Buffalo Rising Online

Most of Buffalo's fine dining restaurants change their menu two to four times a year in order to take advantage of the season's best produce and to provide their clientele with weather-appropriate dishes. You may love a good braised short rib, but it may not be suited to an evening's meal in the full heat of August. A wise chef moves forward with proteins, produce and preparations that reflect the season. The best way for a chef to do this is to purchase goods grown and raised by area farmers.

But buying local isn't as easy as it seems if you're a chef in Buffalo.

Once upon a time, Buffalo chefs would rise at dawn and head down to the bustling Clinton Bailey Wholesale Market to buy fresh produce from an array of local farmers. In recent years, the market has seen resurgence, but not to the point of being the hub of Buffalo’s food industry that it once was. Today, only a small number of dedicated farmers arrive at pre-dawn hours …