The Buffalo Spree’s annual best-of issue is out, and Jen14221 won best blog, quite deservedly so.

I did, however, get to participate in an “ask the expert” discussion and I talked about blogging, natch. Note the placement of the sign in the picture. K.C. and I had a good time with that.

From Buffalo Business First:

According to documents filed with the Buffalo Planning Board, Chef’s is seeking approval for a 1,734-square-foot expansion — mostly on the Chicago Street side of the building — to make way for a new handicapped accessible entrance, larger kitchen and the installation of the drive-through window.

I love how Chef’s facility is a mish-mash of buildings added on to the original, and I’m even happier to see that it’s doing well enough to merit a big expansion.

Photo by Fallingstar at Flickr

VW New Beetle. Fiat 500. Lancia Fulvia. Ford Mustang. Dodge Charger. Retro design is all the rage in the auto industry nowadays, and Citroen has released a concept version of a reborn 2CV. You know, this thing:

The new concept is after the jump Read the rest of this entry »

John McCain had a biopsy done of some skin cells from his cheek. McCain has a history of melanoma from sun exposure when he was a POW.

McCain urged people to stay out of the sun and to wear sunscreen, particularly during the summer.

“If you ever have any slight discoloration please go to your dermatologist or your doctor and get it checked out as soon as possible,” he said.

Asked if his doctor was confident the problem was nothing serious, McCain replied, “Sure, sure.”

McCain might want to have a word with the Dan the Tan Man for Congress campaign, which has festooned several “Tanning Bed” vans with “Humiston for Congress” banners. I wonder if Humiston echoes this “chaching goes the cancer council” sentiment?

Coming soon to Nissan’s US showrooms, the Cube:

If you have an iPhone 3g or have upgraded your 1st generation iPhone to 2.0, you can download the Urbanspoon app (website here). This clever application figures out your location and loads restaurants that are near you. Just give your phone a shake, and the device spins like a slot machine, and voila! You have a random place for a meal. You can lock the location, cuisine, and/or price to fine-tune the results.

Then, you click through and you get the restaurant’s phone number and address. This is easily the coolest app I’ve downloaded so far, and it’s available (without the slot effect) for any web-enabled cellphone here.

The Taste of Buffalo is this weekend.

In comments, tell me your favorite restaurant in WNY, your favorite dish there, and why.

If it looks like food, then it must be food.

For many, many years American automakers Ford, GM, and Chrysler relied on SUV and pickup sales to help the bottom line while development of regular old cars declined. Some of them got the message a couple of years ago and started a new push to develop decent passenger cars that could at least try and compete with Toyota and Honda.

GM, ever slow to adapt, will be closing four truck and SUV plants in North America. The Hummer brand may go the way of the Dodo.

Wagoner said the GM board has approved production of a new small Chevrolet car at a plant in Lordstown, Ohio, in mid-2010 and the Chevy Volt electric vehicle in Detroit.

Wagoner announced the moves in response to slumping sales of pickups and SUVs brought on by high oil prices. He said a market shift to smaller vehicles is permanent.

GM shares rose 36 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $17.80 in premarket trading.

The cuts will affect about 2,500 workers at each of the four facilities, although Wagoner did not know exact numbers. Many will be able to take openings created when 19,000 more U.S. hourly workers leave later this year through early retirement and buyout offers.

He said the company has no plans to allocate products to the four plants in the future.

The moves will save the company $1 billion per year starting in 2010. Combined with previous efforts, GM will have cut costs by $15 billion a year, Wagoner said.

Wagoner said GM’s board approved the production schedule of the Chevrolet Volt, and the company plans to bring the plug-in electric car to showrooms by the end of 2010. The Volt runs on an electric motor and has a small engine to recharge its batteries.

That’s what happened in the late 70s, and we got the Chevy Citation dreck-o-rama.

The Cobalt will never be a Civic, but it was a modest improvement over the abysmal Cavalier. The Focus started out as a real competitor, but a decade’s worth of reskins don’t take away the fact that it’s a 10-year old car, and can’t compete with a brand-new Corolla. Chrysler - which, having recently been owned by Daimler-Benz, should have known better - introduced the Caliber, which is an attractive small hatch on the outside but sports an interior with plastic so cheap and rough that it could probably cut your skin.

Meanwhile, Honda never stopped improving its Civics, even while developing CUVs like the CR-V and proper SUVs like the Pilot. With a flick of the switch, it can turn a plant from Pilots to Civics.

Likewise, while Toyota developed Sequoias and Land Cruisers, it improved upon its vanilla Corolla and Camry, and sells that green icon - the Prius.

Prices are at $4/gallon right now. Domestics are again proving that they’re slow to get the message, and are going to be a few years behind their competitors. Saturn is the lone exception, offering sporty, efficient, and attractive small cars. (Of course, the Aura is an Opel Vectra in disguise, and the Astra is a rebadged Opel, as well. Thanks, Rüsselsheim. Let’s hope they get it this time.

I absolutely love the “Cockpit Chronicles” that American Airlines First Officer Kent Wien posts for Gadling. Based out of Boston’s Logan, Wien chronicles his various whirlwind trips and the life of a commercial pilot for a major airline.

Being a travel junkie myself, I envy his ability to see the world, but don’t envy how much time he spends away from home. And be sure also to check out his Flickr stream.

This story in the Buffalo News is frustrating as all hell. My own town of Clarence has two quaint little shopping districts - the Four Corners and the Hollow - and then there’s Transit Road. Two of three of those are walkable. Guess which.

I honestly cannot fathom why anyone in suburban Buffalo would be opposed to the idea of a walkable neighborhood. Would it kill people to be able to walk down to a corner store or florist or dry cleaner or coffee shop? I’m lucky. I can do that. There are loads of people who can’t, and I’m shocked that a lot of them don’t want to.

Walkable neighborhoods don’t just give you exercise and gas savings. Walkability helps build community. You see your neighbors. You walk by their homes. You become a regular at a local business. Buffalo’s suburbs need more - not less - walkability and mixed-use neighborhoods. But the suburbs aren’t the only victims. Any shops at Waterfront Village?

The Town Centre development that Benderson wants to build in Amherst is a start. It will feature retail, hotel, residential, and commercial in the complex. In Lewiston, there’s the Village at Oxbow - the first new walkable community being planned and built in WNY. I guess, as per the News article, it behooves those of us who support these sustainable, walkable communities to show up at town board meetings and speak in support of them.

How much Buffalo area progress has been stanched by an exceedingly vocal and obnoxious minority>

The Erie Canal Harbor Terminal park is now open for sightseeing. The transformation from gravel parking lot and 70s era museum facility to historical recreation/interpretation of what was once there is truly phenomenal. Not just because it looks nice, but because it is a major downtown waterfront project that engendered controversy yet somehow managed to get done.

So far.

There’s a boardwalk, informational signs, a waterfall, a park, and the naval museum. There’s a hot dog stand, too. These are all positive steps towards an improved, attractive inner harbor. Now comes another hard part.

The historical aspect of this area gets people there, but now it’s important to keep people there and getting them to spend their money. In order to do that, we need buildings and shops and bars and restaurants. Bass Pro or no Bass Pro, it’s important that Benderson and the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation begin making palpable progress on the remainder of the Canal Side project. That means bringing the Aud down, bringing the Donovan down, and starting work on what will be on that block under the Skyway.

So, cheer this progress, and it is truly amazing that any of this got done at all in this town - a town that will take any mediocre non-event - like the removal of driftwood from an unswimmable beach, or the fact that the marina is open 12 months per year instead of 7, or where the mayor holds a press conference to announce pay & display parking meters. The inner harbor project is moving. There is something built there.

But realize that it’s only the 1st out of 4 quarters.

Gas prices could go up to $7.00 or $8.00 per gallon, and it won’t be enough to get people out of their cars. They might select different cars, but individual transportation will not die completely.

If you want people who are happy with their cars to consider using public transportation, it would be good to make that transportation clean, modern, efficient, and reliable. Big Billy Fuccillo buses need not apply.

So, consider this rubber-tired newfangled tram-bus, now rolling in France:

This is a bus-train, basically a train on rubber tires instead of rail tracks. The vehicle is designed to function exactly like an urban streetcar with a low floor that is level with boarding stations. The vehicle is guided by a centre track in the street and is meant for urban city streets, as shown above.

That’s all well and good for the city and throughout the suburbs. But what about speedier commuter rail? Quick trips between downtown and East Aurora, Hamburg, Orchard Park, Clarence, Lancaster, etc. Something like this would do just nicely:

Photo courtesy Kecko via Flickr.

Intercity and intracity rail expansion would be great for the Buffalo area. If only we had the money and political will to build it.

With the price of fuel creeping upward on an almost Zimbabwe-like daily basis, people are slowly starting to alter their routines. Driving less, taking the bus, unloading the SUV, etc.

I’m ok for now, but I am eagerly awaiting the release of the new 50-state legal clean diesel engines. Battery maintenance, safety, lack of stop-and-go traffic, and unsatisfying mileage figures make hybrids a poor fit for me. A diesel, on the other hand, provides mileage that bests overall that of a Toyota Prius, looks and behaves like a regular car, and enables me to fill the tank once every two weeks rather than once every week.

I’m currently very interested in replacing my 2.0T gas engine VW Passat with the 2009 Jetta SportWagen TDI, which is coming out in August or September. The estimated highway EPA mileage on that car is rumored to be 60 MPG highway. That means I could double my miles-per-tank from about 400 to about 800. That’s a huge difference, and one that makes economic sense even with diesel being more expensive than gas. I’ll take mine in red with the massive panoramic sunroof and a 6-speed manual transmission, please.

The problem is that Volkswagen’s reliability can be hit-or-miss. Some I’ve owned have had few problems, others have been downright lemons.

Enter Honda/Acura. The New York Times just got through test driving a Euro-spec Honda Accord (sold in the US as an Acura TSX) which sports a 4-cylinder 2.2 liter diesel which makes 140 HP, but an incredible 250 lb-ft of torque. So, it’s not slow. Better still, in real-world testing, that Honda engine returned 34 MPG in the city and 53 MPG on the highway. Oh, and it’s Honda reliable.

Those miles included a bumper-to-bumper crawl through Manhattan, the worst possible conditions for fuel efficiency.

But for people who enjoy driving, the diesel delivers over the hybrid in a big way:

The Accord covered the zero-to-60 run in just under 9 seconds in my testing, which doesn’t sound spectacular on paper. But its passing power from 30, 50 or even 70 miles an hour was terrific, as the Honda easily shot past slower cars.

And as more hybrid owners are discovering, their cars deliver little or no mileage gain on the highway. That’s because battery packs and electric motors add several hundred pounds, and the system also contributes negligible energy at freeway speeds.

Also unlike hybrids, which require drivers to go easy on the gas pedal, watch the speed limit and coast when possible to improve the mileage, the diesel Honda delivered brilliant economy with no special effort. Even spirited driving didn’t dent the mileage much. The Accord delivered 50 m.p.g. even during a 75-m.p.h. cruise and 40 m.p.g. when I flogged it like a Nascar yahoo.

All that with less CO2 emissions than a car, and with negligible NOx emissions through state of the art particulate filters, ammonia systems, and ultra low sulfur diesel.

Once these diesels come out, carmakers can pretty much stop the excuses and whining about increased CAFE standards.

The name that Bruce Andriatch has coined for the traffic jams at many local Tim Hortons’ drive-thrus. The only reason why I ever go to Tim’s is the sour cream donuts - glazed or unglazed, and that’s very, very rarely. The coffee there tastes like cigarette butts to me, and they don’t give you a sleeve or double-cup it, so the cigarette butts burn your fingers, to boot.

Vota aqui to get Anthony Bourdain to come and visit the other, grittier New York.

[UPDATE: This is a post from March that I’m promoting back to the top (with new title to fit this week’s theme) because of the continuing drama in Amherst Town Hall regarding Benderson’s proposed lifestyle center project at Maple near North Forest. A vote earlier this week was pushed off to June 2nd to permit county involvement with traffic mitigation issues. Benderson recently made some changes to the design of the 34-acre, $44 million mixed-use project.

The comments tend to talk about the fakeness of the project versus the authenticity. Given that Amherst actually has no town center - the Village of Williamsville technically being its own governmental entity - as fake as it is, at least it’s not just another shopping plee-yeea-za.]

Benderson Development recently bought the parcel of land formerly known as the Buffalo Shooting Club. They’re planning to build Western New York’s first lifestyle center there. A lifestyle center is a new form of shopping center that resembles a village downtown. It encourages walking, and usually features nice amenities and upscale shops. Cleveland’s Legacy Village is an example (careful - loud music).

Predictably, there is opposition to the proposal from neighbors and others. Some complain that Benderson has loads of vacant storefronts throughout Amherst - a valid concern, for sure. Others are more NIMBY-ish. Like these people.

Anyone who knows Maple Road in that area knows that we’re not talking about some bucolic little country lane. It’s a four-lane road with a suicide lane in the middle. The Pepsi Center is right there. UB North is walking distance (as are its thousands of well-financed students). Just over the 290 to the east is a bona fide retail strip.

But what’s amazing to me is that there had been a shooting club there. People with guns shooting at pieces of clay thrown in the air, or at targets set up. Shooting? OK. Lexus SUVs coming to visit Trader Joe’s (which is rumored to be opening its first WNY location at this location)? No good.

Not only that, but this will be a mixed-use facility. The plan includes a new hotel, some non-retail commercial space, and even condominiums. In my mind, a development like this can only enhance the value of the surrounding neighborhoods, offers them a new amenity, and adds value to the town’s tax base. The Benderson plan is here in a large .pdf.

All Things Buffalo wrote about lifestyle centers as being evidence of an evolution in shopping.

The fact that it’s taken Buffalo 10 years to pick up on a nationwide trend is amusing, and the NIMBYism is something that must be anticipated. I’m in favor of this project, because it will enhance the quality of life in Amherst, and will most likely have a positive effect on nearby property values.

Build it.

The Buffalo Lunch Randomizer.

Answering that age-old question for downtown workers: where should we go for lunch?

The disclaimer at the bottom of the page says you have to “obey it, always”. So, obey.

See this series of photographs.

That’s Gasbuddy.com’s 5-year track comparing Buffalo’s gas prices (blue) to the US average (red). When we left Buffalo last Saturday, gas prices were around $3.40. They were about the same in Florida, and stayed about the same all week; we paid a low of $3.37 and a high of $3.50. So imagine my shock when the Tops gas down the street was at $3.65 yesterday. What kind of bullshit is this?

And what kind of bullshit is the fact that our gas prices used to pretty closely track the national average, but especially since Katrina (the big 2005 spike), we’ve been about 20 cents higher.

So, gas prices and the economy in general have me pretty well spooked, but the problem is that there’s nothing really worth getting to replace the Passat Wagon and help out with mileage. Diesels aren’t here yet, the Smart forTwo gets real-world mileage that isn’t any better than a normal-looking Nissan Versa or Toyota Yaris, and they can’t import the diesel Smart - which gets 70 MPG - due to emissions problems. I’m interested in the Jetta Sportwagen because I like wagons’ versatility, and this one will come with a panoramic sunroof and a 50 - 60 MPG TDI engine.

The problem is, diesel prices are even worse. Is it a better deal to get 700 miles’ worth of range from a 15 gallon tank of $4.20/gallon diesel versus 400 miles’ worth of range from a 19 gallon tank of $3.65/gallon unleaded? Diesel: 9 cents/mile. Gasser: 17 cents/mile. A very big difference.

What, if anything, have you done to deal with ridiculous gas prices?

Shh. I’m not really blogging this week. Or next. That’s why I keep popping up here, particularly at God-forsaken hours of the day.

A friend of mine complained to me yesterday about the dearth of car posts lately, so I thought I’d change that today, briefly.

1. Here’s a spy shot of the 2010 Ford Taurus. Currently, the Taurus is simply a re-badged, re-skinned version of what used to be called the Ford Five Hundred. It’s a gargantuan car that looks like a blown-up-last-generation VW Passat. Ford appears to be going in a derivative direction, and this grainy cellphone shot appears to show a blend of last-generation Camry and Saturn Aura / Chevy Malibu design details:

2. The New Honda Pilot has been spotted. I’m a former Pilot owner and dropped the SUV when gas prices hit the outrageous level of $1.85 per gallon.

Ah, those were the days.

In any event, the new version is more Acura-y, more modern and luxurious than the former version. I don’t get the grille at. all. It reminds me of what Zastava did to the old Yugoslav workhorse, the 101, aka “Stojadin”, back in the 80s. I’ll show you:

Old Stojadin:

New Stojadin, badged as the “Zastava Skala”

With that shown, here’s the next Pilot:

Apart from the massive headlights, I kind of like it.

3. I’ve seen a few of the the new Mercedes C-Class around town lately, and I think it’s a strikingly beautiful car. Amazingly, you can get one for about $32,000 - much less than most SUVs or well-equipped minivans. Much less than a BMW 3-series, and about the same as a Saab 9-3. The huge Mercedes emblem embedded into the grille looks sporty and modern. The headlights have LED eyebrows. In person, it turns heads, for sure. I realize it’s somewhat of a wanna-be, poseur car and that a “real” Mercedes costs closer to $50k, but I appreciate that Mercedes has a long history, a good reputation, and it’s made its baby Benz quite gorgeous looking. Problem for me is that it’s rear-wheel drive, although AWD is available, but only with an automatic transmission. You can get a 6-speed manual with the 2WD version. Just saying, I like this:

Posted by BuffaloGeek

Mayor Brown hosted a press conference today with Arts Commission Chair Barbra Kavanaugh, Buffalo Niagara CVB President and CEO Richard Geiger, members of the Buffalo Arts Commission and tenants of Artspace to celebrate the announcement of Buffalo being the number one arts destination for mid-sized cities by AmericanStyle Magazine.

“Arts lovers across the country are learning what so many of us in Buffalo know: our city, on a variety of levels, possesses an amazingly diverse arts community that offers something for everyone,” said Mayor Byron W. Brown.  “In my State of the City address, I announced that 2008 is the Year of the Arts in the City of Buffalo, and now that distinction is truer than ever.  From our world-renowned museums and galleries, to our thriving performing and visual