Restaurant of the Month: Buffalo Fire Department

South Bay Events presents its pick of the month for April 2013!

Old Town Torrance is a curious time warp beholden by one way streets, California bungalows, antique kitsch, and a Main Street U.S.A. vibe. The restaurant & bar scene tends to cater to business lunches and expensed dinners bankrolled by dueling car companies Honda or Toyota while the Old Town residents frequent a Foster’s Freeze at night or belly up to the Tortilla Cantina on weekends. It’s a locale ripe for a neighborly bar & restaurant and in 2009 Chef Michael Shafer built his own version of a down home American dream called the Buffalo Fire Department, otherwise known as BFD.

There bar section is equipped with firehouse regalia from both Torrance and Buffalo (NY) fire departments and adorned with old school rock n roll flavor from the 1970s. Bar stools, tables, and a couple TV screens accent the firehouse motif. Happy hour is served in bar from 5 – 7 p.m. Monday through Friday with a mild, medium, to suicide selection of Buffalo Wings, some macaroni cheese balls, sliders, tacos, and generously priced micro-brews, California wines, & cocktails. It’s not uncommon to see Chef Shafer mingling with guests gnawing on wings or burgers, his larger than life epicurean personality rings throughout BFD.

The BFD acronym also spells out a simple branding message that speaks to its eating essence, conceptualized with these three words: Burgers, Fries, Drinks. Eating a burger (healthy eaters need not apply) is gastronomical delight that begins with the adventure of selection. There are twenty-four burger creations to salivate over, substitute chicken or Portobello mushroom for any beef burger, and the burger list triples in value. The burgers are massive, each stacked with a high quality, half-pound, ground Angus beef patty and freshly baked in-house buns. The Grilled Tomatoes, Mozzarella, and Roasted Garlic Clove Burger with secret sauce is a masterpiece with whole garlic cloves packed in tightly to ensure every bite gets a shot of the stinking rose. The belief that bacon makes anything taste better can also be passed along to macaroni & cheese making BFD’s Mac & Cheese Burger Stack with ranch an awesome combination.

Other wildly tantalizing burger menu items worth mentioning are the Thai BBQ and Wasiabi Sauce Burger and a burger dedicated to Huevos Rancheros. It comes with a fried egg, guacamole, and salsa. Every burger comes with fries and will most likely fall apart during consumption.

There are less extreme options like The Burger, fixed with simplicity and L.T.0. (lettuce, tomato, & onion) and of course some secret sauce. In fact most burgers, sandwiches, and fries come with this fabled secret sauce that is traditionally drizzled over Buffalo Wings (think Frank’s Red Hot Sauce). The Sloppy Fries are basked in chili, cheese, onions, guacamole, salsa, and secret sauce. For dessert, try the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake or Campfire Smores.

The Buffalo Fire Department is located in Old Town Torrance at 1261 Cabrillo Ave. Give them a call to find out about upcoming events like the Triple B Romp N' Stomp 2 or or inquire about some tasty catering opportunities at (310) 787-7501. Visit their website at http://www.buffalofiredepartment.com/