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Stadium #1 Ralph Wilson Stadium Orchard Park, NY |
Chicago Bears
vs. Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills Stadium August 15, 2009 27 - 20 Win |
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Free 2011 Fantasy
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Stadium Vitals Built: 1973 Capacity: 73,967 seats Playing Surface: Titan 50 by A-Turf Draft Beer: $6.50 Hot Dog: $3.00 Stadium Parking: $25.00 |
 Ralph WilsonStadium Address One Bills Drive Orchard Park, NY 14127 (716) 312-0409 Get Directions |
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Stadium Review - "Tailgate Warriors" with Guy Fieri  The weekend of August 16, 2009 was my birthday weekend; and what better way to celebrate the date of one's birth, than with loved ones tailgating at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills. I was actually invited by Jay the Tailgate Guy and his lovely wife Karen to join them in the their latest venture, a new TV series pilot called "Tailgate Warriors". Tailgate Warriors will be hosted by Guy Fieri and will follow Guy around the national football league as he pits two tailgating teams, representing the NFL organizations taking the field on gameday, to match wits in a tailgating battle of gameday cuisine preparation. Our own Jay DiEugenio is featured as one of the judges. So after work on Friday, Crystal, Annabella, and I boarded the new Quest Machine bound for Buffalo. After a five hour road trip in our H3, we arrived at my parents house and crashed. Sleeping through the alarm the next morning, I roused the fam, rushed around to get ready, and within 15 minutes we were out the door to meet up with the tailgaters at "The Ralph". We arrived at 6:40am to be on 
the set and ready to go. By 7:30am Guy Fieri's Crew was already
setting up. Lights, Cameras, and cords were strewn about the
tailgate area, with the hum of diesel gensets at the ready to create
the necessary power to support the day's activities. Guy arrived
soon afterwards and the inaugural episode of "Tailgate Warriors"
began shooting. Conklin's Tailgate Bar and Grill (CBNG) represented
my hometown Buffalo Bills, while the folks from Da Bus, our
tailgating hosts in Chicago for
Stadium #25, represented the
visiting Bears. Filming took the entire day, lasting right up until
game time, and even now I'm not even sure who won. The
producers decided that two endings would be filmed with each team
being pronounced the winner ... I guess the idea is to keep us in
suspense and build a buzz among potential viewers. It appeared that
our boy Timmy from Da Bus, did an admirable job representing the
City of Chicago as did our hometown CBNG boys. For the final tally,
we'll just have to tune in to "Tailgate Warriors" on the Food
Network. While
Guy was filming his new pilot, I set out to do what I do best, I
performed my typical Quest for 31 duties as the official blacktop
culinary sampler (a self-appointed title). All the major players
within the western New York tailgating community were invited to
showcase their wares, so there was quite a bit of sampling to be
done. I began my parking lot tour with the fine folks at Coffin
Corner. Apart from providing a plethora of food choices throughout
the day, including everything from the typical to the exotic, I
found their Mouthful Sandwich to be the most interesting. The
Mouthful is a complete meal packed into a single mouthwatering
sandwich, which is best appreciated by large bites featuring the
double-handed grab ... for it is, as advertised, a mouthful. Between
two pieces of hard roll, the Coffin Corner folks have packed in a
blueberry pancake, some homemade western New York syrup, two slices
of bacon, a piece of pepper jack cheese, one sausage patty, a couple
fried eggs, and some hot sauce to accentuate the
compilation. I will certainly be returning for another one of these
coronary creations. Kenny "Pinto Ron" Johnson was also setup, doling
out 16-pound shots and cooking on the hood of the 1983 Ford Pinto
that has been a fixture at Bills games for as long as I can
remember. Drew Cerza, the "Wing King", who's a native Buffalonian
and founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival was also on hand
cooking up his famous wings and providing samples for anyone who
happened on by. One of the tastier treats I sampled on gameday was a
homemade pizza featuring blue cheese and sliced red grapes, a most
interesting taste combination. There were parking lot pig roasts,
homemade pizzas, and any manner of raw meat put to flame. For the
swelteringly hot August day we had, the citizens of Tailgate
Central, put on an impressive exhibition in the gameday culinary
arts that should have more than pleased our visitors from the Food
Network.  As
for the game, my Hometown Buffalo Bills showed some progress. The
offense looked better and the defense was more than formidable,
however the special teams looked awful. Hopefully with a couple more
preseason games to go, they can get some of these lingering
deficiencies ironed out. Making my way around Ralph Wilson stadium,
I was also struck by a couple of evident observations. Number One,
the Buffalo Bills have clearly placed an emphasis on stadium
security and fan behavior this year. As you know, last year I was
fairly critical of the atmosphere at "The Ralph". This year I
noticed an increased security presence within the stadium. Security
Guards that actually looked like off-duty cops scanned the crowd
throughout the game and remained active in all the goings on within
their section. Last year they looked like over-stuffed cream-puffs
who were trying to catch a free game and avoid getting in anyone's
way. I also noticed that the number for the Gameday Fan
 Hotline
to report poor fan behavior was prominently displayed throughout the
Stadium. Number Two, the concessions were particularly putrid this
year. Now I'm willing to chalk it up to the fact that it is the
first game of the year, but I bought two pretzels and two pops from
the concession stand in my section. The pretzels were soggy
and the pops were watered down with a heavy chlorine taste, like all
the ice had melted. It was an embarrassment ... but like I said,
I'll reserve judgment for the regular season. Well, that's all for
now. Let's kick off the Quest!For more information on the city of Buffalo, NY check out my other reviews by clicking on the links below: NFL: October 19, 2014 - Minnesota Vikings vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: September 15, 2013 - Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: November 21, 2012 - New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: November 6, 2011 - New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: November 7, 2010 - Chicago Bears vs. Buffalo Bills - Rogers Centre: Toronto NFL: October 3, 2010 - New York Jets vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: November 1, 2009 - Houston Texans vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: August 15, 2009 - Chicago Bears vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: October 19, 2008 - San Diego Chargers vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: December 9, 2007 - Miami Dolphins vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: November 4, 2007 - Cincinnati Bengals vs. Buffalo Bills NFL: November 26, 2006 - Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Buffalo Bills NHL: March 12, 2010 - Minnesota Wild vs. Buffalo Sabres NHL: Buffalo Sabres, HSBC Arena - General Information |
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| City of Buffalo Local Information | |
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Top Tourist Attractions: Niagara Falls - Maid of the Mist Boat Tour Anchor Bar - Originator of the Buffalo Chicken Wing Local Foods: Buffalo Chicken Wings Kimmelweck "Beef on Weck" LaNova White Pizza What They're Drinkin': Labatt's Blue, Molson Canadian, Yeungling Tailgating Hotspots: Kenny "Pinto Ron" Johnson's Tailgate Party Recreational Vehicle Lot Fan Resources: Pocket Map of Buffalo Stadium Policy Stadium Parking Map Local Sports Media: The Buffalo News WGR 550AM |
Popular
Bar Districts: Chippewa Street (SoHo, Papaya, Pure, Omega Lounge, Bayou) Elmwood Avenue (Mister Goodbar, Coles, Sahara Grill, JP Bullfeathers) Delaware Avenue (Nektar, Toro, Fahertys, The Thirsty Buffalo, Snooty Fox, Stillwater) Hertel Avenue (Fiamma, Shadow Lounge) Best Restaurants: Anchor Bar (Originator of the Buffalo Chicken Wing) Pearl Street Grill Buffalo Chophouse (Steak) Tandoori (Indian Cuisine) Kentucky Gregs (BBQ) 800 Maple (Brick Oven Pizza, Martinis) Papaya and Seabar (Sushi) Northend Trattoria, Romeo and Juliet's (Italian Cuisine) Getting to the Stadium: To get to Ralph Wilson Stadium, you're going to need to drive to Orchard Park, NY, which is a suburb of Buffalo. Public transportation is not an option here. Where to Stay: I would suggest staying in a hotel in downtown Buffalo to take advantage of the nightlife. The best hotel is definitely the Hyatt Downtown, located a stone's throw from the Chippewa Street bar district. the Hampton Inn downtown and Adam's Mark are also good options. |
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Compare Prices for Buffalo Bills Tickets Here: Click on the following links for Buffalo Bills ticket availability at each of the top online ticket brokers on the web. Try each link to find the cheapest NFL ticket prices and compare these against the published "Face Value" ticket price below: TicketCity.com StubHub.com TicketsNow.com RazorGator.com |
Yahoo! Maps  Directions to Ralph Wilson Stadium from your home |
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Find a Restaurant near Ralph Wilson Stadium |
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2008 Buffalo Bills
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Ralph Wilson Stadium Extras Gameday Experience - click here for info Place: Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse Start time: 3 1/2 hours prior to kick-off End time: Kick-off Cost: Free! Gameday Experience Activities: pee wee football zone (two games played at 10:00am and 11:30am), interactive games (kick, catch, throw, fair catch and run), vendor areas, display areas (How do you measure up to the pros?), 97 Rock pregame show, and concessions. Great Fan Forums Post your thoughts on the Buffalo Bills here: Buffalo Range.com The Stadium Wall.com |
Check out my YouTube Video from Ralph Wilson Stadium: |
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| On set and ready for shooting | The Quest Machine in Buffalo | Adam Goldstein, The Tailgate Knight | ||
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| The folks form Illegal Motion make ready | A Charlie Brown Christmas at Pinto Ron's | Da Bus at Ralph Wilson Stadium | ||
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| Coffin Corner and their Coronary Creation | The Mouthful - 'nuff said. | My mom & Anna sample "The Mouthful" | ||
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| Quest for 31 on the table | Joe Cahn, our esteemed commissioner | Jimmy, Grace, Kenny, Mike, and myself | ||
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| Crystal and I hangin' out | Some of western New York's finest | Myself, Enrique, Ernie, and Trey | ||
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| Famous Questers - Adam, Peter, and Andrew | Ready for some football | Annabella and I watching the Bills | ||
| COMMENTS? Please feel free to post any suggestions or comments you might have for my journey to Ralph Wilson Stadium, including the following: - Local Hotspots (Bar Districts, Restaurants, Clubs) - Local Foods (Traditional Cuisine, Micro Brews) - Tailgating Traditions - Your Experiences or Helpful Hints - If you saw me let me know! All commentary will be moderated. Your e-mail address will not be published. |
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A Production of Madness Unwatched LLC |
