Raising the bar food

You don't have to be a college student to enjoy Buffalo Bros. Pizza, Wings & Subs. Even better, you don't have to drink beer to enjoy it. (Although, as cheap as the suds are here, you might decide to imbibe.)

This is the type of food often consumed with beer -- but it's usually so rubbery, greasy and overprocessed that at some level you know you've just ingested a load of junk.

People who purvey this sort of thing don't generally concern themselves about its quality. But Buffalo Bros., new on the budding campus restaurant row north of the University-Berry intersection, is different. It's the brainchild of owner/chef Ed McOwen, chef de cuisine at the ambitious Bonnell's Fine Texas Cuisine, who has partnered with his boss, Jon Bonnell, in this endeavor. While he's getting Buffalo Bros. established, he's taking a sabbatical from Bonnell's kitchen.

McOwen and Bonnell are right in line with the trend of fine-dining chefs' opening casual spots -- in fact, next door is another one, Grady Spears' Dutch's.

The Buffalo, N.Y.-born McOwen built Buffalo Bros. as a nostalgic combination "of all the places I grew up going to," and you will find it nostalgic, too, if you haven't been to a college hangout for a while. It's plain but comfortable, with the requisite Buffalo-bilia and street signs on the walls, rock music on the sound system (on our early-hour visits, not too overbearing), football and basketball on multiple TV screens. No surprises here.

The surprises are on the table. Not one thing that we had here was less than top-notch.

Our wings were piping hot, juicy and not too greasy; they come in hot, medium, mild, barbecue, Cajun or plain ($4 for a half-dozen, $7 for a dozen, and up).

But what really thrilled us were the chicken fingers -- sizable planks, really -- done up in a crisp breading, moist inside and imbued with that hot-sauce tang that makes you want to eat just one more bite. Served with good blue-cheese dip and spears of raw celery and carrots, a single order of three costs a mere $4, and you could make a light meal of them.

But then you wouldn't get to try the pizza, which is some of the best in town, with a yeasty, crispy-chewy medium-thin crust, burnished brown at the edges. There's no stinting on the toppings, either. We especially like the Italian sausage: meaty, slightly spicy discs that are a far cry from the usual mystery rubble. And a 9-incher is only $9.

Subs are satisfying, too, to judge from the beefily comforting steak-and-cheese version, redolent of mushrooms. And we appreciate the fact that you can order them in half-sizes for $5, as well as the $8 12-incher.

Even the salad, a cold, fresh, crisp blend of iceberg and leaf lettuces and red-cabbage shreds, was rewarding. You can ask for up to six garnishes -- even pricey roasted red peppers -- at no extra cost, and the $3 side salad was generous enough to split.

You'll want a beer to wash all this down, and you won't have to pay a lot for it, either: On draft, Shiner Bock, Rahr Ugly Pug, Fat Tire and Dos Equis are $2 for a 12-ounce mug, $3 for a 20-ounce schooner and $8 for a 60-ounce pitcher.

Don't get us wrong -- with winter moving in, we wouldn't want to live in Buffalo. But we're glad we can visit.

Buffalo Bros. Pizza, Wings & Subs

3015 S. University Drive

Fort Worth

817-386-9601

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. daily

Cuisine: American bar food

Essentials: Major credit cards; beer, wine and wine-based daiquiris; smoke-free; wheelchair-accessible

Entree cost: $4-$8

Signature dish: Chicken-finger sub with blue-cheese dressing

Recommended for: Students, obviously, but also anyone of any age who wants a fix of tasty, honest, bar food. Not much for vegetarians here but plenty for kids.

Good to know: At the walk-up window, order pizza by the slice, beer, wine and wine daiquiris.