According to the Buffalo News, we have entered an era of new-school cuisine characterized by a certain cadre of Western New York chefs’ dedication to devising sometimes-offbeat dishes from the ingredients available exclusively to our area. It’s an era we should all be pleased to bear witness to.
But in our excitement for the changing culinary landscape, let us not forget the pleasures of old-school Buffalo cuisine, defined by me as approachable ingredients of good quality, but without pedigree, prepared simply at fair prices. When done poorly, it’s a travesty, but that’s true of food in general. When it’s done well, it offers straightforward, soul-soothing gustatory satisfaction wholly distinct from the pleasure of haute cuisine. It’s the stuff of comfort food.
One restaurant that manages to do it well is Lenox Grill at 140 North Street, where beer and beef reign supreme, in my humble estimation. That Lenox takes pride in its beer selection is evident from the nine-page list of options presented upon sitting. That Lenox is a solid, old-school beef destination takes a little more investigation. But when asked to name the best dishes on the menu, two bartenders recommended, unequivocally, the steak sandwich and the burger.
It proved to be excellent insight. Bartenders will rarely steer you wrong, you know.
The steak sandwich is offered three ways: topped with cole slaw and fries (aka, “Pittsburg style”); “loaded” (i.e., dressed with peppers, onions, and mushrooms); and “in the grass” with sautéed spinach. My loaded sandwich was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, as requested, and with excellent char and ideal bun-to-meat ratio. But it was the fact that the steak was tender, juicy, and—most importantly—perfectly salted, that clinched its blue ribbon old-school status. Too often, steak sandwiches, ordered elsewhere, are chewy and tasteless.
On a subsequent trip, the burger offered a similarly satisfying experience: an expertly cooked, well-seasoned patty on a fresh (Costanzo’s?) roll that readily absorbed the flavor-packed juices that ran from the burger with each bite. I ate it with gusto, and I would do it again.
Beer and beef aside, I would be remiss not to also mention the stovetop-style macaroni and cheese, which hits all the right old-school notes. The pepper jack variation I sampled was garnished with toasted, seasoned breadcrumbs for textural interest as well as fresh tomato, green onion, and peppers. It wasn’t made with high-end cheese or gussied up with fancy add-ins like lardons or chanterelles. But it was creamy and flavorful, prepared with a great deal of skill and care, and far better than mac and cheese at a casual Buffalo eatery needs to be.
The fact that Lenox Grill occupies space in the Lenox Hotel—a late nineteenth-century building that was once home to a young F. Scott Fitzgerald—should seal the restaurant’s status as an old-school Buffalo destination. It is a piece of our shared history, and it offers an experience rooted in a tradition that should be preserved even as we expand our culinary horizons.
Lenox Grill | 140 North Street | Buffalo, New York | (716) 884-1700