The Buffalo Spot is Highly Average

It’s a cool name, but unfortunately, it’s average food.

When I first walked into this tiny but mighty restaurant joint, I immediately felt a wave of familiarity. It was like walking into an In-N-Out that became diffused with Buffalo Wild Wings (BWW). There was a string of TVs playing college basketball too loud, the smell of hot grease, and the sound of fryers bubbling behind the counter. 

Don’t get me wrong; I think this is one of the coolest restaurant environments to walk in on. But something was missing. 

The Buffalo Spot, a chain featuring wings, chicken wraps, french fries, salads, and shakes, has over 20 locations in Southern California and is slowly spreading east, making a bigger name for itself. I finally decided to give it a try when I noticed its opening off of route 66 in Glendora, Calif. 

The place is smaller than it looks from the outside; there are only about five booths and a couple of small tables. There is seating available outside, which quite frankly looked a lot more appealing to sit and enjoy food at. 

The chain’s number one food item on the menu is the buffalo fries, which they refer to as “world-famous.” I had to give it a try, and I only felt more confident in my decision thanks to the giant picture on the menu displaying a heap of wings and sauce toppled over their famous fries.

The chain has several sauces, and their heat scale and sauce names are similar to those of BWW. Flavorings range from mild to lemon pepper to pineapple jalapeno. I wasn’t feeling spicy, so I went with their classic mild sauce. 

In addition to the fries, I wanted something on the healthier side, so I went with the buffalo chicken wrap. The wrap comes with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, cucumbers, diced chicken breast, and a sauce/dressing of choice, which I also ate paired with the classic mild flavor. 

I eventually realized I didn’t want to be healthy and added one of their hand-crafted shakes to my order. The Buffalo Spot serves 10 different shakes; I ordered the reese’s peanut butter cup flavor. 

I was ready to chow down.

Unfortunately, I did not receive my meal until about 20 minutes after ordering. Although this wait wasn’t too long, my expectations assumed it would be shorter as this was a fast food joint similar to Chick-fil-A or Wingstop. 

When I finally received my order, my fries were cold. I was highly disappointed, especially considering how tasty the restaurant makes them appear. It was also unfortunate that the sauce did not blend well with the fries and chicken. After a couple of bites, my mouth was burning, which was unfortunate because my choice of sauce was the least spicy flavor. 

The buffalo chicken wrap was bigger than I expected, which was convenient because I was able to take half of it home for leftovers. Unlike the fries, the sauce paired great with the wrap and I had no problem finishing it by the end of the night. 

My favorite menu item I ordered was the reese’s peanut butter cup shake. It was both delicious and filling. Considering this was the best thing off the menu, my stay at The Buffalo Spot was not my cup of tea.

 You can view The Buffalo Spot’s online menu as well as all open locations on its website.