There are two kinds of vegan menu problem in Buffalo. The first is the restaurant with nothing, which we have written about elsewhere. The second is subtler: a restaurant with real options and no guidance, so you order the safe thing and wonder afterward whether the other one was better.
This is the guide for the second problem. It covers the plant-based dishes on our vegan menu, compared the way you would compare them at the table: what is in it, what it tastes like, how much of an appetite it needs. Current prices are on the menu and on the vegan dining page; they change, so we are leaving them out here.
The five mains, side by side
| Dish | Built from | Tastes like | Appetite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lentil meatloaf | Lentils, mushrooms and flax in a loaf; tangy tomato brown sugar glaze; steamed broccoli; sweet potato fries | Savory, sweet-and-sharp on top from the glaze, dense, knife-and-fork | The full dinner. Order this hungry. |
| Vegan Stinger | Buddha burger, vegan cheese, a Buffalo-style garbanzo fritter, hemp ranch, on a roll | Buffalo heat, ranch cool, a lot going on in each bite. Messy on purpose. | Big. A two-hands sandwich. |
| Buddha burger | Barley, beans and fresh herbs, made in house | Earthy and herby; tastes of grain rather than of pretend beef | Medium. The lightest of the handhelds. |
| Vegan pizza | Vegan cheese, peppers, onions, mushrooms on our pizza dough; gluten-free crust for a small upcharge | Pizza. The vegetables carry it more than the cheese does. | Medium, and the easiest one to share. |
| Artisanal vegetable primavera | Al dente pasta, olive oil, fresh basil, seasonal vegetables; gluten-free pasta on request | Clean and bright rather than rich; the basil does the work | A full plate that feels lighter than the meatloaf. |
Two things the table cannot show. The meatloaf is the dish people mention in reviews and drive across town for, and it is the one we would put in front of a skeptic. And the Vegan Stinger only makes sense if you know what a Stinger is: Buffalo's steak-and-chicken-finger sandwich, rebuilt plant-based rather than imitated.
Which one, tonight
You are hungry and it is cold out
Lentil meatloaf. It is the only dish on the plant-based menu that behaves like a Sunday dinner: a slab, a glaze, a green vegetable, and something starchy. Skip the starter or you will not finish it.
You want Buffalo food, specifically
The Vegan Stinger, with the vegan fritters to start if there are two of you. This is the plate to order when a friend from out of town is having wings and you would like to be eating something from the same city.
You want to share
Vegan pizza and the white bean hummus, which comes with celery, carrots, cucumber and toasted baguette and was designed for the middle of the table. Add a house salad with the hemp ranch and three people eat well.
You want something lighter, or you have somewhere to be
The Buddha burger, or the primavera. Both come out without ceremony, and both leave room for a drink after. If the clock matters, our guide to eating before a show covers the timing.
Order the meatloaf hungry, the Stinger curious, and the pizza with company.
Starters and sides that are actually vegan
- White bean hummus: vegan as it comes.
- Vegan fritters: garbanzo-based, shredded vegetables, hemp ranch. The same fritter that goes into the Vegan Stinger.
- House salad with the hemp ranch or the balsamic vinaigrette. The hemp ranch is made in house and is why this is not a consolation plate.
- Sides: french fries are vegan as they come. Sweet potato fries, steamed broccoli, and the artisanal vegetables are marked as vegan options on the menu, so say the word when you order.
Two dishes are vegan only if you ask: the bruschetta and the truffle fries. They are not vegan as they arrive by default. Say so when you order and the kitchen makes them that way.
Salads with a plant-based protein
The salad section lets you add white bean hummus, vegan fritters, or a Buddha burger to a house salad, which turns a starter into a meal without ordering off the mains. The grilled Caesar comes with plant-based fritters but is dressed with Caesar dressing and parmesan, so it is not a vegan plate as written; the house salad with hemp ranch is the one to build on.
Everything above is plant-based by recipe. It is cooked in the same kitchen, with the same fryer, as the steaks and the wings. If you need strict separation for an allergy or a medical reason rather than a preference, call ahead and ask for the kitchen; we would rather tell you exactly what we can do than guess. The same honesty applies to gluten-free ordering.
Bringing someone who eats steak
This is, frankly, the point. A table with a wood-fired New York strip on one side and a lentil meatloaf on the other is a normal Friday here, and it is the reason a steakhouse bothered to build a thirteen-dish vegan menu. If it is the two of you, the date-night guide has pairings. If it is forty of you, the same dishes carry over to the banquet room, and planning a banquet menu for vegan and non-vegan guests walks through how to do that without anyone getting the sad plate.
Hours, directions from the suburbs, and the full list with prices are on the vegan dining in Buffalo page. The kitchen runs Tuesday through Saturday, 4 to 10, at 3151 Main Street, a Buffalo steakhouse with a full vegan menu.