Now that the ice dams have broken off rooflines, it’s time to start getting reacquainted with other human beings in an atmosphere conducive to pausing and reflecting on life. 

By which I mean brunch.

If you haven’t gotten a dose of brunch’s healing powers lately, consider these new and new-ish arrivals on the Buffalo brunch scene.

Mira, the fine new restaurant from the Grange Community Kitchen people, brings the Mediterranean closer to Elmwood Avenue. Saturday morning brunch has its own menu, featuring an egg sandwich on house-baked ciabatta with Cooper Sharp cheese and green chile, hashbrowns with dill sour cream, and hummus with scarlet runner beans, za’atar, and fresh-baked flatbread.

Mira

1081 Elmwood Ave., Buffalo NY, mirabuffalo.com, 716-783-7000

Hours: 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. brunch, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.

Breakfast taco platters, giant cinnamon rolls, brisket breakfast sandwiches, and the gosh-darndest sausage gravy biscuit headline the brunch menu at Southern Junction. You can make your own adventure in tacoland, and quaff an eye-opener from the full bar, with Shiner Bock on draft to tamp down the smoke.

Southern Junction

365 Connecticut Ave., Buffalo NY,  southernjunction716.com

Hours: 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Monday, Thursday-Saturday, 10 a.m. -3 p.m. Sunday. Closed Tuesday, Wednesday.

Waxlight brings back its much-missed brunch with an every-other-month Sunday brunch starting Feb. 22. That will be “an American South, low country-style lunchy brunch, featuring dishes like Cajun shellfish, fried chicken with biscuits and gravy, and a classic southern dessert, all prepared in the Waxlight way. A champagne pairing is available as an add-on during booking, and a la carte beverages will also be offered.”

Waxlight Bar a Vin

27 Chandler St., Buffalo NY, waxlightbaravin.com

Hours: 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, 5 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday-Tuesday.

Real chicken fried steak, biscuits and gravy, queso-napped huevos rancheros, and green chile cheese grits. Served daily, including Saturdays and Sundays. 

Southern Belle Diner

3575 Walden Ave., Lancaster NY, southernbellediner.com, 716-393-3033

Hours: 7 a.m.-3 p.m. daily

Who saw the smoked brisket Benedict coming? Smoked breakfast sandwiches, French toast with barbecue, Monte Cristos, breakfast burritos — and a full bar. Brunch is Saturday and Sunday 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Regular menu starts at 11:30 a.m. both days. 

Yankee BBQ

4572 Clark St., Hamburg NY, yankeebbq716.com, 716-768-4991

Hours: noon-10:30 p.m. Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sunday.

REVIEW: Brothers Frank and Paul Tripi of Frank Gourmet Hot Dogs are artists at the top of their form, their mediums burgers, peerless double-cooked fries, and dogs, with occasional side-quests into smoked pastrami and Frisbee-sized Midwestern-style pork tenderloin sandwiches. As they prepare to open a second location, it’s worth explaining why so many Western New Yorkers turn to findfranknow.com for their fix of American classics at their peak. (For patrons, later this week.)

Pattaya Street Food owners Elizabeth Sher and husband Soe Win have expanded their kitchen and their menu inside International House, 617 Main St., across the tracks from Shea’s Performing Arts Center.

Soe’s Kitchen, in the space formerly occupied by Nile River, extends the Pattaya Street Food menu to Thai stir-fries like pad prik gaeng and pad ga pow, fried ramen, tom yum fried rice, and crispy pork belly stir-fried with garlic, oyster sauce, and Chinese broccoli ($14.99-$16.99).

Pattaya Street Food and Soe’s Kitchen are open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday.

DOVE WINE DINNERS: Italian-American standout The Dove offers “A Taste of Southern Italy” wine dinner on Feb. 26 and March 5.

At 3002 Abbott Road, Orchard Park, cocktails will start at 6 p.m., with dinner at 6:30 p.m. Here’s the menu, with pairings.

Minestrone Soup with white beans, Italian sausage, spinach: Lagovuveri Frappato

Cheesy arancini: Lagovuveri Grillo

Braciole with pappardelle noodles: Podere don Cataldo Negroamaro

Sicilian cannolis with crushed pistachios: Bariano Prosecco Rose

Seats are $90, which includes tax and tip. Without wine, it’s $65. 

Call 716-823-6680 for reservations, secured by a credit card deposit. Cancellations after Monday preceding the event will be charged $60.

ASK THE CRITIC

Q: What’s your favorite pizza place in Buffalo?

• Sam C., via email

A: For which style? Buffalo is such a pizza town that your favorite pie could come from one of five different schools of pizza thought.

Buffalo: thick crust, mucho cheese, baked in oiled pan, these slices don’t fold. Bocce on Bailey, Lovejoy Pizza, Imperial Pizza, Picasso’s.

Detroit: cooked in a rectangular pan overflowing with cheese so it’s surrounded with crisp cheese frico. Marble + Rye, Bflo Pizza Bistro, Connor’s, Jay’s Artisan Pizza, Buffalo Deep Dish.

NYC: Thin crust, deck baked, judicious application of cheese, foldable slices. Extra Extra Pizza, Olisi’s, Hydraulic Hearth.

Neapolitan: Thin crust, deck-baked in 800-degree oven in two minutes, producing characteristic leopard-spotted corniciones and floppy two-hander slices. Jay’s Artisan Pizza, Forno Napoli, Grange Community Kitchen, West Rose.

Pizzeria Florian Style: Jay Langfelder, who founded Jay’s, was aiming for a pie between Naples and New York styles when he and partner Amanda opened Pizzeria Florian. They nailed it, meaning that amid a forest of pies, Pizzeria Florian’s crispy-crusted one-hander slices are their own species.

More reading from Michael Chelus of Nittany Epicurean:

• Mr. Galarneau told us why house-baked bread and old-fashioned breakfast values make The Country Hen great [Four Bites]
• Andrew also gave us reasons to leave the house during this brutal cold stretch including stops at Horn of Africa Habesha Restaurant, Moriarty Meats & Café Bar and more [Four Bites]
• Francesca wrote about how ICE is impacting the local restaurant industry [Buffalo News]
• The Erie County Fair Homebrew & Cider Making Competition will begin taking entries on April 1st [Buffalo Beer League]
• Brian’s Buffalo Beer Buzz told us about Golf Expo Buffalo coming to Pearl Street Grill & Brewery, a new craft beer game ticket pack from the Buffalo Bisons and more [Buffalo Beer League]
• Andrew gave us a recipes that allow us to add pakoras and mint chutney to our repertoire [Four Bites]
• Brett wrote about Buffalo’s newest wine bar – Concord [Step Out Buffalo]
• Francesca told us why Concord is the wine bar the Elmwood Village needed [Buffalo News]
• Brett also told us the story behind a new Persian restaurant in Amherst – Zereshk [Step Out Buffalo]
• Jamie wrote about her sourdough journey and told us about some local spots making their own bread including Nick’s Place Express, daNando, Pham’s Kitchen and more [Open till Four]
• Francesca posited a statement with which I whole heartedly agree – fish fries are awesome [Buffalo News]
• Arriba Tortilla in East Aurora is spreading peace through guacamole [Buffalo News]
• My buddy Ethan Cox, a founder of Community Beer Works, has purchased the former Polish Co-Operative Savings & Loan Bank buildling on the East Side and plans on opening a new community space [Buffalo Rising]

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