If you’ve ever met me and the topic of food is brought up, you will quickly know that my goal is to eat at every restaurant in Buffalo NY. A pretty lofty goal I know, but I’m doing well on my quest with only about 200 or so left.
Over the last two years I have been attempting to make it to the Black Iron Bystro, a culinary destination located on the border of Lackawanna, For whatever reason or another, it just hasn’t happened until now. It was while at the BRO holiday party, that Queenseyes and I hatched a plan to visit the restaurant, after running into the owner Bryan Mecozzi. BRO writer Kristine Pottle had done a great job of reviewing the place a couple of years back, but we felt that we needed to do some catching up.
Before getting into the vast amounts of food that was consumed, I asked Queenseyes to talk about the atmosphere, since he couldn’t stop gazing around throughout the course of the meal.
There’s so much to look at. The space was formerly a print shop, owned by Bryan’s grandfather. Not only are a number of beautiful print shop items displayed (giant paint vessels and a painter’s ladder), there are also a few awesome wheatpastes that add to the impressive character of the restaurant. In the middle of the room, the main focal point it s communal table – everything else revolves around this spot. If you are lucky, you will get a chance to sit here, on one of the two church pews. Bryan, his family and friends gutted the space, before creating an atmosphere that is both stimulating and cozy. It’s so comfortable. The attention to detail is spot on – every little detail is in place, without being overwhelming at all. Anyone would feel welcome here – it’s that kind of place. It’s incredible to think that such a place exists where it does in a town that is literally one mile long, within eyeshot of Lackawanna.
When it got down to the food, we couldn’t figure out what to order, so we ordered “Warzy style” – just about everything on the menu. Queenseyes was amazed, as I kept pointing at the menu and ordering. The way I looked at it was this: we had commandeered the communal table, which meant that we needed to fill it up – escargot, jerk shrimp nachos, potato wedges, pig burger, duck & hash, pork belly and za’atar chicken. I will start by saying that there was not a dud among the dishes that we ordered. That said, I’m only going to tell you about our top three favorites.
Jerk, The Shrimp Nachos ($12). Get them! Get Them! By the power of Grayskull, I command you… get them! Well, unless you are allergic to shrimp, then don’t do that. These nachos just rain down flavor on your taste buds. The shrimp (of which you get many) are delicately smoked with a hint of spice thanks to Krista’s Jerk Sauce. Then they get to swim in a roasted red pepper queso (yes you are jealous too, who wouldn’t want to swim in cheese?) before being plated atop the wonderfully salted house made chips. Then it’s all topped with jalapeños, pickled red onions and sour cream. You see a lot of nacho plates in Buffalo, but never one like this. One of the best nacho dishes I’ve ever had, and from a place you wouldn’t expect to find nachos.
I haven’t had escargot in a long, long time, mainly because most of the time it’s just cooked in garlic and wine and presented with typical French presentation… sacrebleu! This one was different – garlicky escargot meets New Orleans! The base, a garlic confit which is sautéed with Spanish onions. Then add the mollusks, fire roasted bell peppers and cream. Finished with a sprinkling of sea salt and grated pecorino cheese. The intensity of the garlic confit gave rise to a wonderful flavor, with the addition of the fire roasted peppers adding that great little bite at the end.
The main dish that I want to focus on is the Pig Burger ($15). The menu listing alone is enough to make you do a double take. Bacon & pork grind, sage, cheddar dijon aioli, pickles, frites, served with greens and an egg. All of that is piled high onto one burger. I mean look at that thing. It makes you wonder how one is even going to take a bite. Don’t worry… I found a way. The tastes and flavors of everything combined were incredible. Adding a fried egg to burgers is becoming all the rage these days. Some people are hesitant, I am here to tell you, it’s a great idea! It’s no different on this meat monstrosity. The sweetness of the runny egg combined with the salty cheese and meat, makes for a terrific combo that would even have Muhammad Ali questioning his singular greatness!
After eating everything that we could, we took a note from the page of Jabba the Hutt – we sat there for a good half hour holding our bellies. Only after that allotted amount of time did we manage to crawl out of the restaurant. Even though we could not even think about food at that moment, we couldn’t help but reminisce the experience that we had just encountered. Rarely does one feast like this and live to tell the tale.
Black Iron Bystro will be closing for renovations between February 19 and March 2. They will be relaunching with a new, larger bar area and a new menu. According to Bryan, “The staple key ingredients and items that make Black Iron what it is will remain. Simply reinvented. Ie.. pork belly (but in ramen), tuna poké returns, pig burger remains… you get the idea. Patrons can expect Joe Graziano, bar ambassador, to continue his innovative bar riffing with a new look. Friday March 3rd – mark it!”
Black Iron Bystro | 3648 S Park Avenue | Blasdell, NY 14219 | (716) 240-9830 | Facebook | Patio