Buffalo Rising Online

Article by Amy Schlagter, originally published in the current Holiday issue of Buffalo Rising Magazine

In its many incarnations, the restaurant space in the lower level of the Westbrook Apartments has been everything from a tie-and-jacket fine dining favorite to a beer-and-burger sports bar. The beautiful new Amaryllis Restaurant is somewhere deliciously in between.

The new owners, Jen Stainrook and Matt Harrington are excited to share their love of food with Buffalo. Jen attended the California Culinary Academy and got her start in West Coast restaurants where the emphasis was on using fresh ingredients from local farmers. While working at Andreis French Restaurant, one of Las Vegasi finest, Jen learned how to use u…

George Johnson

There are two things I know to be true. There's no difference between good flan and bad flan, and there is no war in Albania. --Wag The Dog by David Mamet

Thereis no war in Albania, but Mamet is wrong about flan. All flan is at best mediocre when measured against what I had last night at The Coda.

queenseyes

Now there are kitchens, then there is the kitchen at the new Amaryllis Restaurant. A couple of us stopped in to have a nightcap the other evening at this unique spot on North before we hit Coda (another unique spot) for dinner. After sampling a couple items from the menu and trying a few of their reds, we decided it was time to hit the road. On our way out, we peaked into the kitchen...

On September 29, Amaryllis, a new restaurant run out of the downstairs of The Westbrook Apartments, officially opens to the public. But for tenants n and their friends n this potential new hotspot debuted two days earlier, when the bar opened for cocktails and free appetizers.

Westbrook tenants will already be familiar with the space, which has a Delaware Avenue address (675) but actually fronts on North Street. The buildingis owners throw an annual Christmas celebratio…

queenseyes

This restaurant is not on any of the main drags, it won't serve up ordinary everyday food, and it doesn't seat a lot of people. These are just a few of the reasons that make the new Coda a 'must go to' restaurant in the city. Remember the oil and canvas painting called Nighthawks created by Edward Hopper (Thanks MQ) in 1942? Nighthawks was actually inspired by a real diner in Hopper's NY neighborhood. Well, take that scene and throw in (Buffalo's own) Charles Burchfield's Rainy Night painting and I think you might capture a hint of Coda's soulful ambiance.

The Coda blends quiet sophistication with a contemporary cullinary flare that one might find while dining at one of Manhattan's hidden haunts. When you step into The Coda, you are stepping back into a world of hand-dyed black chef jac…

queenseyes

By Newell Nussbaumer

Just off Symphony Circle sits The Coda Restaurant, an establishment that blends quiet sophistication with a contemporary culinary flare that one might find while dining at one of Manhattan's hidden haunts. The term coda signifies the different finish of a musical composition, but it is the crescendo that owners Roo and Keren Buckley have been dreaming of for quite some time.

buffalorising

This Thursday, youth participants in The Growing Green Program from Massachusetts Avenue Project will bring fresh nutritious local food and a message about its importance to the city of Buffalo from 3-6pm with a community BBQ celebration. Itis part of the first-ever BLAST National Eat In, Act Out Week, in which people and communities across the country are joining together to discover and celebrate the importance of eating and enjoying locally grown foods.

The message: Eat In. That is, please join young people across the nation in eating foods grown in the community and prepared healthfully and with care. You can improve your body, your family, our economy, and our environment.

George Johnson

It was a sad day in Allentown yesterday. Sammy at Everything Special served up his last tray of macaroni and cheese, and then proceeded to close up shop. Now normally we don't cover store closings, but this is different. Sammy is an icon in the Allentown neighborhood. We stopped in yesterday to get a bite to eat and were shocked to hear the news. For those of you that never had the pleasure of eating food from this splendid take-out joint, you really don't know what you missed. Sammy was like a mad scientist in his kitchen. This one -man show always had four pots simmering on the stove, ovens loaded with baking pans, cooking utensils flying about in all directions, all amongst a flurry of customer activity. Sammy was always a sight to see... and hear. Man, he could really kee…

queenseyes

There are a lot of docents on hand giving some interesting tours of City Hall this weekend. Revitalize Buffalo did a great job rounding up the troops. The photo of The Taste of Buffalo was taken from the building's observation deck. So far, the weather is perfect. There are bands playing on at least three different band shells, and 'The Circle' and it's arterial streets are flooded with 'foodies.' The new venue seems to be working out a little better due to the event layout. The event is still wall to wall people, but there are a lot of places to go sit with your food including the steps of City Hall and inside 'The Circle.' All in all, the weekend looks like a very successful one for The Taste of Buffalo.