Most people have heard of Buffalo wings. But not everyone knows why they’re called that. (Hint: Buffaloes do not have wings.) And if people have heard, they don’t exactly equate the food with the region.

But Buffalo and upstate New York are actually unsung food destinations with their own approach to cuisine in an age when locavore can mean New American food served with a few herbs grown in a nearby garden. You can even make the case that there may not be another region in the country quite like it when it comes to unique local dishes spanning generations.

“Buffalo, without a doubt, I think, is one of the great eating cities,” said Michael Stern, a founder of roadfood.com. “When you think of gastronomic meccas in the country, you don’t think of upstate New York. But, in fact, it has so much to offer.”

There are the beef on weck, a spiedie, a Garbage Plate, Cornell chicken: menu items that are nothing new to people who grew up in upstate New York (as I did) or went to college there.