Blue Cheese (Rootie's)
Thick, tangy, chunky blue cheese dressing: the only acceptable dip for wings in Western New York. And the local legend is Rootie's, made in Buffalo since 1978.
📍 Where to find it
Pick up a jar at Tops or Wegmans. Rootie's has been on Western New York grocery shelves since the mid-1980s. Grab it for your wings, your Sahlen's picnic, or to take home. It's also sold online.
📜 A little history
Rootie's story starts with Marty, known to everyone as Rootie. He was a Long Island native who came to Buffalo for the University at Buffalo and never left, a die-hard Bills and Sabres fan who fell for the city's food. In 1978 he opened Rootie's Pump Room, a neighborhood restaurant where the wings were great, but the thick, chunky blue cheese made with real aged crumbles was the real star.
By the mid-1980s Rootie's Blue Cheese was on grocery shelves across Western New York. In the 1990s, the company says, the Mayor of Buffalo even shipped it across the country to settle Super Bowl bets. Marty passed away in 2023, and the next generation of the family runs it today, still making it the traditional way.
Did you know? The company's motto: "Born in Buffalo. Dipped Nationwide."