Constant cravings 

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No matter how diverse your palate, it’s natural to have one or two mainstay meals that are your go-to when you don’t feel like cooking. In some special cases, it’s a sacred-to-you dish that you would eat multiple times a week given the chance and budget. But local chefs are constantly flexing their creativity, and our favorites can suddenly get bumped to second place.

From cutlets to oxtail, risotto and bagels, here are the new dishes that have won our hearts and eclipsed former favorites. We won’t say which specific dishes were displaced by the new, because they’re definitely still in the dining rotation. They’ve done no wrong. Read on, and get ready to race to the following restaurants.

The meatball cutlet sandwich at Wildflour
620 N. Winton Rd. | instagram.com/wildflour.rochester

There’s nothing I constantly crave more than the crunch of a well-made cutlet, drizzled with lemon and accompanied by lightly dressed greens. Meet my new favorite: the meatball cutlet at Wildflour. It’s the brainchild of co-owner and chef Dan Martello, executed by sous chef Nick English.

The cutlet itself is ground beef, caramelized onions, roasted garlic, parmesan cheese, and breadcrumbs formed into a giant meatball, portioned and pressed by hand into the thin cutlet shapes, dipped in egg wash and breadcrumbs, and pan fried in oil. The sandwich is built on Wildflour’s signature focaccia — made with Trumansburg company Farmer Ground’s spelt flour and buratto flour, which they import from Italy. It’s toasted and slathered with lemon mayo (which has a pumped-up flavor due to fresh garlic and calabrian chili), a spoonful of chewy and slightly sweet pancetta agro dolce, greens, and more parm. Add the cutlet, close, and cut in half. Mangia!

It has everything that I love about a cutlet — it’s tender with a satisfyingly crispy outer layer, has the freshness of greens, and a tart, tangy sauce that brightens up the oil and salty cheese. This one has the bonus of pleasantly hearty, herbed bread. It’s big enough to share with someone and still feel full, but let’s be honest: you’re totally going to order a couple of the irresistible arancini, too. —REBECCA RAFFERTY

Oxtail ragu at Leonore’s
703 Park Ave. | instagram.com/iloveleonores

The winter months in Rochester have a few guarantees: gray skies, bitter temps, and a version of pasta with meat sauce on the majority of menus. Although a self-proclaimed “gluten-flexible” individual, I’m a sucker for a good plate of rigatoni, gnocchi, etc. smothered in meat sauce. The more you bounce around the city, the more you will find every chef's version of this classic on their menu.

In my opinion, Chef Ana’s version at Leonore’s tops them all. Inspired by the traditional Korean dish, Galbi-jjim (gal·bee jim​) which uses beef shortribs, this spin on the classic utilizes oxtail braised in gochujang and Glug Glug (the Swan house red). The ragu features fork tender pieces of oxtail with a balanced combination of spice, sweetness, and umami. The dish is simple in construction: tteokbokki (think cloud-like rice gnocchi) and oxtail ragu tossed in the wok and topped with a generous layer of aged cheddar, toasted sesame seeds, and scallions.

It’s become a non-negotiable when I eat at Leonore’s and will always be a first round pick when friends ask the inevitable, “what should we get” question.

Pro tip: order a side of coconut sticky rice - if you're lucky you will have extra ragu to throw on top. —JOE MORRELL

Almond croissant at Flour City Bread
45 Rochester Public Market | flourcitybread.com

I’m not a sweets person. But I like to give myself a little treat now and again, so the first thing I look for in a new city is the best bakery. I want a place that turns out the classics, like miche and croissants, with the consistency of a Parisian boulangerie.

In Rochester, I found that at Flour City Bread. Baking is an art and a science, but mostly, it’s hard work. Owner and head baker Keith Meyers summed it up back in 2015 during an interview with my WXXI colleague, Veronica Volk, when he said, “I just want to get up in the middle of the night and make bread."

And croissants.

I love their miche, but it’s the almond croissant that really occupies my mind. I think about it constantly. It’s crispy, it’s flaky, it’s tender, and it’s always ready to go when the doors open after Meyers’s long night before the ovens. I always buy a box of them for out-of-town visitors, and I’ve hooked my wife and daughter, too.

You know how much we love this almond croissant? I started a weekly bike ride - spring to fall - that loops from the Public Market to Lake Ontario. We ride at 6 a.m. for a 7 a.m. return, about 18 MPH average. Why? Because that’s when Flour City Bread opens, and my five-year-old expects me to wake her up with fresh croissants. —DAVID STREEVER

Chopped cheeseburger sandwich at Highland Market Bakery & Deli
830 South Avenue | highlandmarketroc.com

If I let my mind wander a little bit too far, it inevitably finds its way back to sandwiches. I've said in the past that The Sandwich, conceptually, is a perfect food; its utility is unmatched, and its potential for variety is more or less boundless. Major American cities live and die by their beloved sando offerings — Philadelphia has its rivalry-fueled cheesesteak (real heads will tell you that the actual rivalry is between Joe's Steaks and Ishkabibbles, not Pat's and Geno's); New Orleans has its sometimes-polarizing muffuletta; Los Angeles has the French Dip; and NYC? It depends on who you ask. Is a Sabrett or a Nathan's a sandwich? We are not getting into that argument today.

I will argue, though, that the dependable chopped cheese is the sandwich of New York City. Not a bacon egg and cheese on a bagel; that is a different thing. Every time I find myself visiting friends or seeing a show in NYC, I am finding the closest bodega to where I'm sleeping that night and I am getting the biggest CC they have on the menu every time. It's not a crazy sandwich, either — the flavor profile is a lot like a cheeseburger, because that's basically what it is. And I'm always craving one.

The cravings don't stop just because I'm in the South Wedge and not Ridgewood most of the time. However, I am lucky to live dangerously close to the Highland Market Bakery & Deli, and while I will religiously order breakfast sandwiches on Sundays and shuffle over there in my Crocs no matter the weather, I will also occasionally get dinner there, and it's always their "Chopped Cheeseburger" hot sub that I set my watch to. It's the sandwich that eclipses all other hot sandwiches for me. It's a long cheeseburger, it's made fresh when you order it, and you couldn't get it from a nicer group of folks. Go say hi, grab a Fiz and a chopped cheese, and have the time of your life like I do every once in a while. —JACOB WALSH

Lobster risotto at REDD
24 Winthrop St. | reddrochester.com

I have this pact with myself when I’m choosing what to order at a restaurant: it can’t be something I could easily make at home. Salads? Usually not for me in a fine dining setting, unless they’re really incredible (shout out to the caesar at Rocco and the circa August 2023 kale salad at Good Luck). A carbonara (I KNOW, I need to master this one), a beautiful lamb chop, a perfectly seared duck — to me, these are always worth ordering.

Which makes it surprising and a little hypocritical that my go-to dish is … risotto. Because yes, I can make that at home. But unless I have a really good podcast or long distance phone call queued up, I don’t want to stand at the stove stirring. Also, not a chance I’m buying lobster just to cook it and throw it in risotto.

I don’t remember the first time I had the lobster risotto at Redd, but I think I’m going on several years in this devoted love affair. The chefs know it; they often try to send me other food to distract, but I will not be stopped. It’s just the right amount of decadence from the creamy arborio, truffle oil and buttery Maine lobster — cut with a (chef’s) kiss of lemon confit acidity. Elevated comfort food at its finest. If it ever leaves the menu, I’ll probably cut my hair and try to rebound with some vodka sauce dish. —LEAH STACY