528 Abbott Rd.
Sun-Thu 11AM-10PM, Fri Sat 11AM-midnight
Ask locals about Cazenovia Park Falls and you'll likely get little more than quizzical looks: even more so than Buffalo's other natural waterfall, Forest Lawn Cemetery's Serenity Falls, this is truly a hidden gem. Strange, because it's easily the more impressive of the two — by comparison with its counterpart which is little more than a series of rapids, the horseshoe-shaped Cazenovia Park Falls is a six-foot (1.8-m) vertical plunge along Cazenovia Creek over a ridge of dark, oil-rich shale. The scene at the falls is a very changeable one — after heavy rains the falls might be temporarily submerged again, and during the dry summer months the flow often slows to a trickle, but come at the right time and you'll bear witness to a lively affair of trout or bass jumping up the cascade as anglers try their luck.
Dog Ears is not only a bookstore, but also a cafe where you can get a whole range of gourmet sandwiches served up in a cozy, intimate setting. Creative names for menu items evoke the literary classics of the past: the "Dubliner" features bacon, sharp Irish cheese, roasted tomatoes, and spinach on panini, and the vegetarian-friendly "Walden" sees grilled zucchini, mushrooms, artichokes, red peppers, and sun-dried tomato pesto piled onto on toast. Grab a scone out of the bakery case for a side; they're out of this world. At breakfast, bagels, French toast, and some pricey-but-good breakfast sandwiches are the rule. If you're here on Friday mornings, take advantage of "Free Coffee Friday"; if not, have a coffee anyway — it's ridiculously cheap on the other six days of the week too!
Mon-Fri 6:30AM-8PM, Sat 8AM-8PM, Sun 9AM-3PM·$10-15
Not only "a fun, funky place where the written word rules", but also a force for good in the community: the money you spend at the not-for-profit Dog Ears Bookstore goes to such good causes as community literacy workshops, children's reading programs, and donations to school libraries. But even if you're just here to buy books, this friendly, unpretentious mom-and-pop bookstore/café hybrid stocks titles for everyone, but especially young children. There's also a good selection of Irish literature (this being South Buffalo, after all) and works by local authors.
Mon-Sat 10AM-8PM, Sun 11AM-3PM