Tiny catastrophes can put a restaurant off its stride: a new menu, new management, a late delivery or a shortage in the kitchen, the sudden and unexpected departure of the chef. Any of these could throw a wrench into the works of even the most seasoned of places. But when all of this happens at […]
James Leach
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Meat heaven
Everything is bigger in Texas — even the take-out boxes. At lunchtime recently I dropped in at Texas Blues BBQ on Monroe Avenue for a quick bite to eat. I had my eye on a burger, but the ribs got my attention, too. Thinking that a quarter rack would be a nice and not overwhelmingly […]
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DISH ’12: Coffee guide
At his roastery located inside Java’s at the Market, Joe Palozzi, who has been roasting coffee beans in the Rochester area under one name or another for more than 30 years, pulls a tiny scoop from the latest incarnation of his century-old coffee roaster and looks closely at the smoking beans heaped in it. He […]
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Thai with training wheels
The first time I set foot in Mao Seng and VilaySysavath’s Viet Thai Restaurant in Irondequoit a couple of weeks ago, I had a strange feeling of déjà vu. It wasn’t because the place is similar to the couple’s popular pho and noodle restaurant SEA on Monroe Avenue — it’s not. There was something about […]
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Fill up your tank
Chile rellenos, golden brown outside, bursting with beans, shredded pork, and queso fresco, and slathered in salsa roja. Consomme-clear chicken broth garnished with bits of fried tortillas, avocado, and a dusting of queso fresco. Frijoles — refried beans — a deceptively mundane-looking study in brown, stoked with garlic and just enough chipotle pepper to make […]
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DINING FEATURE: Changing the way we eat
The plate full of lamb tagine and cauliflower risotto I’m having for lunch cost me roughly $10. The loaf of raisin-fennel bread sitting on my counter at home set me back about half that. My son is addicted to $4 orders of braised pork-belly buns. All of that adds up a bit over time, but […]
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DISH ’11: Local beer guide
A quiet revolution is happening in Rochester. Last September at Foodlink’s Savor Rochester: A Festival of Food fundraiser, every table had a bottle of beer on it — and they all bore the label of the Honeoye Falls craft brewery Custom BrewCrafters. Custom brews a lot of beer, producing specialized varieties for bars and restaurants […]
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Pork barrel
One recent morning I was on South Clinton Avenue heading toward downtown when I noticed a sign tacked up on the side of a nondescript building just past Goodman Street: “Georgie’s Bakery makes the best Cuban Sandwich in Rochester.” Liz Ruiz, who has owned Georgie’s along with her husband, George, since 2005, was against putting […]
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Joys for tots
If you are a teetotaler, or you haven’t yet abandoned your New Year’s resolution to eat a better, more rounded diet, you should probably stop reading right now. Nothing that follows this sentence will do anything but upset you or potentially shatter your resolve. For those of you who are still with me, I want […]
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The joy of Mex
Mex 295 Alexander St. 262-3060, mexrestaurant.com Dinner Tue-Thu 5-10 p.m., Fri-Sat 5-11 p.m.; bar until 2 a.m. Paul Brewer is a chef on the move. He has been since he started his career as a cook at a Cracker Barrel restaurant when he was 14 years old. In the intervening 21 years, he has worked […]
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Wise decisions
The Owl House 75 Marshall St. 360-2920, owlhouserochester.com Tue-Sun 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (lunch) & 5-10:30 p.m. (dinner) When is a vegetarian restaurant not a vegetarian restaurant? The fact that it serves meat would be a pretty good clue. It would seem, then, that The Owl House, which occupies the space on Marshall Street that was […]
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Let them eat snow
On the Sunday before Christmas, the stalls at the Long Season Market in Brighton are heaped with fresh produce and the aisles are crowded with self-described locavores who are eager to take it home with them. There are beets that are still icy cold and wet to the touch, alongside parsnips, turnips, a few radishes, […]
