Brandon "B" V.'s Profile

I can't being to say enough about how great Adam The Inspector is.  Having dealt with other home inspectors before, I can say that for us, he is the best.  He has inspected 5-6 houses for us (no, really, all during ONE home search!), and we learned more along the way than you can imagine.

Other home inspectors we have dealt with in the past have given houses the once over, or given us waay too much opinion and waay too little fact.  This guy gives us a lot of information, gives us an idea of how important some things are compared to others, and gives extremely thorough reports at the end of it all.  He shows up every time ON TIME, he is very courteous with both us (buyers) and the sellers and their property.  He never sugar coated issues that were found, but he also found issues that I thought were bigger that he explained weren't so much.

I've learned along the way with home inspections that you really need to know (or to learn!) your stuff, and the home inspector isn't there to give you a strong opinion of what he thinks, but is more there to give you enough information to make informed decisions.  Also, Adam's reports have become something of a Homeowners Manual for us, giving us a list of the things going on with the house, and the things that will eventually need repair or replacement.

If you are looking for a reliable, knowledgeable, and affable home inspector in the Western New York area, you can't go wrong with A Plus Home Inspections (Adam).  Though I never hope to be looking for a home again any time soon, I'd use him in a heartbeat and have recommended him to multiple friends already.  

Oh yeah, and his prices are on average with any home inspection you would get, and I believe he does pest inspections as well (we needed one on a house we were selling as the buyers were getting a VA loan and it's required apparently).

p.s.  Never ever ever consider buying a home without a really good, thorough inspection.  It doesn't stop a person from buying a house, just gives them an idea of the various issues (every house has a couple) that you'll be facing and will help you plan better for future repairs, projects, and replacements.  This is just my opinion but I can't emphasize this enough.  And if you are not sure of the inspection results, talk to the inspector, or, as it's worth the $$ in the whole scheme of things, get a second inspector to come and do a report!

The new Tully's is very similar to the one near Main and Transit with its sports-related themes and slightly above-average food.  The service here is really great, though, and between that and the free popcorn, AND the fact that they turned on the Red Sox game for me, I will definitely be making many more return trips.

The place IS loud, but it is a sports bar and that should be expected.  Cheap drink specials make up for the volume.

Expect a wait on a Friday or Saturday night.  We were told the wait was 30-45min on Fri. and 20min on Sat. and I was too impatient so we went elsewhere.  In hindsight, Tully's would have been worth the wait for the lively room, the multiple games on the TV, the great service, and the food that was nothing to write home about, but not terrible either.

The wait on weeknights isn't as bad.  Worth a trip - we have been there three times since the opened and will be back again soon I am sure.

Quick update on my previous review...

Fera's on Franklin doesn't seem to have a website, but the Buffalo Place has a write-up here: http://www.buffaloplac...

And more importantly, the Buffalo Place write-up has a link to their menu!  I checked a couple things, and even though this menu is from 2005, it's prices are almost the same as they are on the current menu.  Link: http://www.buffaloplac...

This place is fascinating.  As I can see on other reviews of Ruzzine's on Yelp, our trip started at Grover's, wanting to check the place out for the first time out of general curiosity.  We were, of course, greeted at Grovers (or, well not greeted at all) by a full restaurant and nobody willing to show us where to wait or what to do.  And that ends the talk of other restaurants in this review....

ANYWAY, Ruzine's is directly across Transit from the aforementioned place, and it looks like someone's house that was renovated and had a bar and patio tacked on.  Parking was easy in their side lot, and the entrance through the side door brings you to a bar room.  It's a dark little room that contained what looked like some happy locals having their post-work drinks on a weeknight.  I think I might have seen a dart board in there, and there was a hallway out to the outdoor patio.  Seeing that it is Winter, I can't quite review the patio area.

We were seated immediately, and the place was fairly unoccupied.  The server took our drink and food orders pretty quickly, which was refreshing.  Their menu was a typical Buffalo dinner place - mostly pub food with burgers, wings, and some steak and seafood entrees.  The menu isn't huge, which is nice as you don't need to spend too much time choosing.  The prices are fairly low as well.

The atmosphere inside this place is pretty cool - it's an old school slightly run down (but not dirty) Victorian house that has been converted to a restaurant.  There are multiple dining rooms in addition to the bar and patio, and that makes a more intimate experience.

Our food came out relatively quickly - burgers and wings.  The burgers (7oz) were pretty large and well mad, and I can't imagine how a single person could eat the 12oz burgers that were on the menu.  I am a VERY picky wing eater and absolutely loved their wings (I order hot and saucy).  They were the perfect amount of crispness and their sauce was hot (not QUITE hot enough..) and flavorful.

All in all we were very satisfied with the meal, and equally satisfied with the prices and friendly service.  We will be back to Ruzzine's at some point for sure!

I love their food, and the convenience when they are able to do the Main & Mohawk day.  Check out their Twitter (@whereslloyd) page to find the location of the truck!

Downtown Buffalo has a serious lack of food variety for lunch workers, and this was a great addition.  I'm glad they have had lasting power, and the quality of their ingredients, friendliness of the staff, and consistency of the food are all reasons for that, IMO.  Not many lunch places make waiting in a line in freezing, windy weather worth it, but Lloyd's does.

Went in with a coupon for simple oil change and tire rotation.  They did it without trying to upsell me.  Work was done fine.  Coffee was good in the waiting area, the tv worked, it wasn't too busy on a Saturday morning, and they had good magazines to read.  All I need in a place for an oil change.

Picasso's is a Western New York icon, and is the almost-perfect example of what a 'Buffalo Style' pizza is.  If you look at a New York style pizza as a thin-crust, and a Chicago Style as deep dish, Picasso's would be considered a lot closer to Chicago in it's depth of dough than it would New York.  This is HEAVY pizza with a bit of grease, but if that's your thing, you will be in heaven.  If thin crust if your style, you may want to consider other options.

Prices are a bit high here, but the quality and consistence is sometimes worth paying for.  Their delivery is on time and I have not had any issues with wrong orders.

The wings at this location are excellent and among the best in the area, IMO.  The wings are served with sealed blu cheese and celery.  In my opinion, all wings should come with both carrots and celery.

I have not had any of their salads or subs yet, but will try soon and update my review.  Given their quality on other things, I expect they will be pretty good.

Parking at this location isn't too bad, and I've never encountered a full lot.

Made reservations on short notice for 6:30 on a Saturday and had no problems getting a table for 6.  The restaurant is almost hard to find due to the understated outside.  Walking inside, you are greeted by a very low light, beautiful set of rooms with high ceilings reminiscent of a couple of Boston's North End Italian restaurants.

The place is very clean, with a staff that is wicked attentive and polite.  I wish other restaurants of the same caliber could take an example of how to treat customers from these guys.

The food was excellent.  Fresh pasta, great taste.  My chicken dish could have used a little more seasoning, but I'm glad they didn't try to overdo everything.  The portions were good sized and not too big for a single meal.  Their crab cake appetizers were wonderful.

Simple menu, simple wine list, and everything about the place said understated and classy.  If I'm in New Orleans again in the future, I'll definitely take a trip to Bacco and enjoy a relaxed, tasty meal in a gorgeous setting.

The new Tully's is very similar to the one near Main and Transit with its sports-related themes and slightly above-average food.  The service here is really great, though, and between that and the free popcorn, AND the fact that they turned on the Red Sox game for me, I will definately be making many more return trips.

The place IS loud, but it is a sports bar and that should be expected.  Cheap drink specials make up for the volume.

Expect a wait on a Friday or Saturday night.  We were told the wait was 30-45min on Fri. and 20min on Sat. and I was too impatient so we went elsewhere.  In hindsight, Tully's would have been worth the wait for the lively room, the multiple games on the TV, the great service, and the food that was nothing to write home about, but not terrible either.

Oh yeah, the prices are pretty good.  I believe they have coupons in the Coupon Book as well.

Good stuff.  Been eating there since I was a kid.  Always consistent.  Great sauce on the pizza and great flavor on the wings.  Service for dine-in has always been friendly, and the take out is generally fine (tip: be sure that your order is complete before you walk out!).  Parking can be a premium during the busy Friday night times, but you can always find a spot on the street.  Great place and highly recommended if you want to try what is true Buffalo pizza and wings.