Mother Nature was in a particularly homicidal mood last week, keeping lots of people hunkered down at home.
But I had a tastespotter to meet at a new Ethiopian restaurant. Tom kha gai to make for a soup potluck. A guy in town looking to make the most of lunch. Plus longstanding dinner reservations in a recently renovated restaurant space.
So I hit the road to support some of the talented restaurateurs who’ve kept their kitchen fires burning. Next week, you should be able to go outside without your face hurting. Here’s four fresh, piping hot reasons to leave the house.
Horn of Africa Hasheba Restaurant is hidden in plain sight on Hertel Avenue, halfway between Elmwood Avenue and Military Road. I’ve unwittingly driven past dozens of times before restaurant scout Scott Field invited me to check out Buffalo’s second Ethiopian restaurant.
Inside is a quiet room with plenty of tables and a full bar. Samuel Awalom and Tsegrada Abera offer a broad Ethiopian menu including kibbe ($20), beef tartare with cardamom, soaked in clarified butter; zelzel-style beef tibs ($20) in red wine butter sauce, quanta firfur ($20), sauteed dried beef over injera, and a veggie platter ($17).
Horn of Africa Habesha Restaurant
610 Hertel Ave., Buffalo, NY, hornofafricahabesharestaurant.com, 716-507-2478
Hours: 9 a.m.-midnight Sunday-Thursday, 9 a.m.-2 a.m. Friday, Saturday.
When a member of the Buffalo diaspora returns for a brief visit and asks to be shown the new hotness, Cafe Bar Moriarty is always shortlisted for lunch. Chef Jennifer Boye takes inspiration and main ingredients from the French-style butcher shop next door, with a core of sandwiches and weekly specials ranging from two-bite tapas to full plates.
Highlights included a whitefish salad tapas ($2.50), broccoli-cheddar soup ($8), buttermilk-brined chicken sandwich ($14) on a housemade kaiser roll, and house-smoked honey-brined salmon ($20) kitted out lox-style, with hardboiled egg, cucumber, capers, and dilled sour cream.
1650 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo NY, moriartymeats.com, 716-239-8465
Cafe hours: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Closed Sunday-Tuesday.
When I need Asian groceries and fresh herbs, I head to Riverside, where Khin Maung Soe runs a grocery that doubles as a to-go lunch spot. His restaurant, next door to the market, still has a working kitchen. So when I need big cans of coconut milk, lemongrass, and galangal to make tom kha gai, or fermented tea leaves for tea leaf salad, lunch choices are a bonus.
Daily offerings vary, but can include mohinga, catfish chowder served with rice noodles, long beans, and herbs; grilled Thai sausages with wedges of cabbage; spicy braised fish steaks; and fried chicken.
929 Tonawanda St., Buffalo NY, 716-948-9235
Hours: 9 a.m.-8 p.m. daily.
The Dapper Goose has been a beacon of reliable fine-ish dining and impeccable cocktails, a restaurant run by the same four people at its core for nearly a decade. Now its refinished second story offers a less boisterous atmosphere, more like a comfy living room with one hell of a cook in the kitchen.
Standouts included blackened green beans ($16) with burnt onion aioli and pepitas, mahi mahi in veracruz sauce with fried olives ($35), carefully rendered duck breast with almond gremolata and grapes ($38), and a stone cold stunner of a dessert: ultra-rich bread pudding ($10) deep-fried to a bruleed caramel crust, then swathed in butterscotch.
491 Amherst St., Buffalo NY, thedappergoose.com, 716-551-0716
Hours: 5 p.m-9 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday, Tuesday.
REVIEW: At Bamboo Ridge Lancaster, the village gets a pro cook with two continents and a half-dozen cuisines on his culinary curriculum vitae. Hla Thu’s cooking up a storm in Lancaster across the street from another favorite, Southern Belle Diner. From Thai show-stoppers like whole deep-fried red snapper to salads, stir-fries and noodle soups, Bamboo Ridge adds international choices to Lancaster’s menu. (For patrons, later this week.)
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: I’m looking for a good gluten-free lunch spot close to downtown.
– Charles S.
A: Most places have something gluten-free, but if you want a range of options, hit places with naturally gluten-free dishes.
Burmese places like Pattaya Street Food inside International House, 617 Main St., have gluten-free salads like tea leaf salad, mohinga, catfish soup with rice noodles, and mango sticky rice for dessert.
Indian/Bangladeshi places like Buffalo Tikka House, 948 Main St., across the street from the UB Medical Campus, offer pakoras, savory fritters of chickpea batter, curries, and biryanis, pilafs of fragrant long-grain rice.
More reading from Michael Chelus of Nittany Epicurean:
- Mr. Galarneau wrote about one of Buffalo’s best – Kuni’s[Four Bites]
- Andrew also wrote about Buffalo’s newest wine bar – Concord [Four Bites]
- Brett penned a list of nine iconic fish fry spots around WNY including Wiechec’s Lounge, Curry’s, Bailey Seafood and more [Step Out Buffalo]
- Andrea told us about ten places to get top-notch Pączki in Buffalo and WNY including Chrusciki Bakery, Eileen’s Centerview Bakery, the Deli in East Aurora and more [Step Out Buffalo]
- Brian’s Buffalo Beer Buzz told us about the return of Buffalo on Tap, a new West Coast IPA from Pearl Street Grill & Brewery and more [Buffalo Beer League]
- The second annual New York Craft Beer Day will take place on 4/11 [Buffalo Beer League]
- Francesca took us to Chandler Street Breweries which opened this week [Buffalo News]
- Osteria 166 will close in March and turn its attention to a new concept at Ulrich’s 1868 Tavern [Buffalo Rising]
- Jamie wrote about the Williamsville Soup Stroll that takes place on 2/28 and suggested two soup recipes [Open till Four]
- More coverage of Osteria 166’s next chapter [Buffalo News]
- Francesca wrote about Ice Cream for Breakfast Day and told us where you can enjoy it locally at places like Anderson’s Ice Cream, Rosie’s Handcrafted Ice Cream and more [Buffalo News]
- Beebe’s on the Square aims to be a food, arts and cultural anchor downtown [Buffalo Rising]
- Hombre y Lobo is set to relocate [Buffalo Rising]
- Christa wrote about two local venues that pair films with fare – Labrynith Workshop and Cornelia at the Buffalo AKG [Buffalo Spree]
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