Their motto is “your home away from home.” Obviously they’re addressing the comfy cozy atmosphere – that evasive Cheers thing that all bars supposedly strive for. It is comfy, but it ain’t like home. For one thing, at our place, we move the furniture around every few years and change the pictures on the wall. Anacone’s is more like a time capsule – a museum dedicated to the 1960s when local blues drummer and racecar driver Dave Anacone first opened this haunt. Today his son Mark follows his tradition of preserving the bar pretty much in tact, down to the yellowing Maximus Super (Ale) poster and pricing placards for mixed drinks (though the prices have been replaced with fresh new numbers).
It’s also not quite like home because in my house we don’t always have a juicy side of beef on the cutting board or a pot of Italian Sausages simmering. But it’s these two features more than anything else that make this “home away from home” worth a visit.
Anacone’s is more a bar than a restaurant, so their menu is not extensive. They sell sandwiches, nachos and chili. It’s two sandwiches in particular, however, that put Anacone’s on the culinary map alongside great eateries such as Ike & BG’s, Meisters and Aunties. First, there’s the sausage sandwich. With two sausages sliced and nestled on what looks like a Whopper bun, it’s certainly not much to look at. And it’s really not all that filling; so if you are hungry, buy two (they’re $2.75 each). It’s what’s inside the bun that makes our mouths water as we write. Anacone’s cooks up the best Italian sausage in town, bar none! It’s a top quality sausage link, slow cooked to perfection so that it literally melts in your mouth, giving your teeth a night off. The sauce is slightly tangy and a perfect compliment to the sausage. The whole little package comes served on a paper plate with the strange addition of pickle slices on the side. Of course maybe a hot Italian pepper or a pepperoncini would be more fitting, but you wouldn’t want to go into Anacone’s and mess with the formula. It’s always been a pickle and it always will be a pickle. It’s part of the charm. Enjoy your pickle but keep it on the side, not on the sandwich.
The second reason to come to Anacone’s is their Roast Beef and Weck ($3.50). This is real roast beef carved up right in front of you. It’s lean (look at it – it’s behind the bar), juicy, tender and always cooked to perfection. “Always” is a serious word here. The quality here has been consistent every day for over 30 years. And it is the same sandwich, with meat cooked up by an Anacone, and presented on paper plates (never Styrofoam) with the same signature pickle and kimmelweck roll dipped ever so slightly in natural juices. As always, it is served up with a napkin dispenser, salt, pepper, and a ‘lil barrel of fresh kick’n horseradish.
Anacone’s also serves up ham, salami, and ham and cheese sandwiches ($2.25-$2.75), bowls of chili ($2) and meatball bombers ($2.25). We can’t tell you about any of them. The beef and the sausage sandwiches are just too good to pass on. That’s why we go and that’s what we eat. For a hearty appetite we recommend one of each – and a pint of Sam Adams. Anacone’s is located at 3178 Bailey Avenue in Buffalo on the strip between Winspear and Kensington. They are pretty much always open.
Please send comments to Mike & Laura c/o The Gazette or via email to food@mediastudy.com. Past restaurant reviews are available online at http://mediastudy.com/bg. Enjoy!