Favorite Meals of 2020
Since 2012, we have asked a wide variety of Buffalo folks about their favorite meals of the year. It's continued to be a yearly tradition even as we've shifted away from being a daily blog to a social media... thing. This year sucked for a lot of people, but our friends who work in the restaurant industry were hit really hard. Running a restaurant at a profit is a difficult task when everything is going well and their dining rooms are full. The challenges that were thrown their way this year, were nothing short of devastating. While we all have a lot of optimism for 2021, we have to remember that there are some very deep holes that these restaurants find themselves in and if you have any financial capacity to please continuing supporting local restaurants anyway you can.
So lets try to forget the nightmare that was 2020 and read about some great meals some of our friends had last year. As always, thank you to everyone who contributed to this yearly series but taking time out of their days to send over some thoughtful responses. Please support their business and follow them on social media.
Allison Ewing (Founder/Co-owner of BreadHive): This was a garbage year to work in food, especially in March. At BreadHive we saw the writing on the wall and shut down first our café and then our wholesale bakery while we figured out our next steps. I didn't fully understand our customers' freak-out level (we'd reassured them we'd be back, right?) until I heard that Lin was closed too. The restaurant that's always there for me with affordable and delicious Burmese & Thai food, happy to see my noisy toddler, has satisfied literally everyone I've dragged to Riverside and is somehow never too full to seat us?! I actually teared up when I realized that I might never get to eat their ginger salad, easily one of my favorite dishes on this Earth, again. What if my second child would never sit in a high chair mashing chickpeas and paratha into her face like my first did? So you can imagine my relief when they reopened, and you can understand why the first time we got takeout from Lin was the best meal of this accursed year. And yes, it was as good as I'd remembered while mourning temporarily.
Liana Spicciati (BfloFoodie): Being BfloFoodie, I’m going to highlight an extraordinary meal I had at a Buffalo staple - Oliver’s. It’s been around forever and has made a name for itself in the fine dining scene, which isn’t too common in Buffalo since most of the restaurants in our city are far more casual. But sometimes you gotta Treat Yo Self, and I highly recommend checking out Oliver’s for that next fancy meal out.
But here’s where it gets even better. I had the pleasure of trying out their Chef’s Tasting Menu, and willingly threw the fate of my dinner options into the hands of Executive Chef Ross Warhol and Sous Chef Chris Keller. Guys. They are the real deal. Modern, delicious, beautifully crafted courses. Dish after dish was just as impressive as the last. So if you’re looking to do something different, head over and request the tasting menu because you will not be dissapointed. Here’s a rundown of what was prepared for us that night:
First: Beet “Pastrami” - rye bread, cornichon, goat cheese mousse, dill, mustard seed
Second: Prairie Breeze Cheddar and Speck Croquette
Third: ‘Nduja Lumache Pasta - midnight moon goat cheese, candied walnut, parsley
Fourth: Roasted Cauliflower - shishito pepper yogurt, pickled shallot, golden raisins, dukkah, cilantro
Fifth: Halibut - apple miso purée, bok choy kimchi, puffed farro, watercress
Sixth: Wagyu Flatiron - celery root purée, brussel sprout leaves, demi glacé, shallot crumble, chives
Seventh: Chocolate Layer Cake - mocha crémeux, caramel mousse, chocolate glaze, espresso crumble, corn flake ice cream
If you’re overwhelmed by the above dishes - you should be! In a good way. Aka get ready to have your mind and taste buds blown away.
I loved all of the dishes, but a couple of my favorites were the Beet “Pastrami” and the Wagyu Flatiron. The Beet “Pastrami” featured beets pickled in the same liquid/seasonings that one would pickle pastrami in, a top of a perfectly toasted crisp of rye bread with this light, whipped goat cheese mousse. The combo of that pickled goodness with the creaminess of the mild goat cheese is a match made in heaven. The Wagyu Flatiron was melt-in-your-mouth deliciousness… if you’re a meat lover, this is right up your alley. Not only is this type/cut of beef incredible on it’s own, but the pairing of it with this celery root purée… WOW. I understand that “celery root purée” may not sound like the most mind blowing thing ever, but trust me, whatever they did to create this fluffy masterpiece is next level. This bite of wagyu and celery root purée is then completed by the addition of a shallot crumble that gives you the pop of texture that is needed. I’m drooling just thinking about it.
So overall, I know I’m hyping us this tasting menu pretty hard… but if splurging like that isn’t your thing then you can always book a reservation and dine from their regular menu or stop in and grab a drink and a bite at the bar. Either way, add Oliver’s to your list.
Mike Dudek (Dining with Dudek): I think 2020 should be officially changed to “The Year of the Takeout”. With all the changes and restrictions, takeout has been the one stand by that has not disappointed. Since living in Buffalo, I’ve taken it upon myself to search all areas of WNY for the chicken finger sub to crown king. Many would say “a sub is just a sub” and “chicken finger subs aren’t special”. Well, I hate to tell you this, but you are wrong. And my favorite meal of 2020 is the junction point of both stories, 2020 takeout and the moment I crowned the King.
On a warm summer's eve, I had a hunger. A hunger that could only be cured by a chicken finger sub. I ran through my prospects in my mind and landed on the idea of going with a newcomer rather than an old reliable, LT’s Pizza and Subs. I went with the classic order, one that can’t be misled by fancy sauces or creative toppings. 7-inch chicken finger sub, seeded bread, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, and oil. Sauce selection: Hot. My anticipation was easily heard over the phone when ordering and saucy chicken fingers frolicked in my head as I drove to secure the bag.
Have you ever gotten a gift, that just by the wrapping, you knew was going to be good? This is exactly what happened in this case. A tightly packed sub, double wrapped (one layer of foil, one of sub paper) all nicely nestled into the standard sub bag with ‘Submarine Sandwich’ printed on the outside (I know you can picture it).
I got home and didn’t go inside to grab a plate, napkin, let alone to eat. I unwrapped the sub with the same enthusiasm as a child on Christmas morning. The grease from the chicken fingers left its oily orange mark on the wrapper comparable to a piece of fine art worthy of hanging in any gallery. I picked up the sub and took a bite. Everything stopped. Birds silenced, the breeze hushed, cars stopped and engines were turned off. Every flavor joined together and blissfully danced upon my taste buds.
I stood up, I walked around, I sat back down, but I did not put that sub down. I cradled the sub until I finished. My hands were a mess, I had lost track of time but I didn’t care. I had seen the light.
Joyfully I sat down watching dusk creep over my yard. I felt like an old man in a movie, sitting on his porch, staring off into the distance reminiscing about life. And as I sit here today writing this to you, I still have that memory playing through my head over and over again of the best meal I ate in 2020.
Sexy Slices (Anonymous Pizza Reviewer): Meal of the year hands down goes to the Rose Eden Lobster just outside Acadia National Park in Maine. I was unaware these things existed, and the concept needs to be applied across categories. The title may say Maritime Gay Bar, but the deliverable is haute cuisine minus the atmosphere with price and vibe as direct benefactors. You pay $40 and they bring you 2 gigantic lobsters with corn for show in galvanized steel bucket coupled with plastic cup drawn butter. BYOB. Picnic Tables. Paper Towels. Cut to you getting cooked on hetty NE beers covered in glossy ghee suckin the tamale like you were born on-deck. Ok, so it’s the same review as Maritime Gay Bar but so what. We hit Rose’s twice in 2 days and I would have gone a 3rd if the schedule allowed it. Somebody make it happen with a ribeye.
Matt Gunther (Chef/Owner of Bidwell): My wife Courtney and I have known for a long time that 2020 would be the year we’d finally return home to Buffalo to open our own restaurant, Bidwell. What we didn’t anticipate was that a global pandemic would throw a bit of a wrench in our plan and delay our progress. But we’ve tried to embrace this slowed-down season, and we’ve managed to eat well while taking small steps toward bringing our dream to life sometime in 2021. We can’t wait to feed you, Buffalo!
One of my favorite meals this year was a pizza that I looked forward to for months: our first dinner in our new house in Buffalo. Courtney and I moved apartments every two years or so when we lived in Brooklyn, and we had a tradition of ordering pizza for dinner on our first night in a new place. In May we left NYC to move back to Buffalo, and we couldn’t wait to crush some local pizza, wings, and a nice bottle of red wine. After getting advice from @sexyslices (of course!) we ordered Franco's and it was the perfect way to unwind after a long moving day, and celebrate the beginning of our next chapter here in our hometown.
Like everyone, I’ve cooked a lot at home. A meal that stood out was when my cousin Dave stopped by over the summer to help me recreate the famous Gramercy Tavern cheese-stuffed kielbasa. It was one of the hottest days of the year and we were running around grinding meat and stuffing casings while masked up, but it was all worth it after the sausages were smoked and ready to eat. We’d gotten beef from Moriarty Meats and pork from Mike Parkot at Always Something Farm, and they tasted exactly like the kielbasa I’d eaten so many of when I was cooking at Gramercy earlier in my career. We made enough to share with our families, and nothing could beat the joy of watching my toddler son’s eyes light up when he took a big bite. To me, that’s what cooking and food are all about: finding the best local ingredients, getting together with people you love, and honoring a good food memory by creating new memories and sharing a great meal.
The pandemic really put a damper on dining out for us and so many other people, but we made sure to go to The Black Sheep for our 10th wedding anniversary in August. My wife’s aunt called ahead to surprise us with an incredible bottle of champagne when we sat down, and the meal only got better from there. Every dish was great but the BBQ Pork Sticks were particularly notable. Each bite gave me a huge rush of nostalgia because they were so flavorful and reminded me of my favorite barbecue spot near where we used to live in Brooklyn. We really felt welcomed and our experience was the definition of true hospitality. We left feeling full and so grateful for Buffalo’s top-notch local food community.
Ed Forster (Chef/Partner at Waxlight Bar a Vin): Well. I assume everyone's had the same style of "best" moments of 2020. I feel fortunate to be surrounded by our partners & best friends at work. Its been an interesting first 13 months of business for our new restaurant. I'm grateful for my health. My dog no doubt has been stoked for all of the Mom & Dad adventures. It was really fucking hard to find what I would call my "best" meals of 2020. But this year is about perseverance, so ill plow ahead, grateful for the positive experiences and people in my life.
I celebrated a birthday in late late February. I wanted to be a child, go to a waterpark, and ended up going to Margaritaville in Niagara Falls. It was hilarious, kinda gross, and awesome to be surrounded by great friends. Everything a birthday celebrated at one of the wonders of the world should be. Looking back, we took lunch at Happy Jack's in Fort Erie. Jeff, Tony, Jess, and I went to a place we used to food from often growing up. Its a sweet souvenir at the end of this middle school gym locker room stench of a year. Anyway. Looking back we laughed, ate roasted duck and a bunch of enjoyable food, and went on our way to the petri dish that is an indoor waterpark in Niagara Falls, completely ignorant to what would come some two weeks later. It was the last "group" dinner I would have for quite a while, and I enjoy my friends quite a great deal.
Jess & I try to take a trip every year for the Super Bowl, to get away, eat well, and enjoy each other's company sometimes with the football game on. This year we had the foresight to book a table at Pearl Morrissette. I wont say much, because I wouldn't want to make the already difficult to get reservations tougher for myself. Its pensive, pretty, tells an intentional story, utilizing awesome products, and they make wines that do the same. We've been fans. Please check it out. Just know if you take what I perceive to be a reservation I want; ill fork fight you to the death.
We got married! We threw a banger of a party with our immediate family (even my twin brother who spent two weeks quarantining with my parents after flying in from California) and wedding party. There was so much stress. Safety, virus tests, throwing our own wedding some three hours away, prepping & bringing the food and most of everything else with us, not to mention forgetting suspenders since I had lost about 2.5 inches off my waist with all the home cooking and dog- forced exercise. Everyone followed the requests we made of them in a four page email and on Wedding Day, I remember feeling the calmest I ever had. It was happy, it was easy, it was beautiful, it was bliss. Joe was kind enough to do all the food for us. We ate cold buttered lobster rolls, pickled oysters, caviar on sour cream and onion potato chips (pro move), shrimp, cold fried chicken, gazpacho, steak, gorgeous cupcakes from sweet whisk, and said I do. All while looking over Seneca Lake at our favorite winery, Forge. and now my forever best friend is my forever best wife. so i got that going for me, which is more than nice.
Lastly we've spent most of the time since march cooking at home. its been spectacular. I wish we could spend every evening on a long walk with Ziggy & a yeti full of Forge Rose. Cooking paella for the first time over a wood fire camping was fun. Completely deboning and roasting a chicken over live fire was a fun and relaxing way to spend an early evening. Controlling the heat, letting the smoke imbue some awesome Plato Dale chicken, while being disconnected from the horror that was the 2020 news cycle was a welcome and necessary mental health exercise.
I cherish now, even more than ever, seeing other people's positive reactions to dining out. We are all struggling physically, mentally, monetarily, and trying to keep up with the ever changing regulations restaurants are made to enforce. So please. Support your local restaurants. Support businesses you think are great. If you had something amazing at a WNY restaurant, share it with your friends. Tell the small restaurants that you love them; you never know how much it means to us and it just one visit may be the difference that keeps them around tomorrow.
Ryan Nagelhout (The Goose’s Roost): I’m always grateful Donnie asks me to do this, but I must admit it always feels a bit embarrassing. All of these really impressive and accomplished chefs and critics have had some truly spectacular meals, and mine amounts to some emotional version of “I had some pizza once.” This year is really no exception, though I really could have leaned in to make it more gratuitous if I wanted.
Fewer meals in 2020 have contained more freedom and joy, for example, than one I ate two days after the Super Bowl at a seaside Taco Bell cantina in Ft. Lauderdale. Purchased entirely with gift cards, I looked out on the waves from the open-air second floor and downed about 19 bucks worth of ground beef and carbs while drinking a beer in the middle of a sunny weekday a few weeks before the world got really weird and much more tragic.
But that would just be showing off, when really my most memorable meal of 2020 was an attempt to replicate the day before Thanksgiving vibe in Buffalo, something I missed terribly this year. I haven’t been home in a year now, but I put birthday money into a Detroit-style pizza pan, found Thin Man beers and made everything from scratch using a Good Eats recipe my friend Pete shared. It wasn’t the same, of course, but I’m getting better at replicating the right cut of pepperoni and the crust consistency.
What really mattered was that the food and drinks (along with a Genny Cream Ale or two later in the night on a Zoom call with friends) at least carried an echo of what those pizza nights back home mean. That feeling of home and love a sentiment far more universal than where people in Western New York get their favorite pizza from. And it was something I really needed in a year where being there just wasn’t possible.
I hope my favorite meal of 2021 doesn’t involve me making it, and I have a whole slew of more wonderful and complex meals to pick from made by strangers and shared with loved ones who haven’t been close for far too long. Until then, I’m looking forward to a long winter with recipe books and takeout, and nights where that feeling is possible even from afar.
DJ Cook (Sous Chef at Lloyd): Sometimes the best meals are less about the food and more about the circumstance and the people you are with. My wife and I were fortunate enough to welcome our son Oscar to the world this past May. A pandemic filled year of uncertainty and chaos, but nonetheless he arrived. He actually joined our family one month early. Diana and I spent well over a week in the NICU with Oscar. And for as great of a staff of nurses and doctors the hospital had, the food wasn't quite Michelin caliber. After eight days of cafeteria food it was our last night in the hospital. We were taking our son home in the morning.
We celebrated by ordering from one of our long time favorites, Franks Gourmet Hot Dogs. As always Di’s vegetarian Violet Beauregard was spot on. Their house made veggie dog is remarkable. The sweet potato fries were excellent, and my Nashville Spicy Chicken Sandwich rivals any in the continuing war of fried poultry on a bun. But what made the meal memorable was its significance to us. It was the first time Diana and I were sharing a familiar meal together in the very unfamiliar role of parents. Our family made it through a difficult few days. Oscar was here, he was healthy, and we were taking him home in less than twenty four hours. I will always remember enjoying that meal with so much optimism of what laid ahead for myself as a father and how great it was going to be to finally leave the hospital, now as a family of three.
Lindsey Robson (Founder of Nickel City Pretty, Cooper and Steel): Since we all know that 2020 has been a bit of a shit show, I unfortunately haven't had many meals out this year. But there is one meal in particular that sticks out in my mind as my favorite of 2020. Picture this. It's July and it's the first time that I've had my hair cut and my nails done since January. Restaurants are now allowed to let customers dine inside. I immediately made a reservation at one of my favorite places- The Grange. It was a beautiful evening, and we sat outside in their little alleyway. This isn't a surprise to anyone, but the meal from start to finish was fantastic. Mocktails, apps, salad, pizza, dessert, the whole nine. But it wasn't just the food that was memorable, it was the feeling. The feeling that I've apparently been taking for granted the entire time I've been alive- the feeling of being able to enjoy amazing food at a beautiful restaurant in the warm summer air. It was GLORIOUS and I can't wait to experience that feeling again *cry face emoji*
Joe George (Founder of Urban Simplicity): When asked recently by Buffalo Eats to comment on my best meal of 2020 it felt daunting. We (presumably) eat three meals a day and when multiplied by 365 days equals 1095 meals. That’s a lot of meals to choose the very best.
As a professional cook I ironically rarely go out to restaurants, thus waxing poetically about my contemporaries is not really an option. I also have to qualify this statement by saying that after a lifetime of working in high-end restaurants I currently cook at a group home for the formerly homeless. Thus, most of the meals that I cook these days which are the type of meals that I personally want to eat are at home. Throughout my career my food has never been driven by trends, but instead by emotion. This brings me to my most recent meal (which is always the best meal). But before stating what it was I have to reveal a bit of background.
Like many of us, I find myself cooking a lot more at home during these pandemic times. And in recent years have truly grown fond of cooking for myself, this wasn’t always the case, but during times of quarantine this is especially true. For decades I have cooked to please others, and still do, albeit in a setting different than a restaurant. But at home while sipping a glass of wine and listening to NPR I can cook the way I like to eat.
I am blessed that I come from a family of excellent cooks and grew up eating delicious home-cooked meals. And like a lot of cooks, flavors which inspired me as an adult were instilled as a child. My dad’s family were from Lebanon and the flavors of that incredible cuisine have influenced me as a chef in restaurants and also at home.
It is said that the sense of smell is your strongest memory sense, even more than sight or taste. One may smell the perfume worn by a girlfriend decades earlier, for example, and vivid memories and emotions resurface that you forgot existed. The same goes with the aroma of foods.
When I was a child we would go to sitti’s (grandmother’s) house each weekend, and walking through the door one was engulfed with not only hugs and kisses from aunts and uncles, but also the intoxicating aroma the sweet spices common to Middle Eastern cuisine along with a yeasty waft of just baked flatbread. Whenever I smell this combination of aromas I am immediately transported back.
The meal which I cooked last evening, and the one I am referring to as my best of 2020 simply because it is the most recent, were not foods which I grew up on, per se, so much as it had the same flavors and aromas. The foods I grew up on were meat-centric, and while I am not a vegetarian as I cook and taste other people’s food for a living, at home I rarely cook meat.
The meal consisted of winter vegetable stew seasoned with Lebanese 7-spice blend and spiked up with a lot of Aleppo pepper, basmati rice with toasted vermicelli, and braised fava beans. While the meal cooked I also baked a loaf of sourdough which had been fermenting since the evening prior; it was ready in time for dinner. I made enough food that it will become a second meal the next day and some will also go in the freezer for a future meal.
As the stew simmered and filled the house with its aroma, I sipped a glass of wine and listening to the radio. The kitchen windows were fogged up and my two old pugs sat at attention waiting for scraps to fall. While I may have been the only one in the kitchen, my ancestors were there as well. If I closed my eyes and breathed deep I could hear sitti saying her prayers over the prepared food, which signaled it was time to eat. So yes, this was my best meal...for now.
Haley Rubino (@bflofooood): 2020 has been one big curveball for Buffalo restaurants and my heart goes out to the places whose business was hurt by this awful pandemic. Through it all Buffalo area restaurants have proven what it means to be “Buffalo Tough, as they rolled up their sleeves and persevered to provide foodies with the amazing eats we have become so accustomed too. I ate a lot of dishes this year but I am here to highlight the one’s I can’t stop thinking about. In no particular order...
Tappo: Spicy Cajun Alfredo Pasta - A perfect blend of flavors with just the right amount of kick, I crave this everyday.
Limehouse: Limehouse Roll - Ever look at a sushi menu and not know what to get? The Limehouse Roll solves all of your problems, everything you could want out of a sushi meal.
Giancarlos: Grand Seafood Platter - Immaculate presentation and it is sure to meet all of your seafood cravings.
Inizio: Cacio e Pepe - I love pasta and Cacio e Pepe is my number one. Inizio knocks this dish out of the park every single time.
Dirty Bird Chicken and Waffles: Stinger Chicken and Waffles Sandwich - A small step out of my comfort zone but this sandwich was next level. A unique spin on a Buffalo classic that I will be certainly having again.
Swan St Diner: Everything - I had to include my favorite breakfast spot but couldn’t land on just one meal. From the biscuits and gravy, to fluffy pancakes, breakfast tacos, and freshly squeezed mimosas, Swan St sends you home with a full stomach in all the right ways.
Hoping we return to normalcy in 2021 and I am able to see everyone out at their favorite restaurants. In the mean time, please continue supporting local restaurants and businesses, it’s our turn to have their back!
Zach Klug (Winemaker at Liten Buffel): I didn’t make a special meal in 2020. I made a lot of brunch time leftover breakfasts, and snacked on many a bag of hot nuts. I ate a LOT of pizza. Ashley performed a coup early on, and stopped my unnecessary three hour+ meals for Instagram my family. I learned that digesting food shouldn’t hurt. Your 30’s are a good decade to learn about intestinal disorders. We decreased the amount of meat and alcohol to almost nonexistent levels (for WNY that is), and I got the sweet end of the nightly chore deal in playing with our kids and cleaning up.*
In 2020, I, as well as many other nonessentials, started staying home with the kids a lot more. It was a grand reprioritization to be present in these longer mornings. A part time stay at home dad. I started skateboarding again as a way to bond with my kids. Things like ingredient details and flavor nuance can be fuzzy when you’re furiously inhaling whatever calories are put in front of you. I got hurt a lot. I broke a few things, knocked some fillings out bouncing my head off the ground, dislocated some things, bruised some things, and tore some things. 2020 gave me the time to revisit therapy. Skating became a medicine for all the death and change that found its way in to my proximity. I didn’t spend much of 2020 focusing on the food and beverage life, and for that I am oddly grateful. I needed to remember why I started this wine journey.
My most memorable meal is a lot like 2020. It was Father’s Day brunch, and I was more excited for this one than any other Father’s Day. I already had a morning skate in, I was showered, lotion-ed, and in grey sweats ready for a day of chilling with decadence. It was around 10am, and my teens were keeping my baby occupied. Ashley was whipping up a breakfast pizza, charcuterie, and bellinis. And I was getting right in my room about to chillax to the max (before the inevitable stomach pains that I pepto’d up for). I noticed, at a most inopportune time, that I had forgotten to open my bedroom window. With one hand, and megalomaniac self certainty, I tried opening that window. This frame happens to be broken. You know the kind of broken where a window slams open if it’s not locked? A detail that I knew. That I measured. That I found inadequate with my speed and dexterity concerned. A brief moment of “meh it won’t be that bad” crossed my attention as I felt the heavy metal early 1990’s window frame slip from my grip. Pain is a blessing. All feeling is a blessing.
I don’t remember what was on that breakfast pizza, but I know it was cold by the time I fashioned a splint from a paint stick, and cleaned up the blood. Champagne hits a little different when you’re trying to set a finger. It hits a lot sweeter.
Corey Griswold (The Goose’s Roost): I have been asked to contribute to this list of favorite meals of 2020 through an act of grace from Buffalo Eats. Your writer is humbled, as you see all of the other far more accomplished chefs and writers who are also contributing to this. I have no expertise in either field, but when called by the fine folks here you answer.
2020 was real garbage on several fronts. I’m not gonna sugar-coat this for you! You deserve the honest truth and the honest truth is that the entire calendar from January to December was weapons grade booty cheeks. Political fragility, rampant corruption, the complete destruction of vital public institutions, the fraying and deliberate sabotage of community connections, and the use of power for the benefit of an exclusive few at the expense of those we hold most dear to us. Folks, its been a bad one.
With all of these difficulties you might be hard pressed to even imagine finding a decent meal let alone actually having one. We spent the better part of the year simply trying to get to tomorrow. Doing right by your neighbors meant giving up those simple opportunities for gratification at the table in public and sometimes in private as well. The monotony of doing the right thing - staying inside your god damned house or apartment - drains the consciousness and soul. Who could even concentrate to cook something interesting or daring when you don't even know what day of the week it is? We thrive on contact and the social aspect. We have been forced to give this up in order to preserve ourselves and those we love dear, which is no minor sacrifice. Some were able to make sourdough, I guess. A lot of people, myself included, wondered if we would devolve into raving lunatics by the fall.
So with this in mind, and taking a sober assessment of our mental state and physical appearance, I have tried to regain the wheel a bit. If I can’t create or partake in the creation of others, then at least I can set a goal and hope that a simple goal setting will get me through this final stretch.
Man I just want to go to a diner again.
8:00 A.M. on a Friday. I am off of work who cares why. I am alone. I go to the counter and sit at the counter and order a coffee with a large breakfast. Eggs and bacon are certain. French toast too? Maybe! Shooters shoot. If I’ve planned it right I have a copy of the [slowly being dismantled for scrap by Lee Enterprises] Buffalo News. I will sit and read and eat for two full hours while only briefly being interrupted for more coffee.
The thing about diners is that you are not going there for good food. I know, walking in, that the food will be prepared with an eye towards speed and efficiency than with ingenuity. It’s the point. It makes it difficult to criticize it based on this idea. It's why you don’t see the Michelin guys hang out around the local Greek joint. No one is here for this. So why are we here. We are here for vibes.
To understand vibes is to understand the intersection of atmosphere, emotional state, and connectedness between people. If you are doing this right, these three things work in harmony and amplify each other that approaches a state of transcendent euphoria. The vibes can occur anywhere where these three aspects are both positive and shared. They have been created around the tablespace for thousands of years. It is what has been denied to us this year. Our ability to experience the vibes is something our species is instinctively pining for, even if we never knew we relied on it on December 31, 2019.
If you time your arrival correctly, the diner-class vibes can keep you running for a solid week. You need the atmosphere to be properly relaxed. You aren’t there to hurry. If you want to hurry, go to the drive-thru. You don't even have to get out of your car. Which isn’t to say diners can't experience a rush of some sort. This is why Friday morning is important. If you are there by eight people are either at work already or are on the same wavelength as you. You’re probably gonna see some senior citizens. Who cares. They aren’t in a hurry either. Why would they be! What do they want to hurry up and die? Do you? Sit down and relax. The only dudes hurrying are the folks in the kitchen. Maybe recent immigrants who got their first steady gig. Maybe its a teen also getting their first gig. Maybe it’s someone who just needed a gig, man. Whoever they are, they are delivering good vibes to you, something you absolutely cannot quantify with a star. They are important people in our lives and help us as we assemble those important vibes.
Relax. You took the day off or you have the day off and you are going to start it by making time for you. Go to the counter. Sit. Look for the menu and take your time. The clock doesn’t exist right now you’ve taken care of that already by selecting when to get here specifically so you didn’t have to think about the clock. When selecting your breakfast you should recognize, again, that this is not a moment of exploration. This is for an old standby. Pancakes or waffles, maybe some toast. You aren’t confronted by a large assortment of options but it’s the combination of them that requires a little patience. Do you want a Syrup Transportation Vehicle or are you about that omelet lifestyle. The gods of mirth and entertainment call to you through the ages: the choice is yours, player.
The other customers around you have come to bullshit with each other. It’s for the folks who do not want to go to the senior center because the senior center has drama and no that simply will not do on a morning of vibes. In a lot of places this role is served by the local McDonalds because as I discovered when I lived outside of Western New York it can be really hard to find a good diner! You see a couple of ladies or dudes sitting over a coffee at a McDonalds, they are there because the coffee is actually decent but also because they are vibing. For us, the sheer number of diners in the area is unique. There are places that have none! Can you imagine such a life? Truly a blessing of the Niagara Frontier. Polite conversation, probably bitching about relatives or spouses, but listening and talking for sure. The simple constructive act of communicating in order to affirm or reaffirm a friendship that matters. Just because you came alone does not mean you can’t take in the good vibes just radiating off of folks connecting. And If you do want to catch up with people and you can both swing a morning like this, do it. You can be a Positive Vibe Accelerator and contribute to the community.
As we satiate ourselves with our breakfast without a care of the world, it is the combination of these aspects that place us in a state of balance. Our cholesterol and blood pressure will shortly spiral out of control but for the moment we exist in bliss. It is this state of bliss that I will pursue once this is all over, if I survive. It was a rare occurrence when I could pull off the timing of this, like if I had an appointment or something and it was on the way. No, now I think I’m gonna take the time.
Mark Goodwin (Buffalo Eats Contributor & Tweeter): Food was as important as ever this year. From everyone learning how to cook sourdough bread at home during the early months of quarantine, to consciously spending your money at local restaurants that you wish to help succeed the most. Every meal just meant something more than usual.
My favorite meal of 2020 was from Brothers Takeout Cafe & Catering on Hertel back in June (chicken and waffles, fried chicken sandwich, peach cobbler cheesecake). The seasoning on the chicken completely won me over immediately. It was so delicious and fulfilling that I realized I had completely forgotten about everything bad happening in the world for 30 minutes. I was just so focused on stuffing my face with fried chicken on a blistering summer day. I washed it down with a Genesee Ruby Red Kolsch and sat back to admire what I had just done. My stomach was full and everything was right with the world.
The food service industry has taken a beatdown this year, but their resilience has been inspiring. When restaurants open back up, tip as much as you can. Because if you don’t, you’ll be cursed and sent back to March 2020 where you are forced to binge Tiger King every day for eternity.
Philip Joseph (@phil_eatsfood): Chris' New York Sandwich Shop for one of the best meals of the year.
Best deli in Buffalo hands down, I've tried at least half the menu and have never been disappointed. Go for the slawich, the Fontanilla jerk turkey burger or the panko chicken club.
Ray Delucci (Founder/Host of Line Cook Thoughts): Eating out is more than just the food you receive when you sit down to eat. It is about the atmosphere, the execution of the entire experience, and how you feel leaving the establishment you dined at. It is no secret that Covid has changed the restaurant landscape. As restaurants fight to survive with restrictions in place, and very little support federally, we look to them still as places to comfort us during this troubling time. A restaurant I dined at this past year in Buffalo really impressed me. Not only due to the food, but because of the execution during a worldwide pandemic. This restaurant is Casa Azul, the Chef Zina Lapi.
I dined at Casa Azul on June 19th of this past summer. I had just returned home to Buffalo due to my job not working out in another city. Covid had really changed my life drastically, from work to personal relationships. I needed a good meal. What made this meal so important was the fact that it was the first time I was dining out since the start of the pandemic. I knew eventually I would need to reapply myself to eating at restaurants, and the day came where Casa Azul lined up with that need.
I met with a friend of mine, Alexandra, at Casa Azul and we dined outside in front of the restaurant. We sat down to a table and the service right away was attentive. Water was refilled as needed, and there was constant presence by the service staff the entire meal. While the world around us was very much different, the staff seemed unphased.
We started with the Guacamole and chips. The guacamole was seasoned well, and came with pickled onions, pepitas, cilantro and tortilla chips. The pickled onions offered a burst of acidity, while the pepitas gave a crunchy component to the starter. Paired with the margarita I was drinking, this combination started the meal off great.
After the starter I ordered the soft shell crab torta. This was served on house bread with lettuce, tomato, marinated onion and aoli. The crab was perfectly cooked, crispy, fried to the perfect temperature. Golden Brown and popping as I bit into it, I couldn’t help but forget the intensity of the world around me. Or the fact that we were in a global pandemic, and that this type of experience was not supposed to exist anymore.
We were socially distanced, the service team wore masks, kitchen staff with protective gear on and ready to go. The restaurant was impeccably clean and any fear of dining out quickly faded when I sat down to eat my meal. This is what I was worried about. It “feeling different”. I had been to Casa Azul many times before, a place I had taken many friends visiting town before I even knew how awesome Chef Zina was. And when I dined there this past summer, it was better than any other time. It was better because it not only met expectations, it crushed them.
I needed this meal during that time. The ability to go out with a good friend and have a good meal is very hard to come by nowadays. The creativity of the Chefs of Western New York is on full display during this period of time, and we should support them where we can. Eating at Casa Azul reassured me that even though the world was different, the people that make this great city’s food scene shine were not selling themselves short.
I got to eat a lot of meals pre-Covid and ate a lot of takeout afterwards. I have dined at other great spots in the Buffalo area, Britesmith Brewery, Prescott Provisions, and Carmelo’s are three stars that come to mind. But this meal, the one at Casa Azul, was the meal that showed me that maybe things would be alright. It was the first meal to show me pre-Covid that the love for these restaurants is still strong, and that the Chefs behind them were more courageous than maybe I have ever been in a kitchen.
I cannot imagine what it is like to manage as a restaurant operator during this time. With an uneven guidance throughout the pandemic, it has never been a solid path through. And I cannot imagine how you can create with the pressure of everything going on. But what I can do is share the great experiences I have had, in hopes to support the places I love. Casa Azul’s meal was the best thing I ate this year. It taught me that it’s ok to love restaurants throughout this, and that food transcends beyond the most negative parts of this world. I love the city of Buffalo, and wish all of the chefs in this city the best during this time. And I want to thank Chef Zina Lapi for the meal that helped me get back out to doing what I love most: eating.
Matt Cieslik (@BuffaloBodega): It's been a very different year for dining this year but it didn't stop us from supporting local gems as much as we could. One of our favorite meals this year was The Stretch Mark Brisket Sandwich from La Verdad Cafe! (14 hours of smoked beef, served with Mac & Cheese, KaleApple Slaw on a Kaiser Roll). Vivian, the owner of La Verdad, puts so much heart and soul into her cooking it is impossible to not have the best food whenever you stop in.
One of our all time favorite places to stop is Taqueria Ranchos La Delicias. A stop on Taco Tuesday is almost a must with all the different $2 taco options. The absolute best Al Pastor taco around. The slow roasted pork marinated in pineapple, chilies and spices is at the top of our list for go-to meals!
Dylan England (Singer/Guitarist for Del Paxton, Corporate Trainer at Spot Coffee): We went camping a lot in 2020. We usually try and go a couple times a year, and this year it felt like one of the only safe things to do. One of the first times we went my wife made an awesome breakfast casserole that we ate over 2 mornings. Eggs, sausage, potatoes, peppers and onions. Kept it in the cooler and reheated it over the fire. Money.
Later in September we went with a group of friends and had a big pot luck type thing going on. Nothing hits like a Wegmans sub and a cold UC with friends after a long paddle in late summer heat. I also live for the morning ritual of stumbling out of the tent super early before anyone else is up and getting a fire going. This year more than ever, carving out time to see friends and share a meal was a lone bright spot in a year of shit. Go Bills.
Steve Warzala (Play by Play Announcer, @FoodWarz716): 2020 came in like a lion and is going out like a kick in the junk! With the shutdowns, closures and all the devastated businesses, it has been a trying year for WNY. With my time as a Play-By-Play announcer on various sports networks, you’re always on the road. Friends and strangers alike were always asking me “Where I should eat, What should I get?” You should see some of these spreadsheets that I’ve made over the years. That’s the reason we started FoodWarz716. To share the journey of food with everyone, throughout WNY and beyond!
In my opinion the best way to experience the culture is through your stomach. Food is one of those things that brings people together. It creates that sense of family and community even if only for a few hours at a time! These are our votes for our Favorite Meals of 2020.
Favorite Gathering: The Bills vs Raiders tailgate
With hopes that we would soon be in our seats at “Bills Stadium” we blocked off the end of a residential street and had ourselves as “normal” of an event we could. The team from Hartman's Distillery setting up a bar and doing craft cocktails at our “Tailgate”. Chef Bryan Mecozzi from Black Iron Bistro rocking out some insane fresh fish tacos. The Bills weren’t the only ones winning that day! This event wouldn’t have been possible without our friends at @BuffaloFoodOtaku!
Most Unique Eat: Camel Tenderloin, Screaming Eagle Restaurant (Aruba). Tender, lean, juicy, with a hint of gameness to it. Would order it again!
Favorite Cocktail: The Smoke Show at Yolo: The cocktail spirit of choice for the FW716 #FoodSquad is bourbon. With that being said you may be surprised to find us picking a cocktail that’s flavored with juices. Though this one is an amazing drink for entry level bourbon drinkers. The smokiness adds that depth of flavor you wouldn’t expect. You really should try one. They are currently selling them to go!
Hartman's Bourbon | St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur | aromatic bourbon bitters | pineapple juice | orange juice.
Favorite Indoor Dining Experience: Tasting Menu Monday’s at Giancarlo’s. After restaurants were allowed to re-open after the initial shutdown Giancarlo’s did something unique. They were offering a 4-course Tasting Menu with a wine pairing for $65. Yes, you read that correctly. We only missed one Monday while it was offered. We hope this continues when Restaurants are allowed to re-open!
Favorite Meal(s): Steak Club. We ate at restaurants when it was allowed and when we couldn't we did a lot of take out! However, for us, food is about family and togetherness. Since we were banished to our homes, our Steak Nights were what we looked forward to. The food wasn’t bad either. Typically featuring some amazing cuts of beef. Dash’s Prime Dry Aged Delmonico steaks are always a hit. Though the best one's we had were the MS9 Wagyu tenderloin and Strips steaks picked up through a friend. Always expertly prepared by our “Chef de Cuisine” Alphonse DiMino… This guy can cook! When everything goes back to normal we want to host a few more events that we can open up to folks who enjoy sharing the dining experience as much as we do! So Stay Tuned!!
Joseph Leta (Co-founder of Buffalo Food Otaku): About five years ago, I heard my friend Donnie Burtless (you may have heard of him) talk about a dining experience he was invited to in a tiny town in the Hudson Valley. When he vividly described the eccentric Chef Damon Baehrel, and his eponymous restaurant in his basement, I immediately set myself to the task of dining there.
This 31 year old restaurant has become famous for its 10 year waiting list, so much so it was once a question on Jeopardy. Rumor has it they even made Oprah wait for about 2 years. I figured my chances were about nil, but I’m stubborn.
I immediately tried to email the restaurant. I was told that the reservation system was closed, and to check back in a few months. I continued to pester them with emails monthly. After several years I began to receive group teaser emails, telling us to hold in there. I held in there, and my barrage of emails continued.
Then Covid hit. Being that I was a NY resident, not from one of the 35 states that needed to quarantine, I skipped in line about 5 years. The email finally arrived, and I imagine that Charley could not have been any more excited about his golden ticket. We were told that the Chef has a strict “no photography” policy, and that we were to wait outside of the red gate until Mr. Wonka was ready to let us in. So we hopped in a car, wended through tiny roads in the Catskills and patiently waited for this 6 hour dining experience to begin. The gate opened and we stormed the property. Mr. Wonka’s strict facade was quickly thrown away as he warmly greeted us donning a mask, ushering us into his home. It was only us four diners, and the Chef...and it was incredible.
This is where my description of the meal will start and end. The Chef is very private and media averse, and asked me not to write anything about the meal. I can, and will respect that. What I can say is that Chef Baehrel is a true phenomenon. He runs the whole show by himself which is no small task. He has a deep respect for flora and fauna, and will only serve that which he has personally prepared from scratch, or animals sourced from the very best and humane cultivators.
He labors daily planting, felling timber, tapping trees, harvesting, making flours, oils and sugars from the things around him. He works even harder studying nature. By way of example, he explained that a certain type of lichen growing on bark takes on a peppery flavor only during the short period when it expands. This is his pepper. It’s the mixture of his unquenchable curiosity, sublime palate, and ingenious technique that made this meal legendary.
He has a cookbook available online that I would recommend to anyone that wants to see what foraging cuisine looks like when taken to the very extreme. Since we live in the same biome (unlike the much more famous Noma) much of the fauna will be familiar to the WNY native. Master Sushi Chef and nonagenarian Jiro Ono stated that as he continues to age he gets better at cooking every day, fine tuning aspects to an infinitesimal level. Chef Baehrel is of the same mind set, as a lover of wisdom he’s a jovial flora philosopher. Luckily, we had the wherewithal to realize that we were in the presence of one of the most gifted humans on earth.
I can only compare this experience to Beethoven playing a full concert for four lucky listeners in his basement, and then thanking us profusely for being there when he was done. I was forever changed and extremely grateful for this unique experience, and it was clearly the best meal of this crazy ass year.
Donny Kutzbach (Owner of Town Ballroom): I’ll start by saying that I feel really, truly lucky in 2020 to have just been able to eat and see my family stay healthy. It sure wasn’t a fancy year of fine dining extravagance, though. I cook a lot in any year but because I’ve basically been at home all the time, I’ve really been able to lean into it. Like every goofball, I was baking bread daily the first couple of months. How fucking tired my wife and kids got hearing about sourdough and rye starters, I can only imagine. I was also making dishes I’d never have attempted. Sometimes I was even successful!
A lot of my “best” or at least most memorable meals are while traveling and – as with most people – the handful of trips on the books all got cancelled. There would be no tacos by the ocean in Mexico, not my usual bacchanals of BBQ in Austin, no fresh oysters in the Florida Keys and so on. There would still be travel, however.
I try to spend a month or so a year (of cumulative days) living in my old 1973 Airstream trailer. It has everything in it: beds, bathroom, kitchen, internet and TV. It’s been all across the US and Canada. It’s been at every Buffalo Bills home game for the last 5 years, sadly until this season and our greatest in years! Go Bills!!! Those tailgates are also some of the best meals annually, but I digress…
So, by July I readied the trailer taking all the precautions so we could travel, stay completely self-contained and be on the road safely. We set off and headed west. With the kitchen in the Airstream and being in COVID times, I cooked a lot more than normal while on the road but there was still a helluva a lot of take out and as much outdoor restaurant dining as we could do.
I say it a lot, but we can take for granted is how great our food is in Western New York. Being in spots like Utah and Wyoming, really bring that to light. They are breathtakingly beautiful places but the food generally really sucks.
Push comes to shove, the best thing I ate on the three-week sojourn were the burnt ends at LC’s BBQ in Kansas City, MO. BBQ is one of my favorite things so getting this KC delicacy was imperative. I made sure I had burnt ends at a couple other places – including Arthur Bryant’s where Barack Obama famously sidled up for them – and they were all great but LC’s were the best.
When we got home, we quarantined and then one of the first things I had to get as takeout was Southern Junction. It wasn’t that I hadn’t had my BBQ fix on the road, I just really crave Ryan Fernandez’s amazing crossroad of Texas-style smoking with dashes of Indian cuisine and spice. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.