Buffalo Rising: food: February 2012 Archives

food February 29, 2012 9:35 AM

Lucy Ethiopian Cuisine and Variety Store

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There has been a buzz going around this past week that Buffalo is finally going to get an Ethiopian Restaurant. A sign had gone up in a window on Amherst Street announcing the news. That's when I started getting phone calls and emails asking if it was 'my guy' who had finally found a location. As much as I wanted it to be Wass (my guy), it was not, but nonetheless I was excited to learn that Buffalo would soon have Ethiopian food.
After digging around, I learned that the operators of Lucy Ethiopian Cuisine and Variety Store also had a restaurant in Toronto. Buffalo will be the owners' second location. I spoke to co-owner Naima Tesfu who told me that the restaurant would have limited sit-down, mainly because she and her husband were looking to test the market to see how people would respond to a cuisine that they were relatively unfamiliar with. "We've been looking into opening a restaurant

food February 26, 2012 12:16 PM

Janice Okun, the Only Restaurant Critic in the History of the Buffalo News, Retires (Kinda)

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Her career began at The Buffalo News in 1974. She "retired" in 2009 but it seems that retirement was figurative as she continued to write the restaurant reviews in addition to another weekly column. Now, after 38 years and hundreds of restaurant reviews, Okun has decided to "step down" according to a column by editor Margaret Sullivan.
/food/2012/02/index.html

food February 26, 2012 8:42 AM

Buffalo's Best Kielbasa Contest

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Up until this point we've seen Buffalonians battle it out for the best pierogi, pies, chili, etc... Most of the culinary contests revolve around a particular seasonal event, and the upcoming kielbasa contest is no different. It's hard to imagine that Dyngus Day is fast approaching. It seems as if winter never even came this year, and suddenly spring events are upon us. On April 9, at the Adam Mickiewicz Library & Dramatic Circle (Mickey's) and Tornspace, a kielbasa contest will kick off at noon, and with it "Polonia at Buffalo's Most Authentic and Original Dyngus Day Celebration."

food February 25, 2012 6:19 PM

Post Taste

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The country's largest two-day food festival got a nice mention in the New York Post as one of the eight food festivals to attend this year. Thanks to the growing diversity in cuisines and the addition of food trucks, the Taste of Buffalo is not only a giant draw for downtown, it's also a great way to show the world that Buffalo has a unique blend of locally owned restaurants.
...and with the addition

food February 25, 2012 11:34 AM

From Rust Belt to Green Belt

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Aaron Bartley's writings were recently published in the Huffington Post, where he drew an interesting picture of living green in modern day rust belt cities. In the column, Bartley, Co-Founder of People United for Sustainable Housing (PUSH Buffalo), talks about the successes of urban farming initiatives in Detroit, Milwaukee, Cleveland and Buffalo. Following is a blurb from his writings - if you are interested in seeing the article in its entirety, click here.
In

food February 20, 2012 10:29 AM

Bacchus Shines Its Own Light On Chippewa

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Did you ever wonder what happened to the old Third Room on Chippewa in Buffalo's Entertainment District. I mean after it closed, what became of the space? When the Third Room turned out the lights, it opened up an incredible opportunity for its neighbor, Bacchus, to expand. Over the past few months the new addition, along with much of the existing restaurant, has been undergoing a significant transformation that will ultimately position Bacchus as a fine dining and banquet destination in what was once the city's red light district. As you can see (lead image), the renovated private dining room

food February 19, 2012 6:38 PM

Food Access in WNY Roundtable Discussion

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"Food, like water, is a basic necessity and a human right."
Think for a couple of minutes about the last few meals that you've eaten. Have you cooked for yourself and your family? If so, what sort of food did you prepare? Or if you have gone out to a restaurant, where did you go and what did you eat? Have you visited a local market? If so, was it a corner store or a supermarket? Were you on a budget, or was money no obstacle? Was there fresh produce?
I am sure that you are well aware that people facing poverty have

food February 18, 2012 2:20 PM

Buffalo's Best Mac and Cheese Challenge

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20 Buffalo restaurants are preparing to enter a contest that is designed to test their 'mac and cheese' prowess, by pitting chef against chef in order to declare one the winner with the best recipe. European master cheesemaker, Lactalis, has accepted entries by 20 of the area's 'mac and cheese' hot spots, and will be dropping off cheese kits consisting of seven varieties that will be used to come up with the winning dish. Chefs can opt to use just one, or a combination of the cheeses. Once the chef has concocted the official entry, that exact dish will be served at the respective restaurant during

food February 18, 2012 12:01 PM

Go Veggies: Coming Soon?

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It was four years ago when Buffalo Rising first covered Go Veggies, a sprouting business that many people had discovered at the Elmwood Farmer's Market. Since that time (see article), owner Genga Ponnampalam has been expanding his product lines at the local farmers' markets, selling his products online and at small brick and mortar grocery markets while apparently looking for a permanent location on Elmwood Avenue. With items like gluten free spinach and black bean burgers as

food February 15, 2012 2:40 PM

Dinosaur BBQ. So close but so far...

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After receiving an email this morning from a BRO commentor, asking if there were any new updates on Dinosaur BBQ's search for a prime location in Buffalo, I noticed that the Wall Street Journal also posted on that exact topic. Encouraged that Dinosaur was still actively seeking a location in Buffalo I decided to reach out to a couple of developers regarding the process, and apparently the major hold up is 'size concerns'. One developer recalled that they were looking for something between 8,000-10,000 sq.'.

food February 15, 2012 11:43 AM

Buffalo Foodie Panel: Food and The Web

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By Rachel Gottlieb:
If there's one thing Buffalonians get really excited about, it's food. BRO readers know it, and so do the members of Social Media Club Buffalo.
That's why they knew that hosting a Buffalo Web Foodies event would work. The people in this town love eating food, talking about food, cooking food, writing about food, sharing food, and even Tweeting about food.
More

food February 7, 2012 4:05 PM

A Big FUSS: Supporting WNY's Small Farms--One at a Time

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Over the past several years the idea of eating local has become popular here and elsewhere, and with it the desire to experience foods fresh from the farm in our local restaurants. But without a distribution system in place for local farmers, as demand has grown, only a few farms have been willing or able to truly embrace the effort and challenges required to work with restaurants. Those that have stayed the course have found it to be a profitable and rewarding choice--chefs can appreciate the subtle adaptations a farmer can make in the growing process to really enhance a particular food, and anyone

food February 5, 2012 3:54 PM

Pay tribute to the original chicken wing sauce

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Super Bowl Sunday is a big day for hot sauce companies like Frank's. The chicken wing has become symbolic food for football lovers all over the world, and thanks to Anchor Bar (inventor of the original chicken wing), Frank's has become a huge sensation producing a highly addicting wing sauce that fans all over the world say is synonymous with the flavor of the wing.
According to a recent /food/2012/02/index.html

food February 3, 2012 10:24 AM

ECHDC conducts survey about food, markets and restaurants in Greater Buffalo

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The Erie Canal Harbor Development Corporation (ECHDC) is looking for some input regarding what sort of food, markets and restaurants you would like to see at Canalside. Over the years there have been talks about public markets under The Skyway, and rumors of Dinosaur BBQ and Ted's Hot Dogs poking around. At this point we have seen a couple of food-related initiatives surface in the form of Liberty Hound (coming soon) and Clinton's Dish (hamburger stand). Liberty Hound is scheduled to open this spring, while Clinton's Dish proved to be the perfect addition this past summer.
As

Super Seeds

food: February 2012 Archives