Sunday News: Cooks on a ramen mission play Yankee BBQ showcase Aug. 5

Sweet corn ice cream at Eden Corn Festival, Sichuan crispy chicken at Golden Hill

Broth, noodles, egg, bamboo shoots, smoked beef cheek, Aug. 5 at Yankee BBQ.

Brian Nagy and Adam Buckley aren’t the only ramen fans who wish there was more first-class ramen in Buffalo.

Since they run Yankee BBQ, the Hamburg bar-restaurant, they could do something about it. The result of their mission is ramen Yankee BBQ style, available one night only: Aug. 5.

Forty hours of work went into the chicken-and-kombu double broth, bamboo shoots, housemade cold-smoked noodles, marinated soft-boiled egg, and the meats: smoked beef cheek or pork belly.

Nagy, Yankee BBQ’s owner, was frustrated that most ramen served in Buffalo is based on just-add-water powder packets. Better broth is made by simmering ingredients for hours and hours, while skimming floating froth, to improve clarity.

Buckley, whose cooking resume includes opening Misuta Chow’s with Dunbar Berdine in 2017, is another ramen fiend. Together, they decided that the time-consuming dish could make special appearances.

Roast pork belly ramen with chicharrones at Yankee BBQ.

Nagy makes his own noodles, and cold-smokes them for 30 minutes before they’re cooked in the broth. Chicken broth and konbu broth take about 12 hours. Eggs are soft-boiled and soaked in soy sauce, sake, and mirin. Bamboo shoots are trimmed, sliced, braised, and marinated.

Somehow, they’re only charging $19.99. Reservations are required for Aug. 5, so if that makes you hungry, here’s the reservation link. Who knows when ramen lovers can find their next bowl of happiness?

Free news you can use three times a day – get Four Bites.

Mix shawarma plate with extra helpings of garlicky toum at Shawarma House, Welland, Ont.

REVIEW: Before seeing Buffalo punk outfit Big Dog open for Matty Matheson’s Pig Pen at the Welland, Ont. Legion, I took Big Dog frontman Graham Regan’s tip and visited Shawarma House, 824 E. Main St. What a glorious Lebanese feast followed: mix shawarma plate with extra dollops of garlicky toum, beef fritters, and a Dubai chocolate cup for dessert, putting Welland in play for Lebanese cuisine hunters. (For patrons, Wednesday)

Jim gets ready to hammer sweet corn ice cream made by his uncle, Eden farmer Matt Agle Jr.

SWEET CORN SCOOP: Matt Agle’s sweet corn ice cream is one of the delicious cob-based cuisine available at the Eden Corn Festival July 31-Aug. 3.

Agle, a fifth-generation Eden Valley farmer, had already started making his own ice cream when he decided to use Agle Farm’s own sweet corn to surprise nephew Jim for his birthday. In 2021, Agle’s sweet corn ice cream debuted at the Eden Corn Festival.

This year, he’s making 90 gallons, in regular sweet corn, and sweet corn with caramel.

A1, chicken in fresh spicy pepper, at Golden Hill in Amherst.

ASK THE CRITIC:

Q: I usually go to Peking Quick One (home style menu) or Home Taste in Kenmore. I especially like twice cooked pork belly in black bean sauce, cold pig ear, and offal in general. I’m down for overwhelming amounts of Sichuan.

Plasticity93, Reddit

A: If you dig the twice-cooked pork at Peking Quick One and Home Taste, try Golden Hill Asian Cuisine, 4001 Sheridan Dr, Amherst.

Ethnic Chinese cooks born in Burma will lay the ma-la smackdown on you hard with A1, chicken in fresh spicy pepper, and A12, cold beef and tripe with hot oil.

Mahar Moe, 3668 Delaware Ave., Tonawanda, also hits Sichuan dingers. Its A1, chicken with fresh spicy pepper, is a real thrill ride.

At China Taste, 1280 Sweet Home Rd, Amherst, the sweet and sour pork is fantastic. But fans of offal should know there’s pork tripe, intestines, liver, and kidney on the menu. If you have the guts.