Gastrognome: Buffalo Bros. Pizza Wings and Subs
by Pete WannYou know that bar and grill in every college movie? The place with the nice long bar, cheap beer, bar food, and close enough to campus that you could stumble back to the dorms after closing it down for the night?
That’s what Buffalo Brothers is like.
The difference here is that it’s not in a movie, it’s in Fort Worth, just down the street (easy stumbling distance) from TCU.
Buffalo Brothers is the result of a collaboration between John Bonnell (of, obviously, Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine), and Ed McOwen, chef de cuisine at Bonnell’s. It joins Grady Spears’ Dutch’s Burgers next door as the latest in the trend of local chef-celebs opening lower priced “everyday food” joints on University just north of Berry. (Yes, I’m aware that both have been open for a while, but I like to get to know a place before I write about it.)
The first couple of times I went to Buffalo Bros., I didn’t venture beyond wings on the menu. The wings are very good, with your standard range of flavors from BBQ to the various temperatures of buffalo style sauces. They’re reason enough to go to Buffalo Bros. on a Saturday afternoon or for dinner during the week.
The real star out of the fryer, though, is the french fries. My favorite bar fry type is shoestring, and Buffalo Bros. does them exactly right. They’re perfectly crispy and perfectly salted, I’ve never had them overcooked.
On our last visit, Jenna had the meatball sub, and I got a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza, since the S-T said it was some of the best in town. I wouldn’t go that far. It’s not horrible, for sure, but it’s certainly not close to the best in town. Obviously pizza is a subjective thing.
We also got salads, and these are probably the best value in the place. For $4, you get a nicely-sized side salad with your choice of as many or as few add-ons like green peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. as you want. Jenna and I both really liked this “build your own” approach to salad making. Loading up with every option makes the side salad nearly a meal on its own. I haven’t tried it yet, but I’d imagine that the $6 regular sized salad must be more than enough.
Buffalo Bros. has become the default “cheap dinner” option for me and several of my friends. The wings are excellent, beer is cheap (all draft beers are the same price; 10 ounce mugs are $2, 20-ounce schooners are just $3, and the best deal is the $6 40oz pitcher), and it’s easy to get out and be completely full and maybe a little buzzed for less than $20.
Buffalo Bros. Pizza Wings & Subs
Pub Grub/817-386-9601/3015 South University Drive/$/Reservations probably not necessary/11AM-11PM Daily
http://www.buffalobrostx.com/
Tags: BBQ, beer, Berry, buffalo brothers, burgers, dining, Ed McOwen, food, fries, Gastrognome, John Bonnell, pizza, pub grub, TCU, University, wings
11 Comments, Comments or Pings
sarah
I love that place! The fries are definitely the best. Usually the service is great and it’s especially nice that there’s no smoking in what used to be a bar…far from the days when it was Schooner’s (I think…) and had the honor of being the first bar I was able to successfully sneak into without proper ID.
Mar 24th, 2008
Pete Wann
I’ve found that the service is great if you’re sitting at the bar, I’ve had less luck when at a table.
I don’t like to ding the service in a place if it’s only happened once or twice; if it becomes a regular occurrence, then I just stop going.
Mar 24th, 2008
quaid
Thanks for the Pub Crawl update on the front page. I didn’t know about Dutch’s. The wife and I ate there on Friday night, but I found myself wondering what this place (Buffalo Bros.) was like. I think we might go there this week. Thanks for the local business focus.
Shop Fort Worth First!
Mar 24th, 2008
Dustin Askins
A coworker of mine from NY heard about Buffalo Bros and freaked out after seeing on their menu the Beef on Weck. Evidently that’s a north east classic. I havent made it there yet. But being a fan of Bonnell’s and a FW non-chain diner I cant wait to make it down there.
Thanks for the review!
Mar 24th, 2008
Chewy
Not food related but they have a nice selection of flat screen TVs. It would be nice if they had HD service to match the TVs. It’s a good place to go to catch a bite and watch a game while enjoying $3 schooners. I just wish they had Rahr’s Red on tap. My wife’s happy with the Pug.
Fort Worth really needs a true sports bar with flat screens everywhere and HD. Pappas Burger probably has the best collection of flat screens near the city center but it’s pretty pricey to watch a game. Their HD TV in the back room is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in Fort Worth.
All in all though, Buffalo Bros. is a really solid place to go for a good meal and drinks at a reasonable price. I agree on the pizza as well. I think it’s okay but it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had by any stretch. I got a single slice and it seemed like it had sat out a while as it was pretty dry. Maybe it’s better if you order an entire pie and they make it fresh.
Mar 24th, 2008
Pete Wann
@Dustin - I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of Buffalo Wild Wings, but they used to be called BW3’s, which stood for Buffalo Wild Wings & Wecks. You can still get a buffalo chicken sandwich on a weck, which is apparently a kaiser roll with pretzel salt and caraway seeds.
@Chewy - I had the same experience with the pizza. Unfortunately my first impression was that it was similar to what the pizza at my high school cafeteria tasted like. Not horrible, but not as good as Amy Culbertson in the S-T thought it was.
Right now they have Bucking Bock on draft, if you like that, you’d better get up there before it’s gone till next year.
@quaid - If you were at Dutch’s Friday night, then you probably saw or just missed the pub crawl. We left Dutch’s and went straight to Buffalo Bros., then down to Bluebonnet Circle.
Mar 25th, 2008
Steve
My wife is from Buffalo and said this place reminded her of home. I dont really care for pizza, however, I love the pizza at Buffalo Bros. (I have never purchased by the slice) I believe the owner has some of the items shipped in from Buffalo. We all love this place.
May 14th, 2008
Chewy
I went up there a couple of weeks ago and they added HD to their TVs. They also have the DirecTV sports package so I was able to watch the Astros on FSNHouston. I hightly recommend it for catching a game these days.
May 14th, 2008
Bernie
Go Astros!
May 14th, 2008
Ann
We’ve been a few times and like it alot. We had slow service once but they were busy and if we had not had kids with us on a school night I would not have minded much at all.
LOVE the salads!
May 14th, 2008
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