Guy Fieri from The Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives stopped by at Lake Effect Diner this morning.  Since interviewing Tucker Curtin a couple of weeks ago, we've been a regular at the diner.  This morning, the parking lot was packed and roped off. Parked in front was a beautiful red Camero. I was surprised to see Fieri's signature blond hair through the door. I thought,

As you may have noticed, we periodically update our readers on BuffaloRising.com traffic. We've taken the time to assemble a traffic review of the first seven months of 2009 - it sheds some interesting light on local internet traffic trends and larger internet trends. 

From January 1 - July 31, 2009, BuffaloRising.com received 1,319,447 visits - an increase of 17% over the first seven months of 2008.  At the same time, unique visitors have increased 35% to just over 462,000 and

Buffalo Rising T Shirts are on sale from now until Saturday at midnight.  Use coupon code THREEBUCKS to save - you guessed it - $3 per shirt. 
Get shopping. 

Ex-Buffalonian, author and chef Alfred Portale, when asked to pick his favorite fast food places for Esquire Magazine, came up with Ted's and Mighty Taco.  These are two homegrown area favorites--and success stories--that seem to stick in the minds of anyone who ever lived in Buffalo and many who've only passed through.

On Sunday, August 16th, Trattoria Aroma will celebrate its commitment to buying locally grown food -- as well as the farmers who provide these delicious foods -- by hosting a dinner event at the Oles Family Farm in Alden. Breen Shea, the restaurant's general manager, said Trattoria Aroma is dedicated to buying local because it's better for customers' health and the region's economy.
Shea also said Trattoria Aroma works with the Oles Family farm frequently, so it was only fitting

Good news, foodies!  Juniper is finally opening/food/index.html

I am now convinced that the writers and editors of Forbes use computer generated article templates, into which they plug names of cities chosen through a random city name generator. Either that, or their writers have never stepped foot near Buffalo, know only what they know through past media stereotypes, and don't give a fig about who they step on as they spread high-visibility dreck across the land via their ethically bereft fiction-mobile.

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Over the past year, Tucker Curtin, owner of Lake Effect Diner (and Dug's Dive & The Steer), has been working hard with local farmers and members of his staff to bring fresh, locally grown food to the table.  

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Once I heard that The Avant was open for business, I couldn't wait to get over to check out the in-house restaurant. The restaurant is called Della Terra, and from the looks of it I bet that this is going to become the ideal place for the business lunch crowd. First of all, the layout is completely different from any other eatery in the city. The views out onto Delaware are sweet because the buildings in the district have so much character. Then there's the elevated patio (coming soon) where diners can sit and take in the vista.

Foodies, weigh in.
Those of you who haunt the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives (Tripple D's) know that they're always on the lookout for new locations.  We can't say for sure, but we're thinking Buffalo is on the 3D radar, and we want to let them know about all the local places that deserve consideration - in case Guy Fieri ends up here, much like Anthony Bourdain did last winter.
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We want attention for our unique offerings as a city, but often, some of us bristle when the attention centers around chicken wings.  Then again, there are those of us who feel we should have capitalized on the wing thing a long time ago, and in a bigger way.

Never mind, we say, once we have the rest of the nation's attention, we can get them to focus on all of our other goodies.

As Taste of Buffalo approaches, and with farmer's markets and Community Share Agriculture in full swing, now seems like the perfect time to think theologically about food.

A theology of food?  Really?

Of course.  From Kosher, to Halal, to Hindu vegetarianism, to ritual meals, faith and food have been intertwined from the beginning.  After all, the first sin--according to the Hebrew Bible--centered around eating the wrong fruit.

The choices we make around the food we eat, the way we eat it, and the people with whom we eat, form us--as individuals and

The Bijou Grill is known for their fresh seafood and consistent flavors.  Executive Chef Michael Greco has been there since the beginning of the Bijou, and has been serving up his signature dishes for 18 years. Owner Bea Militello, otherwise known as 'Bea of the Bijou' has the ability to instantly make a guest in her restaurant feel like a part of her extended family.  Both addressed the importance

Trattoria Aroma on Bryant Street in Buffalo is an Italian Restaurant where full-blooded Italians can find traditional dishes they are familiar with, and the rest of the populace can experience Italian food the authentic way, not necessarily the way much of America has learned to accept it.
Here, handmade pasta is dressed lightly, not as a conveyance for sauce, but rather complemented by it so that the flavors and textures work in union.  In every dish, expect flavor combinations that reflect the local growing season, where the bounty of the nearby country is

To help celebrate the July 4th weekend, we're happy to offer our first Buffalo Rising t-shirt sale.  If you order anytime from now until midnight Sunday (July 5th) and use the gift code FIREWORKS, you'll be able to buy any Buffalo Rising shirt for just $15.00 plus shipping. 

This sale allows you to save a couple bucks on all of the Buffalo Rising shirts including Queen City, Lake

It's time for the periodic Buffalo Rising traffic update. . .

From March 1, 2009 through May 31, 2009, BuffaloRising.com has received 574,485 visits from 214,185 unique visitors.  Compared to the same time period last year, visitors have increased 18% and unique visitors are up 34%.  In our last report, we mentioned that February was our largest month ever with 71,956 unique visitors - well every month since then has eclipsed that record and March

By: Buffalo Foodie

When asked, "It's sort of like Iron Chef: Buffalo", is how I typically begin to describe Nickel City Chef, one of the hottest new events happening in Buffalo this summer.  Starting there makes sense, as the Nickel City Chefs will battle challengers by preparing three dishes, utilizing a secret ingredient, in under an hour. Those dishes will be awarded points by a panel of judges comprised of industry professionals and area celebrities. That's where the similarities begin to dwindle. There's a live audience,

Queenseyes reported on The Waterline back on May 10th, and today we had a chance to get there for lunch.  Located at 50 Lakefront Boulevard inside the Waterfront Village office building, it was a little hard to find because I came in the back way.  I could see people sitting at tables and eating, I just wasn't sure where the food was coming from, so I asked a table of lunchers and they pointed the way.  For reference, the quickest door to the restaurant is on the east-facing side, looking

If you couldn't tell by my last name, I'm not Irish.  I guess you could say that I'm a little Irish by association -- my boyfriend's name is Michael Patrick Murphy and he likes to mention that to anyone that lends their ear.  Yet, by spending half of my life in South Buffalo, I am all to familiar with the local Irish pride.

Now, I've only had Corned Beef and Cabbage once.  I prefer a Yuengling Black and Tan to a Guinness.  And Jameson is a little too much for me.  But when I go to The Blackthorn, I feel like one of their own.

The Blackthorn

I love breakfast burritos - there are a couple of places around town that I go for them. As much as I like hitting different spots for different styles, I think I've finally found the best breakfast burrito around. I've been heading (more and more) to the Steel Crazy Snack Shack for the huevos rancheros wrap (without meat), and every time I have one it seems to get tastier and tastier. The version I had this morning was filled with two eggs (over easy*), rice and beans, onions and peppers, cheese and a dab