Favorite Meals of 2017
Since 2012 we have asked our friends about their favorite meals of the year and it’s become an enjoyable tradition. We don’t provide many guidelines for what we want in return. These meals can be home cooked, at their favorite local restaurant or can be from their travels and they can write as much or as little as they’d like.
Elizabeth Licata (Editor-in-Chief at Buffalo Spree): 2017 was a big year for brunch. I remember amazing brunches at Lait Cru, Carte Blanche (which included a quartet of unusual housemade sorbets), Black Sheep, Patina 250(their eggs benedict), and a Saturday lunch, which is kind of like brunch, at Grange, with, as you would expect, superb pizza. We traveled in August and had an outstanding meal at Saratoga Spring’s 15 Church. Their housemade doughnuts can be infused with custard and salted caramel sauce. As for home cooking, I tried the Serious Eats Best Roasted Potatoes ever. They are.
Luke Copping (Professional Photographer): Rather than one stand-out meal this year I think that most of my enjoyment has come from favorite dishes that I know I can enjoy time and time again. With our daughter hitting the age where she can be a bit of a handful at restaurants I’ve really been grateful for these simple but delicious standbys. Niagara Cafe has always been a godsend for our family and we always look forward to dinner from there no matter how often we go – you can’t go wrong with their chicken, rice, and beans family pack. The Pork Belly Curry at Lin has been a major comfort dish of mine this year too, especially as it has gotten colder. Finally, The Tonkotsu Ramen at Sato Ramen (pictured above) has become my favorite thing to sneak away from the office for when lunchtime rolls around the past few months.
Brad Riter (UB Football Radio Host, Trending Buffalo): Every odd-numbered year, when the UB football schedule is released, the first thing I (and other members of the broadcast crew) look for is the date of the Bulls’ road trip to face the Miami Redhawks. Then we circle the night before the game on our mental calendars and mark it for our “dinner of the year.”
The Montgomery Inn in Cincinnati sits on the Ohio River and, although it’s about a 45-minute drive from the football stadium in Oxford, we gladly make the trek every time. It’s a massive barbecue joint — the kind of place where you spend an inordinate amount of time with the menu because you want to order everything. While all the expected offerings (ribs, pulled pork, brisket, etc.) are fantastic, the bone-in pork chop is magical.
Bonus #1: This year, I had the pleasure of watching former NFL defensive end Tyoka Jackson — now a restaurateur — refuse a menu and instead place his order by conversing with the waitress about what he likes and how he likes it. The guy is hardcore. He keeps a list of restaurants he wants to try in his phone and added our group’s recommendations for the next time he’s in Buffalo.
Bonus #2: 2017 is the year I discovered Montgomery Inn Barbecue Sauce is available through walmart.com at an absurdly low $3.28 a bottle. I immediately ordered six. I opened the third this week. I estimate I’ll have to reorder in March and hope it’s back in stock by then.
Jay Langfelder (Owner of Jay’s Artisan Pizza): While in the process of opening a restaurant this year, Amanda and I didn’t get as much time to travel and eat as we would have liked. Even though we didn’t get to dine out as much we still agreed there were several noteworthy experiences locally and out of town.
While visiting Savannah, Georgia we had a chance to have a few drinks at The Artillery, a classic cocktail bar. The Artillery was unlike anywhere I have been before with amazing retro decor and feel. The menu consisted of carefully crafted classic cocktails with extensive selection of glassware and attention to such details as each drink having its own type of ice. I was extremely impressed with The Artillery’s dedication to classic cocktails and the precise measures and steps the bar staff took in making each drink. The bar also had a no phone policy which was refreshing. The were also call buttons for more drinks to be served at your table. The Artillery and The Grey (also visited) are must visits when in Savannah with a really unique retro feel.
Locally, we had a really great dinner at Las Puertas. From start to finish it was one of the best meals I had all year. I really enjoyed the ceviche to start to and followed it with modern take on tortellini. I found the tortellini to be very creative and the flavor combinations it was paired with were unlike anything I’ve had before. We finished the meal with two visually stunning and equally complex and delicious desserts. Dessert is a must here! The whole experience was excellent and I really enjoyed the ambiance of the cozy west side restaurant.
Lastly we had a chance to stop by Fry Baby donuts. I have struggled to enjoy many of the donuts available in western New York as I prefer donuts that are lighter, have a good ratio of exterior to interior, and also have great exterior texture. Well that being said fry baby nailed all of my criteria for excellent donut. The sweet potato donut with marshmallow glaze was one of the best I have ever tried. While the interior and glaze were both excellent this donut had amazing thin exterior shell with nooks and crannies of crispy bits. There’s clearly an attention to detail at Fry Baby that you just don’t get at the other donut places locally.
Regina Schrambling (NYC Based Food Writer, Creator of gastropoda.com): We were drinking early Champagne and opening presents on my birthday last January when the phone rang and it was Le Coucou calling to say our waitlisting had paid off: Because of the Nor’easter that night, the hardest reservation in town had a cancellation, and we were just a short subway ride away in the wind and brutal rain. It was not just serendipity that made this the best meal of 2017, though. The sommelier turned out to be a photographer my consort has worked with, and he had the right wine for every course, at a “drinking above its price” level. The room was gorgeous, with supremely flattering lighting for newly olds like me. And the food was like eating in a Paris where the Escoffier classics have been updated to tomorrow. Most memorable were the pike quenelles with lobster sauce, one of those oldies that are so rarely good and light; the celeri remoulade, delicately amped up with smoked salmon and walnuts; the buckwheat-battered-and-fried Montauk eel with a curry vinaigrette, and the lightest bourride with black bass in a shellfish stock with aioli to add garlicky richness. I’m never much on desserts, but givré, a citrus extravanza made with Mandarin oranges, was better than icing on a birthday cake.
Drew Brown (Co-Founder of Rise Collaborative): In 2017, I’ve eaten some truly great meals. From ultra fresh seafood in San Fran, a killer Moroccan sandwich in Minneapolis, to I’m-drooling-just-thinking-about-them meals right here at home at places like The Grange, Dapper Goose, Las Puertas and Billy Club. But at the end of the day, I’m a simple man. Stemming from my modest blue-collar roots, comfort, some might say “cheap”, eats have always held a special place in my heart. That’s why Gene McCarthy’s “McCarthy’s-style” chicken fingers are my favorite meal eaten in 2017.
Yea, that’s right – chicken FINGERS. Let’s get one thing out of the way; chicken fingers deserve just as much respect as chicken wings, if not more. There’s more meat, no bones, they’re sauced just the same as the chicken wings, and the breading really soaks up that spicy goodness. Side note: what the hell is up with every other city calling them chicken tenders?
Back to the topic at hand, McCarthy’s fingers are behemoths. I can down a lot of food. But I have never been able to finish a plate of McCarthy’s fingers all in one go. The whole serving, with the generous portion of fries that accompanies it, would be measured in pounds, not ounces. And if you’ve never had McCarthy’s sauce before, you’re missing out. It’s a savory blend of hot and BBQ sauces that packs quite the kick. Plus, I recently found out that bleu cheese is mixed right in with the sauce. Crumbled bleu is then drizzled over the top of the entire thing. Crispy, juicy, meaty, spicy, saucy – Gene McCarthy’s fingers have probably taken years off of my life. And honestly, I couldn’t care less.
Thomas Jablonski (Partner at Lockhouse Distillery): I don’t have an absurd food farce to report this year, only praise for consistent quality. The Korean Fried Chicken at Dapper Goose remains one of my favorite go-to meals in Buffalo at the moment, especially with a side of their brussels sprouts. It’s been absolutely perfect every order, and the establishment continues to outdo itself in every way.
As a side note, I know this feature isn’t a venue to promote one’s own brand, but I’d like to promote one that is somewhat adjacent to mine. If i had to to clock my most eaten meal this year, it would easily be the Nic Mac sandwich from Lait Cru (available at both their main location in the Horsefeathers Building on Connecticut, and their outpost at Lockhouse). It’s absolute heaven, and will likely contribute to me making it there early.
Bryan Mecozzi (Chef/Owner of Black Iron Bystro) My wife and I don’t get out much on account of spawning two children and owning a restaurant that is open the same hours as some of our favorite go to places, like Kuni’s(ahhhhh!). This is no longer a serious threat to my well being, as I’ve dined at Dapper Goose. Fuck me if I can remember everything we had because I was too enthralled with the fact that I was eating in a restaurant at dinner time and wasn’t wearing an apron. I’m also usually not impressed with anything because I’ve grown curmudgeonly. But I can recall sheer joy from my first sips of a tequila/apricot/lemon/honey cocktail perfectly constructed. “Our Circus Days are Over”. I ordered a second..Both the same. I could swim in mushrooms, so naturally, I ordered hash that fiddled lardons and fungi all too well, with the poise of a Michelangelo. Seafood is always a must when I leave the Mecozzi Manor. Prawns with soy pickled radish were perfectly salty, sweet, juicy and unique. Thank you DG for creating some gastronomic splendor in this dudes fat sack!
Josh Smith (Owner of SATO Restaurant Group): We’ve been searching for a good place that makes soba buckwheat noodles in the states and they are hard to come by. I like Soba Totto in NYC and they have a really good Sansai Kinoko Soba which is mountain vegetables and nameko mushrooms. The noodles are a little thin for my taste (Tokyo-style) but the dish overall is really clean and balanced with a strong umami savoriness from the mushrooms.
We have two kids so that often plays into the places we can all go together regularly. The Grange in Hamburg is always worth the drive. They have the best Kale Caesar Salad, a Beet and Citrus Salad so good it makes you forget you are eating beets, and everyone can agree that beets are pretty nasty, and all of the pizzas are really on point. The Dapper Goose (photo above by Jason Varney) brunch also has a lot of winners. The Chorizo Hash, Spicy Chicken Sandwich, and the Challah French Toast all hit the spot with delicious flavor combinations and presentation. The mocktails they whip up for the kids are also really good.
Kerry Quaile (Bartender at Angelica Tea Room and Buffalo Proper): The best meal I had in 2017 was lunch at Ivan Ramen. After a long previous evening of overindulging at other NYC locations I was in search of something delicious with broth to heal my soul. Ivan Orkin’s Tokyo shoyu ramen was just the thing I needed. He himself described it as a “chicken orgy” and I won’t argue. We enjoyed some spicy pickles and steamed pork buns as well. I think about that meal at least once a week and can’t wait to return.
Zack Klug (Winemaker at Liten Buffel): Two egg and cheese deli sammies at 7:30 am in St George on Staten Island. After a day of selling wine, and a night of drinking tequila…it was bliss.
Sean O’Donnell (Co-creator of Flour City Foodcore): Best meal was probably Bar Ravalin Toronto. My girlfriend and I went for brunch and got blood sausage toasts, chicken liver mousse, ham and cheese croissant, and a chocolate hazelnut donut. The level of execution on everything from the espresso to the house made morcilla are all on point. It’s also nice to have such a diverse selection available during brunch hours.
RJ Marvin (Co-owner of Barrel + Brine): Holy shit have I had some real trash heaps that masqueraded as meals this year. I mean, there were some real dumpster fires. It’s kind of fucked up though because when I sit and actually think about what my favorite meal was this year I need the help of instagram. Then I look at my instagram and I finally realize why my doctor handed me two Wal-Mart bags filled with Lipitor.*
We were in Canada this year at a restaurant and we got a plate of roasted trout. Like, that was it. It was just a piece of trout on a plate. No salt. No pepper. That’s what my year was like. Like a piece of roasted trout on a plate. Honestly though, now that i’m thinking about it, the trout was actually roasted fucking perfectly. I ate nachos in a restaurant. Twice. I’d rather drink cologne than eat nachos anywhere other than Founding Fathers.
I’m glad I didn’t eat a wood fired carrot this year, if that counts.
I had a lot of meals with friends this year. I spent my birthday at Peking Quick Onewith my wife Lindsey and the whole crew (Donnie Edit: more on that tomorrow from Lindsey). That was a feast. The owner walked over to Dairy Queen and bought me an ice cream cake and I had to make room to eat it….and by “make room” I mean go buy Donut Kraze literally right afterwards. This year wasn’t full of extraordinary meals but what it lacked in creative adventure it made up for with some really solid people. My most memorable meal was when (Buffalo Eats own) Tom brought my family some pizza. After that it’s kinda fuzzy. Now where is my Lipitor?
Mike Dimmer (Chef/Co-owner of Marble + Rye): This past year, I was able to travel the world, enjoy an immense amount of free time and eat/drink lavishly as I relaxed in a stress free life…………………..lies. All lies.
That being said, some of the regret of not doing any of the aforementioned is taken away when I think about how much I love Alibaba Kebab, located on William St. on the east-side of Buffalo. Close to my place of work/living/life, it has become a favorite of both mine and my wife. First of all, they’re open seven days a week, and until midnight mon-sat. With a schedule that doesn’t actually have a ton of free time, this is important to me. Second of all, their naan is without a doubt some of the best I’ve ever had. Incredibly fresh, incredibly flavorful, tandoor fired and literally $1.50. Third, their samosa are heaven sent. Potato, chicken, or beef, they’re all insanely good. Fresh, hot (which is great, because I’m used to shoveling four cold ones down while checking out at Vineeta Int’l) and packed with herbs and spices. The meat options are juicy, not dry or oil logged. This shows that not only is the product going into these babies quality (enough), but whatever wizard is wrapping them in the back knows what they’re doing, because they’re not filled with frying oil, which only gives the perception of moisture and thus killing all flavor inside. Back to the naan, and another great option they offer….. their wraps. Super fresh salad, big chunks of chopped red onion, a bunch of great homemade sauces (go with the spicy raita) and offerings from tandoori chicken, to falafel, to shawarma (the gyro is super bomb, too). Best part about all of this is that they use their house naan as the wrap, they’re big and filling, and they are all $5.99. I could go on, because everything I’ve had from there is on point. I’ve had better curries, but they still aren’t to be missed. Very, very good Kofta, Chana and goat. Finish off with a legit mango lassi and some gulab jamun, which are basically hot honey donuts, and you’re all set. Don’t think I’ve spent more than $30 for my wife and I to feast. Easily one of the best meals I’ve had all year, and it has happened a number of times. Next year, I plan on traveling the world, so hopefully I’ll have something a little more exotic to talk about. Until then, go eat at Alibaba. You won’t be disappointed.
Brian Hayden (Communications Manager at Visit Buffalo Niagara): Niagara Street these days is a hotbed of activity. New restaurants like Roost and Sports City Pizza Pub draw customers in, while Resurgence Brewing Co., located in an old boat engine factory, has become a destination unto itself. But one of my favorite spots on Niagara – and in all of Buffalo, for that matter – remains Santasiero’s (pictured above), an institution at the corner of Niagara and Lafayette since 1920.
The Italian restaurant, with an exterior clad in the red, white and green colors of the Motherland’s flag, is a holdover from an era when Buffalo’s West side was an Italian enclave. Tin ceilings and a blown up menu on the wall greet you when you walk in the door. All the staples of a classic red sauce joint are here, but my favorite is the pasta e fagioli – served in a large bowl with heaping, steaming portions of noodles and cannellini beans. Make sure to ask for the sliced hot peppers to lay on top of the soup, and sprinkle with crushed red pepper and parmesan cheese. It’s the perfect antidote to a cold winter day!
Cam Rector (Owner of Vera Pizzeria): Date nights spent at Lait Cru, I always got the chicken and lentils..AMAZING. Family Tuesday’s at Taj Grill buffet were always great as well. But honestly, and being a cheesy sap. every home cooked meal with Shawna and the kids was really the best of 2017. Oh.. and Luci’s donuts from Elm Street Bakery.
Ashley North (Bar Manager at The Black Sheep): Alo has made Toronto’s top 50 list, though you would walk past this unmarked high rise on busy Spadina Ave without looking twice. Enter into an industrial hall in the back of a sterile, un-decorated stairwell where a single podium stands with a host. Ride up the elevator to the third floor and enter a truly magnificent bar room overlooking the city. Reservations? Next to impossible. But what you can and should do is take one of the few tables in the separate bar area. Limited bar menu of small plates only that you will never regret, coupled with warm, perfect service. Buttery scallop with creamy avocado that had the consistency of a cloud, the subtle taste of coconut with no trace of it anywhere in the bowl left me pretty speechless. It didn’t stop. I thought I knew what crispy potatoes were. Smoked egg yolk and indescribable Virginia ham with a slightly funky Beemster cheese? You can die happy there. But don’t because you’ll miss the dessert that almost had me order a second one. There’s no way I can possibly describe this one, and I’ve been trying for months. Perfect mandarin granita over an orange buttermilk, topped with broken honey comb. All I can say is just order two.
Donny Kutzbach (Co-owner of Town Ballroom): Best every week dinner: Poke Bowl at Sea Bar. I eat at Sea Bar probably on the average once a week or more. I get to have it all on the menu and specials there but I somehow convinced Mike A and the sushi bar crew to make me a tuna poke bowl that has become my standby “off menu” item. It’s not always exactly the same but it’s always the best. If you try to order it, please don’t tell them I told ya…
Best take out dinner: Handi Clay Pot – Kenmore, NY. Halal Pakistani/Indian done to perfection. Best order thus far: Veggie Samosas, Palak Paneer and Haleel Chicken (extra hot).
Best dinner and drinks: Meril (pictured above) – New Orleans, LA – Dinner in NOLA with some great friends. I don’t remember it all but we had chicken livers, Boudin tamale, biscuits, oysters, glazed thighs, flatbread, shirt ribs, pork belly, street corn, sprouts, many beers and cocktails.
Best Mexican dinner: Elote – Sedona, AZ – I was posting on social media while waiting for a seat and I started getting excited messages from Buffalo Eats’ Tom P (who knew this place well) and knew we were in for it. The freshest, most fresh, authentic Mexican I’ve ever had.
Best wings: Brunner’s Tavern – Amherst, NY – I’ve had wings at this place maybe a dozen times over the years but on this occasion they were fried and then done on the grill (“pit” style) but NOT with BBQ and thusly I was treated to the best chicken wings I had all year in WNY. Awesome!
Mike Shatzel (Owner of Thin Man Brewery, Coles, ABV and a bunch more that I don’t feel like typing): Best dish I had all year was a Roasted Cauliflower dish (Roasted cauliflower, brown butter, chimichurri, dried fruit, almonds) at Brux House (photo above from magnoliastudios.ca) in Hamilton, Ontario. Blown away by it. We were up in Hamilton doing a collaboration IPA with Collective Arts & Sloop Brewing. The CA guys took us out afterwards. I highly recommend visiting Brux House. (Previous Favorite Meals: 2013)
Bobby Finan (Co-Founder/Master Distiller at Tommyrotter Distillery): Unfortunately, I didn’t get to eat out as much as I would have liked this year. Chalk it up to too much travel on a small company budget and general exhaustion (mastering the 10 pm bedtime has been a dining out roadblock). I did get to eat at Fish & Game (Hudson, NY) twice, however, and both times it was exquisite.
The F&G wine list is one of the most intriguing and well-curated lists I’ve come across in my travels. Plenty of natural wines from Eastern Europe make it a very exciting (albeit pricey) menu to explore. On my first visit, I drank a pinot noir from the Czech Republic that had a subtle effervescence and the barnyard funk that I love. My most recent trip included delicious glasses of whites from Slovenia and Georgia.
The food is quite decadent, but equally as complex in both flavor and technique. My favorite dishes have been a crab omelette with charred shimonita onion and chili crab sauce and a presentation of a whole pig (house made sausages from different cuts, samplings of the head: cheeks, ears, snout and of course, the crispy skin). The bread is also a must for the carb lovers out there: house made focaccia wood fired in a skilled and served with whipped goat-milk ricotta and preserved chilies (very spicy, but mellowed by the cheese and bread). The menu is constantly changing, so no promises that you’ll have access to the same plates.
Last thing: it’s seemingly inconsequential, but set the tone for a great dining experience. When I walked into Fish & Game in the winter, they surprised me with a small glass of warm, spiced broth. It’s warming, salty and makes you want to start spending on heavy wines and whiskey. (Previous Favorite Meals: 2016)
Lindsey Marvin (Co-owner/Kombucha Brewer at Barrel and Brine): The most memorable meal I had in 2017 was at Peking Quick One. It was my husband RJ’s birthday in August, so it was either 100 degrees, raining, or both. We had to text the owner or Peking to warn her 10 or more people would be filling her restaurant and ordering one of everything off the Home Style Menu. When we first started eating at Peking the owner would take our order, then shake her head and yell, “YOU ORDER TOO MUCH!’ It was like a dare, she had no idea how much damage we could do it one sitting, and now we had to prove it. Eventually she learned the drill. Push the tables together, get all hands on deck, don’t bother with to-go containers. We won’t need them. We’ve become regulars enough that the owner played Red Hot Chili Peppers (RJ’s favorite band) over the dining room speakers while we ate.
This meal was particularly memorable because Rj’s friends from out of town came, and got to try the food for the first time. We ordered the usual favorites: Pepper Whole Shrimp (with their cute little heads still attached), fried eggplant, hot pork, all the dumplings, etc. When the dishes arrived two at a time they were passed all the way around the table family style. Everything was on point. A few of our friends were a little reluctant to try some of the dishes, but loved them once they tried it.Everyone ate a ton, laughed, and told crazy stories. GG Allin shitting on stage was a hot topic for most of the meal. How do you ever top that in your musical career? You can’t.
After Dinner we all talked about how disgusting, fat,sweating, and full we all were. Then we walked to Donut Kraze and crushed doughnuts.
Brad Rowell (Chef/Owner of The Grange Community Kitchen): First off I’m excited Buffalo Eats is allowing me to share my top meals of 2017 for the third year in a row (Donnie edit: actually fifth year in a row). 2017 was an exciting year for my family and I. The Grange turned one and my daughter turned 2, both in July. These two have also changed my dining habits a bit but I still found some time to get out and have some great meals.
In March I had two meals in Toronto that really stood out as my best of the year. First was Dinner at Grey Gardens. Grey Gardens is a recently opened wine bar serving beautiful small plates made by some seriously talented cooks. The service was professional, knowledgeable and unpretentious which is just as important as the food to me. We had a rutabaga dish that my wife still talks about.
The next day we had an early lunch at Bar Raval. The manager asked about my Bills hat in the first 2 minutes we were in the restaurant and he went on to tell us about a recent trip to Buffalo and how much he loves our city. We shared several dishes including octopus carpaccio, Squid with black rice, and the hamburguesa. We were served great wine and the room is about as beautiful as it gets.
My wife Caryn and I had a very memorable meal on a rainy summer night in the garage at Dapper Goose. No one makes eating in a garage more special then Keith and Peggy. We had many excellent dishes including the Shrimp with Shrimp toast, blackened green beans, and a duck confit pasta dish. What stood out more than anything was the kindness and generosity of the owners and the staff. I love that garage.
I had two really special dates with my daughter. The first was brunch at The Black Sheep (my first time). We had the BS-Griddle with hash browns, a sticky bun, and great coffee. This was the best brunch food I have ever had, in any year. The Hash Brown is a modern marvel.
The second was lunch at Schwabl’s in West Seneca. Schwabl’s is an old school gem. You can’t get a better beef on weck anywhere and the german potato salad is legendary. The staff was so nice to my daughter and brought her her own roll and some turkey when they saw she wasn’t feeling the salt on the bun. Schwabl’s is a must at Christmas time.
Finally, I ate at Bar Bill approximately 15 times this year. It’s the best. Go Bills
Andrew Pentheros (Buffalo Eats Contributor/Instagrammer): In June my wife and I left the kids with my in-laws for a long weekend trip to Boston. So naturally the only thing on the agenda was beer and fresh, locally caught shellfish. One quick search of “best beer best seafood Boston” brought us to Row 34. The front page of the website features this quote, “We’re Row 34. If we could eat oysters and drink beer for every meal, period, we probably would. Professionals only.” …SOLD.
Situated just inland of the water outside of Boston Harbor, Row 34 was a nice walk from our hotel just off the Boston greenway. The place is tall, open, and modern/simple. A quick glance up at the draft list saw a fresh batch of Citra Cutting Tiles from Trillium Brewing was on the board (a double IPA brewed all with one type of hop and raw wildflower honey, a personal favorite) so BOOM. Already off to a lovely start. We had arrived an hour or so before our reservation, so we were able to enjoy some time at the bar. The clean, L shaped bar is open to the kitchen production, so we watched oyster shucking and talked with some locals for a bit while tossing back a few of these citrusy, pillowy Boston brews. By the time we sat for dinner, we were feeling fantastic.
The menu is simple. Seafood, and lots of it. And a couple other things that we didn’t bother looking at. 13 options for raw oysters. Most being locally caught. We ordered an assortment. At this point, I’ll have to state, we’ve never had raw oysters before, so it was one of those things like, we’re hear, screw it, we’re doing it. Plus the constant beers, so yeah, we just went for the gold. I can’t really describe how good those oysters tasted, but they were just delicious as hell. The fresh salinity, the pop of intense, unique flavors, the cleanness of the after taste. Drizzling the shallot-scallion-vinegar or whatever it was on them — just mouth wateringly amazing.
Next, again, when in Boston: lobster rolls. Row 34 offers two kinds. Ethel’s Creamy Lobster, a traditional mayo based lobster roll and just warm, buttered lobster on a seared roll. Ok, one of each, here we go. Ethel’s creamy was just that, simple, easy, delicious. But the plain, buttered lobster on the roll was utterly mind blowing — The savory decadence of the lobster. The sweet, perfectly toasted roll — The flavors together was almost making me teary eyed it was so freaking good. Also by then I was maybe on my 5th double IPA. What can I say, we were on vacation. Plus the way the tangy, citrusy intense bite of the beer contrasted the soft, salty salinity of the oysters and the buttery decadence of the lobster rolls so perfectly, I just couldn’t stop.
After leaving a hideously large tip, because we wanted someone else to experience our joy, we stumbled out and Uber’d it back to the hotel. I dreamed about our dinner that night, and just about every night since. (Previous Favorite Meals: 2015)
Mike Andrzejewski (Chef/Owner of Cantina Loco, SeaBar): The year of 2017 wasn’t the best year we have had for quantity of meals, by far we really didn’t get out to nearly as many dinners as in the past. Mostly because of time and schedules but we also chose to stay home more and chill, eating junk or comfort food on the big leather couch. Guess I’m getting old. That said, it certainly did not lack for quality.
In the past I have wrote about two meals each year, one locally in WNY and one in another city. So in the interest of consistency, I’ll do it again. The local meal was easy. I celebrated my birthday quietly with my wife Sherri, and snuck out of Seabar a little early and went to Las Puertas. Chef Victor Parra-Gonzalez’s West Side restaurant that was barely a month old. It was early March and still cold, lightly snowing. So it was pretty quit, very cold outside and we were, as usual, the last people seated in the dining room. So as I was looking at the menu, (I had the good fortune of tasting several of Victors dishes the week prior, so I was excited to check out the final rendition) Victor had other ideas. The Chef removed our menus and replaced our settings and said he was cooking for me. He certainly did.
What followed was a progression of seven courses, each with a short explanation from the Chef. Every course had a meaning, a story, and was prepared with a very real respect for the history of the cuisine and of the Chef’s heritage. This is not to say there was anything traditional. Far from it. Every plate was complex and contemporary. Both beautiful and sometimes challenging. It was a rare instance of dinner being a journey. It was truly a special dinner, and sharing it quietly alone in the restaurant with my wife, and the chef made the night extraordinary.
Part Two: This year was a bit lean for traveling, a lot of life got in the way of fun. But there were a couple short trips, mostly involving some kind of work related travel. Early in February, I had the opportunity to go to Houston and cook at the Taste of the NFL event which helped raise money for the Foodbank of WNY. It;s always a great trip and with Frank Mercado, my Co-Chef at the Event, we are generally always searching for a good restaurant, dive bar, food market or… more. This year we had the opportunity to head out for dinner with a couple Chef’s from Oakland, including Tanya Holland of Brown Sugar Kitchen (who is at this moment competing on Top Chef). We were looking for someplace cool and trendy and on the forefront of the food scene in Houston and a friend who now lives in town suggested Pass and Provision, a dual restaurant concept that features a fine dining/tasting menu only restaurant (Pass) and a casual, laid back dining area (Provision).
We settled in,and bantered with the waiter, who quickly figured out we were in the industry. I can’t remember his name, but he pointed out several must haves, as well as have-nots, stuff he wasn’t crazy about. So we ordered and ordered and ordered. What followed was great food, not Robuchon or Keller Michelin stuff, but really tasty food, really tasty! Pizzas with excellent crusts and toppings, outstanding pastas, super fresh salads and vegetables.and superb desserts. AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS! The weirdest presentation I can remember in a while… a whole stalk of Brussels sprouts, deep fried until it looked like gnarled industrial waste, topped with a spicy brick colored miso paste. We kind of laughed and were a little taken by the thing on the platter but holy shit pop off one sprout , still steaming and salty, and crusty outside, and creamy, really creamy inside and this was the hands down most delicious thing I’ve had while traveling in 2017. And I’m not a real lover of the sprouts. I’ve tried to make them in my fryer at Seabar, they came out good, somewhat got the idea, but nothing like the incredible dish at Pass and Provision.
Sean Wrafter (Owner of Wrafterbuilt): When I think of all of the great food I’ve eaten in 2017, I can’t help but think of one of my favorite faces. Someone who has pushed me to set down my plate of chicken wings and actually pick up a fork. The same person has sat across a table from me everywhere in WNY… from The Eagle House in Williamsville to the Eden Ale House. Of course I’m talking about my good friend and eating companion Jon Eisenberg (pictured below). We’ve brunched at Toutant and Dapper Goose. Ordering plate after plate at Lake Effect Diner more times that I can count, and slurped Ramen together at Sato, all the while planning our next trip to Marble and Rye and getting excited about making sandwiches in my kitchen.
While we ate our second dinners together at Acropolis the other night I spent a minute reflecting on the cultural connotations involved in sharing a meal with someone else. You can eat with almost anyone once and it doesn’t mean anything, but to share that many meals with one person establishes a bond unlike any other. To sum up my thoughts about my best meal of 2017, I would say that whether my favorite meal was late night burgers at Billy Club, wings and fries in the Gene McCarthy’s Beer Garden or after dinner ice cream at Lake Effect, the important thing was the company that we enjoy it with.
Trainwreck Sports Crew (The local sports show Trainwreck Sports): Has got to be going to the Washington Square downtown before Sabres games, and enjoying a nice order of wings and beef on weck. Classic Buffalo meal, always gets the job done. You can ask to get the wings medium/BBQ, they will throw them on the grill for you and taste fantastic. This train never stops!
Nick Pitillo (Owner of Osteria 166, Villagio): I’d have to say the fried chicken at Toutant was pretty fantastic, but the veal I had at Mulberry was also crazy good. My Momma’s homemade ravioli with a meatball and a dollop of fresh ricotta brings me right back to the Sunday’s of my youth!
Jennifer Boye (Freelance Culinary Ninja) (Yes, That’s right. Freelance, Sorry EA): In October, a bunch of us from Elm Street Bakery were given the opportunity to cook at the James Beard House in New York City. The day of your Beard dinner is always an interesting one; your nerves are getting the best of you, you’ve got so much on your mind, and so much work to do. Needless to say, the last thing on your mind is taking time to eat throughout the day. By the time you’re done cooking, talking with guests, cleaning and packing up, and going out for a celebratory drink, you’re pretty tired and pretty hungry. We had all been up since about 5 am, and now it’s close to 3 in the morning. We all decided to grab something from a food truck that was close to our hotel. Most of the guys ordered gyros and I had falafel wrapped in a pita. I distinctly remember the five of us sitting on the curb in a row, with garbage bags piled up behind us, eating like we’ve never seen food before. It was one of the best things I’ve eaten this year, and it’s just a really nice memory for me.
Shyguy Shawn (Radio DJ on Kiss 98.5): Pasta Bolognese from Marco’s On Niagara – I’ve had Marco’s many times but never this entree. It’s on their SkipTheDishes menu but not their in house menu (although they will gladly make it for you anyways if you ask for it). I get it with a side of sauce and a meatball.
Pastelillos from Montes Grocery – After being a fan of Niagara Cafe for so long, my friend finally turned me on to Montes (pictured above(. Now i’ll go there at least once a month. Even though i’ve tried them all, my favorite is the Beef & Cheese Pastelillos. I always order the meal that comes with Beans & Rice and a salad.
Crab Cakes Benedict from Poked Yolk – I’m a big Eggs Benedict fan, This place has different variations of it…but the star of the show is their Crab Cakes Benedict. I like it when Crab Cakes actually have nice chunks of crab in them.
Italian Sausage Sandwich from MT Pockets – Im a big big fan of the Steak Sandwich from The Pink. For awhile my friends kept telling me that this sandwich is just as good (if not better) than that. Although i still can’t tell you which one i like better, this sandwich was really damn good. You have to order them with the hot peppers though, that’s what totally makes it.
Lindsay Robson (Creator of Nickel City Pretty): Thinking back on 2017 and all of the incredible meals that I have eaten, there’s one in particular that I have enjoyed multiple times, and it’s always been spot on. I’m a huge brunch lover. Give me any type of breakfast food and I’m a happy camper. My favorite place to grab brunch is Toutant. Sure, their dinner is also incredible, but brunch is 100% where it’s at. Every single time I’ve brunched at Toutant, I’ve always gotten the same exact meal: overnight yeast waffle with preserved fruit, side of sausage, a mimosa and a sweet tea. I’m a creature of habit, and the first time that I ordered this exact meal, I knew that I would never need to order anything different because I found the holy grail of brunches. The waffle is hot and crispy, the homemade preserved fruit is sweet but not too sweet, and the sausage is perfectly savory. I normally don’t drink, but how could I not round out this experience with a mimosa? Everything about this meal is perfect, and being able to enjoy it in Toutant’s super cozy atmosphere with friends makes for an unforgettable experience.
Tom Burtless (Singer of Humble Braggers, Founder of @everytimeidinebuffalo): Undoubtedly the best meal I had this past year was Chef Warhol’s seven course tasting menu at Olivers for Donnie’s birthday. I don’t have a proper enough food vocabulary to describe the intricacies of the meal but what I can say is that I’ve never had anything like it before in my life. Also – who doesn’t like to fully ball out for their sibling’s birthday?
Next up would be the Stinger from Toutant (pictured above). It was so delicious and rich I could feel my heart hurt both times that I had it. Next time they post that on their late night menu you get down there and quick – that thing is a force to be reckoned with.
Lastly the farm egg & bacon sandwich at Rowhouse on their homemade English muffin is probably the best breakfast sandwich in Buffalo right now, don’t @ me. Get that, a cappuccino and revel in the beauty of that space – 80% chance I’ll be there too.
Yuri Polyachenko (Beverage Manager for Lloyd Taco Factory): 2017 was an amazing experience in food exploration for me. Going back, my most memorable meals were at my engagement party hosted by Dapper Goose and eating at José Avillez’s critically acclaimed restaurant in Portugal, Belcanto.
The team at Dapper; Keith, Peggy and Jesse out did themselves and left our out of town guest savoring for more (quick shout out to Tim and Alex working a double and holding down the bar). The menu included a plethora of pickled vegetables, blackened green beans (MY FAVORITE!), Cauliflower with a green goddess dressing, enough Chicken Liver Mousse & Rabbit Terrine to feed an army, Tuna Poke, and adorable slider burgers with the buns made fresh in house. Dapper Goose hosted the best catered and most well executed private event I have ever been to, hands down.
José Avillez’s restaurant is a gastronomic and sensory journey with a take on Portuguese cuisine. It was my first experience dining at a two Michelin Star restaurant. His belief is that food draws out memory and each dish should be able to tell a story, which of course makes sense and is probably the reason why we all love food so much. I went with the Exploration pairing menu which was heavily seafood focused. The pairings consisted of 10 different courses with a mixture of amuse-bouches. All were well crafted and delicately presented without getting too cheeky with it. Belcanto was clever in the way they incorporated different flavors and textures through each course and allowed you to taste and experience something that you would not imagine possible. The service was comfortable and pleasant, at no time did I feel out of place or rigid. The restaurant was small and quaint but left you with enough privacy to enjoy the experience with your party. Overall it was an amazing time and one I look forward to experiencing again in the near future.
Robbie Gianadda (Owner of Flat 12 Mushrooms): 2017 for me was a back to basics type of year. Basic ingredients, simple/classical treatments and perfect techniques were what really got my panties bunched up this year. There are three real standouts for me this year, two are meals and one is “just” an ingredient. First best meal: roadside steamed lobster near Booth Bay, Maine. Nothing special except for the fact that it was my first truly fresh lobster, as well as the best lobster I’ve ever eaten anywhere ever. The other aspect of that meal that really stood out was that it could be had at any number of roadside lobster joints, it didn’t need anything special to be special.
Second best meal: as part of the James Beard foundation’s blended burger project, restaurants around the country offered burgers that were a blend of mushrooms and meat to create burgers that were healthier and used more sustainable ingredients. Probably 15 restaurants here in Buffalo participated in this project and I was able to sample a good number of them. My favorite was from Billy Club’s own Scott Crombie who absolutely nailed the essence of what a blended burger should taste like. Served with thin cut fries and a warm savory mushroom and I believe tarragon cream dipping sauce, it was perfect!
Final best meal for me this year was really a local ingredient that has alway been one of my favorites, strawberries from Erdle Farms in Silver Creek. We let the kids play hooky from school on a perfect early June morning and hit the road down to Silver Creek. Picked up some flats from the weigh station and headed out into the fields which were surrounded by rolling hills and thick forests to the north and endless rows of grapevines to the south. The kids ate more than they picked and my wife and I selected 25 lbs of pristine strawberries, eating a few right from the vine. That’s it, that is really the best thing I ate all year, I have a feeling it will probably be the best thing I eat every year.
Kevin Purdy (Writer for Wirecutter): My favorite meal of 2017 was the Thanksgiving day feast my aunt hosted in way-southern Massachusetts. This might make it seem like I can’t remember many meals beyond a month or two ago, and that is indeed true. But it was very meaningful in a few different ways.
It was an 8-hour drive across the entirety of New York state and the longitude of Massachusetts, which is farther than I usually go for a good meal, because I usually walk a few blocks to Kuni’s or Sato or Joe’s Deli. That drive and that dinner reunited me with some relatives I haven’t seen in a long time, and whom it would be all too easy to lose touch with if both sides didn’t make some effort. And it was a really good meal, cooked by people who busted their hump to get 16 dishes on the table for 12 people.
Selfishly, it was also nearly the end of a year-long baking kick, and I got to show off how far I’d come. My wife and I received the America’s Test Kitchen cookbook for Christmas in 2016, and I’ve baked through a good portion of the cookie and pie sections. I hear there are roasts in that book, too, but pies are easier to transport and gain more appreciation. I made apple (pictured above) and pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving, and while I still have a lot to learn, I’m pretty content with what came out. The real win was when my hosts didn’t ask me to take any pie home out of standard courtesy―instead, they actually got a bit nervous when I asked about Saran Wrap.
Related and unrelated: On the way home from this wonderful trip, I got a case of food poisoning. Real, actual food poisoning that made me spend a long night in a hospital bed, and which made my muscles and head ache for days after. It made me appreciate that, in more than 36 years, I’ve only once had prepared food go terribly wrong on me, which feels like something of a miracle. And it made me loathe the over-reporting of “food poisoning” you see on review sites and hear spread around about the majority of restaurants doing good work. Ahem.
Roo Buckley (Wine Director/Floor Manager at Carte Blanche): My family’s schedule doesn’t give us many nights to eat as a unit, and even less where we could take our time preparing dinner in a leisurely fashion. One of our favorite dinners we made a couple of Sunday nights past was a win-win for all involved; roasted chicken on the grill for my wife and I and pizza in the cast iron frying pan for our daughters.
The chicken was brined with a little honey and dill and the last of the mint that made it through the first frost, and had been cut down the back. Several substantial pats of butter under the skin with some more fresh dill and it was ready to be placed on the hot iron grill plate to roast with some russet potatoes while my daughters (Sofia-5 and Ellah-8) helped me make the pizza.It always has to be a fair division of labor, so Ellah mixed the yeast with the water, Sofia mixed the egg and the oil, Ellah poured the dry mix in with the yeast and mixed that and then Sofia had to mix the egg and oil mix into that mixture.
A careful dance around the hot iron pan after blind baking the crust, and sauce and cheese were carefully placed in equal amounts by both young ladies. 15 minutes later as the pizza cooled, the bird and the potatoes were brought in off the grill, my wife put together a simple salad with arugula and some late farmer’s market veggies(including the last of Daniel Weiss’s tomatoes) and we were ready to eat. Sunday night supper as a family effort that I’m going to try and make happen more often in the new year.
Joe Brace (Chef at Elm Street Bakery): I don’t get out that often. However, with the chance to go to NYC and cook at the Beard House with Chef Jen Boye, along came an opportunity to dine at Empellon. Chef Alex Stupak did not disappoint. The whole experience was spectacular. One plate has stuck with me and I haven’t been able to shake it since. Queso Fundido with Steak Tartare. Hitting every sense, it was extraordinary. To quote Chef Stupak, “….I believe that a love of melted cheese, ground beef, and crunchy corn is programmed into the DNA of all Americans..”
“…This is a small vat of melted cheese topped with a patty of steak tartare thats been seasoned with toasted corn nuts..”
So, yes. This was the best thing I’ve eaten in 2017 by far. I could eat it everyday.
Anthony Petrilli (Sous Chef at The Grange Community Kitchen): Best meals of 2017? Ooomph, this isn’t going to be easy. I went to Austin in March and didn’t pack any camping gear so Franklin BBQ was out, but I was taken to Rudy’s “country store and bbq”. Once we used the adjoining gas station to fill up the tank we got in line and got the goods. 1 lb of each: moist cut Brisket, hot links, ribs, and turkey all smoked really well; and you know it’s good when you get the WHOLE loaf of the softest white bread on earth. Creamed corn, coleslaw and buttery smashed potatoes eaten off deli paper on a picnic table. It was all delicious.
Next would have to be at Sokolowskis’s University Inn in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland. I had no idea this place existed and was brought here by a family member. Being from Buffalo I’ve had no shortage of delicious Polish food, so I’m weary about it anywhere but home. This place is a polish cafeteria, slide your tray down and tell the babcia’s behind the counter what you’d like. I knew I was in good hands when I asked for sausage and was quickly corrected “it’s not sausage, it’s kielbasa.” Anytime I’m sitting with family and friends around a table can stack up in my favorite meals, but standing over a cutting board eating an egg bake for family meal for the 3rd day in a row also stands pretty high.
Michael Chelus (Creator of Nittany Epicurean): 2017 was filled with great food from beginning to end. While I enjoyed a lot of great dishes from many places throughout the year, a few stood out. The first was our first stop at Yoshi Sushi Bar and Eatery in East Aurora. We enjoyed a delicious assortment of sushi deftly prepared by Chef Kenneth Legnon showing how much of a dining destination East Aurora had truly become. Another excellent meal was at a personal favorite and a true gem in Western New York – Carmelo’s in Lewiston. My daughter chose Carmelo’s as the location for a Daddy Daughter date and we were treated to housemade spaghetti with octopus and pork belly and a perfectly seared hanger steak. The two meals that allowed us to enjoy some of the best pizza in WNY from a true pizzaiolo – Jay Langfelder – were truly memorable. The first was when he made one of his last voyages with the food truck to our neighborhood and the other was our first meal at Jay’s Artisan Pizzeria. Finally, our meal at Las Puertas showed me that Mexican fine dining had finally arrived in Buffalo with the incredible menu offered by Chef/Owner Victor Parra Gonzalez.
Tim Stevens (Co-owner of Ballyhoo and Lucky Day): As it turns out when I am opening a new restaurant / bar I tend to not eat out a awful lot so this was a tough decision. I have to go The Grange on this one though. It was a mixed order with oysters, citrus scallops and pastrami sang. The freshness and flavors were unparalleled. A meal I wish I had more time for again!
Dima Maddah (Buffalo Eats Instagrammer): I have a love affair with Ballyhoo’s mac-n-cheese so when Lucky Day Whiskey Bar opened I was ecstatic to learn Tim and Morgan were bringing their mac n cheese to the full menu at Lucky Day. From start to finish my favorite meal included the $2 oysters they have Fridays and Saturdays, a side of the Ballyhoo mac-n-cheese with a short rib hand pie. Pro tip: scoop the mac n cheese up with their homemade chips that come with the hand pie for an extra heavy food coma.
James Roberts (Chef/Owner of Dobutsu and Toutant): My favorite meal is more of a favorite food trip consisting of many meals. This past spring I traveled to Hong Kong to do some street food R&D for our new restaurant Dobutsu, and got wayyy more than I bargained for.
Every turn and every little shop was a new and exciting local cuisine item that I had never experienced in that way. We had a traditional dim sum brunch in a big hall and I had one dish at the suggestion of my host that I would never have tried on my own, steamed Chicken and Fish Maw (the swim bladder). It was so subtle and sweet, savory from the chile soy you were given to dip it in, just amazing.
We also had a fresh seafood lunch on the shore of lamma island in a little village we had to hike over peaks to get to. We showed up to this little restaurant, sweaty from the 100 degree heat and 2 hour hike and were seated on the patio under a strong ceiling fan, brought small towels in ice buckets and crispy cold liter beers with the menus. After perusing the all chinese menu for a minute or two, our host asked us to come up to the wall of tanks where fisherman were literally bringing in fish and shellfish every couple minutes from the boats right off our patio dock, to pick our lunch. I’d point at a mantis prawn or an basket of abalone and she would explain how they were cooking it that day and we help fingers of how many we wanted of each, it was surreal! after picking a few crustaceans and crabs and two whole fish prepped different ways, we sat back down and what seemed like no time at all the dishes started coming out..all were so simple. each dish highlighting just the freshness of the seafood and few accompaniments and nothing more. Lobster with ginger noodles, pan fried grouper, steamed black bass, abalone, mantis prawn and fried garlic, and the sweetest red shrimp, live just minutes before. It was so special mostly because of the simplicity.
he rest of the trip was filled with amazing street food, lots of random cart noodle shops, traditional pekin duck, lots of chinese bbq goose, suckling pig, duck and chicken, as many dumplings as i could fit in, and some incredible cocktail culture. There was way too many to list and certainly more than this story, but all in all, my favorite food experience of this year and maybe of my life. Highly recommended. Like a supercharged NYC, Toronto, New Orleans and San Francisco all stacked on top of one another. (Previous Favorite Meals: 2012, 2013)
Nick Guy and Lizz Schumer (NYC Based Writers, former Buffalo Eats bloggers): We moved to New York City from Buffalo this year, so we’ll focus on some of our out of town favorites. In April, we went to visit Lizz’s brother in Dallas and had the best barbecue in the country at Pecan Lodge. The Trough is a collection of all their meats, including our favorite — the beef rib. Every adjective you’d use to describe BBQ? Yeah, it’s that, but the best possible version of it The smoke permeates the meat beautifully, it’s crusted with an awesome bark, and the meat inside is perfectly moist. Five of us could barely finish the tray, but we muscled through.
For our first wedding anniversary in October, we took part in the tasting menu at Hearth in the East Village. This lovely restaurant focuses on simple, rustic, seasonal food. The tasting menu features 12 dishes, with a heavy emphasis on vegetables. Almost everything we tried was outstanding, including some of the softest, most pillowy gnocchi this side of the Atlantic. Other standouts included beautifully tender beef, a cauliflower symphony even cruciferous-hating Lizz lapped right up, and pickled vegetables with an explosively sprightly bite.
We followed our meal with cocktails at Amor y Amargo, Sother Teague’s amaro-focused lounge. The tiny barroom only holds a handful of people, and all cocktails feature spirits only — no juices, no mixers, no problem. It’s amazing what bitters can be in the right hands, and the depth and complexity of these cocktails are well worth the trip. We ended up having an hours-long conversation with a Canadian couple and a Mexican brother and sister, our own little North American conference. It was one of those nights where the conversation and the drinks were equally satisfying, in such a fantastic setting that, despite the booze, it was hard to forget.
Finally, we fell in love with New York’s summer markets, including the Queens Night Market and Smorgasburg. These huge collections of incredibly varied food vendors offer dishes both familiar and exotic. For just a few bucks a pop, you can get everything from regional Chinese to Russian dumplings to Barbadian fish balls. We loved tasting our way around the world, enjoying old favorites and discovering new ones. We also stumbled onto Dan & John’s Wings at Smorgasburg and yes, they’re legitimately good. Wings may not sound terribly exciting, but when you finally stumble upon some that are worthy of the Buffalo name in the wing desert that is NYC,it’s an occasion.
Adrianne Salmon (Creator of @buffalobrunch): I will never forget my dining experience at Joe Beef in Montreal in January 2017. Before we even entered the building, we happened upon Chef-Owner David McMillan who shuffled us to Joe Beef’s sister restaurant, Le Vin Papillon, to grab an aperitif before sitting down for our reservation at Joe Beef. After sipping down a couple vermouths at one of Montreal’s finest wine bars, we headed down the quaint Little Burgundy street to Joe Beef, where we cozied into a booth and proceeded to tell our server to take the reins for our drinks and meal. She started us with a light-bodied, earthy Pinot Noir that she promised would pair well with all of our courses. It was heavenly on its own so she immediately had my trust.
“Well, how do you feel about horse tartare?” she asked us after we told her that she can bring us anything because we’re adventurous eaters. We said bring it on, and the first dish to arrive was a bone marrow that had me licking the bone like a neanderthal. Next came the horse tartare – generous portions of decadent raw horse meat atop two crunchy pieces of toast and finished with salty, savory wild boar bacon. As if we weren’t already being treated like Quebecois royalty, a foie gras custard was placed in front of us, accompanied by a crunchy croissant and cured ham. It’s not really a meal in Quebec if there’s not foie gras and in true form, this was the best foie gras I had ever had up until that point. Next, the dish we had anticipated – the lobster spaghetti. They always keep it on the menu and oh my god, I could eat that dish every day for the rest of my life. For the final course, an entire duck (flawlessly medium rare) smothered in beef gravy and black truffle shavings took the meal to that next level – a meal I will never forget. I rolled back to the Airbnb and slept like a newborn baby. Hallelujah, Joe Beef!
I would be remiss not to give honorable mentions to some of my favorite brunch dishes in Buffalo for the year – the dipping eggs 2.0 at The Dapper Goose, the croque madame at both The Grange Community Kitchen and Lait Cru Brasserie, the chicken & waffles at Carte Blanche, the lobster roll at The Black Sheep, the chicken poblano hash at Casa Azul, and a pork rillettes omelette from Toutant. As for sweets, Butter Block Buffalo and Elm Street Bakery still have my heart.
Annie Krause (Chef/Owner of The Rogue Cellar) The Krause Haus has a thing for food mash-ups. We love our haus-made Michoacan gua bao, peirog-acos, and most especially our Reuben stuffed wontons with Swiss and Thousand Island fondu. We appreciate cross-cultural mashups in our local restaurants too. Island Mix on Jefferson, Pho Lantern on Niagara, and the West Side Bazaar on Grant are three of many restaurants in the area where your taste buds can be treated to a delightful mash-up of cuisines of the Caribbean, Thailand, Vietnam, India, South America, and Northern Africa. We are incredibly fortunate to have a city in which we have so many choices. You could almost imagine to discover your passport book full of stamps from across the globe if you try restaurants off the beaten path.
Ryan Jablonski (Cook, Local Food Fan): Here are my 5 Favorite Meals of 2017
Triple Pork Ramen at Seabar. Three times the Pig, Gluttonous and breaking the Egg Yolk gave the dish some Velvety Richness. one of those Guilty Pleasure (Guilty cuz of all the stuff in it but Pleasurable cuz it tastes so Good)
Zanahorias en Escabeche at Casa Azul. One of the Best Vegetarian Dishes in Buff, consisting of Blistered Carrots Pickled Cauliflower, Chipotle Requeson and Rice Chicharron
Oxtail Pierogi at The Mess Hall. Pasta filled up with Rich Fatty Oxtail, with some Meaty Beech Mushrooms with Creme Fraiche and Pickled Red Onions to help cut through the Richness and the Beef Reduction that was a Rich Meaty Sauce.
Confit Chicken & Clams at The Grange Community Kitchen. A Spanish Surf n Turf, Crispy Skin, Sweet Clams, Spicy chunks of Chorizo, Shisito Peppers (for extra Heat), Sherry Aioli,Fideos Pasta all in a Saffron/Tomato Broth and
Seared Halibut at Roost. Over a Porcini Mushroom Sauce with Shaved Fennel Salad & Fresh Blueberries, Fish that flaked apart with no Problem, the Fennel added a nice refreshing Element, Blueberries gave some Tartness and the Porcini sauce had an Earthy Flavor.
Rick Criden (Buffalo Eats Instagrammer, Meat and Seafood Guy): From meals at Shangoto Toutant, Black Sheep, Lombardo’s, Marble & Rye, Roost and so many others, the common denominator has been the company we keep. For me, the food will always be stellar, but it’s the conversation at the dinner table and laughs shared that make a meal memorable.
As an example, Black Sheep brunch with my friends RJ and Lindsey (Barrel + Brine) Jen Boye and Steve Gedra will stick out for me. Sure, the eggs Benedict was one of the finest I’ve had in quite some time and the game of scones is just filthy good, but it was the three or so hours we spent talking and laughing that made the day.
I love what I do for a living and am lucky enough to be friends with a lot of really good people. The hospitality business can be truly draining at times, but at the end of the day we’re all just a bunch of fucking weirdos that wouldn’t be happy doing anything else.
Jay Braymiller (Owner of Stillwater Farms): 2017 was an interesting year (aren’t they all?). The farm chores keep us pretty close to home, but when we get the rare chance to dine out our first stop is the true shining star of the Southtowns, The Grange.
Favorite dish there is always the citrus marinated scallops on a carta di musica cracker. Every time without fail, they are the most fresh, bright, and wonderful way to begin a meal. The only problem is they are so good, that I could definitely eat enough to make it my entire meal and not even explore the rest of the brilliant menu.
Best meal of 2017?
Didn’t take long to figure this one out, and full disclosure the menu was packed with Stillwater lamb.
When Mike and Christian of Marble and Rye suggested they host a dinner event which featured our lamb and wines from Paradise wines, we jumped at the offer. Arriving and immediately being greeted with a glass of cava is a great start to any meal.
Five courses of lamb could be a bit much, but the skilled chef highlighted the flavorful nuances of the tongue, shoulder, fat and rib of this animal. The first course, oyster with whipped lamb fat pearl was incredibly inventive and delicious.
Although wonderful, the carbonara with house made bucatini and lamb bacon really stole the show and was the hands down favorite of our group. Most things that consist of pasta, egg, and fresh bacon could make anyone drool, but this ingenious and perfectly executed dish was what dreams are made of.
But the meal was more then just the delicious plates; it was our gracious hosts whom I now call friends. It was the perfectly paired wines and the company of my sister, two of my daughters, and a room full of new friends that really made this meal so memorable.
Like all farms that provide products to local restaurants, the days on the farm can be long, the winters cold and the process of getting the highest quality food to the chefs a constant struggle. Evenings like this keep us all going and dreaming about sharing our next meal with some of Buffalo’s finest.
Sexy Slices (Creator of @sexyslices): Reids. I grew up in Lockport and Reid’s has been comfort food since I was little. It’s a shack by the canal that’s still standing by god’s grace alone, but they serve dirt cheap burgers, dogs, and fries that I get an itch for every few months. I got stuck outdoors in the rain and drove to Reid’s soaked to the bone. I sun-dried myself sitting on the blacktop in front of the order counter looking at the Erie Canal and demolished my all-time favorite order. Double cheeseburger w/slice (onion) & sauce (signature sauce), white hot (unsmoked hot dog) w/sauce, fry well (extra crispy) w/vinegar, enough pickles to kill a small animal, and a kid’s-sized shake ½ strawberry ½ chocolate. It’s a salty greasy,savory, and sweet familiarity that does under $10 in damage unless you start rambling during your order. That meal was the lynchpin in my favorite day of summer 2017.
Mister Pizza. The Stinger Pizza. Mother of god this thing was unexpected. I’ve made it no secret that I love Mister Pizza, but I’m always hesitant to order a “specialty” pie because more often than not you’re paying a lot more on a gamble that doesn’t pan out. The Stinger Pizza broke the cycle. I don’t dig stinger subs because it’s egregious. Beef & Chicken aren’t naturally a good pair. They were in a perfect proportion on this pie, favoring the chicken fingers as it should be. The sauce was a funky creamy blue cheese and Frank’s Red Hot mix that actually had good kick to balance the richness. Then there’s that thick molten steak-pocked mozzarella blanket that extends to the edge of the sesame garlic crust (you’ve gotta go custom crust if you’re ordering Mister). Mother of god. Order it. I’m telling you, you’ll be loving life through the entire slice, pal.
Toutant. My favorite restaurant in Buffalo. Behind pizza, my #1 stunner is a good sandwich. The Toutant bologna sandwich is a goddamn masterpiece. One of it’s only few competitors in the field is probably their muffuletta, but that’s for another day. This behemoth is double stacked with house-made griddled bologna wheels you could drive home on, covered in cheese, slathered in spicy brown mustard, and topped with fried onions. The first time I had one this spring, I joked thinking who could possibly finish. Well turns out that’s me. Much to my own surprise, I destroyed that sandwich and it’s a meal I’ll never forget. Toutant is doing this Buffalo staple better than anywhere else I’ve ever had it. Top it with some of their 7-pot pepper sauce and show your friends you’re not a pansy. Good luck.
Mont Stern (Bailli Provincial at La Chaine des Rotisseurs, Food and Wine connoisseur) : Buffalo is blessed to have so much culinary talent and I have had many memorable meals locally. Two that stand out are Oliver’s and Ristorante Lombardo for creating dining experiences that go beyond just cooking good food. Both places have been perennial local standouts but David Schutte and chef Ross Warhol deserve special mention for stepping into their roles at a restaurant that has been among Buffalo’s best for over 30 years. In addition to perennial standby dishes, Ross has been able to prepare many creative dishes that make each meal there memorable. Tommy Lombardo also deserves similar mention for working out of town for ten years, then returning to his family restaurant to help his father and Chef Michael Obarka keep on the cutting edge of fine Italian dining. My wife and I especially love their patio dining in the summer and holiday lunches during the Christmas season.
During my travels this past year, I was able to return to Cervejaria Ramiro in Lisbon with several other people who signed up for a cycling tour. I took care of ordering a variety of fresh seafood including barnacles for everyone to indulge themselves before a week of cycling across the country. Portugal is a hidden gem for farm to table cooking.
In Chicago, I was fortunate enough to dine at Grace which was extremely creative as expected from a Michelin 3 star restaurant. The food was as artistic as it was flavorful. However, being able to dine at the Hambun pop up (above) was the most memorable meal in Chicago. Chef David Park serves simple lunch fare at an unassuming suburban mall by day but at night he does a gourmet Korean tasting menu of preparations rarely seen in the US.
We went to Piemonte in October to tour wineries and attend the Alba Truffle Fair and enjoyed multiple dinners with fresh white truffles. My wife and I escaped the crowds and took a 45 minute drive over narrow curvy roads to Cortemilla, which is the hazelnut capital of Italy. Our destination was Villa San Carlo which is run by Chef Carlo Zarri and his wife. Chef Carlo has been a guest chef in the US on a regular basis and was in charge of the cuisine at major events such as the Torino Olympics and the Milan Expo. They made us feel like family and served us a delicious tasting menu with the obligatory pasta with fresh truffles. My wife’s favorite course was fresh tomato soup topped with a puff pastry. The finale was individual baked Alaskas with our names written in chocolate sauce.
Ed Forster: I had a rad year. I get a little stir crazy here and need to breakout, even if just for a day, so our weekend trips were plenty and a bit more exciting than say Erie, PA. Philly was a great stop through. Take into account the newly opened Royal Boucherie by Chef/friend Nick Elmi and I’m certain Jess and I will be returning in the next few months. Nearby Cleveland and Pittsburgh were really fun weekend getaways. A spontaneous train trip to Chicago brought back a lot of great memories, tastes, smells, and sounds. It was great to congratulate newly Michelin minted and best new restaurant Elske’s Chef duo David and Anna Posey on their first year as belle of the fine dining ball. But the highlights of 2017 in my reflections were simple marlin and roasted chicken.
With two hilarious and awesome travel buds I took a trip to Cuba and was able to see three different cities and three different perspectives of a country largely untouched in time. A fine dining version of Ropa Vieja was tasty, homey, delicious, and crave-worthy in Trinidad that spoke to the cuisine of the island. The meal that sticks out for me was just simple seared marlin with delicious daquiris in Habana Vieja tucked in a 14 seat restaurant. Seasoned with salt, pepper, and lime, its simple and balanced flavor still sticks out. The restaurant changes as what the government makes available, or buys on the side, which is a unique way to encourage “local dining”. Watching the hustle of passersby on the street in a small and busy restaurant with seemingly just two employees, it still gives me dreams of how exciting it would be to run a small restaurant.
The top dining experience for us is a no brainer. Jess and I took what most people would consider to be a trip of a lifetime to France- visiting Paris Center, Reims in the Champagne region, and Montmarte just north of the city center. The food memories from that trip are ridiculous. To recount them all I simply need a glass of pastis and some foie gras terrine if you ever spot me around town and have interest. Bistrot Paul Bert is legendary and the dishes still sparkle. Braised veal tongue and potato dressed in a tarragon mayo with pickled onion was amazing. I had my first experience with Grouse and its beautiful flavors and textures (not speaking of the required buckshot pellets to be found within- savor with care) and a perfect souffle. The Michelin punch card got quite a few holes starting with Atsushi Tanaka’s instagram necessary Restaurant AT. Every dish was creative and exciting, and ridiculously pretty and comtemporary in presentation. Most sauces/ jus/ reductions had unemulsified herb or otherwise strongly flavored and complementary oil scattered over top of them to add fat (in lieu of butter)- a technique i truly appreciated seeing multiple times to add depth and complexity. We had the three star/ top 50 pellegrino list experience at L’ Astrance. Chef Barbot served remarkable cuisine with beautiful produce and flavors worth every accolade he has received. Astonishingly all of that was made better by an amazing wine pairing and wine service experience. L’Astrance does a surprise wine pairing where the wine is revealed and talked about after the course is enjoyed. For us, the wines were exciting and completely unique to what we’ve had before. If Jess had not taken a few bottle photos we may not be able to recount the off the beaten path wines we enjoyed. The most complete and awesome michelin meal we had was dinner at David Toutain. When a meal starts with champagne (which admittingly we started every meal with champagne, because, well, ya know, when in Rome?) and the question “Would you like to enjoy Chef Toutain’s signature caviar with juniper course?” you just try to mumble something resembling yes as quickly as possible. What continued was a “bread service” of slow roasted and dehydrated salsify, celery root risotto, and perfectly roasted duck breast. Every course was beautiful, unique, and paired with super exciting wines to boot. we left that dinner abuzz and excited.
We got to explore the champagne region with personal tours of Lanson and Larmandier Bernier, as well as exploring century old caves at Ruinart. Drinking La Grande Dame Cliquot on the lawn is a perfect way to spend a few sunny afternoon hours and tasting wines that aren’t imported to the US was unforgettable. Tasting some 28 champagnes in a 24 hour period was a privilege that not many will experience. It is also a privilege that I could happily spend the rest of my days enduring.
All of that taken into account, none of those was our favorite meal of the trip (or the year by deduction). We were wandering home from hiking around the cities museums and sights, and saw a fromagerie. In my best high school french, we left with two unlabeled cheeses that were “pas pasteurize” that fulfills what every teen girl writes that she wants to do in paris. Jess and I both muttered “Huh” as we noticed Guy LeBourdonnec’s famed butchery shop by dumb luck. His acclaim as a rogue master french butcher was cemented in the documentary meat and he sources the best cattle available- notably not the french Limousin breed. However when I noticed a feathered head staring at me from inside the case, I stopped. You see some years ago I decided to get my first tattoo on my left forearm. I got a Poulet de Bresse (P, as a rooster, but the blue footed chicken of great esteem which is a symbol of all that is perfect with french cuisine, with three empty michelin style stars on my arm. To me this chicken was the penultimate symbol of french cuisine- a remarkable ingredient given all of the precious care and attention it deserves. Every three michelin star restaurant and its chef has featured it and revered this chicken. The chicken had two different tags to showcase its pedigree and identify it as the real deal poulet de bresse. It was also whole with innards, feet, and head and feathers still in tact. We had planned on snacking on dinner at our house at least once or twice, so I packed two of my kitchen knives with me. We had no oven to roast a chicken at the apartment, so I boned it out so I could successfully cook in it in a pan on the stove. Even just breaking down the bird I was awestruck by its canary yellow fat and sweet aroma. This bird had so much fat I can still feel it on my fingers after breaking it down. We enjoyed it simply with salt in a bit of butter with caramelized turnips and fennel. The lasting memory for me was the sound the fork made against the skin. It had rendered so much over the nearly thirty minutes of cooking it spent on the skin that the tines of the fork hitting it sounded as if it were a pane of glass. This chicken was perhaps the single greatest thing I’ve eaten and was worth the fifteen years I’ve waited. That will be a food memory not just for the year, but for a lifetime.
Arthur Bovino: It’s always crazy to look back on a year of eating. But this year, because of the month I spent eating at more than 120 restaurants in Buffalo, it’s even more mind-bending. I gained 20 pounds seeking out Buffalo’s best wings, pizza, beef on weck, and Tom & Jerry cocktails. Not even kidding. I haven’t been able to work it off, but it was completely worth it. There was so much good food in Buffalo, you could write a book about it. In fact, I did! “Buffalo Everything,” to be published June, 2018 — shameless plug, shameless plug ;).
I’m going to leave the rankings to the book, and I think because I like structuring things around themes and geography, for the sake of tidy organization I’m going to break out my most memorable meals into non-Buffalo and Buffalo.
NEW YORK CITY: This was the year where I discovered (to my own disbelief) that the turkey burger at J.G. Melon — thin and juicy like a crazy peppery sausage patty — is one of my favorite burgers in the city (I don’t know who I even am anymore). But my best New York City meal was at Nur. Everything felt remarkably vibrant, fresh, and invested with a spirit of attention I’ve found missing while dining out. The Jerusalem sesame bagel and kubanah with Yemenite schug stand out as among the year’s best meals.
PIZZA: I fell in love with Buffalo-style pizza, but I’ll leave that to its own section and list the pizza outside the Nickel City.
The Sicilian slices at Sal’s in Mamaroneck and VIP Pizza in Bayside gave me reason not to give up on a style I feel isn’t made with the care they require. I did a memorable Jersey-shore pizza crawl (Pete & Elda’s, Federici’s Family Italian Restaurant, Vic’s, Porta, and Talula’s). And Quality Italian’s special Buffalo chicken parm Super Bowl special “pizza” made me want to make a version for Buffalo Everything.
It pains me to say, but the Lou Malnati’s Toro pop-up made me have to admit there might be a little space in my heart for deep-dish (at least, just for a second). There were shades of Di Fara in Anthony Falco’s Thin + Crispy™ bar pizza at Hair of the Dog. I particularly enjoyed the clam pizza at The Clam in the West Village. And the vodka chicken slice at Emilio’s of Morris Park made me think there are exceptions to my rule regarding over-the-top topping profiles that are typically just ways to hide inferior crust work.
But I fell for the plain cheese slice at Margherita in Jamaica, Queens (it usurped Amore as my favorite soupy slice this year), I’m genuinely grateful for Martina’s pizza Romana landing in the East Village, and was blown away by the pistachio pesto, orange, and Calabrese pizza at San Antonio’s Il Forno. The Doughdici at Sofia Pizza Shoppe, which I wrote about in The New York Times, is my pizza of the year.
ON THE ROAD: I managed to swing back through Atlantic City to make a pitstop at The White House for one of my favorite subs in the world, the White House Special — as good as ever. The barbecue at Pecan Lodge in Dallas lived up to the hype that had been building up around it for me for a few years. The bowl of red at Tolbert’s in Grapevine was one of my favorite small meals of 2017. The puffy tacos at Mirador and tamales at Tortilleria Los Hermanos in San Antonio (the last, an annual pitstop for three years running) sated what has become an inextinguishable craving for both. But Chef Johnny’s queso fundido, ceviche, pulpo, and whole fish with fresh chiles, lime juice, and avocado at La Gloria the night before judging his annual paella contest may have been my favorite meal on the road outside Buffalo.
AT HOME: We cook at home a lot, but beside a chilled homegrown cucumber soup with garden tomatoes, fried garlic scape, pickled carrots and fried maiitake mushrooms, I don’t remember most of it. The meals at home that have been the most memorable have all been for the book: Buffalo chicken pot pie, wings, Tom & Jerrys over Thanksgiving, Utica greens, and pasta con sarde that I think was the best thing I made all year. Toasted pignoli and breadcrumbs, fresh, fried and just-cooked through sardines… I’m glad that one is written down.
BUFFALO: There’s so much good food in Buffalo. I’m grateful for having had the chance to explore the city in depth over a month and for having been able to meet some of its great chefs, writers, and food pros. It also convinced me that there are so many more places I still want to visit… there’s no chance I don’t return frequently to hit up favorites and check off the 20-30 more places I still want to try.
Wings: I’m ruined for wings forever now. Thanks, Buffalo. I’m going to have spill for airfare whenever I really crave wings. They just don’t measure up back in Manhattan. I could list all 25 Buffalo wing spots that made the book, but sitting back and thinking about it, I’d have to say that if I could snap my fingers and sit down to any of the terrific wings I ate in 2017, I’d probably find myself at 911 Tavern, Bar Bill, Kelly’s Corner, or Gabriel’s Gate for my baseline orders. For tricked out wings, I’d teleport to Elmo’s for double-dipped BBQ Cajun(!), Abigail’s (in Waterloo, N.Y.) for their wings (the sauce incorporates both blue cheese and celery), and at Wiechec’s or Bases Loaded for an order of garlic Parmesan wings… perhaps my most favorite wing discovery.
Buffalo Pizza: I’m a convert. A believer. A proselytizer even. Buffalo pizza may be one of the more underrated, unhyped styles deserving attention in the country. I’m haunted by La Nova’sthinner take on Buffalo-style, especially its sesame crust. I’m now just frustrated that more places near me don’t do this (I forgot how much I like pizzerias that do that). I know it might be controversial, but I really liked Mister Pizza’s sloppy-cheesy cup-and-char slice. The Stinger pie at Santora’s (the Transit Road location in Depew) was one of my favorite pies in the city (and of the year) along with Deniro’s and Leonardi’s. Both gave Bocce a run for the money in my book for the title of the city’s best parking lot pizza (pizza you can’t wait to get home to eat). Bocce lived up to the hype… the trim (“Bocce cookies” according to the pizzaiolo behind the counter) was some kind of crazy pizza metallurgy: crispy-caramelly-savory goodness. And speaking of parking lot pizza, while it’s not technically in Buffalo or Buffalo-style per se, Lock City Pizza was one of my most memorable pies of 2017. The stacked piles of thin pepperoni, the cornmeal-studded crust, the deliciously greasy spiciness with every bite. I’m grateful for my new pizza friend @SexySlices for having shared it with me.
Buffalo Beyond Wings and Pizza: I could have revisited Toutant every night for that crazy-good homemade bologna sandwich with ooey-gooey melted American cheese and frozen tasty cocktails. The steak in the grass sandwich at Dandelionswith actual dandelions was one of the better steak sandwiches I can remember having. The pretzel roll at Breadhive was the best pretzel roll I’ve had in years… making it into an Aaliyah with steamy scrambled eggs, butter, peppery house breakfast sausage, and cheese-pull Cheddar was one of my year’s best breakfasts. Even if you’re a tourist visiting and don’t live in Buffalo, the “sexy brats” from Spar’sare worth finding some charcoal to grill. Go cook ‘em in the picnic areas in Front Park and Martin Luther King (they’re that good). A tasting menu at Las Puertas was probably my overall best meal in the city (varied in taste and texture but all beautiful and delicious). The salty peanuts and homemade chocolate sauce on the soft ice cream at Anderson’s and the dense, creamy Lake Effect ice cream were both terrific sweet stops. The sour cream pineapple pie and chocolate cream pies at McPartlan’s were understated and awesome. Black Sheep’s sticky toffee pudding overloaded some of the taste sensors in my brain. The steak and bologna sandwiches at The Pink, the grilled cheese at Duff’s (I know, it sounds like I’m just reading off the kid’s menu now, but the reverse-griddle and its extreme cheesiness!), the beef on weck at Eckl’s, Schwabl’s, Kelly’s Korner, and Charlie the Butcher… the Tom & Jerry cocktails at McPartlan’s and Schwabl’s, the Lovejoy Street chicken finger sub at Lovejoy, the sausage sub at John & Mary’s, the doughnuts at Paula’s and Famous Doughnuts, the pierogies at R+L…
I’m out of breath just writing this. And I’m leaving out pages and pages of food in Buffalo. Can’t wait to come back.
Steve Gedra: First off, I’m always honored to be a part of this, even though my opinion matters little, but who fucking cares! I don’t!
So 2017 was a banner year for me since Ellen and I bought Europa 8 years ago. I got to sneak out to some fantastic dinners thanks to my ever-improving squad. Thanks, squad!
Me and my little Man-Baby Manny Ocasio joined Willie “Beamen” Petersen and Nate “Beardsley” Beardsley in NYC to hit up Eleven Madison Park in January (pictured above via Facebook). EMP went on to win “Best Restaurant in the World” that is bestowed upon the lucky recipient on an annual basis by some amalgamation of Food Illuminati. I don’t give a shit about that, but a lot of people do. I just wanted to get swole and treated like a Duke. EMP did not disappoint in either facet. They have “Dream Makers” on the staff that listen to your conversations and try to steer your experience to your desire on the fly. That’s fucking rad, and they absolutely pulled it off. They took us into the kitchen and gave us some sort of absinthe drink with sumac that was as visually stunning as it was delicious. The amuse consisted of four root vegetable preparations that blew us away, with the standout being the celery root and truffle. I was blown away by the simplicity and care that was provided throughout the experience, ending with as much Calvados as you could drink and their granola in a jar to enjoy in the morning. I realized that night, among many others in my career, how little I know about this business. Truly humbling and incredible.
On the local tip, the best meal I had was actually a dessert tasting but on by the peerless Colleen Stillwell and her crew from Butter Block at Midnight Mass (Donnie edit: YOU SHOULD FOLLOW THIS PAGE) in September, held at the Black Sheep. I was continually impressed not only by what I consumed, (I admittedly have a crazy sweet tooth, that’s part of the reason I married a pastry cook), but most of all by Colleen’s poise, graciousness, and attention to detail. She was also not afraid to tell me to do some knife work over again, and I respect the fuck out of that so much. Colleen is the benchmark that every cook in this town should aspire to, I know I do.
In the interest of brevity, I’ll wrap this up with my last great few meals I had in London. If you would like to discuss your favorite meals with me, you know where I’ll be. I’ll buy the first and third drinks. I was lucky enough to have made it through the maze of life in cooking and hit 40 years of age in October. My wife Ellen, being the amazing person she is, surprised me with a trip to London for three days. So…. We got hooked up with a Yank expat via Raven Ford of Big Ditch, and had a proper English lunch at a spot called Brawn. It was a prix fixe program with three courses, with an option for a cheese upgrade (you know we hit it). Our new friend gave us the rundown of what was happening with restaurants in London while we drank orange wine and smashed some braised veal belly. Tremendous spot overlooking a flower market that pops up every Sunday. That night we got curry delivered to the hotel, and that may have been the best meal I had all year. Snuggling with Ellen is far too rare for my liking. We also hit up Ottolenghi in Islington where I had the best eggplant dish of my existence ( I’m obsessed with eggplant). There’s a fucking ghost at Table 14 in that restaurant, just FYI. The next night we plowed through 80,000 Arsenal fans to belly up to the legendary St John. We were dealt some of the worst service I’ve seen alongside some simply fantastic food. The highlights were the ubiquitous marrow with parsley and a jaw droppingly simple smoked freshwater eel with bacon and mashed potatoes. The server was an absolute prick, however. Even if you don’t have a Michelin star, you should never answer a guest’s question thusly—“What kind of fish is that?’. “It’s a piece of fish.” Once again, big lesson learned for us.
Thanks for the ears and the support Buffalo. We look forward to creating and sharing great experiences with you in 2018!
Tom Przybylak: My wife and I both turned 40 this year, and as a celebration we had a blow-out weekend in NY. We saw Hamilton for a matinee, and then followed it up with the full on in the face chef’s tasting menu at Le Bernadin. There is not much that I can add to the thousands of writings already published about this place, but suffice to say that it surpassed any inkling of what I expected. I get why so many of my food industry friends hold this place in such reverence. There is something to be said for being so exact, and so spot on – that supercedes the food on itself, and transcends through the impeccable service by a staff you otherwise barely know is there, a world renowned wine program that the sommelier made accessible and welcoming to my under-experienced wine palate, and an all around experience that has until this point in my life, been un-parallelled. I can’t even pretend to humblebrag this meal.
This was #1 Comfort Food of 2017. Rewind to the coldest day you can imagine in winter of 2017. Now put yourself on a miserable “Santa Train out to the middle of Nowhere, NY, and then make it have no heat and fill it with screaming kids… Now, after your penance is complete… roll up to Elm Street Bakery on a weekday, sit down to a glass of wine, see Chef Jennifer Boye’s ever smiling face… and have her put Chicken and Biscuits in front of you. It was like a bowl of the inside of a chicken pot pie paired with what I believe are the finest biscuits I’ve ever had. It warmed me from the inside out and purged the sadness of that fit-throwing hellish train ride. Jen is gone from Elm Street Bakery these days, but I’m sure that whatever she ends up doing… those biscuits and her happy smile will be there with her.
My mom’s maternal side of the family were from Baltimore, and my great-uncles were crabbers in the Chesapeake Bay. In my youth, I spent countless weekends in Fells Point, remember going out on the crabbing boats, pulling in bushels…. and having these massive crab boils in the tiny backyard of my great aunt’s row house in Canton. Tearing into those blue crabs as the shells ripped my hands and the salty Old Bay burned… Making sure I got every morsel of meat out and catching looks from my dad if I left anything edible in the shell. I got to recreate this at a small crab shack with my wife and kids this summer at the height of blue crab season.
When my wife Summer and I first started dating, I was at her apartment and she had this business card on her bookshelf for a restaurant in Nashville called “Margo Cafe.” I asked her what it was, and she said “That’s my favorite restaurant.” Now, this is about a decade ago and we’ve had quite a few fantastic meals since, but it always intrigued me… what made this her “favorite restaurant.” We were in Nashville in spring, and managed to get in for dinner. I’ve never been to Paris, but to me, this place was everything a French bistro should be. Unassuming, comfortable and un-rushed service. A very accessible and well curated wine list. A small open kitchen where Chef Margot passionately worked her way through her orders. Dish after dish of just well prepared, balanced, and delicious food.
Every year I find one dish that is almost too damned pretty to eat, and that’s the dish that makes me want to figure out how to use the camera on my phone properly.
This year, the award goes to The Grange, for this gorgeous pumpkin stuffed doughnut. I had it in the middle of fall, when pumpkin spiced everything is at its full saturation point. The taste was awesome, and it was fantastic to taste real pumpkin in a world of chemical fake flavors.
I don’t get to The Grange enough, and usually when we do it’s a quick stop for breakfast or lunch, but everything we’ve had there has been great. There is a lot of solid talent over there, and it tops our list of “Places we need to go get something to eat in the evening sometime.”
At the start of spring, when local farmers start getting the first inkling of green again… some vegetable-minded local chefs grab whatever they can to signal the end of winter. I believe it was somewhere in April when Chef
Dan Borelli of Elm Street Bakery laid this beautiful bowl of peas in front of me. It was so vibrant and colorful… and just barely cooked so that you could still taste the new season on them. Buffalo is full of big meat/bacon everything /facepunch restaurants, but letting your talent shine through vegetables is reserved for only a handful of local chefs – I like Dan’s the best.
Haus of Poke in Palm Springs CA made the list because I legit ate there four times in one week… and also because it is a sign of things to come for Buffalo – and I am more excited for this than when we got our first Chipotle. Poke shops are one of the “new cool things” and rightfully so. They are delicious. With a Poke spot under construction on Main Street and a few restaurants already jumping on the Poke Bowl lunch… We’re going to see a lot of this trendy dish this summer. I’m willing to bet the forthcoming Chef James Robertsjoint Dobutsu will be dishing this out as well.
In August of this year we attended my brother in law’s wedding in Maryland. We drove down and got the to the rehearsal dinner in a local park that was being hosted by his wife’s family. She happens to be Korean, and as I pulled up I saw her mom and all of her aunt’s working a Weber kettle in the middle of the park. I was handed the first of many shots of soju from her dad while I watched the ladies sear off homemade marinated bulgogi over super hot coals. This is one of my favorite foods and to have it so lovingly and authentically prepared after an 8 hour drive with kids was heaven.
Typically when I go to Carmelo’s, I prepare to go full court press with “all of the courses.” We planned an evening over the summer with the kids for dinner, but I had forgotten it was Tuesday – which is Burger night and a very limited menu. This pigeon-holed me, as I was expecting the usual Carm spread, so I ended up with Spaghetti & Meatballs… this is something I would have never ordered. I absolutely loved it… grandma style meatballs, barely sauced pasta… It was just so damned good and you could tell that it’s something that has been going on for a hundred years or so in the family.
Admittedly I was a complete asshole about this restaurant opening, and I am glad I got over myself and got in there when I did. One of my favorite meals was “Food is Art” at Aro de Tapas. It was a series of really gorgeous plates, and it was really well done. Jeremy and his wife Christina did what a lot of folks dream of… They left the regular grind and put their heart and soul into a restaurant. Aro is closed now, but props go out to them for taking the jump into one of the hardest gigs in the world. You have more courage than I – and I think that over-all, the goal of bringing real Spanish cuisine to Western NY was a success.
It was bittersweet year as we said so long to T-Meadow farm as our friend Rich Tilyou sold off his stock and transitioned into semi-retirement.
I think I have purchased a dozen T-Meadow hogs over the years. We had a T-Meadow pig roast at our wedding, and I butchered my first one in the basement of Bistro Europa with Steve Gedra and Jenny Boye.
I roasted my last pig from Rich over the summer, and it was one of the best. What a great program and something that really added to our unique food infrastructure. I learned so much about local food, butchery, and from Rich and his presence in Western NY. I’m glad to call him a friend and wish him well in his retirement.