Buffalo Rising Online

Apr 26th 2007, 10:33am By Christa Glennie Seychew

Dining Out For Life took place on Tuesday evening, an annual fundraiser in which close to 100 area restaurants donate a minimum of 25% of their evening’s sales to AIDS Community Services and AIDS Family Services.

The Coda, one of the many generous businesses involved, is also one of my favorite restaurants. I wanted to get an idea of what, as a chef and restaurant owner, it was like to participate in the event, so I contacted Chef Roo by email for a recap.

The Coda offers a refreshing take on traditional French cuisine. Chef Roo is gifted and adventurous, providing guests with re-tooled, modern takes on classic dishes. He does this with grace and skill, altering conventional ingredients and preparations to the delight of guests.

Some of the dishes featured on the evening’s menu will be available to guests throughout the rest of this week. (For the uninitiated, The Coda offers an entirely new menu every week, capitalizing on the bounty of fresh ingredients available locally.) A few of the items featured were Algerian Lamb Pillows with tzatziki sauce, chicken breast with goat cheese and thyme and Arctic char with a gazpacho salsa.

Though The Coda’s desserts are all good, it would be a horrible omission on my part not to mention Chef Roo’s famous Experimental Ice Cream Flight, which currently features selections like Chocolate Lavender, Spicy Gherkin, Strawberry Marsala, Lavender Cointreau, Moldy Brownie, Strawberry Horseradish, Balsamic Bourbon, Earl Grey and Café Cabernet. I tried the Café Cabernet last week, a smooth blend of coffee and a Cabernet reduction. It was fantastic- I could have eaten a bowlful.

His restaurant served 56 guests (a high number for a boutique restaurant) and donated 50% of the night’s sales to the event.

I asked Roo about his perception of the evening, and his guest’s reception of his menu and the event itself. As chef, he spends most of his time in the kitchen; therefore his view is generally based on what he says from the back of the house.

“The plates were among the cleanest that have ever come back,” he wrote me. “The dining room was serene, and the crush at the back station was organized, determined and remarkably relaxed.

The sound of laughter coming into the kitchen over the bang of the plates, and the thump of the dishwasher was one of the greatest sounds to hear, only surpassed by the laughter of the staff as they did the complicated quadrille of too many people in a small space, and carefully balanced glasses, and food going out, and plates coming back in, and pass that rack, can you make tea, where's the decaf, and fire 13 - entrees!”

What was his motivation, I asked, for not only participating in Dining Out for Life, but also his decision to be one of the select few restaurants to donate 50% or more of their sales?

“I decided to participate as a tribute to the many I have known who have been affected by AIDS,” he wrote. “I have several friends in NYC who are still alive because of the advances that have been made in the past decade. They live full lives, and greet every day with such elan that it is inspiring to be around them.

I lost many more (friends) in the early nineties, when the field of research was small and many of the treatments available were not as effective as they are today.

Being in the restaurant business, it was part and parcel of the scene in the big cities I was in, former IV drug users who were diagnosed years after getting clean, older and younger gay men, I did this as a tribute to so many who have made such an effect on my life throughout the many re-iterations I have had in this business.

We wish that we were in a position to donate more frequently and with greater generosity, but every little bit helps.

All in all it was a great night, and it wouldn't have been but for the extraordinary group of people that rallied for us. Amber and her girlfriend J-9 (of Roxy's fame), Amber's sister April and her girlfriend Kristin Becker, Rahwa, and my mother all made the dining room a fun place to celebrate this great cause. I can't begin to express my gratitude to all of these women.”

The Coda is open for dinner from Thursday – Sunday. They also offer a really fantastic brunch on Sundays. They will soon close their doors for their annual summer break, so make a reservation while you can!

The Coda
350 Pennsylvania, 14201
362.0435

To view a feature article on The Coda, click here.

The above picture is features Duet of Quail, courtesy of The Coda.