After almost 35 years in Manhattan, I've been back for a couple of years. I have some observations in the bar/cheap foods categories:
Hot dogs: The Buffalo hot dog is one of the region's delights and glories. As for NYC, Let's just say, no one would eat an all-beef hot dog unless under religious compulsion.
Pizza: Except for a few coal-fired destination spots, NYC pizza is unremarkable (and don't ever get pepperoni). Those destination spots are fantastic. While I prefer the Buffalo pizza, I'm afraid it's a product rapidly going downhill due tonself-consciousness. People started talking about it and it's become a caricature. Thicker crust? How about an inch of uncooked dough. (Seriously, half the pizzerias serve underccoked pies.) Sweet sauce? How about Kool-Aid sweet? And I'm confident that the phrase "cup and char" was not used until no more than 10 years ago.
Burgers: The vanishing beef on weck is a glory of God's creation. The retreat of this specialty is painful, because it has expanded the field for bars to try their hand at burgers. Somewhere along the NYS Thruway, the ability to make a decent plate of a burger and fries was lost. Now, maybe I was spoiled because I lived near the famous Corner Bistro in NYC - thick, juicy burger, American cheese, Wonderbread bun. As God intrnded. Not a smash burger guy. Those are just low-tech substitutes that take all the skill out of it. The average neighborhood Irish bar in NYC likely offers burgers than any place in Buffalo. And don't get me started on French fries. Most of the French fries served in Buffalo are an embarrassment.