Last night was the third time that I paid a visit to newly opened Epic Restaurant and Lounge. The first time I stopped in for a beer, the second time for dinner and the third time was for a glass of wine. I'm sure that BRO readers are well aware that this was the location of the former Wine Thief - an establishment that many people were sorry to see close. When Wine Thief opted to not sign a lease after the building was purchased, I was concerned that the high-profile corner on Elmwood would sit vacant for a long time. I was wrong.
Not long after Wine Thief moved out,

When local chef and friend Chris Van Every first left Buffalo to move to Hawaii I felt that we had lost someone who would have eventually done something great in the city. Chris was always the guy who was experimenting with food styles and traditions. When I last saw Chris he was still preparing sushi and I figured that he would continue to do so in Hawaii. When Chris returned to Buffalo with a plan of attack, not only was I glad that he had left, I was psyched that he had brought back with him some culinary tricks of the trade that he never would have mastered here. While in Hawaii, Chris learned

Comic book fans can rejoice once more as Comics Fest returns to the Central Library. On October 15 from 10am-4pm the downtown library will play host to super heros, space characters and everyone who loves them. The North Ridge FanForce, Buffalo's local "Star Wars" Fan Club, will be on hand to demonstrate a light saber duel - that alone would be worth the price of admission (free). There will also be fun games, author talks, photo opportunities, crafts, a Riddler's table, and of course plenty of comics and graphic novels.
Throughout the day there will be celebrities on-hand

After a couple of major new building successes, D'Youville College is in the process of turning one of its intersecting streets into a traffic calming campus. For years Fargo Avenue was used as a speedway for local traffic to jet from Porter to Connecticut. Finally the college decided to do something about it. After a number of public meetings it looked as if the original idea of implementing a roundabout was going to get sidetracked in favor of simple speedbumps. I'm glad to see that the ultra traffic calming roundabout made it into the final plan, because it helps to create a zone that feels

In other mural news, muralist Augustina Droze is back in town to add another 100' of scenery to the Olmsted Legacy Mural. The additional work means that the mural will be 365' when complete. And what could be more fitting than wrapping up the piece with an homage to Frederick Law Olmsted and his partner Calvert Vaux? Here's a video showing the mural with first phase 265' section

Max Collins has finished his first mural (see background). The project took him, along with the help of Willie Jay, a little over a day to finish. I was able to catch part of the process, which went fairly smoothly for the most part. I was happy to see that, much like paint, the photographic wheatpaste allows the texture of the brick wall to show through. I also like that the work of art is rather subtle, thus reflecting the subject matter. Parts of the original Steve Brouse 'Elmwood' mural were left intact and actually

Many of you know that I have published a book of photographs focusing on Buffalo architecture.  If you have not been able to find one around town lately fret no more. Several local stores have recently placed new orders and should have books in stock soon. You can also always buy online at Blurb.com as well.  But that is not why I am writing now. Perhaps you already own the book and would like to own one of the photos from the book as well. That has not been possible because I had not made any high quality

The before and after images here depict the house I grew up in on Lancaster Avenue in the Elmwood Village.  Back in the day we simply called the neighborhood the West Side - it had not become a village yet.  The before picture is the one with the solid enclosed front porch.  A former neighbor who still lives across the street shot me this recent image showing a brand new traditional Buffalo open porch in its place. I was so surprised at this.  The new open porch is an amazing improvement to the house. 
This was a great house to grow up in.

A Michigan Avenue parcel and non-descript building, which only months ago was home to an intact half-block of buildings, is currently for sale.  The Knoer Group has listed the remaining building at 151 East Eagle Street for sale with a $485,000 asking price, which includes the site of the buildings demolished earlier this year along Michigan Avenue.  The remnant building is 11,000 square feet and boasts a "shovel ready site" (stone lot) right next door.
 
According

Erie County Executive Chris Collins on Wednesday announced his administration's support of the Fruit Belt/East Side Community Development Project and allocation of $150,000 toward the Fruit Belt Market.  Collins was joined by Buffalo Mayor Bryon W. Brown and Minister Michael Chapman of St. John Baptist Church.  The 10,000 sq.ft.,  two-story market will be constructed at the corner of High and Mulberry streets.

The project is being spearheaded by the St. John Fruit Belt Community Development Corporation in partnership with dozens of agencies and organizations.  

Director John Paget and musician Nelson Starr have teamed up to present the next installment of 'Buffalo For Real TV' (brought to you by Visit Buffalo Niagara). If you're not familiar with Allentown First Fridays, then this is a effortless way to get acquainted with the one of the city's most important art rituals. As with other 'For Real TV' segments, Nelson Starr offers us a fun way to interact with the city, while John Paget's camera work captures the true essence of Bohemian Allentown. 
To see some of the other John

By Bernice Radle:
Have you ever wondered what once stood on the corner of Allen and Park Street? Today it is a vacant grass lot, however one would be surprised (or not) to see that it was once a beautiful, Italianate style home with a small storefront. BRO has featured some of these past/present articles, but for anyone who wants to go exploring on his or her own, there are easy ways to do so.
The website whatwasthere.com (put history in its place) is available for anyone to see images

By Cynnie Gaasch, Executive Director of Young Audiences WNY:
Were you one of those kids who struggled with the periodic table in chemistry class but loved discussing a novel in english class?  Did you enjoy the creativity of trigonometry but yawn over the dates set to memory in social studies? I was, and if you were anything like me, you're likely terrified and distrustful of today's "teaching towards the tests," which seems to emphasize rote memorization over the creativity and passion that have made us who we are today.
However,

The first phase of the Urban Habitat Project at the Buffalo Central Terminal is underway.  Much of the work is expected to be completed in two weeks, just in time for the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference.  The Terminal will be hosting several field sessions during the four-day conference.

According to project lead Dave Majewski, the Urban Habitat Project has ecological, environmental and community significance.  The Urban

The church congregation of the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church (LAPC) has granted final approval to convert its Memorial Community House into 16 market rate apartments.  LAPC's goal is to establish steady income that will allow them to continue serving the congregation, the Elmwood Village, and the poor for another 150 years.  The project has been in the works for two years.

LAPC has existed as a church since the founding of the City of Buffalo. The church is

I moved into my neighborhood over a decade ago and in that time I have seen dramatic improvements take place. Two of the bookend corner houses on my block went from being vacant messes to being showcase beauties. Other houses on the street have benefitted from the addition of gardens, fresh paint jobs, new front porches and in some cases complete overhauls. With all of the improvements, there are still a couple of houses that appear so far gone that we'll just have to live with them - houses with vanilla box additions

I have to admit that I've been dreaming about the Horsefeathers Community Market ever since sitting down with Niki Klem to discuss this project. Niki, a registered dietitian, is currently the person who is chiefly responsible for getting the locally sourced community market off the ground. The possibilities are endless when it comes to what we're looking at here... for foodies in Buffalo this could be a dream of ginormous proportions. Imagine a place with a community kitchen, food policy summits, food shares, resident bakers, canning classes, culinary

Last night a few grain mill and elevator advocates got together to test out some lighting on the monolithic structures. The first structure to be lit was Marine A (lead photo). A $6000 LED lighting system (consisting of two units that looked light a suped-up Lite-Brite) was brought in close and aimed upwards onto the structure, emitting a concentrated wash that did a great job as far as light intensity. 
Next up was the American elevator (see below). This time the lighting system was set up from further away and successfully lit up the entire building. Different colorized

Here's your warning: Now is the time to register for the 2011 Turkey Trot. At some point before the start of this Buffalo tradition registration will likely be shut down, so it's a good idea to do it now.
As you may know, the Turkey Trot has gotten so popular that last year race organizers decided to limit participation to 12,500 registrants. The race had grown so large that, for the safety of all involved, it was decided to cap the number of runners. That same limit is in place this year as well.
The 116th annual YMCA Turkey Trot will

The last time that we paid a visit to this wall, youth from the Boys and Girls Club were in the process of giving it a fresh coat of primer (see post). Since then, a number of artists have been hard at work painting different Black Rock and Riverside scenes, all of which are quite vibrant, detailed and ultimately eye-catching. There are six murals total and the timeline reads from left to right. Each mural is 7'hx20'w. All of the artists were juried, and the project was funded thanks to a grant by the Buffalo