Buffalo Bites- Rue Franklin and Swirl

I was feeling a little home sick pre-Thanksgiving last week and just needed a break from the city. So I took a quick weekend trip up to Buffalo and relaxed with a wonderful dinner at Rue Franklin with two of my favorite friends! Being that it was girls night we had to begin with some cocktails!



We stopped at Cabaret first for a few martini’s before moving over to Rue for our meal. I loved the old French vibe inside of the restaurant. All the men were in tuxedo’s and the white linen table cloths and shiny silver serving trays just seemed to fit. To begin a bottle of Chardonnay and some Malpeque Oysters.



I always love Malpeque Oysters- they have the perfect balance of sweetness and brine and these were no different.



They gave us a tart vignette on the side but I find the oysters have enough flavor that nothing else is needed. My friend and I happily slurped away on these while the non-oyster lover of the bunch went for soup- a Parsnip and Pear with Bacon.



This had all of the makings of a great sophisticated soup but somehow nothing melded together quite right. One bite tasted like pear, next one bacon. All of the components were there but nothing seemed to gel. Onto our entrees I ordered the Venison Loin with Cassis sauce, Currants and Corn Pudding.



I’m not going to lie to you I was in love with this dish from the second I laid eyes on it. The venison was cooked to perfection and the rich flavors were only enhanced by the sweet currants and eggy corn pudding. This was one of the best venison dishes I have had in a very long time. Other entrees included a surprisingly exciting and delicious Red Snapper with ginger vinaigrette and pickled eggplant.



And a Filet Mignon with red wine sauce and macaroni gratin.



Unfortunately the Filet could have had a bit more flavor but overall we were happy with our entrees and ready to indulge in some delicious desserts! A trio of Pot De Crème.



A decadent Salted Chocolate Cake with Honey Ice Cream.



And the crowd favorite Sticky Toffee Pudding that was oh so sweet and oh so sticky!



We ordered a round of espresso with our dessert and I was completely baffled when they gave us all empty cups. We sat there for about 10 minutes until three waiters came out each with our own pot of espresso. I’ve never had this experience in a restaurant before…probably because I can’t handle it. I think I ended up having about 6 espressos out of my own little pot. Talk about an excessive caffeine buzz.

Overall I simply loved Rue Franklin. For all that food, a bottle of wine, three glasses of wine and three pots of espresso it came out to roughly $75 a person. Not to shabby for a fancy and delicious night out on the town! My only advice to Rue is a bathroom update. There’s nothing worse than enjoying a fabulous fancy meal only to see a shabby single stall in the ladies room. Well after Rue I was done eating for the night but the next morning I woke up cravings more sweets!



So I drove over to the newly opened Swirl Cupcake Shop.



My father stole half of my Vanilla one before I even got a picture.



But luckily the Red Velvet was all mine. I loved the frosting on this and the cake was surprisingly dense and moist. This is a seriously good Red Velvet cake and I plan to overdose myself on sugar with these when I return. Overall a fantastic food trip up North!

Rue Franklin

Swirls Cupcake

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