At International House, a real bar and five restaurants beckon in Theater District

In more friendly space, restaurateurs and Le Bar Flamant Rose seek happy ending

Clockwise from top left: veggie sampler, Abyssinian Ethiopian Cuisine, chicken curry puff, Pattaya Street Food, lengua taco, La Divina Tacos, lechon, roast pork belly, Friday special at Pinoy Boi.

International House is the only casual dining experience in downtown Buffalo offering five cuisines and bubble tea, a full bar, comfy seating, and ping-pong tables.

Opened in April in the heart of the Theater District, 617 Main St., its collective menu is unique to Western New York, including Buffalo’s only Ethiopian, Filipino, and South Sudanese restaurants. Vegan and meaty choices abound, from Pinoy Boi’s caramelized pork belly on garlic rice with crispy pork rolls, to Pattaya Street Food’s tea leaf salad, completely animal-free.

Mark Supples and Amy Taylor, restaurateurs with the original Pink Flamingo and Mother’s on their resume, put a half million dollars into making International House ready for prime time, and run the bar, Le Flamant Rose, which is “pink flamingo” in French.

They really classed up the joint. Custom-made art reinforces the theme of immigrant excellence. If you’re dining in, food comes on real china, with real silverware. Upgraded public wifi makes it a quiet perch for laptop-based workers. Plus, if you hit a wall while designing your presentation, a quick pinball session should get you moving again.

Here’s some of the standout offerings.

Pinoy Boi, Lloyd Ligao’s Filipino operation, excels at pork and dessert.

Consider lechon, a Friday special starting July 18, roast pork belly over garlic rice with two dipping sauces and lumpia, crispy pork rolls. Or sisig ($17), made of diced pork belly marinated in citrus soy, and topped with a sunny-side-up fried egg.

Ube Basque cheesecake is purple from ube and caramelized brown on top, and grab a pint of Pinoy Boi’s avocado ice cream.

Nile River Restaurant comes out of South Sudan, hitting with halal beef ($13.99), an intense jerky-like stir-fry of meat, sauces, and chile. Vegans dig the ful medames ($8.99), fava beans sauteed with garlic and cumin.

La Divina Tacos offers an array of meats and vegetables to fill tacos, quesadillas, and tortas. My favorite remains lengua ($5), tongue, for its luxe pot roast flavor.

Abyssinian Ethiopian Cuisine’s veggie sampler ($17.99) is a hearty vegan spread of greens, beets, green beans, potatoes, carrots, and cabbage on injera, a sourdough pancake. Carnivores should consider doro wot ($15.99), chicken and hardboiled egg stew in sweet-spicy onion curry.

Veggie sampler, right, Abyssinian combo with doro wot, left, Abyssinian Ethiopian Cuisine.

Pattaya Street Food’s tea leaf salad ($11.99) is a vegan crunch riot, fresh shredded cabbage, diced tomatoes, fried beans, peanuts, and sesame seeds tossed with fermented tea leaf greens, garlic oil, and lime juice. Pattaya also offers chicken curry pastries, and an extensively customizable bubble tea and coffee menu.

After the problems the International House restaurateurs have faced, getting burned out of the original West Side Bazaar, the opening of International House and Bar Flamant Rose might seem like a Hollywood ending.

That only works in movies. In the real world, International House has less than a year to catch on with the people of Buffalo. If it doesn’t, International House’s logo will join the 617 Main St. tombstone: Breckenridge Brew Pub, Empire Brewing Company, YaYa Bayou Brewhouse, EXPO, Downtown Bazaar.

Movies typically follow the classic three-act structure: introduction, confrontation, resolution. International House is in the second act – confrontation, wherein dreams collide with the real world.

International House has a short window, less than a year, to see if hopes and dreams and investment can help them succeed in reaching their goals.

You can help, if so inclined. Pitch International House to your peer group for your next pre-theater or pre-Sabres convocation, and remind them that parking is free in the City of Buffalo after 5 p.m. Bring adventurous eaters to explore the delightful flavors of global cuisine, with choices for practically every eater.

If you’re interested in how the International House story turns out, remember that you have the power to help write the ending.