Bubba’s

1389 Jefferson Avenue, Buffalo

  by Michael I. Niman & Laura J. McClusky
Buffalo Gazette Culinary Arts Critics

Fried Haddock is fine, but in Buffalo it’s become generic for fish.  Every decent bar or restaurant seems to have fried, broiled or baked haddock on their Friday menu.  Some establishments have elevated the art of haddock cooking to new levels while others have succeeded in sinking the price of haddock dinners to new lows.  A few have managed to give us good haddock at a reasonable price.  These are our favorites.  But the fact remains, haddock is haddock. 

That’s why we were excited to try Bubba’s.  Yes, they serve haddock.  But they also serve perch, whiting, catfish and trout, all fried up with a southern flair.  We tried the whiting ($6.75 for dinner with sides or $$4.00 for a sandwich) and the catfish ($7.75 and $4.75).  Both were served lightly breaded in a flavorful but not too spicy or salty coating, and deep-fried.

The folks at Bubba’s start with quality fish delivered to their door.  That’s their secret – good fresh ingredients.  The end result is a great tasting flavorful fish without the fishy taste that’s all too common among Buffalo fish fries.  Both fish were excellent, but the whiting was our favorite with a distinctive sweet taste.

We also tried one of Bubba’s signature hoagy sandwiches.  For all those folks who think a hoagy is a hoagy, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by Bubba’s hoagy ($4.25 for a 6” hoagy).  We tried the chicken.  They cook it up right in front of you, and like a Japanese steakhouse, it’s worth watching the show.  Bubba’s starts with a real piece of chicken, boneless skinless breast to be specific.  This is important to point out since many other restaurants (fast food chains in particular) use high fat chemically stabilized processed formed chicken parts for their sandwiches.  But not Bubba’s.

As the folks at Bubba’s cook their chicken, they add the extras, like onion, sweet and hot peppers, and their tangy sauce, all the while tossing and slicing the ingredients together on their cooking surface.   When it’s done, they melt some cheese over the meat, and pack it all into a tasty sandwich.  We didn’t get a chance yet to try their steak hoagy, but we had the pleasure to watch them cook one up.  Again, they start with a lean juicy piece of real steak.  This is also important to point out since so many steak hoagies at other restaurants are “steak” in name only, and often contain an Arbyesque sort of formed meat product. Rest assured, at Bubba’s you get real steak ($4.00 for 6” and $7.00 for 12”), diced and sliced with peppers and onions.  We’ll be back soon to try one!

The sandwich menu is pretty interesting at Bubba’s, especially in light of the fact that they use real quality ingredients.  They also make a turkey sausage hoagy and special sandwiches such as the “Johnny B” (steak and spicy beef sausage with hoagy fixins - $8.00) and the “Birdland” (spiced turkey and chicken - $6.85).  There’s also desserts, such as Bean Pie, Sweet Potato Pie, Banana Pudding and Peach Cobbler, but since they’re made fresh, they weren’t available when we stopped in.  Again, we’ll be back.  Judging by the meat and fish, it’s a pretty good bet they’re worth stopping back for.

Our only suggestion for Bubba’s would be to add pan-fried or broiled fish to their menu of deep-fried fish.  This is a personal preference.  We usually don’t like deep fried foods.  Most restaurants use deep-frying to hide processed or otherwise inferior ingredients.  The ingredients at Bubba’s, however, are first rate.  Delicate broiling or pan-frying would both let them sing, and turn a high fat meal into a lean healthy treat.

Bubba’s is open every day but Sunday for lunch, dinner and late snacks (did we mention they have wings and chicken fingers?).  Most orders are take out, however there is a small dining area as well.  You can place your order in advance and check on availability of menu items by calling 886-7194.  Bubba’s has been around for a year and it looks like they’ll be around for many more, so stop by and visit chef Annette and the friendly Bubba’s crew.  Their motto is, “It’s Bubba Delicious!” 


Past Buffalo Gazette restaurant reviews can be found on-line at http://mediastudy.com/bg.  The Buffalo and Erie County Public Library provides free Internet access.  Librarians will be happy to assist new Internet users in accessing the Gazette website.