Restaurants in Erie

On certain days, Papa Jake's Saloon dishes out prime rib or seafood specials, but owner Scott Leary doesn't want that to distract from the rest of the menu. As he told Buffalo Rising contributor Chao Li, “Everything's special at Papa Jakes.” Leary buys the freshest seafood available for dishes such as steamed snow crab legs served with drawn butter or clams Casino that Li says arrive in a still-bubbling sauce that seems to cook the morsels before your very eyes. For each Friday’s fish fry, chefs bread fillets of fish by hand and simmer pots of seafood bisque and New England clam chowder, whose rich scents attract both humans and sharks disguised as humans. Diners can also opt for the mainland taste of charbroiled burgers with fresh-cut french fries, washing it all down with frosty glasses of draft beers or mixed drinks from a full bar.

Homemade, cooked-to-order meals pair with a roster of 14 on-tap beers to bring a taste of the Emerald Isle to the East Coast. This cozy eatery is designed to replicate an authentic Irish pub, down to the front doors that creak in a thick brogue. Locals may relax with a pint at tables near the front of the pub, or move through dark French doors to sit in the dining room. Between bites and laughs, patrons shift their attention to six flat-screen TVs or the tunes scrolling across an Internet jukebox. Upstairs, a spacious banquet room plays host to parties, and outside, a covered patio accents summertime meals with warm breezes and the rustling of trees wrestling to get a better view of the pub's signature potato leek soup.

Tasty Thai Take Out's chefs kick up the heat as they spice curries, toss noodle dishes, and fire up the wok for sizzling stir-fries. To accommodate different tastes and diets, they can calibrate the heat on most dishes or swap out meats for vegetarian tofu. Customers usually take their MSG-free meals to go, enjoying Thai feasts back at home with their family, friends, or trained attack ferrets. For those who'd rather eat in, Tasty Thai Take Out welcomes diners to a small, casual seating area equipped with WiFi.

At Duke's Bohemian Grove Bar, more than 150 types of beer stand ready for duty, chilling in bottles behind cool glass or waiting within deep kegs. Drawn from breweries across the world, these numerous libations find themselves on duty more often than not; no matter the day, the bar doesn't close until the clock strikes 4 a.m. In addition to fueling late-night revelry, the drinks pair well with the bar's menu of pub fare. In addition to specialties such as smoked barbecue chicken wings and mammoth burgers, the kitchen also sizzles up fresh cut steaks and curates a selection of fresh seafood ranging from raw oysters to delicate clams. These dinners often unfold to the sounds of live music; guests may hear anything from a classic-rock act to a jazz artist testing the limits of traditional time signatures.

Few people stick with their first jobs longer than a summer. But when 9-year-old Mike Milkie first helped out at his father's restaurant, he was taking the first steps toward a career as a restaurateur that has lasted more than six decades. Milkie's On Elmwood is his latest endeavor, following more than a dozen Buffalo-area restaurants and clubs, including the former Milkie Way Theater, which hosted acclaimed Broadway plays and second-run planetarium films.

Mike's niece Suzanne leads things on the culinary side as the head chef. Every day, her kitchen staff layers hand-carved meats between slices of bread slathered with chutneys and roasted pepper spreads, caramelize bacon to pile atop burgers, and bake crispy flatbreads until the ovens shut down at 4 a.m. Milkie's On Elmwood hosts special events such as Friday fish fries, trivia and karaoke nights, and live performances by Lance Diamond and other local musicians.