Soup Diary 110426

I really should know better. I learned long ago that as famous as Buffalo Style Wings have become over the years, the farther away one gets from Buffalo itself, the less likely you are to find an even reasonable facsimile of the real thing. I don't know why that is-- presumably if you mix the ingredients properly, you ought to be able to replicate the flavor, texture, etc. of a well-done chicken wing. But it doesn't seem to work that way. So it's no surprise to discover that the same principle applies in relation to Buffalo Chicken Style Soup. There are a couple of places in Western New York that specialize in this concoction, and have even won awards at the Taste of Buffalo festival. That soup is really good-- hot and tangy and calling to mind a plate full of wings. But the cup I tried in an Idaho Falls eatery a couple days ago was a pale imitation. It was orange, and it did have chicken in it, but potatoes? I guess that was supposed to be the Idaho twist, but it really undercut the flavor, creating more of a chicken stew with a hint of garlic Tabasco added. It's sad that folks out west don't know the real thing, and it makes me wonder if they think that those of us who have are crazy to think it's so great (that goes for the soup as well as the wings). Here's hoping that someone, someday figures out how to export or create something as good as what Buffalonians can get at the Anchor Bar or Duff's.