Swiston’s Beef & Keg

You aren’t asked about degree of doneness when you order beef on weck at Swiston’s Beef & Keg. If you like it rare or even medium rare, you likely won’t be happy. Sliced thin (but not shaved), it is mostly gray with perhaps a hint of pink. Thus, it isn’t all that juicy — a fact mitigated by plenty of jus that sops the roll. It is an interesting roll, sporting a thick layer of salt on top that is significantly finer than the coarse salt typical of most wecks hereabouts. This makes for one very salty sandwich.

No, it is not, in my opinion, one of Buffalo’s best. But the experience of eating it in Swiston’s can be a fun one. The place is a bar much more than it is a restaurant, with little on the menu beyond beef on weck and chili that will stick to your ribs if not thrill your tastebuds. (At one point, those were the only two things on the menu. Now you also can get chicken fingers and chicken wings with loganberry sauce.)  When I came for late lunch one day, the bartender and a few regulars were discussing what I assumed was a TV soap opera with all the overwrought melodrama of the genre. As it turned out, they were discussing the life of another regular patron, whose absence at the bar made them wonder what fate had befallen him.