Buffalo Rising Online

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…

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…

Today, YUM's V-Day Guide will offer you a peek at SAMPLE's Aphrodisiac Menu for Two. This divine meal may be bite-size, but the flavors are tremendous. Careful planning has gone into developing a menu that is both satisfying and exciting, and the ingredients alone are sure to add a little electricity to your date. (The items that appear in bold text below are considered to have some aphrodisiacal properties.)

Available Thursday, February 14 through Saturday, February 16, at only $46 per couple, it is probably the tastiest deal in town.

SAMPLE’S Orgasmic Punch- roasted pineapple, rum, fresh orange and lemon juice, honey, vanilla, nutmeg, muria puama and damiana (click here for instructions…

Sample is known for their bite-size portions, offering entire meals comprised of mini masterpieces. Though it took a little while for Buffalo to fully appreciate this restaurant that is both high concept and high style, it has developed a great reputation and a devoted following.

Sample assures me that they will never alter their "concept", but they have begun offering a monthly Sunday Supper Club where a prix fixe meal is served in the larger portions we're all more accustomed to.

This month the Supper Club happens to fall on December 30th, coincidentally the day before the second biggest restaurant night of the year (Valentine's Day is usually the first). Most restaurateurs would skip the 30th, and instead rest up for the mayhem known in the biz as "amateur night".

That's right, New Year's Eve (and Valentine's Day) are known as amateur night, because those looking for a fi…

Recently I was invited to attend SAMPLE's monthly cocktail course. Regular readers know about my penchant for their Roasted Pineapple Mojito and Lavender Honey Martini. I'm really much more of a beer or wine drinker, but SAMPLE's cocktails are winners when it comes to the use of fresh, whole ingredients and innovation.

This month's class provided students with a tutorial for three different cocktails, all of which were just lovely. The first was a punch featuring blood orange juice and vodka, another was a papaya margarita served with a chip of peanut and cumin brittle. Yum! The simplest drink, and perhaps the most seasonally appropriate was a simple mulled cider, perfect for the upcoming holidays or any winter event where the host is interested in serving a signature coc…

Early last week, our online ARTS staffer and I headed to SAMPLE for a press event. We were being given a golden opportunity. Selections from SAMPLE's new spring menu and killer cocktail repertoire would accompany a series of minute-long previews from performers scheduled to entertain at this summer's Infringement Festival.

The evening's MC and Infringement Festival volunteer Ron Ehmke summed up the festival's connection with SAMPLE best. “We're here because SAMPLE is based in Allentown and Allentown is kind of our home base. SAMPLE is also a home for experimental food. They're presenting food in a completely different way, a new way way that Buffalo has never seen. And the attitude with SAMPLE's happy hour is to just try stuff and see if people like it, and that's the spirit of the festival as well.”

I think he was right. The SAMPLE concept is new and different here …

BR's Buffalo Chef's Challenge: Chayote comes to a close today with the announcement of the winner- SAMPLE! Chef Aaron Dombroski really impressed me with his selection of well-conceived, delicately balanced bites.

As I mentioned in the Torches piece, we furnished everyone with a pretty comprehensive list of rules for the chayote challenge. We did however, manage to overlook the fact that some people would prepare more than one dish. Shango prepared three small items, served all on the same plate. Torches made seven courses, and at the time of tasting, Jenn at Amaryllis was disappointed by her interpretation of the rules- that chefs could prepare only one. We certainly won't omit the specifics on the number of entries allowed in the future.

Since contemporary cuisine has really taken a turn toward serving things in multiples, we decided that the only fair way to deal with …

I am in constant amazement at the number of new restaurants that continue to pop up around the city. If you are a ‘foodie’, then Buffalo is the place to be. And I'm not just talking about chicken wings. There are so many options out there that the decision about where to eat has become rather difficult. Of course there are the favorites like Brodo, Shango and Prime 490, North End, but have you been paying attention to the number of fresh faces on the scene? Places like Scarlet, and Trattoria Aroma (photo), and Sample, and Staples of Allentown (soon to serve food), and The Stillwater, Europa, Kuni's to Go, Buffalo Kabob House, Buffalo BBQ and Brew, and Empire? Plus there are three or four new places scheduled to open in and around the Allentown area.

Buffalo was formerly referred to as a city that had a bar on every corner. These days you could say the same thing about restau…

Earlier this evening a couple of us went over to see the sweet new digs of Allentown’s newest culinary creation. The place is called Sample for a good reason… because that’s what its owners want you to do. It’s not exactly tapas… and it’s not sushi, but you do pay per the piece. Have you ever seen a tiny, tiny beef on weck? Or a forkful of pasta on a mussel? This has to be one of the most intriguing eating experiences in town. It's literally a sampling of different foods to try while sipping a glass of wine or cocktail.

We were impressed by the unusual offerings, that is for sure… and we were equally impressed by the surroundings. Formerly Allentown Music (moved onto Elmwood), Sample has evolved into a sleek eatery that Karim Rashid would be proud of.