A few summers ago these guys invaded my patio. At first I didn’t think much of it, a few large snails popping up around the patio. Then more and more showed up. Then baby snails with tiny shells appeared and I knew things were getting a bit crazy.
For some reason that summer was the summer of the snail where I lived! I don’t have a garden and they didn’t bother my neighbours, it was a fairly confined little area that the snail infestation occurred in, and thankfully they’ve been kept to manageable levels since that summer.
I never gave them much thought in terms of wondering what species they were until recently, so I grabbed my camera and got some closeup shots of this guy. As far as I could tell it’s the same type of snail I’ve seen regularly around Ontario since I was a little kid.
My first check told me this was a banded wood snail. What a cool name huh? But I didn’t see much in terms of that being an official type of snail, so I dug deeper. Turns out the actual species is Cepaea nemoralis. And, it turns out the more common name is the grove snail, or black-lipped snail.
Wildlife Photo: Banded Wood Snail in Toronto
I like the reasoning for the black-lipped snail. If you notice the edge of the shell, near the opening, has a dark brown/black ring. That is where the name comes from. Another species is called the white-lipped snail, and it has a white ring near the opening!
Only about a dozen or so of these guys showed up over the course of this past summer, so I think we’ve reached a peaceful equilibrium where I don’t have to worry about the crunching sound of snail shells as I walk around my patio.
Wildlife Photo: Black-Lipped Snail in Toronto
I’ve never been one to take many close-up / macro photographs, but it was kind of fun having such a slow moving subject to get photos of. Perhaps I’ll see what other small creatures I can find in the urban jungle!
Once believed to be well on their way to extinction, trumpeter swans are now enjoying some re-introduction success in Ontario, and across North America.
Less than 90 years ago, only a few dozen trumpeter swans remained outside of Alaska, and the birds had long been extirpated (locally extinct) in eastern Canada. Thankfully, with careful planning and re-introduction programs trumpeter swans now have a fairly stable population base in various wetlands and marshes across the US and Canada.
In Ontario, one such place is the Wye Marsh. A re-introduction plan began in the 1980’s, and the first baby (cygnet) trumpeter swan was born here in 1990, thanks to introduced birds. A few years later, and wild trumpeter swans were nesting at the marsh and calling the area home!
These are large birds, the largest waterfowl found in North America. To see them in the wild is a real treat, and to watch them take off, with their huge wingspans (up to 10 feet!) was a great experience.
The trumpeter swans at Wye Marsh are mostly found further away from the trails and lookouts, but with enough patience, a good camera lens (this photo was taken at full zoom) or binoculars, you should be able to catch a glimpse of these impressive creatures. I cam across these trumpeter swans as part of a 3-hour kayaking excursion deep into the lakes and marshes at Wye Marsh.
Alpacas and llamas get the attention of tourists who venture to South America, but their wild counterparts – the vicuña and guanaco – are equally impressive.
If you’ve seen many alpacas or llamas, then you can tell this guy is a little different looking. Much more slender and with a simple brown and white coat, it may not look as funny or fancy as the domesticated camelids of South America.
But, this is the ancestor or the alpacas, and it produces the finest wool! Thankfully though, there are very strict controls in how often, and who, can ever herd up wild vicuna for their wool.
I actually thought the vicuna looked cuter than llamas, as they seem to have a funny expression on their face. This guy does have ears, but I liked how they seemed to disappear when he looked straight at me. If you want to try to spot some vicuna in the wild, then head to Peru, where they are most common. You can also find them in the Andes in Chile, or if you are lucky even parts of Bolivia and Argentina.
With only two breweries distributing across the Faroes, I do believe the Faroe Islands probably have the poorest selection of local beers when compared to just about any other European country.
For those that don’t know, these islands are off in the middle of the North Atlantic, between Iceland and Scotland, and they had a long prohibition period, so it really isn’t a surprise that there isn’t a big local beer scene in the islands. Add to that, the fact that the entire country has a population of only 50,000 people, and I guess I should be happy that there actually are two breweries in the Faroes!
Flying into the Faroe Islands, free Foroya Bjor Pilsnar beer included!
The first, dating back to 1888, is Foroya Bjor. For a long time (when prohibition wasn’t on) this was the only option when it came to Faroese beer. In 2010, Okkara Brewing entered the scene and gives Foroya a bit of competition. One thing that caused me some confusion when in the Faroes was that both breweries have some beers with the same name. So if you order a “Classic” or a “Gull” you’ll need to make sure it is from the brewery you wanted.
The national soccer team is partly sponsored by Foroya Bjor, as are most major events (including the very cool G! Music Festival I went to). Okkara on the other hand has a more adventurous palate with some different styles of beer than Foroya Bjor. It’s also more prevalent at some of the fancier, or higher end hotels and restaurants around the islands, such as KOKS. In general though, expect Foroya Bjor to be the only option at most places you visit.
Enjoying a pint of Foroya Bjor Classic beer on Suduroy Island
Now if you find yourself spending a lot of time in the Faroes you’ll either learn to love the local beer, or you will hit up the Rusdrekkasola state-run liquor stores and splurge on some pricey import beers. Actually some imports are not priced too badly. An example of beer prices in the Faroe Islands for small single bottles at the liquor store is $3.50 for Budweiser, $5 for Chimay or $6.50 for Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast.
Comparatively, at a bar in the Faroes you’ll normally pay around $6-8 for a pint of local beer. It is rare to find imported beer in bars, but the simply named Irish Pub in Torshavn offers Guinness and Kilkenny on tap for about $11 a pint. I was unable to visit either local brewery during my time in the islands, but I was able to sample pretty much all of the beers that the two local breweries were producing at the time. Here is my quick run down and review of Faroese beers.
Okkara Portari. The best beer in the Faroe Islands.
Yellow/orange colour with a soapy white layer of head. This was the very first Faroese beer I had, as it was served on the Atlantic Airways flight from Copenhagen to Torshavn. Overall it had a grainy corn aroma and mild sweet taste.
Many of my favourite beers come from Belgium, so discovering what was sold to me as a Belgian blonde ale in the Faroe Islands was a nice surprise! Vår is, indeed, a decent beer. It is not a Belgian blonde ale, but it is a tasty brew. I’d say more of an amber ale, as it is an amber colour with plenty of malts and a bit of sweet spiciness. Nice flavour transition on this one and definitely worth seeking out.
A Euro Dark Lager. Generally when I hear a beer is a “Euro-style” something I cringe a bit, as it means bland and boring. The good stuff doesn’t get continentally generalized. But this was a nice surprise. A good amount of malts with a semi-bitter finish. Not too heavy. Was especially tasty on the beach at the G! Festival.
I found this beauty on a big night out with some locals in Torshavn. During a bit of bar-hopping and chats with drunken Sea Shepherd supporters in town to “save the whales”, we stopped in at Mojo bar, where they had this available. At 8.5% I anticipated this being a sharp, rough alcohol bomb. But it was a pleasant surprise, and one of the better beers from the Faroes. A smooth, amber brew with a malty start and gradually bitter, lingering finish.
Grönur Vedrur – the special beer brewed for the G! Festival
Festival beer! This brew was created specifically for the 2014 G! Festival in the Faroes. Don’t think it is available any longer. With that said, I think it may have just been a re-branded version of one of the other Foroya Bjor beers. It was a 4.6% pilsner that was similar to Gull and 1888, but a bit milder (i.e. watered down). A safe, enjoyable beer for when you’re in for a long session, I did enjoy it multiple times. Nothing memorable, but nothing bad about it either.
This beer gets my personal “best beer from the Faroe Islands” award. Decent body, without being too thick or heavy. I’d classify this as a smoked porter as it has a good amount of smoke added to the roasty, cocoa flavours. Sadly, it took me until the last day of my trip in the Faroe Islands to track this one down, perhaps a good excuse to return one day?
I had this beer twice in the Faroes. Once while eating a Faroese crepe in Gota and once while listening to live music at Sirkus bar in Torshavn. Oddly, another brew with a slightly soapy head. Seems a bit of a trend in the Faroes. This was a pale lager, sweet and crisp. Smoother than the Sterkur Vedrur and comparable to any “popular” lager you’d find in bars in Canada or the US. Actually, better than the mass-produced generics out there.
Nordic Cider is a sweet apple cider from the Faroe Islands
I’m not a big cider drinker, but when options are as limited as they are in the Faroe Islands, I’ll try what I can! Met up with some girls form the Czech Republic who seemed fond of this cider, and I did actually enjoy it. It was exceptionally sweet, not very acidic. Not something I could drink a lot of, but a nice local alternative to beer if you’re looking for other Faroese alcohol options!
I’d class this beer close to an Amber lager. Quite malty and slightly one-dimensional. A bit toffee sweet but thoroughly smooth and easy drinking. I found having this on draft was quite a bit better than from cans. It went very well with a hearty lunch while exploring Suðuroy Island.
Hey look, Okkara has a “Classic” beer just like Foroya Bjor! In the battle of the beers, I give the edge to Okkara as offering up the better Classic/Klassic beer in the Faroe Islands. This beer is another Vienna Lager. You pretty much get pilsners or amber / Vienna lagers in the Faroes most places you go. I’d stick to the Vienna lagers when you can as they are overall more flavourful and enjoyable. This particular beer was a decently malty brew with some bready, caramel flavours. Simplistically nice for the style. Enjoyed this while dining at a surprisingly good Italian restaurant in Torshavn.
The beer names from Okkara are definitely kind of fun, with Vanliga being the most entertaining one to say. As with half og the beers in the Faroes, it’s a light looking brew, without a lot of inspiration. Another 3/5 rating type of beer. Some malts, fairly sweet, slight fruit elements, which was nice. A little more rounded than most pilsners and lagers in the Faroes, but not enough to elevate it to what I would call “good beer’ status. Worth trying, as it could appeal to others more than it appealed to me.
A Vienna Lager, and it was one of my favourite beers from the Faroes. I think it was the best version of the style found in the islands. It was well-balanced, with a nicely malty aroma and sweet/bitter mix that worked from start to finish. Savouring this during a BBQ dinner was a bit more relaxing than drinking it while trying to decipher Faroese questions during a pub trivia night.
An “export beer” of the Faroes. That generally means “slightly higher alcohol content”! I had this while eating lunch at the restaurant near where the Vestmanna Bird Cliff boat tours depart. Secretly I had been hoping for a puffin sandwich, but seems eating puffins in the Faroes is not as common as it once was. The beer itself was actually quite smooth. Perhaps one of the best simple lagers you can find in the Faroe Islands. Unlike some Faroese beers that I found to be less enjoyable in cans than from the tap, this tasted solid in both versions.
Van Bryggj is a refreshing, spiced, spring seasonal beer in the Faroe Islands
Another export beer from the Faroes. This was a seasonal beer, something that Foroya Bjor seems to do quite often. A spiced beer with a sort of herbal and grassy taste. Nicely different from the other pale lagers in the Faroe Islands. I couldn’t pick out any specific spices or herbs, but did find this a good, refreshing beer. I received this beer as a surprise gift from Tollakkur Hansen who guided me around Vagar Island one day.
My first (and only) stout brewed in the Faroe Islands! It was nothing crazy, but definitely solid enough to hold its own against your average stout. Smooth, mild chocolate sweetness. No real bitterness, a bit simple, but a beer I’d happily drink again. Wasn’t very easy to find this one, but a couple of the popular bars in Torshavn have it.
Rinkusteinur beer by Okkara at KOKS Restaurant in Torshavn
A bold, malty amber beer with slightly bitter and sour undertones. Complex and enjoyable. Rinkusteinur became a favourite beer of mine in the Faroe Islands and I’d grab it whenever I was able to find it. While Okkara is gaining in popularity, their beers are not as widely distributed as Foroya Bjor. A funny side note, when I took the picture of this beer, the person who took the photo used for the beer label was sitting beside me at dinner.
Had this at the bar in the Hvonn Brasserie restaurant in Torshavn. Ouch, this one was a miss. While most beers in the Faroes slightly exceeded my expectations (of which I did not expect much), this one was a rough one to finish. At 7.6% it’s is a strong pilsner, but unlike other stronger Faroese beers such as Portari or Sterkru Vedrur, this Trondur beer fails to hide the alcohol at all. A bit sour and cider-like on aroma, the taste was a mess. Seemed like the beer was unfinished. Can’t recommend this one.
Another beer I enjoyed at the Irish Pub in Torshavn. Not the best of the bunch, but not the worst. With a fairly strong sweet “corn” aroma and generic lacklustre taste, it reminded me of of pretty much every lager around the world. On the plus side it wasn’t harsh, didn’t have any bitterness or unpleasing elements to it. It was crisp and clean, just not much in terms of flavour. A beer I likely wouldn’t buy again, but if someone else bought it for me, I’d probably drink it. I did kind of find it funny that both Okkara and Foroya Bjor have beers with the same name, when there are only around a dozen beer options to choose from!
This was an imperial pilsner, clocking in at 7.2%. It was a surprise find at the airport when I was leaving the country. Clear, crisp, with a somewhat bitter bite to it. Far from terrible for a strong beer, but hardly the best that the Faroes had to offer.
Beers and Crepes by the beach in the Faroe Islands
If you are curious about how I decided to visit the Faroe Islands, well it’s been on my list of destination for quite some time. From 2010 to 2013 I ran a “Travel Match” competition on Twitter. It included every single country in the world, and the final match came down to Bhutan & the Faroe Islands. That helped to elevate my interest in the Faroes even more, and thankfully the good people at Nordic Obsession Tours started running tours to the Faroe Islands in 2014, so I joined them for a fun time around the Faroes.
Ask anyone what they should eat while visiting Buffalo and chances are they will answer “wings”. Chicken wings, I mean Buffalo wings, are famous. Restaurants and bars at home in Toronto often try to mimic, or advertise Buffalo-style wings.
So, on a recent trip to Buffalo I fully expected to indulge in the most famous food from Buffalo, but quickly found myself discovering that there are a few other local meats and treats that Buffalonians consider to be famous.
What are these other famous foods from Buffalo? Check it out below, and give them a try next time you head to New York State’s second largest city!
A charcoal broiled hot dog and loganberry drink from Ted’s in Buffalo
As the story goes, Ted came to the US in the early 1900’s and first ran a horse-drawn hot dog cart in Buffalo. He started his first actual shop in the ’20s and it’s become a locally famous tradition to hit Ted’s whenever you need a good hot dog.
Ok, so can a hot dog really be anything special? Skeptical at first, I was pleasantly surprised as soon as I rolled into the parking lot and saw the old style signage and simple decor. This is a place that doesn’t care about style, all they care about is serving up great hot dogs at their numerous locations in and around Buffalo.
Once you open the doors, the unmistakable smell of charcoal grilled meats wafts through the air and you know that if somewhere can elevate the hot dog to a higher level, this is the place. Make no mistake though, this isn’t some hipster-happy “gourmet” hot dog experiment place, this is good old-fashioned as-good-as-it gets hot dogs.
Ted’s Famous Hot Dogs in Buffalo
You can grab a regular, jumbo, foot long or a skinless hot dog. Sure, they have burgers and fries and such too, but the hot dogs are their specialty. You see your dog cooked right before you, and select from a range of a dozen different toppings. People in Toronto love their street vendor hot dogs, and Ted’s beats them hands down. It’s the same smell, and vibe as an Ontario institution for cottage-goers who hit Weber’s up in Orillia during their weekend escapes up north.
To finish off your meal here, be sure to order a Johnnie Ryan loganberry juice drink with it.
Half of a peanut stick from Paula’s Donuts in Buffalo
What the heck is a peanut stick, you ask? Well, the short answer is that it is a donut covered in peanut pieces.
That may not be super appealing, so you need to delve a little further into this locally famous Buffalo food to appreciate it more. First, it’s not a classic style of donut, but more of a cake donut.
This cake-y style of donut makes it denser, but not too heavy. If you’re the kind of person that loves combining biscuits, cookies, scones, or other types of treats with your coffee and tea drinking, then this denser type of donut will also do the trick. The donuts have a nicely crisp coating, which allows for the peanut pieces to stick, to this donut stick.
The donut is elongated, not a round donut. It’s a bit of a meal to be honest. I only ate half a peanut stick and was content. Now there are other donut shops around Buffalo that serve up similar treats. Paula’s also serves up peanut jelly donuts (it’s raspberry jelly), chocolate peanut donuts and peanut round donuts. If you’re up for it, give more than one a try! The classic peanut stick from Paula’s is what I suggest though, and it’s famous enough that the popular Buffalo coffee shop called SPoT Coffee caries them, so they’re easy to find!
Another meat treat that was made famous in Buffalo.
What makes beef on weck special, is the weck. Short for a kummelweck roll, it is a special bread created in Buffalo many years ago. The secret is that the traditional kummelweck roll has a sprinkling of kosher salt and caraway seeds atop it. This unique soft, but slightly chewy roll, with it’s salty surface creates the perfect complement to a shaved, smoked beef meat sandwich.
As with anywhere that serves up piles of meat sandwiches, quality counts, so you need to find a proper place with the right rolls and good meat. If you’re wandering around downtown Buffalo at lunch time, then head over to the Historic Ellicott Square building. It’s am impressive piece of architecture and home to a couple of “quick” lunch pots inside the central atrium, including an express Charlie the Butcher.
Don’t forget to grab some horseradish too, to complete the experience. As with Ted’s hot dogs, your experience here is something that goes back decades, reminding you how big of a blue-collar city Buffalo was, and in many ways still is today. Charlie the Butcher actually goes back for more than a century, dating back to 1914. My only small knock on the beef and weck here was that the kummelweck roll only had salt on it, no caraway seeds. For people who don’t like caraway, that could be a good thing!
As I was sitting at Resurgence Brewing in Buffalo, talking about their sponge candy stout beer, I realized I didn’t exactly know what sponge candy was.
Turns out, it is another locally famous food in Buffalo! Armed with that knowledge, it was added to the must-eat list while I was in town.
I expected something to be soft, spongy, sweet. Maybe like cotton candy? Well, I was wrong. Sponge candy is a light, airy sweet and sugary treat that is a bit crumbly. It’s most commonly served in bite-size pieces, covered in chocolate.
My first sample was a milk chocolate sponge candy at Watson’s Chocolates. Arguably the home to the best sponge candy in Buffalo. People buy it here in hoards and ship it across the US and to friends and family abroad because it’s a pretty addictive, tasty sweet treat.
After learning a bit about sponge candy, I sampled some more, this time with dark chocolate. I think I personally preferred the milk chocolate version, but both were great. if you’re an expert sponge candy eater, the proper way to (apparently) eat it is to bite off the chocolate coating first, leaving only the sponge interior to savour at the end.
The sponge candy tastes like granular brown sugar, and quickly, easily melts down in your mouth to a sticky, chewy piece of candy. Experiencing the different types of sponge candy was fun. I didn’t tell all the locals that I had tried something similar before – anyone who has tried a Coffee Crisp Crunchie chocolate bar in Canada, that is pretty much exactly what sponge candy is! I’d say the stuff at Watson’s is better quality though!
Not a surprise here. But no famous food list of Buffalo could have any other item at #1. Pretty much anywhere you end up in Buffalo there are wings nearby. Dirty dive bars, historic restaurants and new breweries all serve them up. I had some at a local sports bar, and they were tossed in a perfectly slightly sticky, semi-hot sauce.
Now, before any astute chicken wing connoisseurs complain, the above photo is NOT the chicken wings I had in Buffalo. For obvious reasons, Buffalo wings are something you need to take a picture of before you dig and and start making a mess. I forgot to take a picture of my Buffalo wings, so the picture above is of some wings I had at home in Toronto.
What are the difference? Well, classic Buffalo wings are unbreaded (unlike those seen above), and the traditional sauce is a vinegar/hot sauce/butter mix, giving them a tangy and hot kick. It’s generally a fairly liquidy sauce, as compared to thick, sticky and dense BBQ sauces or other sauce options that are prevalent everywhere today. So, next time you are at a restaurant ordering wings and they ask if you want them breaded or not breaded, know that the Buffalo wing style is unbreaded.
I’ve never had bad wings in Buffalo, even at chain restaurants. But for authenticity, visiting the ‘birthplace” of Buffalo wings is something everyone needs to experience at least once. head over to Anchor Bar for your wings and learn from the pro’s. This is where the classic Buffalo wing recipe was created and perfected.
There you go, five famous foods from Buffalo. A nice combination of sweet treats and meaty eats. Are there any other Buffalo specialities you’d add to this list of must-try foods?
I have to give a shout out to Visit Buffalo Niagara Tourism who helped me get around Buffalo and uncover some of these hidden gems of the city!
