BUFFALO, N.Y. — Imagine watching this weekend’s playoff game without Buffalo flavored wings -- that is going to be the reality for one restaurant in Pittsburgh that removed all Buffalo themed menu items.
When the Bills play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday, Mark “Bubba” Snider’s restaurant in Pittsburgh is purposefully going without the Bills’ gameday staples of chicken wings and chicken wing dip.
“When we found out we were playing the Bills we had two options. I could either stop taking [dollar] bills, which I wasn’t going to do, or I could stop serving Buffalo sauce,” Bubba said.
Bubba is a Pittsburgh radio show host and owner of Bubba’s Gourmet Burghers & Beer, a restaurant just south of Pittsburgh.
Two of his top selling items originated here in Buffalo: Buffalo flavored wings and chicken wing dip.
Despite that, he tells me he won’t support our city in any fashion before Sunday’s NFL playoff game.
“We have to stay in solidarity with our black and gold, our Pittsburgh Steelers, and no matter what, we are going to ban Buffalo sauce,” Bubba said.
He has no shortage of confidence in the food from Pittsburgh.
“If I opened a Bubba’s Gourmet Burghers & Beer in Buffalo, it would be number one restaurant in Buffalo, because everything in Pittsburgh is just better.”
“I think it’s a little extreme, but to each their own I suppose,” Jackie Silver said.
Jackie is from North Buffalo, but she originally grew up in Pittsburgh.
She feels banning a staple like chicken wings is a little much.
Also, after 12 years of living in Western New York as a Steelers fan, she recently had a change of heart.
“Living here, it’s really hard to not root for the Bills,” Jackie said.
She thanks the Bills Mafia for making that change in her life.
“[Bills’ fans] travel well, so do Steelers’ fans, but there is nothing like a tailgate here, and the energy at Highmark Stadium is unmatched,” Jackie said.
Regardless of which fan base is better, Bubba hopes this change at his restaurant sparks some energy between the two fanbases leading up to the game.
“In the end, it’s supposed to be lighthearted and to be a good time to get some good natured rivalry between the two cities,” Bubba said.
And, despite the very different hopes for Sunday’s final score.
“I really want the Bills to win. They’re hungry and I just feel like it’s their year,” Jackie said.
“’Do you think the Steelers have a chance?’ Absolutley,” Bubba said.
The playoff game between the Buffalo Bills and the Pittsburgh Steelers will take place Sunday at 1 p.m.
