It's a cold night in downtown Buffalo. Freezing people run from bar to bar, hail cabs, and cause general raucous on the streets. Suddenly, the smell of grilling food wafts through the air, like an oasis to the hungry and intoxicated.
There is one thing that's worth staying out in the cold for on a chilly night downtown: a delicious and juicy burger from the city's oldest and most widely recognized hamburger and hotdog stand on the corner of Chippewa and Franklin Street next to Bottoms Up. Move over Jim's and University Hots, once someone tries one of the acclaimed grilled delights at this fast food stand, they'll never go anywhere else for a burger.
With no flashy signs or bright lights to attract customers, the stand, which appears late nights and weekends, is recognized only by a brightly colored umbrella. Like moths to a flame, so do the drunken and hungry patrons of the downtown bars flock to the rainbow-patterned location.
And, like its simple appearance, the stand offers only a small menu of food.But while it may be short on selection - the stand sells only hotdogs, hamburgers and cheeseburgers - what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.
The food is matched only by the service. The owner of the stand, a middle-aged woman with a knack for flipping hamburgers, grills every single order with love. As she simultaneously takes orders and cooks the meat she's more than willing to chat with her customers, telling riveting tales of her own troubled life, which includes a rough divorce and two cases of stolen identity. With her grill, lawn chair, and umbrella in hand she braves the bitter cold every night to ensure that drunken Buffalonians get their greasy 4 a.m. food fix and satisfy their dire case of the munchies.
"This is cheeseburger heaven," said one spiky-haired customer of the stand, who had just left Soho. "Definitely a five-star business in my book. I'll take this over the Chophouse any day of the week."
For only $5, customers can satisfy an empty stomach at any hour of the night.
So pile on the pickles, relish, onions and ketchup. No matter which burger toppings you prefer, you can have it your way at the hotdog and hamburger stand on the corner of Franklin Street and Chippewa.
