Cast & Coal Statler run extended, Santino’s closes, how the critic would graze Downtown Bazaar, and more
Until Jack Adly opened Venus on Grand Island Boulevard, 50,000 souls were trapped in the middle of the Niagara River without a critical ingredient in the Western New York diet: Greek diner.
Venus opened at 2164 Grand Island Blvd., in the Tops plaza, the soft opening got hard fast, as souvlaki-deprived families lined up for dinner.
“I’m used to serving a ton of students and some businesses and residential,” said Adly. Grand Island makes three, with Venus outlets at 3500 Main St., in University Plaza, and 714 Maple Road, Amherst, at Maple and North Forest.
“Grand Island was something totally different,” he said. “All families, eating a lot, and all at one time: 4:30-7:30. The whole island eats in three hours. It was insane, but in a good way.”
With a Starbucks set to join Venus in the plaza, it might get busier yet.
But Venus will be ready, its crew buoyed by the reaction its Greek fries and gyro wraps have gotten from the new neighbors. “I have never received this much love and support from any community as much as Grand Island, to be honest,” Adly said.
Check out the menu at come2venus.com.
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday. Phone: 716-453-1411.
REVIEW
Falafel Bar has carved out its own place in Buffalo’s restaurant pantheon by offering my favorite lineup of Levantine classics in Western New York, starting with the falafel, chickpeas transformed into crispy, fluffy, herb-laden orbs of animal-free protein satisfaction. (For paid subscribers.)
OPENINGS & CLOSINGS
Burmese-Thai in Lancaster: Street Asian Food, which opened in the Elmwood Village in 2018, is moving to Lancaster, where the competition for Thai craving customers is less fierce.
At 3547 Walden Ave., Lancaster will get its chance at convenient tea leaf salad and Burmese curries as well as Thai standards like pad thai and green papaya salad. Its owners are hoping to open in February.
Santino’s closes: Santino’s Pizza Shack, a wings, subs, and pizza destination for generations of Elmaites, closed Dec 30, ending a half-century of service.
Santino Terio opened his place at 6629 Clinton St. in 1972. The Abruzzo native operated the business until his death in 2021. His daughter Angela operated the restaurant until announcing plans to close earlier this month.
She explained her decision on Facebook: “For anyone commenting that my dad would be so upset, rest assured him and I talked about this in the hospital. He knew it was closing and very OK with it. He worked so hard and also knew I wanted to return to my career that I love so much, he wanted me happy.”
EATING INTEL
Cast & Coal run extended: Cast & Coal Woodfire Kitchen, Adrian Bylewski’s Middle-Eastern-inflected menu, will be at Milton’s in the Statler Hotel Lobby Bar through January.
Originally slated for a one-week slot, Bylewski was invited to extend his stay because of enthusiastic customer response,
Cast & Coal’s dishes, like the confit duck with celeriac, pomegranate, white beans, and pan jus pictured above ($24) will be available Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights for dinner at 107 Delaware Ave.
Culinary Passport: The Buffalo chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association has a new way to raise money to fund advanced classes for high school culinary students.
Instead of the Taste of Education live cooking competition that’s raised $150,000 since 2004, this year’s fundraiser is a collection of discount coupons to 24 local restaurants.
On sale for $32, it’ll afford bearers $10 off a $50 bill at Glen Park Tavern, $10 off a $40 bill at Parkside Meadows, $10 off dine-in or takeout at Ilio DiPaolo’s, and 21 more.
The passports, valid until Dec. 31, 2024, can be ordered here, to be mailed in early January. Here’s a story that Channel 7 did on the passport and the Pro Start training program it supports.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: My husband and I are planning a day trip to Buffalo with our cousins from Milwaukee, with a stop at the Downtown Bazaar for lunch. There’s so many choices that we could spend an hour making up our minds. We were hoping you could suggest one choice at each place so we could try a little of everything.
– Charlene, via email
A: What a capital idea: the Tour de Downtown Bazaar. If you’re feeding a diverse group of appetites, vegan to carnivore, the answer is at 617 Main St., 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday.
Here’s how I’d lay my bets:
Nile River, South Sudanese: Sukuma wiki. Beef and collard greens braised with spices and tomatoes results in a marvelously savory stew.
Oralia, Mexican: Chilorio bowl. Burritos aren’t the best sharing food, but a bowl will give your group a chance to share chile-simmered pork.
Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine: vegetarian sampler. Six intense vegan vegetable and legume dishes – lentils, chickpeas, green beans, carrots, beets, spinach, and cabbage – on injera sourdough pancake, or rice.
Pattaya Street Food, Burmese: tea leaf salad. The Burmese national dish is a vegan crunch riot of fermented tea leaves, chopped tomato, shredded cabbage, peanuts, crunchy fried peas and garlic oil with a squeeze of lime.
Pinoy Boi, Filipino: pork sisig with lumpia. Diced marinated pork belly stir-fried with red onion and crispy pork rolls is a classic. Also consider the avocado ice cream for dessert.
If your group would like a beer or glass of wine, Lulu’s Pub has your refreshment on tap.
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