BARGAIN DINING Vizzi’s: Buffalo’s best burger By Alan Bedenko; photos by kc kratt Every city—Buffalo included—has to have a pantheon of restaurant gods. They represent the best or most popular iterations of local favorites. Think how Chef’s is the go-to place for spaghetti parm, despite the fact that many prefer the nearby DiTondo’s. Or how the Anchor Bar is a veritable tourist destination, despite the fact that many people swear by the wings at Duff’s or Gabriel’s Gate. Then there’s the burger, which really isn’t that complicated a dish: ground meat between two halves of a bun, complete with whatever toppings you might want. But it’s one of those meals that, like pizza, are still pretty good even when they’re pretty bad. Not long ago, local foodie guru and Buffalo News feature writer Andrew Galarneau went on a hunt for Buffalo’s best burger. He solicited recommendations and tried the nominees all over town. The winner was Vizzi’s in Kenmore. It took me a while to go see for myself. I had long thought that Grover’s in East Amherst offered the best in the area. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new champ-een, and I can wholeheartedly confirm that Galarneau’s judgment was spot-on. Vizzi’s is an unpretentious neighborhood bar and restaurant on Kenmore Avenue, not far from Colvin. There was no wait for a table on a recent Friday evening before 7 p.m. Half of the room is devoted to the bar, half to the restaurant. There is other standard pub grub on th menu, but we were here for the best burger in WNY, so the selection was a no-brainer. The monster burger is a half-pound of ground cow, delivered on a bulkie roll with or without a variety of toppings including, but not limited to, mushrooms, sautéed onions, bacon, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The price is at or around $7 for the massive hamburger and a trough’s worth of hand-cut French fries (available, decadently enough, with gravy). The meat is tender, juicy, and flavorful. But most importantly, it has the telltale char that comes only from charcoal grilling of the burger. That gently crispy crust encases the burger and offers it a mouth-feel that is impossible to find at, say, Grover’s, where they fry the burgers. (I don’t mean to heap disrespect on Grover’s, which I still adore. We’re talking apples and oranges here, though.) The fries are great, too. My burger came with lettuce, tomato, cheese, mayo, and sautéed onions. The onions were, I confess, a bit too much, and detracted from the simple, honest flavor of the burger itself. The lowly burger is indeed the stuff of assembly lines, microwaves, and fast food ugliness. But it can also be a sublime piece of culinary brilliance—we all know about the $100 Kobe burgers with foie gras available in flashy places in flashy cities, but there is nothing quite as excellent as a well-made, flavorful burger. Vizzi’s, a ridiculously inexpensive neighborhood bar in Kenmore, is grilling up the best burger you’ve had in a long time, and you can have that burger, fries, and a cold bottle of Blue for about ten bucks. Vizzi’s 967 Kenmore Ave., Kenmore 871-1965 Editor’s note: Be sure to stay tuned. In our May issue, Bedenko investigates a rival for the Vizzi’s “best burger” title. Alan Bedenko lives in Clarence Center with his wife and two daughters. SUBSCRIBE NOW Back to the Table of Contents Back to Top