Buffalo Bros is the brainchild of Ed McOwen, a homesick Buffalo, N.Y., native and graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who also is a chef at Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine. About a year ago, McOwen convinced boss Jon Bonnell that the area around Texas Christian University needed a good New Yawk-style wing-‘n’-sub place. The restaurant makes the third kid in the Bonnell family (if you include his 7-year-old Fine Texas Cuisine and his almost 2-year-old daughter, a real cutie.)
So can someone who isn’t a TCU student appreciate a place billed as “TCU’s neighborhood hangout”? McOwen says he set out to make Buffalo Bros affordable and friendly for everyone. Of course, the eatery features the staples of the name’s subtitle – “Pizzas, Wings and Subs.” The pizza is homemade, and the sub sandwiches are gigantic. There are also burgers, fish, salads, and a small wine selection.
“Basically we wanted to replace fast food,” he said. “People can come and eat light or stuff themselves on beer, pizza, and wings.”
Judging by the crowd during a recent lunch-hour visit, McOwen is on his way to success. Sure, there were a dozen college students enjoying the ridiculously cheap beer (drafts are between $2 and $2.50 every day), all of the dozen large-screen TVs were tuned to sports, and the place was freaking loud, causing one diner nearby to ask the barback to “turn it down, please!”
But there also were a lot of non-collegiate lunchers, who amazingly came sharply into view only after the volume was reduced from earsplitting to merely annoying.
The day was “Wingin’ Wednesday”: 10 wings for $5. The sweet, slightly smoky barbecue sauce will definitely have you licking your fingers. Buffalo Bros generously provides a large roll of paper towels at each table, and you’ll use about half a roll per order. The hot wings were deliciously spicy and tangy, with just enough burn. Wings come with your choice of homemade blue cheese or ranch dressing, both delectable. Succulent and meaty, they made an ideal appetizer.
The veggie pizza was loaded with green and roasted red peppers, olives, and mushrooms but very little sauce. The wood-oven created a beautifully crispy outer rim on the crust, though the center was a little soggy. Since it wasn’t overly sauced, perhaps the culprit was the plethora of moist veggies. The restaurant also serves slices, which are an excellent choice when you’re starved and between classes.
The most Yankee-fied thing on the menu is the Beef on Weck – built on a kimmelweck roll topped with chunky pretzel salt and caraway seeds. Inside the crunchy Kaiser-like roll were warm, thinly sliced roast beef and a non-mayo-based horseradish sauce. Maybe it was the combo of salt, crunch, and tangy caraway, providing a flavor reminiscent of rye, that made the sammy seriously addictive.
The meatball sub was a bit of a surprise. No mess of meatballs and red gravy ladled on thick enough to saturate the bread. Rather, a delicate arrangement of sliced meatballs and just a little sauce. Tasty but not enough oomph.
Same goes for the chicken parmesan sandwich: fried chicken fingers, red gravy, and provolone cheese. Tasty and non-messy to eat but a little light in the caboose, if you know what we mean.
The small salad was misnamed – the huge bowl could have served as an entire meal. Diners can choose up to six toppings for their lettuce mix, including mushrooms, carrots, roasted red peppers, olives, tomatoes, provolone or blue cheese, and croutons. Bacon will cost you an extra buck, and adding on ham, turkey, salami, buffalo, or grilled chicken will run you $2 or $3 more.
Daily specials include Mega Monday (upgrade a small pizza to a large for free), $2 domestic longnecks on Tuesdays, and the Friday Fish Fry featuring beer-battered cod. TCU’s low-key “neighborhood hangout” is also a great place for anyone hungry for substantial, tasty food.
Buffalo Bros
3015 S University Dr, FW. 817-386-9601. 11am-11pm daily. All major credit cards accepted.
Beef on Weck $6
Vegetarian pizza $17
Chicken parmesan sub (half) $6
Meatball sub (half) $5
Buffalo wings (for six) $6
