July 2010 Archives

--Refire is restaurant lingo used to describe food that is returned to the kitchen. Here on Buffalo Rising, it will define an occasional Saturday post that revisits an interesting food story from the Buffalo Rising archives.

This story originally appeared on Buffalo Rising in April of 2007.

Chefs from all over Buffalo read Bill's site. And customers do, too. Whether you're trying to figure out if there's an Indian restaurant in South Buffalo, or you're looking to read (or write) a review of one, Bill

By: Tony Wilson

In keeping with their summer dance party motif (see: Communist Dance Party, Nobody Beats the Drum), Soundlab is bringing in venerable indie dance hero, The Juan Maclean. The Juan Maclean is the stage name for John Maclean a DJ that got his start in his native Providence, RI.  While crafting his unique brand of dancey grooves he became acquainted with a popular sound technician James Murphy.

Each year people pack the area between Michigan Avenue and Elm Street for the Queen City Jazz Festival. For the 5th year in a row the festival will delight Queen City jazz fans, but this year is extra special since it marks the 75th anniversary of the Colored Musicians Club!

A beer tent and food vendors will keep the parched and hungry crowd sated as the day's great line-up unfolds, providing ample entertainment.

The event runs from noon - 8pm on Saturday. Here's the schedule:
12:00 PM - Ladies

After nearly ten years of study, site shifts, and lease negotiations, Bass Pro has dumped plans to open a store on the waterfront.  On July 19, Congressman Brian Higgins issued an ultimatum to Bass Pro giving the retailer two weeks to act on a lease for a Buffalo location.  Bass Pro president Jim Hagale notified Congressman Higgins today that it "cannot respond favorably to the lease draft forwarded to us by the Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation within the fourteen day time period

It took all of about six months to transform this house on Porter from a multi-family dilapidated mess to a pristine single-family home (see back story). According to the developers, Jim Swiezy (right) and Matt Klafehn (Greenleef Real Estate), the house was about a year away from being beyond repair. Thankfully Jim and Matt decided to take a big chance - one that resulted in restoring a high profile property in a historic district. Before choosing the appropriate paint

Work is underway to repurpose a vacant north Buffalo church for residential and commercial use.  Creative Structures Services Inc's 700 Parkside LLC is transforming the North Park Presbyterian Church into 12 apartments and 5,500 sq.ft. of office space.  The property at the corner of Parkside and Lyndhurst was purchased Wednesday for $210,000 from the Presbytery of Western New York.

"Though we just closed on the property, we actually started work two weeks ago," said Creative Structures Services' David Pawlik. "We're

Grand opening for the Blue Monk (formerly Merlin's) is only a couple of weeks away. Although there is still work to be done, the interior has come a long way and the logo has made its way onto the side of the building. As is common in cafe and restaurant rehabs these days, owners Mike Shatzel and Kevin Brinkworth made trips to the land of reuse to find a number of different fixtures for the pub. If you think about it, the reused materials add to the antiquity of the place, giving it a look that

Downtown has a newly prepared "shovel-ready" site, not that there was much left to begin with.  The remnants of two 19th century buildings were removed over the weekend at the corner of Genesee and Ellicott streets.  85 Genesee was an ornate four-story building that collapsed during a 2002 windstorm when then owner Triangle Development was attempting to stabilize the structure.  All that remained was the cast iron of the first floor facade.  91 Genesee was a three-story brick shell.  The properties are on the western end of the Genesee Block.

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I am proud to say that I have a very interesting and successful circle of friends. Some of them I tend to brag about more than others. Brian Johnson is one of those friends. He was the one brave person I knew who had the chops to pick up everything after graduating from Kenmore East Senior High School and move to New York City.

Between graduation in 2003 and today he has managed to land significant roles in two of the freshest rock operas Broadway has seen in years, Spring Awakening and Green

Allentown is a neighborhood that constantly reinvents itself, yet at the same time it never appears to drastically change. Thankfully the changes that we have seen in recent years, are ones signaling progress. Whether the progress takes the shape of Kleinhans' reflecting pool and the circle, or nearby restoration of houses on Porter and in the Fargo neighborhood, Allentown is looking up these days. We've seen what the Karpeles

If you're into green, and you're looking to take part in a very unique celebration, head over to Shakti Yoga this Friday to pay tribute to Buffalo's 'Net Zero' house and the people who worked on it. It's true - the house will generate as much power as it consumes, leading the way for others in the community to rethink how a zero impact house can be built. What may ultimately prove to be more important is the geo-thermal and solar system training received by the young adults who worked on the project. Each of them now possesses the valuable knowledge that they will bring with them on future jobs,

It's been a year since a rooftop garden and patio area was installed at Savarino Cos. and Avalon Development's 95 Perry Street in the Cobblestone District.  So how did the plants tolerate a mid-summer planting and deep freeze over the winter?  Amazingly well according to landscape contractor and 'green' expert Dave Majewski owner of Premium Services.

"I have not seen the plants since spring budding; it is doing incredibly well," said Majewski.  "All the plants survived the winter with no problems.  It is doing better than expected."

The rooftop deck, with amazing

This past Saturday, photographers of all sorts came out to the Erie Canal Basin, Marina, and Naval Yard to participate in Scott Kelby's Third Annual World Wide Photo Walk. Led by Annie Levay, the group met in the ruins found alongside the Commercial Slip's stunning waterfall. The gathering was not only an opportunity for photographers to compete in a worldwide contest, but to also stretch one's photo taking skills and legs.

Once Annie gathered all the walkers together, she explained all the special features of the area that would be accessible

Mark your calendars, people. Today is a day that will go down in Buffalo food history! Next year, we will all wax nostalgic in memory of today--the day when Buffalo finally effing got around to offering REAL street food!

Excuse my excitement, those of you who have been constant Buffalo Rising readers know that this is a subject near and dear to our hearts. Now, nothing says summer to me like a charbroiled hot dog, slathered in yellow mustard and eaten street side on the first mild day of spring, so I don't want

Efforts to secure an exemption for the NYS Rehabilitation Tax Credit program from the Governor's and Assembly's tax credit deferral plan continue, and your final assistance is needed to protect this program from changes that will halt or severely delay rehabilitation projects across New York State.  Your making three phone calls to the Governor, Assembly, and Senate can assist the Preservation League and others working in Albany to keep the rehabilitation tax credit program intact and ready to work for Buffalo and New York State.

Governor Patterson proposed - and the NYS Assembly

Last month we told you all of our plans for a Bufflao Rising Can You Can party. Despite a low comment count on the story, it was Facebook "shared" left and right, so we hope you all are looking forward to it as much as we are.

The mere mention of it on my personal FB page had some of my favorite chefs throwing down the gauntlet. See below for sheer entertainment value (identities withheld to prevent any possible embarrassment to you, me and those involved). Needless to say, after this little

Future redevelopment in the Hydraulics neighborhood was given a lift when a Multiple Property Documentation Form (MPDF) was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, helping property owners to designate buildings in the neighborhood as historic.  Owners of listed buildings are eligible for Historic Preservation Rehabilitation Tax Credits.  Jennifer Walkowski, an Architectural Historian with Clinton Brown Company Architecture, prepared the MPDF document (see background here). 

By Scott O'Connor:

I just came back from the Albright Knox's exhibition of Clyfford Still and what I believe to be one of the most important exhibits in recent times in Buffalo. The Charles Burchfield exhibit at the Burchfield Penny was a wonderful show, and because of its local base a very important exhibition. But historically The Clyfford Still exhibit in 1959 was the most important exhibits the Knox ever had. His work was groundbreaking, his terms his own choice of paintings as well as location within the gallery - he didn't trust the art world and would not compromise his

The UB Art Gallery, Center For the Arts seems to be elusive for most city dwellers who have a host of other galleries at their fingertips, or at least just a quick bike ride away. The building is a stony white and open structure planted in Amherst, just off of Millersport Highway and a mere ten minutes from its sister city campus. The artists that exhibit in the corridors are often in high demand throughout the country and are willing to swing by Buffalo for a show at the prestigious educational institute. Each opening night, the UB Art Gallery commands