Last updated: June 30, 2021

In the Weeds

The Anchor Bar holds the strongest claim to inventing the Buffalo wing. Late one night, Teressa Bellissimo was asked by her son Dominic to whip up a quick meal for his drunk buddies. With little on hand to cook, Teressa grabbed some neglected chicken wings, threw them in the fryer, then covered them in a margarine and hot sauce concoction of her making. Nearly sixty years later, and the beloved Buffalo wing has become a staple of football games, backyard cookouts, and grabbing beers after work. 

Growing up in South Charlotte — which is practically a suburb of Buffalo due to the influx of transplants — one of my family’s favorite restaurants was a Buffalo bar by the name of Township Grille. It was the sort of place that conjured up images of Cheers, except the walls were adorned with Doug Flutie jerseys and the air was fragrant with the smell of frying chicken wings. At some point in the early 2000s, it changed hands and the quality went downhill quickly.

So, it was with much excitement that I discovered the Township Grille’s original owner, Kirk Weaver, had opened up a new Buffalo bar in 2009 on East Boulevard in Dilworth. Lebowski’s became my circle of friends’ favorite hangout during our college years. Then, Mr. Weaver once again up and sold Lebowski’s just last year, looking to retire. Though it may have lost some of the intimacy and authenticity of its former iterations, Lebowski’s still delivers great wings and other Buffalo staples.  

It can be assumed that serious food nerds’ death row dishes are things like foie gras, duck cassoulet, or handmade gnocchi in a cream sauce topped with shaved truffles. That isn’t necessarily the case for me. My last meal would have to include a messy pile of buffalo wings. Lebowski’s is still doing them the right way, deep fried until crispy, and then doused in liberal amounts of traditional buffalo sauce. It seems that most of Mr. Weaver’s recipes have been passed on to the current ownership — that, or they’re just supremely gifted at recreating his dishes. Besides the wings that continue to deliver, three other dishes are must-orders: the beef on ‘weck, the fried haddock meal, and “The Boss.” 

Buffalonians are serious people — I once saw a Bills fan chuck a Lions fan like a football down some concrete steps during a game at Ford Field in Detroit. Their food is equally hearty. What in the world is ‘weck you might ask? It’s the American shortening of the German word kummelweck, a soft roll coated with sea salt and caraway seeds. Tucked inside it is a mound of thin-sliced, tender roast beef slathered in horseradish sauce with a cup of au jus on the side for dunking. It’s a full-meal sandwich with enough salt and fat to send your blood pressure soaring, but you’re not going to Lebowki’s for health food. Another dish to send you slouching to the nearest couch is the fried haddock. Think of traditional English fish and chips, add more seasoning, a lighter batter, and a steaming side of garlic fries or tater tots and you have Lebowski’s fried haddock meal. If you’re eating this dish without the accompanying malt vinegar and homemade tartar sauce, you’re eating it wrong and should order something different.

“The Boss” is an appropriate name for a sandwich that incorporates a delicatessen classic, the South’s premier cheesy creation, and the sinus-clearing power of horseradish sauce. Generous amounts of grilled turkey, bacon, pimento cheese, tomato, and horsey sauce are piled up between two slices of bread before being squashed into a golden-brown panini. It pairs nicely with the aforementioned garlic fries, and you can never go wrong with dipping your fries in mayonnaise. 

But not all the dishes on the menu succeed like the wings, the ‘weck, the haddock, and “The Boss.” RoCo Holdings, the new owners, have attempted to shoehorn some Greek-American specialties into the menu with poor results. Their pita burger is meant to remind the diner of the famous Showmars dish that has made George Couchell a wealthy man, but it seems to have lost its way somewhere between the backyard cookout and the fast food grill top. The meat is dried out and the tzatziki lacks the punch of its local chain cousin. It’s the sort of dish no one was asking for that is bound to please few.

Many times I have found myself dreaming of Lebowski’s wings, especially as football season grows closer. I always do bone-in because boneless wings are a crime against cuisine and the crutch of an un-adventurous eater. I almost always do the traditional Buffalo sauce too — the hotter the better. I like to feel my scalp sweating. If you’re looking to switch things up, go with the stinger sauce, a sort of sriracha, sweet and sour, and Buffalo fusion that sticks well to the wings and rewards your palate. The gold rush sauce is another delicious option, a hot honey mustard that reminds me of South Carolina barbecue sauce. 

Before Lebowski’s was sold to its current owners, there was a real emphasis on the movie that inspired the name for the restaurant, The Big Lebowski, a Coen Brothers’ film that flopped on release but has since attained cult status. A White Russian-swilling, burnt-out hippie is the hero of that film, and so Lebowski’s honors him with several takes on the old school cocktail. My advice is to relegate a White Russian to your after-meal drink. It doesn’t seem wise to have kahlua, half and half, and vodka sloshing around in your stomach with hot wings. “Donny’s Dark ‘n Stormy” is a better pair for the heavy fare of a meal, as the ginger beer will help settle your stomach, and the sweet notes of the rum will counter savoriness.

But if you’re a true Buffalonian, you’ll grab a Labatt Blue or Genesee, the working man’s drink for the ultimate working man’s town. Lebowki’s has lost some of the feel of a Buffalo bar under its new management; its rough edges have been sanded away. The vibe feels different — more somber, less raucous, perhaps more family-friendly. The walls have been whitewashed, and perhaps a bit of the spirit of the place has too, but there’s still life in this East Boulevard eatery. As long as they’re serving wings, I’ll keep coming back. — Travis Mullis