Bring on Buffalo

Buffalo is where most of us from the 6ix go cross-border shopping for the day, but the city has so much more to offer than just deals at the outlet mall. After some rough decades, Buffalo is being reborn and can more than hold its own when it comes to its architecture, culture, food and drink scene, and with it only a couple of hours drive away from Toronto, makes for a great weekend getaway. —Karen Kwan

Image: Hotel at the Lafayette

Stay: Just steps away from many of the city’s historical art deco buildings is the Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown. The rooms are large and modern and you can work off the milkshake and charbroiled hot dog from Ted’s Hot Dogs (which is conveniently by the Inn) with some laps in the hotel’s indoor pool. For a bit of Buffalo’s history, stay at the The Lafayette, which was to be the city’s finest hotel for the 1901 Pan Am Exhibition (however financing for the hotel fell through and it opened in stages between 1904 to 1911). While the hotel fell on hard times in the 80s, this French Revival beauty reopened in 2013 with a $35 million reno. La Fayette Hotel, 391 Washington St, Buffalo, NY. 716-853-1505. www.buffalobrewerydistrict.com/lafayette

Image: Toutant

Savour: Your carb cravings are covered at BreadHive, a charming co-op on the West Side where you can rip into one of the chewy pretzels or grab a sandwich for lunch (we reco the vegetarian Stevie on multigrain, which features roasted eggplant, roasted onion, basil pesto and white bean spread). If your body is needing some roughage after too many Buffalo wings, head to Ashker’s in Elmwood Village; the fresh salads here are large and flavourful, and you can add a smoothie or juice to help you feel as though you’ve cleansed. For dinner, while you may be in upstate New York, you’ll feel as though you’ve escaped to the south digging into a bowl of creamy shrimp and grits at Toutant, where the chef, James Roberts, hails from Louisiana. Toutant, 437 Ellicott St., Buffalo, NY. 716-342-2901. www.toutantbuffalo.com

See: The exceptional Albright-Knox Art Gallery is one of the city’s gems that’s a must see for its modern and contemporary art. It’s intimate in size (you can budget your visit to be about one to two hours) and the impressive collection includes pieces from Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. For the architectural buff, explore the brilliance of Frank Lloyd Wright at the Martin House Complex, where, he has, as he is renowned for, has brought the outside in and the inside out. Finally, work up a sweat by getting the best Canalside view by renting a water bike and pedaling afloat the Buffalo River to the Buffalo Lighthouse. Albright-Knox Art Gallery, 1285 Elmwood Ave, Buffalo, NY. 716.882.8700. www.albrightknox.org

Sip: Grab a beer and take in some roller hockey or the great view of the Buffalo River at Riverworks, or enjoy your ice cold brew here at its new “beerhenge”, where they’ve converted the remaining infrastructure from the site of a grain elevator into a beer garden. If caffeine is more your scene than craft beer, make your pit stop Tipico Coffee, where an old masonry stove that has been converted into a beautiful modern seating area will have the design lover in you swooning while their cold brew coco (made with their coconut water made in-house) will keep you well and deliciously caffeinated. Tipico Coffee, 128 Fargo Ave, Buffalo, NY. 716-331-3954. www.tipicocoffee.com