Cover Story
DISH 2016
We give a snapshot of the Rochester’s culinary community as it exists today.
Dinolfo tries I-Square damage control
Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinfolo isn’t changing her story on I-Square, but she’s released some e-mails and memos to back it up. An emotional, contrite Dinolfo held a press conference this morning to explain, as she put it, what she knew, when she knew it, and how she knew it in this scandal that has…
WEEK AHEAD: Events for the week of May 23
The New York Civil Liberties Union and the League of Women Voters will hold a voter education town hall meeting from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, May 24. This meeting is for anyone who is confused about the voting process or wants to know more about the elections and is tired of the…
![[UPDATED] Mazzullo out as COMIDA chair](https://i0.wp.com/www.roccitymag.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/news1-1-7b056d4d6f04d069-e1755019426544.webp?resize=640%2C424&ssl=1)
[UPDATED] Mazzullo out as COMIDA chair
UPDATE (May 23, 9:00 a.m.): COMIDA board members Clint Campbell and Eugene Caccamise have also resigned, according to media reports. ORIGINAL STORY: The I-Square body count continues to rise. Today, Theresa Mazzullo resigned as chair of the Monroe County Industrial Development Agency board. In a resignation letter released to local media, Mazzullo said that the…
Film review: “The Meddler”
In a performance that easily ranks among her best, Susan Sarandon portrays Marnie, a widowed mother, and the titular busybody of Lorene Scafaria’s “The Meddler.” Roughly a year after her husband’s death, Marnie relocates from New Jersey to Los Angeles in order to be closer to her grown daughter, Lori (Rose Byrne). Depressed after a…
Film review: “Elstree 1976”
Director Jon Spira deserves credit for finding a fresh angle on a well-worn topic. Focusing on the making of the original “Star Wars,” Spira’s wistful documentary “Elstree 1976” (the title refers to the studio just outside of London where the film was shot) uses interviews with 10 supporting actors, bit players, and extras as they…
Changing the order
All That Remains front man Phil Labonte explains incorporating influences, and how to deal with an ever-changing world.
RTA says it doesn’t support new Code of Conduct policy
The Rochester school board is currently reviewing a proposal for a new Code of Conduct that would require a major shift in how teachers and students interact in city schools. The proposed policy is much less punitive that the current one. But after more than a year of planning and public meetings involving a…
Feedback 5/18
We welcome your comments. Send them to themail@rochester-citynews.com, or post them on our website, rochestercitynewspaper.com, our Facebook page, or our Twitter feed, @roccitynews. Comments of fewer than 350 words have a greater chance of being published, and we do edit selections for publication in print. We don’t publish comments sent to other media. Casino skepticism…
Urban Action 5/18
This week’s calls to action include the following events and activities. All are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted. Activists prefer march for peace Anti-war activists will hold a Memorial Day Peace Parade on Monday, May 30. The theme of this year’s parade is “Mourn all Victims of US Militarism, Home and…
Downtown development misses prime parcel
The University of Rochester has had nearly five years to develop a prime piece of downtown real estate known as Block F on East Main Street, diagonally across from the Eastman School of Music. But Rochester’s big-gun developers, the ones most likely to take on such a project, are tied up with other ventures, according…
‘Sleeping Giants’ fill Makers Gallery
Andrea Durfee’s last six months of work, “Sleeping Giants,” currently fills Makers Gallery & Studio. Dozens of watercolor and ink drawings portray the female figure in diverse landscapes, visually representing “the dynamic between control and chaos in our lives, and how we reconcile opposing emotions and inclinations,” Durfee says. Some of the reclining figures dominate…
Scouring sacred texts for climate guidance
The scientific approach to nature and the environment is a clear one, rooted in measurement, observation, and data. Religion’s connection to the natural world is more fluid; just how the environment fits into a faith depends on teachings and interpretations, both formal and personal. Science is the factual authority on the environment. But increasingly, religious…
ART | “Ladies First”
Keith A. Smith is a renowned book artist, printmaker, and photographer, and since the mid-1960’s has created nearly 300 works, including volumes on book theory and bookmaking technique. (I’ve now written “book” so many times that the word sounds funny.) A selection of Smith’s work, including imagery from his large fold book, “Ladies First,” is…
Brockport’s fate is in voters’ hands
The Village of Brockport has had some spectacular fights over the years. When the state wanted to close the Normal School in the 1930’s, Brockport residents fought and convinced higher-ups to keep it open; what was once a teachers’ school is now SUNY Brockport. The community also waged a high-profile, protracted campaign to get polluted…
COMEDY | “Fantastical Fairy Fails”
After a three-month hiatus, Geva Comedy Improv returns this weekend with the last show of its 2015-16 season, “Fantastical Fairy Tales.” Featuring D-list fairy tale characters who live in Unemployment Land and never had children’s stories written about them — along with plenty of audience interaction along the way — Geva’s nine person, in-house comedy…
Revamped sports bar opens in Corn Hill
If you walk into The Exchange at Corn Hill (251 Exchange Boulevard) thinking it will just be a take on Nathaniel’s Pub, the former occupant, only with new ownership, you would be mistaken. The space has undergone extensive renovations; managing partner Jeff Limuti is confident “you wouldn’t even recognize it.” Limuti — who also owns…
SPECIAL EVENT | ROC the MAP Adventure
On Saturday, May 21, the Rochester Orienteering Club will host ROC The Map Adventure, an event that will take teams and individual hikers, cyclists, and runners across the city. The meeting point is at the South Avenue Recreation Center (999 South Avenue). Participants will receive detailed maps of a portion of Rochester, including the South…
THEATER | “Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage”
A bitter rodeo cowgirl, a “shocking” woman named Shedevil, and a one-eyed Ukrainian biker named Black Dog go head-to-head (to head) in the play “Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage.” The satirical, Tarantino-esque genre mashup will be performed as a staged reading this weekend at Blackfriars Theatre (795 East Main Street). Part of the Hourglass…
The essentials
Ten restaurants that define Rochester’s dining scene Rochester’s culinary community has developed into a dynamic scene over the last 10 years. It may be impossible to fully define, but City Newspaper’s dining staff has set out to describe the area’s food landscape through its first list of 10 essential Rochester restaurants. This isn’t a traditional…
KIDS/THEATER | “¡Bocón!”
This weekend, School of the Arts will host the last theatrical production of its 2015-16 academic year, “¡Bocón!” Spanish for “big mouth,” “¡Bocón! is the story of Miguel, a talented young storyteller who escapes a military regime in Central America after he loses both parents and his voice. As he journeys to the City of…
ALT-ROCK | Courtney Yasmineh
In a flash of DIY and musical moxy, Chicago-born musician Courtney Yasmineh is truly an alternative to the alternative with her quirky take on what would be pop if it came out of anyone else. There’s antagonism and mirth-o-plenty in her tunes. Hell, I even hear some new wave in there, too. The Sun Parade will…
A toothless monster
Jodie Foster returns to the director’s chair for the first time since 2011 (when she directed the oddball dramedy, “The Beaver”) with “Money Monster,” a hostage thriller that rages against the greed and corruption of corporate America. Contrasting the modern-day subject matter with a retro vibe, the film positions itself as a throwback to the…
METAL | All That Remains
All That Remains has always been a band that plays by its own rules. The group has been going strong since 1998, and has no problem putting out records that combine the heaviness and guitar theatrics of traditional metal with the melody and catchiness of the best acoustic ballads. The approach has landed the band…
CLASSICAL | “American Innovations”
For the last stop in its seasonal tour of classical-music-by-countries, the Society for Chamber Music in Rochester is coming back home for a program of “American Innovations.” Eric Ewazen, an Eastman graduate who has been seen around town quite a bit lately for performances at Eastman and with the RPO, is represented on the program…
Pat Bianchi has gone from the basement to gigs with jazz legends
Pat Bianchi’s fate was sealed on Christmas Eve 1983, when his parents took the 7-year-old to celebrate the holiday with his grandparents. “I went into the basement and there was a Farfisa organ on a dolly with a big bow on it,” Bianchi says. “I couldn’t believe it. Then, Christmas Day, I went to my…
AVANT-GARDE JAZZ | resAUnanace
It starts with a formidable trio: John Bacon, vibraphone and percussion; Jonathan Golove, electric cello; and Michael McNeill, piano. Add the eerie, wordless vocals of Esin Gündüz, and get ready for some of the most ethereal music you’ll ever hear. Gündüz was born in Istanbul, Turkey, and the group performs a few Turkish folk songs,…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Perfectly out of Place”
Will Vinson “Perfectly out of Place” 5Passion willvinson.com Saxophonist Will Vinson, a London native, has been a force on the New York City scene since 1999, playing with jazz artists like Kurt Rosenwinkel and Chris Potter, and pop singers like Rufus Wainwright and Sufjan Stevens. Over the years, he’s recorded five albums showcasing his excellent…
COUNTRY | Kenny Rogers
My first brush with Kenny Rogers came when I was young. My dad owned the most eclectic albums imaginable, including “The First Edition,” the eponymous debut record from Rogers and his band. That album featured “Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In).” Later on, when “The Gambler” was released, the man with the…
ALBUM REVIEW: “Montage”
Luis Perdomo “Montage” Hot Tone Music Luisperdomojazz.com Whenever I’ve listened to an album with Luis Perdomo at the piano, it doesn’t matter if it’s a Ravi Coltrane album, a Miguel Zenón album, or an E.J. Strickland album, it’s also a Luis Perdomo album. He’s that striking a musical presence. Over the last dozen years, Perdomo…
ROCK | Young Fox
It’s gotta be fairly difficult to keep the requisite guitar drive prevalent in the mix without overshadowing the vocals and its story. Pittsburgh’s Young Fox manages it magnificently. Vocally this band is on an even keel with a melodic sensibility, all while the guitars drive at it from every side. It’s heavy and atmospheric and not…
Art Rogers’ neighborhood
Meet the James Beard Award-nominee who started a local farm-to-table trend Art Rogers is running late. It’s a Wednesday at noon, and the young man who answered the door at Lento, Rogers’ Village Gate restaurant, doesn’t know where the owner is, but says “he’ll be back; won’t you have a seat?” The restaurant is eerily…
The sweet life
City went in search for the simple delights of dessert drinks We’re living in a time of great innovation on the craft cocktail front, but this article is not about that. I’m here to talk about the simpler joys of dessert drinks; the sweet stuff, the candy drinks. Some call them “girl drinks” — although…
Tepid response so far to police reorg
Included in Mayor Lovely Warren’s new budget is troubling news about the Rochester police reorganization, which went into effect last year. Warren led the reorg, which is more of a realignment since it doesn’t include new police buildings. The city is currently studying the how, where, and when of neighborhood precincts. The city sought public…
Musicians and jazz lovers mourn the death of Paul Smoker
The great avant-garde trumpet player Paul Smoker died this week. Over the last two decades, Smoker brought his world-class trumpet prowess and progressive musical vision to the local jazz scene. He could play standards magnificently, but whenever he had the opportunity to expand musical boundaries, he did. Locally, Smoker played mostly at the Bop Shop…
Young professionals are finding plenty to like here
It’s a relief to find hope and possibility, not in the presidential race, not in politics at all, actually, but here at home, in the substantial number of young professionals who are ready to change the community and seem determined to do it.
Theater review: “Heathers” at Blackfriars
“Heathers” is a dark, divinely good time — truly an exclamation point on the end of Hoskins’ first season with Blackfriars.
