Buffalo Rising Online

Inspired by an article that ran in the food section of the New York Times a few months ago (“5 Cooks, $40, 5 Dishes, 3 Desserts”, 3/26/2008), YUM set out to find a restaurant with a chef game enough to compose a four course meal with food found solely at one of the city's many dollar stores. Always up for a challenge, chefs, owners (and incidentally, brothers), JJ and Kevin Richert of Torches Restaurant rose to the task. Armed with a mere $25 and a very small “pantry” consisting of salt, pepper, cooking oil, butter, lemon and garlic, this was a challenge that required creativity and resourcefulness...as well as a brave taste tester.

The Steer Restaurant and Saloon has been a landmark on the face of Main Street in the University Heights District since 1969. Known for being Buffalo’s oldest steakhouse, The Steer has been owned by Erin and Tucker Curtin since 1993, and during that time they've made many changes and improvements to it. Since then, the Curtins have also opened two other restaurants; The Lake Effect Diner (also on Main Street), and Dug’s Dive (at the Small Slip Harbor).

Renovating The Steer's dining room was the first priority, and the addition of a fireplace imparts warmth and coziness to the space. Next on the list was the construction of a brick and wrought iron enclosed patio for warm weather eating, lit by torches designed by Tucker himself. Currently, the Curtins are in the process of renovating the second floor of The Steer to accommodate private parties and additional guests on bus…

Growing up on Buffalo’s West Side, I fondly remember the building at 1085 Niagara Street as the Italian restaurant, Darone’s Fargo Grill. Darone’s has always held a special place in my heart because it was one of the restaurants my parents and grandparents would take me and my brothers for a great family meal.

In 1988, Marco Sciortino purchased the building from Andy and Joe Darone. Since then, Marco has been the owner and chef of Marco’s Restaurant, and has started his own tradition of serving fresh, high quality food in his friendly, neighborhood restaurant. Marco’s is the kind of place you go when you want to relax with family and friends and enjoy consistently great food. Speaking of family, Marco’s sister Dana is a server at the restaurant and their mother, also named Dana, is a server in addition to holding the title of dessert chef. But we’ll delve into tha…

North Buffalo’s Hertel Avenue stands out as a great place to work and play. Among other things it is home to a great selection of restaurants offering a variety of cuisines including Middle Eastern, Japanese and Contemporary American.

A friend of mine lives in North Buffalo, and when I mentioned to her that I wanted to try a great, reasonably priced restaurant on Hertel, the first name that came out of her mouth was Café GarAngelo.

It is a small, bustling Italian restaurant nestled in the block between Lovering and Virgil Avenues, near Chateau Buffalo and the Aladdin Market. When I arrived at the restaurant on a sunny Thursday right after work, the first thing I noticed was the restaurant’s homey feeling. The rear dining room is decorated wi…

Wednesday we talked about the reaction to a previous post which generated comments regarding whether or not Buffalo’s restaurants offer quality, contemporary food. With that question many other points were raised along with a glut of opinions regarding the current state of Buffalo’s restaurant scene. This situation spurred me into thinking about what the definition of modern food is and who in Buffalo is preparing it. I decided that over the course of the following weeks I would ask this question to chefs that I knew and those that I would interview for other posts.

Over the course of the past month I have spoken with Adam Goetz, chef and owner of SAMPLE in Allentown, JJ Richert, chef and owner of Torches, Mike Andrzejewski, chef and owner of Sea Bar in Williamsville, Chef Bruce Wiezsala of O’Conn…

This just in: Buffalo has a lot of great coffee houses. Actually, that’s an obvious statement and not news to anyone. We all know that Buffalo offers many fun places to grab a coffee. I wonder what makes a person prefer some places more than others. My favorite coffee house happens to be Café Allegro. I always feel at home there. Maybe it’s the cozy chairs that remind me of past apartments, or it might be the general laid-back atmosphere. Whatever the reason, I find it the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

There are many concoctions from which to choose. I like The Shorty–espresso, white chocolate, caramel syrup, and vanilla syrup—priced reasonably at $3 for 16 ounces. A few weeks ago I enjoyed one along with a piece of raspberry pie. Life was good with my sweet treats and some time for people-watching. A young woman seated n…

By now, Allentown residents and Buffalo Rising readers have heard about 888 Main (a.k.a. Campieri's, Campieri's 888 Main and simply, 888). Opening this past winter after 2 1/2 years of construction, this Buffalo-style pizza joint has quickly gathered a group of loyal followers. Though the restaurant's interior still gives the perception of not yet being entirely done (it's rather dark, and the richly colored walls are free of art), the pizza is downright delicious.

What makes it better than the rest? The answer is owner Dan Campieri's secret dough recipe. It's my guess, that in this pizza-obsessed town, there aren't a lot of pizza restaurants that still make their dough from scratch. Many years ago it became a lot less expensive (when you consider labor and ingredients) to buy pre-made frozen dough balls from local wholesalers, and so that is what most local pizza joints do…

We're here today with SAMPLE for an inside peek at the recipe and the process used to make another of their delicious and unique cocktails. Today's featured beverage is the Fire Roasted Pineapple Mojito, a tasty and refreshing drink that graces SAMPLE's warm weather menu. It is, hands down, my favorite cocktail at SAMPLE, and I welcome its return with open arms and an eye on my watch in anticipation of happy hour. The simple recipe follows below.

Also keep in mind that SAMPLE's special monthly Sunday Supper is coming up on April 27th. If you haven't yet had the fortune of experiencing one of these fantastic evenings of food, drink and good company, I suggest that you consider attending this month's. The menu--whose theme is “Think Spring”--is about as tempting as it gets. You can check out the deta…

You wouldn’t know it by my last name, but I am mostly Italian. I grew up on Italian food--pasta and meatballs every Sunday. So I take my Italian food very seriously. Over the years I’ve driven by Santasiero’s countless times. But it was only a few weeks ago that I tried Santasiero’s for the first time.

I went for takeout and ordered eggplant parmigiana, one of my favorite Italian dishes. I also wanted to try their meatballs and sausage, so I asked for two of each in a container of sauce--a request that a friendly employee was happy to accommodate. The eggplant parmigiana was tasty. The sausage was the best I had eaten in a long time, and contained just the right amount of kick. The meatballs, dare I say, were just like grandma used to make. As for the sauce, I would rate it as being very good.

In order to try a few more dishes, my wife and I dropped in on a Sa…

Though the term ‘Chippewa’ conjures only drunken baseball-capped frat boys and flavored-martini-swilling girls for most, a portion of this district is evolving. The neighborhood, stretching the length of Delaware from Allen to Niagara Square, has begun to see new life, catering to a more mature (and moneyed) crowd. The Hampton Inn that stands at the corner of Delaware and Elmwood maintains an occupancy rate of about 92%, beating its competitors by nearly a third. Guests fill area restaurants and bars, particularly those that reside on the Inn’s ground floor: Salsarita’s, The Chocolate Bar, and Papaya.

In 2005, owners Tri Lam, Tai Truong and Manh Lee opened Papaya, downtown Buffalo’s first and only Asian-in…

Spring is most certainly here. BoomDays takes place tonight and tomorrow, marking not only the end of our notoriously chilly weather, but also the re-opening of Buffalo's most recent edition to the city's waterfront scene. This year the event takes place up and down the river, with happenings at both the Lasalle and Youngstown Yacht Clubs in Niagara County, but here in Buffalo we'll be celebrating at the relatively new Dug's Dive.

Catering to the entire family with good food, fireworks, cannons and live music, tonight's gathering is sure to be a good time. Dug's Dive's primo location at the Small Slip Harbor made it an ideal choice for this year's event. “We are excited to be a part of this,” owner Tucker Curtin said. “[BoomDays…

It had been a long time since I’d taken the Grant Street exit off the 198. But when I did so the other day and came to the intersection of Grant and Amherst, I noticed a new business tucked in the corner of the strip plaza, in the spot once occupied by Mighty Taco. When I saw the name--Joe’s New York Style Pizzeria & Restaurant--my first reaction was skepticism. “New York Style” is such a bold declaration, promising to distinguish the product from other local pizzerias in some special way. But being a pizza junkie, I had to give their pizza a try. And I am pleased to report that the two pepperoni slices I tried were delicious. The slices were large enough to be folded (I learned the art of folding pizza during the brief period of time that I lived on Long Island and in New York City). I ordered the slices to go, with the plan to eat them at home. But the pizza did…

I had never heard of Vargas before I started writing this column. I imagine I may have walked by it while out and about and not have given it a second glance. Had that been the case, I would have missed out on some very good, authentic Puerto Rican food. For those of you that feel Anthony Bourdain should come to Buffalo, I think this would be his kind of place. It lacks pretense and glitz; it is, quite simply, a good place for a quick and delicious meal.

The Saturday before Easter I stopped in for lunch. I was excited to try the octopus and plantains; this meal will only set you back $9, but it is sadly only available on Fridays. That's alright because now I have an excuse to return Friday during my lunch hour.

Vargas Take Out is not for the vegetarian, they specialize in meat-centric Puerto Rican s…

I’ve told you once before about SAMPLE’s monthly Supper Club, an occasion on which the restaurant's bite-sized portions are served at a more typical size. Their five course prix fixe dinner is not only a great deal, but in my opinion, a fantastic dining experience.

When people complain about the lack of modern food in Buffalo, I simply point them to SAMPLE. It’s not just the chic décor and innovative portion size that sets SAMPLE apart; it is the clean preparations and modern flavor pairings.

This month, they’ve tried something new. Chef Adam Goetz has worked closely with the Village Beer Merchant to bring you a delicious meal replete with solid b…