EAST AURORA, N.Y. — There have been 24 presidents, two world wars, a moon landing, three rovers sent to Mars, lab-grown meat and a tweeting bear since the Wallenwein Hotel opened its doors in 1882.
The East Aurora inn was a destination hotel and eatery for those making the two-day trip by horse from Olean to Buffalo - never complain about Buffalo traffic again.
At one time the Wallenwein Hotel, Wally's if you're a local, was a brewery and restaurant. The hotel portion of the property on Oakwood Avenue closed in the 1980's.
The Wallenwein is known for its comfort food, which if we're honest much of the food in WNY is comforting. Nothing is more comforting at Wally's than its plate-sized fish fry that you can get on Wednesdays and Fridays during Lent. The fish fry at Wally's is relatively new, they started serving it 15 years ago with the hopes of selling 30 a season.
"Now you know during Lent we're probably doing 500," Holmes said."In a small town like this word spreads fast."
If you're looking for a sandwich hard to come by, a trip to Wally's should be in your future. They offer a Limburger sandwich, something we haven't tried here on Out 2 Eat before.
"We've done funeral receptions where they're like we want some pizza wings there but we also want 24 Limburger sandwiches."
Having never had a Limburger sandwich before we were pleasantly surprised. Would we have it every day? No, simply for the sake of those we work in close proximity to. But it's a great little sandwich to pop in for.
On Friday nights the Wallenwein offers up huge crab cakes on a bed of fresh greens with citrus and/or sriracha aioli - have both.
The sauted scallops on a fresh potato cake with wasabi is something you wouldn't expect if you're popping into the Wallenwein without knowing the menu ahead of time. Start with a LImburger sandwich, top the meal of with the scallops and wasabi and your sinuses will be clear by the time you get home. It's a great dish that we haven't seen before.
If you're one of those nostalgic foodies then you'll be happy to know that the Wallenwein Hotel was the first restaurant in East Aurora to offer pizza. Even today kids who are no longer kids will return to Wally's and have a bar pie and a pitcher to remind them of a past meal with their family.
"Everyone has that connection to Wally's pizza," Holmes said. "It's again, nothing fancy, but it's a little bit of your childhood."
If you find yourself at Wally's on a Wednesday afternoon you'll find table of fine gentlemen playing a friendly card game. They'll welcome you and offer you a pint, but if you're a journalist on the clock you won't be able to join them - but tell them we sent you.
You can check out Wallenweins at 641 Oakwood Ave. in East Aurora.
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