This warm and welcoming restaurant, which opened in 1995, offers fine Italian cuisine. They offer huge portions of traditional Italian dishes, like tripe and veal cacciatore. They make a homemade sauce, available in tomato, meat, mushroom, and marinara, which is also available for take-out by the quart. Start out your dining experience with soup, like pasta fagiola or the soup of the day. Home baked pastas include lasagna, manicotti, stuffed shells, ravioli, baked pasta parmigiana, and baked tortellini. Dinner entrees, which are served with either a salad or a side of pasta, include veal or chicken Florentine, veal or chicken cacciatore, veal marsala, eggplant parmigiana, and much more. Some of their specialty pastas include pasta a la Amici, Sicilian calamari, luguini carbonara, and fettuccini alfredo. They also serve baked or broiled fish, fish Florentine, and a chicken finger dinner. Their wine list features wines from Italy, California, France, New Zealand, and Australia, as well as New York State wines. - Christine A. Smyczynski

Gordon's is one of the finest eateries in the neighborhood of North Delaware. The restaurant offers famous delicious local fare which is a treat to the taste buds. However, one of the main reasons for the fame of this restaurant is its sports bar which finds the place full to the capacity. You can watch an exciting match as you sip onto the drinks during happy hours. If good food and great drinks does not satisfy your happiness quotient, there are regular events and live musical performances that are sure to engross you. If it is a complete entertainment package that you are looking for, Gordon's is the place to go.

Not your usual stuffy steak joint, this University Heights restaurant not far from the University at Buffalo South Campus combines inexpensive steak and barbecue with nightly specials. The atmosphere is rousing and sometimes even raucous, the wait staff is friendly, and there's live music Wednesday nights. The menu includes classic pub fare such as roast beef on weck, Black Angus burger, and New York strip steak. The Montana Room, a second dining area, is available for parties, banquets and other bashes.

Buffalonians turn to the Mora Family for authentic Mexican cuisine where recipes date back 100 years and have been passed down for generations. Complimentary chips and homemade salsa tantalize your tastebuds. Main dishes include an assortment of meat, cheese or seafood enchiladas, chimichangas and burritos. The salsa, guacamole, and a line of frozen foods are available for takeout. The original restaurant opened on Niagara Street in 1980, but a fire closed it down in 1996. This new location offers more tables, brightly painted walls, and the same food that made this restaurant a favorite.

This popular Chinese restaurant has been voted the best Chinese restaurant in Buffalo by readers of the paper Artvoice. Family owned by the Leong family since 1981, it is located close to the South campus of the University at Buffalo. Their signature dish is Ginger Garlic Chicken, featuring white meat chicken in a special spicy ginger garlic sauce. Other dishes include black pepper beef, stuffed pressed duck, General Tsou's chicken, and tangerine beef, just to name a few. They also offer a special family dinner menu that includes soup, appetizer and a choice of a main dish per person. A number of healthy and steamed options are featured on the menu. Catering is available, either on or off site. A daily lunch menu includes soup and salad. - Christine A. Smyczynski

This New Orleans-inspired bistro is named after the voodoo god of thunder, with a menu that features authentic Cajun and Creole cuisine. Start out with a salad, perhaps a spring green salad with apples and walnuts, a spinach salad with mushrooms, or maybe a Caesar salad. Appetizers include chicken and sausage gumbo, avocado spring rolls and fried calamari. Entrees include Creole bouillabaisse, blackened pork chops, Creole meatloaf and more. For dessert, try their house specialty, bananas foster, or maybe a slice of pecan pie or a bowl of New Orleans bread pudding. Wine is available by the glass or bottle. -Christine A. Smyczynski

Close to the University at Buffalo's South Campus, this restaurant caters to the student population and area business people. Reputed to have the best omelets in town, the restaurant also hits the spot with its traditional Lebanese dishes and various veggie burgers. Dishes include such Lebanese specialties as kibbeh (ground lamb, cracked wheat, and pine nuts), and swarma (beef marinated in wine). Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served daily by an efficient and friendly staff. The Sunday morning brunch is a food-lovers feast.

Batavia Downs is the oldest lighted racetrack in North America. Started in 1939, this facility features a half-mile oval racetrack with Euro-style rails. Live harness racing is featured July through December. Operated by Western Region Off Track Betting, the racetrack also has simulcasts from North America's top tracks seven days a week. The second floor of the facility has 150 TVs to watch your favorite races. Batavia Downs Casino features video lottery terminals and 586 gaming machines. Food is available in the Grandstand Bar and Grill. The menu features homemade soups, like western cheddar cheese soup and artichoke, tomato, and roasted red pepper soup. Other selections include deli sandwiches, wraps, chicken fingers, and burgers, as well as a Friday fish fry, ribs, pork chops, steaks, seafood, and pasta. -Christine A. Smyczynski

late Ilio DiPaolo, a pro wrestler who immigrated to the United States from Italy in 1951. Hand-painted murals of Ilio's hometown of Abruzzi and of the bay of Sorrento grace the walls of the dining room. In warmer weather dine outdoors in the courtyard, which also has a bocce court. Complete your meal with desserts like cannoli, tiramisu, spumoni and gelato. A banquet room seats up to 250 and off-site catering for up to 400 is available. Closing times vary, but the restaurant is open from Tuesday to Friday from 11:30, Saturday from 14:00 and Sunday from 13:00. -Christine A. Smyczynski

JoJo's Bistro and Wine Bar in Williamsville has a really unique-looking bar; the walls are of rough stone covered with glass, and shelves of wine are attached to it. The menu, which is French-inspired, has a selection of salads, including a California Cobb. Sandwiches include a tomato sandwich, which features two hefty slabs of whole grain bread stuffed with tomato, romaine, avocado, and brie, accompanied with what seems to be homemade potato chips. Another sandwich on the menu is the classic French dip. The menu also features a selection of wood-fired pizzas, including one topped with fresh basil, mozzarella and tomato sauce.-Christine A. Smyczynski