SUNDAY NEWS: How Adrian Bylewski got the reins at 3 high-profile kitchens

Adrian Bylewski is the rarest of chefs: he got healthier working in kitchens.

After a career that included working the line at Hutch’s, Tabree, opening Midtown Kitchen, and four years running Buffalo Chophouse, Bylewski now heads the food operations at the Statler Hotel, Mansion on Delaware, and the Roycroft Inn. Now Bylewski commands a brigade of 50.

He has assembled a pirate’s crew of seasoned, scarred, and tattooed veterans. Isaac Layzod once ran Share Kitchen, and Chris Walter’s Das Wafel bacon and waffle truck lives on only in blessed memory. Skylar Pratt was Community Beer Works general manager. Paul Haefner was already seasoned before becoming chef at the Roycroft.

“I’m not really on the line much at all,” said the executive chef. “I’m going to go cook tonight, but it’s only because I took over last week. I want the people in the kitchen to understand that I can do everything that they can, and then I’m never going to ask them to do anything that I couldn’t.

So we’re gonna try to lead by example, you know, treat people kindly.”

He got his first command, MidTown Kitchen, at 26.

These days, Bylewski, 36, gets up at the crack of dawn to haul himself to Quarter Deck Athletics, where Bylewski credits Dennis Lesniak with turning him into a CrossFit fanatic.

To be fair, Bylewski was already something of an athlete, competing in national-level paintball tournaments. But his decade at the burners showed him it was possible for the job to eat you alive. He fought back with exercise.

Then Abdul “Dullie” Bouh, one of his top cooks, approached Bylewski in October of last year, and asked for help in a “biggest loser” type competition, he’s a big man.

“And I said, well, we don’t really want to do that, it’s a little gimmicky, but I’m sure we’ll help you out,” Bylewski said. “So now, I pay for Doolie to go to the gym, and my coach, we sponsored him for the last year. Doolie dropped damn near 100 pounds, and he’s going to CrossFit five days a week with me. So my dude is moving now. He started at over 500 pounds. Now he’s got 100 pounds less than that.”

Take care of your team, and they’ll take care of you, Bylewski said. At the Statler, Bylewski’s squad has served dinner for 1,000. Even a week with 2,300 guests over a four-day span.

“I bring a heavy-hitting crew. That’s how we can accomplish having a wedding of 350 and a prom of 250 over here at the exact same time, or appetizers for 800 people at the same time. Because I’m equipped. I’ve got the people that make it happen. And that’s the best part. It’s not all about me.” Bylewski said he could use more accomplished cooks, who can send their details to chefadrianbylewski@gmail.com.

“I think about all my friends who are brilliant chefs that closed restaurants in the last three years,” said Bylewski. “It’s sad. It’s tough, and I know everybody. But in the middle of all of this, this sort of work, hotel banquets and events, has been stable. I’d say it’s probably the most stable in the hospitality realm right now.”

Fortunately, his business model does not include building ownership. “I don’t have to own any property,” he said. “I come in, and I provide the staff, the food, and all the associated insurance insurances, and everything involved in owning a business, but I don’t own a building.”

“One of my biggest accomplishments, I think, was we had two full events without me. I was on vacation.”

*Honey-mustard, upper left, medium, upper right, and salt-and-vinegar wings, foreground, at Adolf’s Old First Ward*

REVIEW: Opened in 1934 by Adolf Baron, Adolf’s Old First Ward stands tall as one of the few old-school Buffalo taverns, which served as family restaurants on the corner for generations. The wings are excellent, and you really should get the house blue cheese. You can get fresh-cut spuds with your fish fry, there’s colcannon, a tater-tot-based poutine relative, and shepherd’s pie of lamb and beef. That’s just the spunky spuds. (For patrons, later this week.)

LAST CALL FOR CHETTINAD 101: Starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Clarence’s Nellai Banana Leaf, Chettinad 101 starts off with a crispy savory vegan doughnut called vada. Then comes Marina Beach sundal chickpeas, sambar rice, Chettinad chicken, and chili parotta, stir-fried croutons in chile sauce. Plus masala tea.

Tickets, $30, include tax and tip. Get yours here.

Thursday July 23 and Thursday Aug. 6 are Indian 101 at Alibaba Kebab in Amherst, and Kenmore respectively.

Starting at 6 p.m., it includes a buffet of freshly baked buttered naan, tandoori wings, chana masala vegan chickpeas, basmati rice, potato-and-peas vegetable samosas with spicy green and date-tamarind chutneys, beef kebabs, with gulab jamun for dessert. And a mango lassi.

SIDEWALK FOOD CLUB: Sun Cuisines owners Kevin and Stephanie Lin are bringing a new weekly food experience to Buffalo’s Black Rock neighborhood with the launch of the Sidewalk Food Club, which is now open daily at 1989 Niagara Street (corner of Austin Street).

Beginning Wednesday, July 22, at 5 p.m., and continuing every Wednesday throughout the summer, the original home of Sun Cuisines will transform into a vibrant outdoor food destination featuring local food trucks, live music, and community gathering. Additionally, some of the mobile restaurants will be parked and serving daily at 1989 Niagara – the first opened there in May, as Zin’s Kitchen was launched by chef Zin Mar Thang, who had previously led the kitchen at Sun Cuisines’ Williamsville location for the past nine years (Sun’s Williamsville location remains open at 5759 Main Street).

Sidewalk Food Club will feature a rotating lineup of food vendors, including Sun Roll (Asian fusion), Zin’s Kitchen (Thai), Mineo & Sapio Street Eats (Italian-American fusion), G&T Tasty Wheels (Asian/American) and Migdalia’s Cuisine (Puerto Rican). Guests can enjoy a variety of cuisines while listening to a rotating lineup of DJs spinning music on Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m, beginning on July 22 with DJ Sike, and following with DJ Cutler (July 29), DJ Chango (August 5) and DJ Auntie K (August 12).

Beer, wine, and more beverages will be available for purchase, with indoor and outdoor seating.

“Our intentions are to create a welcoming space for the community as well as a new opportunity for the next generation of restaurateurs,” said Kevin Lin, who recently sold their Sun Roll food truck franchise to longtime Sun Cuisines chef Kyaw Hay Htoo. “A food trailer and truck park has a win-win-win model – customers receive affordable prices and greater convenience; small business operators benefit from lower costs through shared rental space; and this high-traffic corner of Black Rock remains a destination for the community.”

For more information and weekly vendor announcements, follow Sidewalk Food Club on Facebook and Instagram.

– Seamus Gallivan

ASK THE CRITIC

Q: Where can I find the meat dumplings called pelmeni?

– S. D., Buffalo, via email

A: At Slavic Bazaar, 900 William St., along with a dense collection of Eastern European groceries, including canned, frozen, cured, jarred, and dried delicacies from back home. The grocery sells pelmeni and pierogi actually made in the associated manufacturing facility next door.

Whenever I’m there I grab a few bags for the freezer, emergency meals I have never had to apologize for, and a cherry pie. Made in New Jersey, $7.99, such a bargoon.

More local food and restaurant stories compiled by Michael Chelus of Nittany Epicurean: