Exploring Summer Eats

Outdoor Dining & Non-Dairy Frozen Treats

With the onset of summer just over a week away, we find ourselves thinking about the opportunity to dine outside as well as to enjoy frozen treats. Step Out Buffalo beat me to my intended post with, 19 Spots to Get Dairy-Free/Vegan Ice Cream in WNY. Check out that link for their more extensive list. I still want to share some of my favorites with you though, along with a few other places where we enjoy outdoor dining during the summer months.

I don’t necessarily have a dairy allergy but I did as a baby and it’s something to which I still find myself sensitive. Because I need to consume dairy in moderation, I am always excited to find non-dairy or vegan alternatives as an option. Lactose intolerance is very common and as of late, more restaurants seem to be offering ice cream, custard, and milkshakes of the non-dairy or vegan variety.

Vegan Sundae at Mississippi Mudds

This past week, Jeff and I took a trek up “River Road” in Tonawanda and I introduced him to Old Man River at 375 Niagara Street and Mississippi Mudds at 313 Niagara Street. Both restaurants offer casual, outdoor dining as well as a menu of hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken sandwiches, fries, onion rings, and the like, as well as some vegan options. Out back at Old Man River, you’ll find options for fried seafood, fresh clams and shrimp, and lobster rolls at their Seafood Shack nestled next to their smokehouse serving up BBQ chicken, ribs, and other “vegan nightmares,” as the menu indicates. At Mississippi Mudds, you’ll find the ice cream, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a variety of non-dairy options to include vegan custard. They even had an option for a Vegan Sundae with the vegan custard and vegan whipped cream. The whipped cream was different, less airy, more dense. However, the custard was indistinguishable from the dairy-based version, even Jeff agreed.

Below, are two more of my go-to places for non-dairy treats.

• King Condrell’s Candy and Ice Cream - 2805 Delaware Avenue in Kenmore

  • Options for lactose free vanilla ice cream and oat milk based vanilla, chocolate, and cookies & cream ice cream.

• Mister Sizzle - 346 Connecticut Street in Buffalo

  • A variety of dairy-free milkshakes

1/4 pie at Imperial Pizza

Another pleasant surprise for us was to recently discover the outdoor dining option at Imperial Pizza at 1035 Abbott Road in South Buffalo. Garage doors opening to the outside create open-air dining even inside the restaurant which includes a full bar.

Imperial Pizza is one of the most common names mentioned when people discuss their favorite Buffalo-style pizza, along with Picasso’s and Bocce Club. This was the last one for me to introduce Jeff to and admittedly, I hadn’t had a slice from Imperial since I was a kid growing up in the nearby area.

We ordered a 1/4 pie, which was 3 slices, and a mini cheeseburger sub. Order a whole pie and have it served on a pizza stand at the table. We find this to be a dying tradition at pizzerias as many have moved to take-out and delivery only with maybe a few seats for enjoying a slice in house. We loved the pizza with Jeff proclaiming that it may be his favorite Buffalo-style slice. We’d need to do a side by side sampling to be sure.

We were very impressed with the mini cheeseburger sub with a thick beef patty that was far from mini. We will definitely be back next time we’d like to enjoy a pizza out somewhere. Imperial Pizza also has a location at 1665 Main Street in Buffalo.

Cheeseburger sub at Imperial Pizza

Another place that I enjoy for casual, outdoor dining is Reid’s Drive In at 150 Lake Ave in Lockport, offering hot dogs, burgers, fries, and milkshakes.

What other places would you add to the lists for either non-dairy frozen treats or casual, outdoor dining? Tell me in the comments.