Buffalo Rising Online

Nancy Vargo

It’s the place where everybody knows your name. It’s the place where the experience of being there is as intriguing and welcoming as the food. It’s Bertha’s, and it’s a gem of a breakfast and lunch spot on Hertel’s increasingly popular dining and entertainment strip.

If you’re looking for hearty portions of consistently good, home-style dishes prepared right before your eyes, you’ve come to the right place. Even before you walk in the door, you can catch a sneak preview of your meal with a stop at the front window where dishes are prepared for all to see. And once you step inside, you’ll immediately see and hear why Bertha’s atmosphere is as much a reason to return as the food. Authentic ‘50s diner memorabilia line the walls and friends you know and those you’ve yet to meet provide endless entertainment and conversations spill over from table to table. …

Christa Glennie Seychew

Last year The Washington Post began an annual contest calling for dioramas which use Peeps' marshmallow(ish) bunnies and chicks to depict scenes from books, movies, events and songs. They're good for a laugh and may inspire you to assemble one of your own. Here is a link to a slideshow of over 30 of 2008's entries. The lead photo for this post is of a 2007 finalist entitled "Peeping Peeps" by Anne Lukas and Meg Paganelli. To view the rest of the 2007 selections, click here. Of the 2007 entries, my personal favorite is a toss up as I'm partial to the John Cusack Peep (sporting ghetto blaster and trench coat) and "Reservoir Peeps".

Rachel Dominguez

Every year, Polish Catholic families all around Buffalo prepare a special Easter basket (referred to as Swieconka). The baskets are prepared before Holy Saturday, on which day they’re taken to local churches (such as Corpus Christi) for a special blessing. Many Polish families in Buffalo travel to the Broadway Market to procure the good for the baskets, which is part of the explanation for why the Market is so busy at this time of year.

While individual families vary the Swieconka basket content somewhat, some of the traditional elements include the following:

-Butter, often in the shape of a lamb, to remind those celebrating of the goodness of life. -A round loaf of rye bread topped with a cros…

Sandy Starks

Over the past few weeks we have featured the family run businesses at The Broadway Market--businesses that sell quality products at prices that won’t break the bank. This week I want to tell you about the places in The Market that serve up some of the best food in town—made with the hands and hearts of the owners of these fine businesses.

First up is Perisons Restaurant. Those of you that have visited The Market know about that nostalgic flank of retro counter and row of low chrome stools located in the rear of The Market. Owner, Helen Wybluski, was first introduced to this spot as a young girl when she sat on those stools, waiting for her mother to finish her shift as a cook for the original owner, Mrs. Perison. Helen would come after school and wait for her mom so that they could go home together. Little did she know that later in life this bustling place…

Laila Bondi

This is the first year in my life that family has not done a St. Joseph’s table. My mother is out of town, my house is too small and every year more family members move away. Anyway, I was feeling kind of sorrowful (it is, after all, my favorite holiday), then my father told me that the Armory Restaurant does a table every year. I promptly called them and was informed that dinner was sold out but there were lunchtime seats left.

As a bit of background on the Armory Restaurant, it's on Connecticut Street, near Plymouth. It looks like a neighborhood bar from the front and it's a place one could go by all the time and not register its existence. A few years ago, someone told me they have really good Italian food and by that I mean, spaghetti and meatballs and Chianti in a straw-covered bottle. I, like most Italian-Americans, am pretty partial to how my family makes that k…

Christa Glennie Seychew

When big family gatherings happen around a table there's always a lot of preparation to be done, and certainly Easter is no exception. Especially challenging is the fact that many will spend the morning attending a religious ceremony which limits the time available to ready the house and prepare the meal.

Hopefully some of you have taken Chef Bill Metzgar's recommendation for a meal centered around items that can all be made ahead, but for those of you looking down the barrel at a more traditional dinner, I'd like to offer you the recipe for one of my favorite make-ahead desserts.

Pots de crème (pronounced po-de-krehm) is the name of both a French custard and the petite lidded pots it's traditionally served in (see inset). Man…

Michael Franco

Tomorrow is St. Joseph's Day, a celebration which began in Sicily in the Middle Ages when the region experienced severe drought. In desperation, the people asked St. Joseph, their patron, to intervene. They promised, if rain came, that they would prepare a big feast in his honor. These prayers were answered with rainy weather and, in gratitude, huge banquet tables were set up in the streets and the poor were invited to come and eat as much as they wanted.

Preparing a St. Joseph’s Table is a daunting and labor intensive task. It involves cooking several different dishes in order to fill the dinner table with a bounty that could feed the masses. Growing up in a Sicilian family, I looked forward to St. Joseph Day and to the feast my family would lovingly prepare. One of the dishes I enjoyed the most is Pasta con Sarde (pasta with sardines). Although my family made their sarde sa…