McKenzie’s Soul Food Shack

I’ve tried 3 times to eat at this restaurant. I’ve called my order in ahead (they close at 5 on weeknights) leaving my job early to try the deliciousness only to be told we’ll be closed by the time you arrive (it was 4:20 and I was 5 minutes away)
I’ve called at 4pm (again they close at 5) only to have no one answer.
I’ve gone there on a Saturday, and they were closed early.
I’m going to give it one more try for the team but it seems to me they really don’t want customers. I hope to be able to update this review soon but as it stands now, I don’t know if this is the right place for my cash.

The Wednesday before Easter I made the annual trek to the Broadway Market for all the usual stuff. I walked by this soul food stand several times while there and finally decided I absolutely had to get some take out from here to bring home with me for dinner. I went with the BBQ ribs with a side of mac n’ cheese and green beans though I was also tempted to get some of their fried chicken but resisted my urges for the sake of my waistline. I also got an order of their banana pudding. If you’re brave they serve chitterlings (pig intestine) here. I ordered a small order of the chitterlings to try something new.
The ribs were so good. They were juicy and tender and practically falling off the bone. The bbq flavor in them is somewhat vinegar-​esque, kind of like a North Carolina variety of BBQ but at the same time sweet and tangy. The mac n’ cheese was good and made a great side. The banana pudding was DEVINE. So so so good! As for the chitterlings… well lets just say I tried something new and now i know that its not my cup of tea. Unfortunately I really don’t make it to this area of Buffalo very often at all but maybe I might have to change that because this food was just way too good and really hit the spot.

So I missed the UYE planned by Fox E. but since this place is close enough for me to hit up during my lunch break I decided to check it out on my own. Boy am I glad I did.
I got the ribs, with mac and cheese as one side and the collard greens. All were amazing, the ribs are sitting in their own juices leaving them moist and fall of the bone good. The mac and cheese was rich and savory, and the collard greens might have been my favorite part of the meal, the perfect amount of spice had them being mighty tasty.
All in all it was $ 10.88 for my lunch, but my god with the amount of food here I easily have enough for lunch tomorrow. Might want to split a plate with a partner if you can. Highly recommended either way.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words… so I posted one. This meal was also (much, much more than!!!) a thousand calories. Yummy, stick-​to-​your-​ribs, made with love calories.
A group of us met for lunch on a Saturday afternoon. I had a lunch plate which consisted of a meat and two sides… meat loaf, candied yams, and macaroni & cheese for me (please). The HUGE portion was just 8 bucks. It was easily enough to share. Next time I’ll do just that… and that way I’ll have room for peach cobbler.

Pretty much any restaurant that starts with a «Mc» is going to be crappy. There’s «McDonalds.» And… er… «McDonalds.» OK, it’s just McDonalds, but it’s so bad that you can generalize about it without even ever being wrong. Ever. At all.
Until now.
What to get: Smothered Pork Chop, Mac N Cheese.
What else is good: Ribs, Greens, everything else.
The Soul Food scene in the Great Lakes was as barren as the Bills Lombardi Trophy Cabinet. But then everything changed.
Enter McKenzie’s. Well not literally «enter» it because it isn’t a store, so much as a stand in a market. A very large stand with very large portions and very AMAZING food. But nevertheless, a stand. You must order the smothered pork chop with collards & Mac & Cheese. Best pork chop ever, best mac n cheese ever. Although the incredible ribs, maybe the Meatloaf, maybe the Fried Chicken, all very good.
This place is owned and operated by former-​Beatle, the Liverpool-​born Paul McKenzie. He was famously in the band Wings after the Beatles, and was one half of the legendary Lennon-​McKenzie songwriting duo. His vocals on «Yesterday» are world renowned. The lyrics of the song…
«Yesterday… lunch at McKenzie’s seemed so far away…
now I’m here I hope I’m here to stay…
I always eat… at McKenzie’s…
suddenly… I am twice the size I used to be…
my tummy’s shadow’s hanging over my feet…
Oh extra weight came suddenly…
All because… of McKenzie’s…»
This is one of the best places to eat in Buffalo. If you have never gone here you MUST GO HERE… it’s that good. It’s that… damn… good.
Seriously. You have just found paradise on the East Side of Buffalo. Who knew. The Broadway Market was once the go-​to destination for locals and out-​of-​towners for miles around. Years went by and the neighborhood deteriorated. Until now, that is. Now comes the beacon of shining light, the little piece of heaven.
Advance warning: the food is kept warm under a warmer. I know that’s weird. I wouldn’t have liked it either, until I traveled in the south and realized that all the really amazing authentic Soul Food spots do the same thing. It’s just how things are done down there. So enjoy it and go in with eyes closed and mouth wide open. Sort of like that Tom Cruise/​Nicole Kidman naked movie but backwards.
McKenzie’s is affordable, it’s delightful, and it’s delicious. It’s what Buffalo always needed. It ranks alongside some of the soul food places of the south… that’s how good it is. It’s better than Unkle Moe’s in Rochester. You will have to travel a very long way to find soul food this good.
Their fried chicken? Good, not as good as Nette’s. No need to go to KFC again. Their ribs? Unbelievably delicious, better than the ribs at every BBQ spot (except Suzy Q’s) and Steakhouse. Luscious. Their mac and cheese? Incredible. It rivals the greasy home made goodness in the Deep South. Best in town alongside Lake Effect. Their collard greens? Wonderful. Their corn bread? Excellent. Yams are very good too. Aka sweet potatoes but with a bit of a difference. In other words, it doesn’t matter what you get here… you’re going to get foodgasms. You’ve just struck gold. Make sure you get here, get here fast, and engage in some nomtastic noms.
Seriously, their ribs are out of this world, and mac n cheese is up there with the best I’ve ever had, not kidding.
But who can forget my personal fave, the SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS, oh my goodness, they are so juicy and delicious and flavourful… Unkl Moe’s in Rochester made a living off selling smothered PCs but these ones are better, and not just a little bit, but significantly so. I’m in love with them! Seriously! Omg!
And then I also got the Peach Cobbler this most recent time and it was HUGE and delicious… piping hot… juicy… crusty… melty… it’s a bit too sweet but it’s soooooooooooooooooo good that I don’t care. American stuff is usually too sweet anyway.
Remember this place is in an area that’s really not very good at supporting businesses because there is a lot of poverty. This Market barely survived and it’s such an amazing place. It’s the kind of place you and the family may well love if you give it a chance. Both the Market, and especially McKenzie’s. It’s one of the tastiest meals in the region and if it were in the Deep South it would be one of the best Soul Food places down there, too.
We did an event here recently and it went well and most people adored the food. If you missed out on the event, don’t miss out on the food. Get down here and try it.
Because you know eventually, Lennon & McKenzie broke up. And you need to get here and try this before that happens. It’s so good that you may never go anywhere else again. In that regard, this will be the «Sole Food» you ever eat. Which may in turn cause you to make incredibly bad jokes. The worst joke of all is that hardly anyone in WNY has tried McKenzie’s, and it’s right up there with the very best tasting food in the city.

This is a hidden gem inside the Broadway Market, which is itself a hidden gem in Buffalo.
This is a pretty typical «meat and three» style place (although in this case, it’s meat and two) with a choice of fried chicken, ribs, meatloaf, pork chops, and then typical southern sides: collard greens, mac and cheese, chicken noodles, butter beans, and so on.
I had a rib plate with chicken noodles and collard greens, Lee (my lovely Canadian boyfriend) got the fried chicken, black eyed peas and mac and cheese. We also got some peach cobbler.
The ribs were a little fatty, but they were also falling off the bone tender, with a sweet and sour type sauce that was good. The fried chicken was a little small, but the cornmeal breading was great and the meat itself was tender and juicy.
I’ll say that honestly, the highlight of the food for me was the chicken noodles side dish. This is basically chicken noodle soup cooked to the point where everything becomes a slightly mushy, almost gelatinous mass. Now, that might *sound* disgusting, but it isn’t. It’s delicious. It reminded me very much of my mom’s chicken noodle soup. I would probably come back just to have some of that stuff. The mac and cheese was also good, I can see why people love it.
The peach cobbler was made from canned peaches, but that didn’t diminish the flavor in any way. It was still quite yummy, and a large portion was plenty for two people.
I’d definitely head here again to feed my soul food craving!

Perhaps I’ve been down south and tasted that Soul food more than I should, but this local place sure knows how to cook up good southern soul food. I didn’t get a chance to try much — but what I did was pretty darn good. I still wish they’d sell just the top of that Mac & Cheese.
However, when it comes to Coconut Cream Cake — something I don’t really like — they made me a believer and I was singing their praises for such a moist and delicious huge slice of awesome.
Hopefully Barb and I will have the courage and the time to venture back and get some real tasting of those ribs and chops!

Such amazing soul food inside the Broadway Market. If you love delicious home style Southern eats, don’t miss out.
It’s set out in a cafeteria style line where you tell them what you want behind the counter and they scoop it out to you, but it’s mouthwatering and delectable and very affordable. For $ 8 – 10 you get a huge amount of food. I ordered the BBQ ribs, smothered pork chops and picked mac & cheese (a must) and the collard greens for my sides.
I’ll be honest — the ribs didn’t look that great, but biting into them — they were succulent and fall of the bone with an incredible spicy rub. The smothered pork chops were not the healthiest of options, but DELIGHTFUL, crunchy and flavorful. The sides were equally delicious, especially the mac and cheese — oh god. the mac and cheese. So creamy and de-​friggin-​lightful. I like to add a bit of hot sauce to mine.
I haven’t tried any of the desserts, but I’d like to soon. The cobblers looked incredible! Can’t believe I was never aware of this place before, huge thanks to Fox for turning me on to it. There IS good Southern food in Buffalo!

Listen, listen very closely. When I tell you that this restaurant is hands-​down one of the best restaurants in Buffalo, I am not kidding! You must make it a point to come to this restaurant and order a dinner meal. I dream of his restaurant and I’m not kidding about that! I crave the food

So this is the second soul food restaurant that I have tried since being in Buffalo. The first was GiGi’s off of Jefferson and they are very good. McKenzie’s is equally as good. Just to give you guys a heads up about the place, it is sort of mall-​style set up in that it is located at a station as opposed to an actual sit down restaurant. They have almost everything that you would want from a «typical» soul food joint, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, greens, smothered pork chops, rice and cornbread… all of which I sampled. My meal was inexpensive was 15.77 for everything and I got 3 chicken legs, 2 small sides of greens/​mac and cheese, and the rest that I mentioned. I still had a ton left over! Everything was great. The greens, a bit spicy, had the perfect flavor, the cornbread (though a little dark) was mildly sweet and good texture, the pork chops were so good (nice rich brown gravy), and the fried chicken is probably as the other reviewers have mentioned the BEST fried chicken, rivals Churches chicken, Bojangles, and Popeye’s. Overall, my meal was excellent and I just wish this place was given the praise that it deserves because it is really a diamond in the rough.
So if you are looking for great soul food when you are in Buffalo, take a trip to McKenzies… you won’t be disappointed.

Soul food in a jiffy. I love McKenzie’s. There fried chicken, the yams, the sweet potato cobbler, the corn bread and oh my the mac n’ cheese. There is no reason to go elsewhere if you need a soul food fix. It is delicious and affordable. I went with a co-​worker to grab a mix of things for lunch in the office. Well, the aromas were to die for and overwhelmed our office. Everyone who walked by us eating stopped to inquire and have a bite. There was not one ounce of food leftover. One of the best kept secrets in the Broadway Market. Also, they cater! Hell yeah!!! If you’re looking around the official name is «McKenzie’s Soul Food Shack».