About Andrew Galarneau

Andrew Galarneau is Buffalo’s go-to guide for all things food. With 35 years of journalism experience under his belt — including a long tenure as food editor at the Buffalo News — Galarneau has spent decades earning the trust of Buffalo diners, one honest recommendation at a time. Whether you’re hunting down rare ingredients, searching for the best banh mi in the city, or trying to book a celiac-safe table for eight on a Thursday night, Andrew is the guy with all the answers.

From Newspapers to Digital

Galarneau launched his journalism career at Generation, a weekly student feature magazine at the University at Buffalo. After two internships at the Buffalo News, he was hired by the Concord Monitor in New Hampshire in 1988. He went on to work as a court reporter for the St. Petersburg Times and an investigative reporter for the Lowell Sun in Massachusetts, building a well-rounded reporting foundation before rejoining the Buffalo News in 1997 as a feature writer — eventually becoming its celebrated food editor.

On December 1, 2023 — shortly before his 57th birthday — Galarneau made a bold move, leaving print behind entirely to go all-digital. He launched Four Bites, a subscriber-supported platform where he acts as a personal dining concierge for Buffalo food lovers. The premise is simple but powerful: he doesn’t just publish articles — he gets readers answers.

Four Bites: Service Journalism Reimagined

At the heart of Galarneau’s digital venture is a belief that great food journalism should be useful, not just entertaining. Drawing on theories developed over 23 years of teaching journalism at the University at Buffalo’s English Department, he set out to create a new kind of service journalism — one where the reporter is also a finder of answers, a digital concierge committed to delivering reliable, actionable eating intelligence to his subscribers.

From hidden gems to hard-to-find ingredients, Galarneau puts his investigative reporting chops to work for everyday diners. It’s a concept that has resonated deeply with Buffalo’s passionate food community.

Embracing New Media

Never one to shy away from a challenge, Galarneau has thrown himself into the world of social media — even the platforms that make veteran journalists cringe. His undergraduates at UB taught him how to use TikTok, and he’s been learning reel by reel ever since, building his presence as @buffalofoodguy. As he puts it, faced with the choice of serving an important part of his audience or writing them off, the answer was easy. He’s also active on Instagram, Bluesky and X (formerly Twitter), connecting with food lovers across Buffalo and beyond.

Educator and Advocate for Independent Journalism

For 23 years, Galarneau has lectured on journalism at the University at Buffalo — and his commitment to the craft extends well beyond the classroom. He is currently developing The People’s Journalism Academy, a textbook and DIY reporting guide built around a straightforward but radical idea: journalism is too important to be left solely in the hands of profit-driven businesses. The project aims to empower everyday people to report, investigate, and tell the stories that matter in their own communities.

A Proud Buffaholic

Galarneau’s love for Buffalo runs deep — deep enough he put that love in writing for the Buffalo News with the closest thing he has to an autobiography is titled “My Name is Andrew, and I’m a Buffaholic.“ After decades of covering the city’s food scene, teaching its next generation of journalists, and now building something entirely new in the digital space, Andrew Galarneau remains one of Buffalo’s most dedicated, trusted, and enthusiastic storytellers. He’s not just reporting on Buffalo’s food culture — he’s helping shape it.