late 80s early 90s was. It was owned by a former Miami Dolphins player, and it was full of Buffalo memorabilia as well as his Miami Dolphins stuff. Buffalo Wings and Curls on 34th Street and 290, Houston. Even BW3 was Buffalo Wild Wings and Weck, before they dropped the weck.

Christians Tailgate? That's the only Bills bar I could think of. Having both Buffalo and Miami stuff is just aching for a bar fight.

[benp]

Originally Posted by JManc

Christians Tailgate? That's the only Bills bar I could think of. Having both Buffalo and Miami stuff is just aching for a bar fight.

Yes, and the First Tee Pub is also listed as a Bills bar, and they advertise it as the #1 Bills bar in Houston. There were a couple of other Buffalo bars at one time, one close to Intercontinental and another near the West Belt. I watched the Sabres "no goal" game at one of them.

[Razor]

I never heard of a Pittsburgh bar being a thing, until reading this thread..Interesting stuff!

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Razor

I never heard of a Pittsburgh bar being a thing, until reading this thread..Interesting stuff!

Really? There are no Montreal bars in Toronto to watch Canadiens and Alouettes games with other like-minded fans? Or Toronto bars in Calgary to watch Blue Jays, Raptors, and Maple Leafs games with others? Or Ottawa bars in Vancouver, to watch Senators games with other Senators fans?

[Razor]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Really? There are no Montreal bars in Toronto to watch Canadiens and Alouettes games with other like-minded fans? Or Toronto bars in Calgary to watch Blue Jays, Raptors, and Maple Leafs games with others? Or Ottawa bars in Vancouver, to watch Senators games with other Senators fans?

oh there definitely are! I obviously need to re-read this thread's intent..I took it as a bar type/style vs a sports pub in another city where you can cheer on your home town team with like minded fans. There certainly are "Leafs"centric sports bars here in Ottawa.

[Acajack]

In Canada certain bars do become de facto hangouts for fans of certain teams, and this includes teams from the US and other countries too.

But it's very rare for an establishment in Canada to make that fact part of their marketing or branding and advertise with a team or city name from out of town, its logos and jerseys, etc.

Though it's very common here for bars to have marketing and branding associated with their local teams.

[kool maudit]

Sadly, we do not have a Pittsburgh bar in Stockholm. It sounds like strong forcefield, but in the end it only goes so far.

[Crawford]

I really think it's Steelers bars, moreso than Pittsburgh bars, excepting areas where you have strong Pittsburgh lineage (the Sunbelt Charlottes and Raleighs, maybe DC).

Steelers fans are (almost) everywhere, like Yankees fans or Man Utd fans. Or, at minimum, their apparel and marketing reach appears everywhere.

[Steely Dan]

Originally Posted by Acajack

But it's very rare for an establishment in Canada to make that fact part of their marketing or branding and advertise with a team or city name from out of town, its logos and jerseys, etc.

because chicago is such a GIANT magnet for big10 grads after they get out of school, at any given moment in time there are tens of thousands of big10 alums between the ages of 20 and 40 living in chicago (particularly concentrated in downtown and up into northside trendy neighborhoods.

bars that actively brand and market themselves as dedicated places for a specific school on gamedays can clean up on football saturdays and during b-ball season.

this also works because chicago doesn't really have a true "hometown" big10 team (yeah, yeah, there's northwestern up in evanston, but it's like the red-headed stepchild of the big10), so the bars that do this aren't really in much danger of alienating locals who didn't go to a big10 school.

in chicago, there are only two kinds of people: big10 grads and people who don't care about college sports.

[fonzi]

Harold's, in Cave Creek, AZ, a far north suburb of Phoenix, has large crowds of yinzer expats present for Stiller games. I would agree that it's more for the Steelers vs for Pittsburgh, but I have heard of Pittsburgh bars as far away as Italy.

[xzmattzx]

Originally Posted by Steely Dan

because chicago is such a GIANT magnet for big10 grads after they get out of school, at any given moment in time there are tens of thousands of big10 alums between the ages of 20 and 40 living in chicago (particularly concentrated in downtown and up into northside trendy neighborhoods.

bars that actively brand and market themselves as dedicated places for a specific school on gamedays can clean up on football saturdays and during b-ball season.

this also works because chicago doesn't really have a true "hometown" big10 team (yeah, yeah, there's northwestern up in evanston, but it's like the red-headed stepchild of the big10), so the bars that do this aren't really in much danger of alienating locals who didn't go to a big10 school.

in chicago, there are only two kinds of people: big10 grads and people who don't care about college sports.

Is this for the traditional Big Ten, as in the Midwest schools? Are there Penn State bars, or Maryland or Rutgers bars in Chicago? I could see some Penn State bars out there, since they have such a large presence in the Mid-Atlantic, but I would be more surprised to hear of Maryland and Rutgers bars, since those schools don't have much pull outside of their sections of their states. Even on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, or South Jersey, you're as likely to find Penn State fans as Maryland or Rutgers fans, so the prospect of a bunch of alumni getting jobs in Chicago like people that graduated from Michigan State or Illinois seems unlikely.

[Steely Dan]

^ I'm old school.

When I talk about the big 10, I'm talking about the original big 10.

[iheartthed]

Originally Posted by xzmattzx

Is this for the traditional Big Ten, as in the Midwest schools? Are there Penn State bars, or Maryland or Rutgers bars in Chicago? I could see some Penn State bars out there, since they have such a large presence in the Mid-Atlantic, but I would be more surprised to hear of Maryland and Rutgers bars, since those schools don't have much pull outside of their sections of their states. Even on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, or South Jersey, you're as likely to find Penn State fans as Maryland or Rutgers fans, so the prospect of a bunch of alumni getting jobs in Chicago like people that graduated from Michigan State or Illinois seems unlikely.

I'm pretty sure there's a Rutgers bar in Chicago. It wouldn't make much sense to have a Rutgers bar in NYC or Philadelphia. It would be like having a UIUC or Northwestern bar in Chicago.