Buffalo Rising Online

Photograph by The Coda restaurant, one of the participating establishments.

Thanks to the generosity of this area’s restaurant industry, nearly 100 restaurants are ready to welcome diners on April 24 and will contribute at least 25 percent of their profits from food sales (excluding alcoholic beverages) that day. Volunteer “ambassadors” are stationed at each restaurant. They welcome diners, thank them for participating and give them printed information about the services supported by the event. The ambassadors also accept donations from anyone that may wish to contribute to the cause. To participate, simply choose a restaurant, make reservations and enjoy a great meal for a great cause.

The fifth annual Dining Out For Life fund-raiser will benefit two agencies providing vital direct services to individuals living with HIV/AIDS: AIDS Community Services of WNY (ACS…

It's just too bad that you can't get this dish seven days a week. When I saw my friend order it a couple days ago I stared in amazement at the beautiful dish. I don't think I had ever seen anything so visually appetizing... that was also healthy. Even though I had a much-anticipated meal sitting before me I could not help but inquire about the different fruits, grains, etc.

Then I went as far as to send Roo Buckley, Chef/Owner of Coda Restaurant a request for information regarding the ingredients and where they come from. I also wanted some added info on their flavored butters and addictive coffee. He was kind enough to reply:

The Yougurt and Granola is made with Guercio’s Blend of Granola, the best I’ve found.

Drizzled with a little bit…

The Coda restaurant, nestled behind Kleinhans, offers its lucky patrons a new menu every week. Better yet, it is always an example of fresh, innovative, well-executed cookery. This week they’ve announced that guests will be able to purchase bottles of wine at a 25% discount on Thursday evenings. If that isn’t motivation to get out and visit one of the city’s finest restaurants, I don’t know what is.

For your perusal, I’ve provided a preview of just a few items that will be offered on the menu this week (always a good read) as well as a copy of the Chef’s Reserve wine list. The entire wine list and the menu can be found on their beautiful website www.the-coda.com.

A small sampling of items from the current menu:

Soup: Crème D’Asperges – Accents of Mint and Parmesan Salad: Belg…

Dressed in his trademark hand-dyed chef's coat and apron, Chef Roo of The Coda restaurant is an eloquent and intriguing figure. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Chef Roo is a globe trekker ,Aei a passion manifest in his culinary sensibilities, which he characterizes as, "Country global cuisine with an emphasis on French technique."

This month, YUM! asks Chef Roo to share his thoughts on a chef's life, eating in Buffalo, and his worldly inspirations.

As YUM! editor for Buffalo Rising Magazine, I thought it would be fun to do a feature on all of the great Buffalo restaurants that serve dinner on Christmas.

I made a million phone calls, asked everyone I knew, and even posted a piece asking BRO readers to fill us in on the fine establishments where they,Aeove had Christmas dinner. Here's what we discovered.

There are a number of really great Asian restaurants open on Christmas, but I was looking for places where guests could have classic Christmas fare.

Many of the bar/restaurants that have been mentioned to me used to be open on the holiday but have found it best to keep their bars open and their kitchens closed.

It seems that only a select number of …

Normally Roo Buckley, owner of Coda Restaurant, likes to cook and serve his creations at his own restaurant. Once a year however, this guy sets up his restaurant to be a Thanksgiving production house. Roo feels for those of us that are left without somebody to cook a quality Thanksgiving meal. That's why he is the man when it comes to home delivery for Turkey Day. Roo puts it best, "Why go through all the hassle of waiting in the grocery store lines, preparing for hours (even days), not being able to enjoy the day yourself, and then cleaning up for hours after everyone has left? Doesn't sound like fun."

Yes, there are a lot of people that enjoy cooking this 'meal of meals'. There is a real art to mastering the art of Thanksgiving cooking. 'Brais…

Western New Yorkers will have an opportunity to help in the battle against breast cancer simply by dining at their favorite restaurants on Tuesday, September 26, 2006, when the Western New York Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation presents the Second Annual Dine Out for the Cure!

Participating restaurants will dona…

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Yesterday we went over to LaSalle Park on Buffalo's waterfront in search of the perfect place to set up a Micro Park. RoBear and I met with Jay McCarthy, a newfound urban activist who wants to see more people utilizing the parklands along the water's edge. After meeting up at

Brunch is one of my all-time favorite meals. There's nothing better than sitting down to a Sunday brunch at a small local restaurant with a cup of coffee and a good local magazine. I always try to mix it up... to go to different places... to try the special offerings that you can only find that one day a week. Every brunch spot has features t…

Buffalo is very fortunate to have a world-class orchestra located in a neighborhood filled with incredible architecture including mansions, churches and houses. Kleinhans Music Hall, designed by Eliel and Eero Saarinen, houses the orchestr…

There are two things I know to be true. There's no difference between good flan and bad flan, and there is no war in Albania. --Wag The Dog by David Mamet

Thereis no war in Albania, but Mamet is wrong about flan. All flan is at best mediocre when measured against what I had last night at The Coda.

This restaurant is not on any of the main drags, it won't serve up ordinary everyday food, and it doesn't seat a lot of people. These are just a few of the reasons that make the new Coda a 'must go to' restaurant in the city. Remember the oil and canvas painting called Nighthawks created by Edward Hopper (Thanks MQ) in 1942? Nighthawks was actually inspired by a real diner in Hopper's NY neighborhood. Well, take that scene and throw in (Buffalo's own) Charles Burchfield's Rainy Night painting and I think you might capture a hint of Coda's soulful ambiance.

The Coda blends quiet sophistication with a contemporary cullinary flare that one might find while dining at one of Manhattan's hidden haunts. When you step into The Coda, you are stepping back into a world of hand-dyed black chef jac…