Roast pork belly is one of the least expensive luxuries available to the backyard barbecuer.

In fact, you can even make it in a regular oven.

I buy my skin-on pork belly at Asia Food Market, Niagara Falls Blvd. 

Use a sharp knife to score the skin and fat just into the meat. 

Rub it all over with a mixture of salt and five spice powder. 

Then put it in a 450° oven. Or in a kettle grill, such as a Weber, with the coals on one half od the grate, and the meat on the other. 

In the oven, you need to have the meat on a rack of some sort, with a water-filled tray underneath the meat. Otherwise, the fat will smoke, and not in a good way. 

Roast until crispy, 30-60 minutes. Let cool. Slice thinly, then freeze extra sliced pork for other uses. 3-4 slices embiggens the least instant noodles, or a kale salad, as above.

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REVIEW: Bismillah Bangla Wok is the latest immigrant kitchen to breathe life into the last tavern on Broadway before Buffalo becomes Cheektowaga. The dining room in back still has the call buttons from its fish-fry days, but it’s a Bengali flag crossed with the Stars and Stripes on the back wall. Bengali-Chinese classics like masala Hakka noodles and sizzling cast iron platter of beef chow mein Bengali style are standouts, but the beguilingly simple sweet-and-sour “Thai soup” is an instant hit around the table. (For patrons, later this week.)

LAST CALL FOR LYNOAKEN U-PICK: – Sunday Nov. 1 is the last day of LynOaken Farms’s u-pick season.

Still available for u-pick: Granny Smith, Ida Red, Braeburn, Crispin, Fuji, Golden Delicious, and heritage varieties like Ben Davis, Rome Beauty, Baldwin, Winesap, Yellow Newton Pippin, and Arkansas Black.  

Already picked bins: Crispin, Empire, Fuji, McIntosh, EverCrisp, Honeycrisp, and SweeTango. 

ASK THE CRITIC

Q: Is there anyplace in Buffalo I can get a decent garbage plate, Rochester style? You can get Buffalo wings everywhere in Rochester.

– Sean L., Hamburg, via email

A: I’ve been hanging on to this question for more than a year, because it seemed slightly sadistic to put it in Sunday News only to answer: “Nope, isn’t that weird?”

Then on Tuesday, following a tip from a tastespotter, I ended up making my first return to the 500 Seneca space that once held Dobutsu and Compass Run, of blessed memory.

Spotted Octopus Brewing Co. has its taproom there, with a food operation dubbed Flow. 

There, I encountered the most on-target garbage plate I’ve seen Buffalo produce so far. A small jury of former Nick Tahou customers agreed, and the vote was unanimous.

The Flow trash plate is only $9 small, $13 large, the latter offering a pick-two of burger, cheeseburger, white hot, red hot, over garlic parm homefries and dill mac salad with ground beef sauce. The large is mammoth, enough for two average appetites to have for dinner with a draft beer.

Two other Flow offerings that raised eyebrows were the octopus corn dogs ($10) and hand-dipped tenders ($13). 

More local food and restaurant stories compiled by Michael Chelus of Nittany Epicurean:
Mr. Galarneau wrote about the can’t miss rotisserie chicken and his favorite local Lebanese menu at Almaza Grill [Four Bites]

• Southern Junction now serves lunch four days a week [Four Bites]
• The owners of Unapologetic Coffee – sisters Alisa & Alicia Officer – are expanding to their business at the location of the building they just bought on Main Street [Buffalo Rising]
• Francesca wrote about how restaurants are trying to survive in the heart of the city [Buffalo News]
• Christa told us about Rosticceria that served Buffalo from 1917-1964 [Buffalo Spree]
• Brian’s Buffalo Beer Buzz told us about the 24 NYS Beers of Holiday Cheer from the New York State Brewers Association, the 40th anniversary of Buffalo Brew Pub and more [Buffalo Beer League]
• The children of the founder of Mariachi del Oro and Maizal Mexican Kitchen and Mezcaleria are extending his legacy with their restaurant – Mile 303 Cantina [Buffalo News]
• Andrew’s “Where to Eat in Buffalo 2027” is here! [Four Bites]
• Have a look at some of the dishes at Mile 303 Cantina [Buffalo News]
• Buffalo has a new hospitality app – Let’s Go There Buffalo [Buffalo Rising]
• A new Yemeni coffee house is about to open inside the Hotel at the Lafayette – ERTH [Buffalo Rising]
• Sarah wrote about a new Caribbean restaurant in Lackawanna – Pop In 717 [Step Out Buffalo]
• Sarah also wrote about three new restaurants coming to Amherst and Williamsville including Bella Via Pizza, Pauline Viennoiserie and more [Step Out Buffalo]
• Brett told us about five hidden local gems including IBBQ4U, Malkia & Co. and more [Step Out Buffalo]