Vegan pho at Pham’s Kitchen, Yemeni satisfaction in Lackawanna, and a Spresh discovery
Standing tall in downtown Lockport, the 125-year-old former post office, built in the Beaux-Arts style, has customers lining up again.
Now it’s for a table at Big Ditch Brewing. After two years of work, last month the Buffalo-based brewing concern opened its 250-seat restaurant, boasting a covered patio, in two floors of a thoroughly renovated brick-and-limestone building on the National Register of Historical Places.
Building owner Iskalo Development’s painstaking, historically respectful renovation has given visitors another reason besides that big ditch to flock to Lockport.
Soaring windows flood the main dining room with light, as servers hustle green chile smashburgers, garlic knots with marinara, and Breubens, Reuben sandwiches made with corned beef brined in dark ale. Plus pints of freshly brewed Big Ditch beer, with more than 15 flavors on tap, in a kaleidoscope of styles, from the brewery’s flagship Hayburner American IPA to Blueberry Cobbler, a pastry sour, and Strawberry Vision, a fruit sour.
“We’re really happy with the reception we’ve gotten in Lockport,” said Big Ditch president Matt Kahn. “People are telling us they’re grateful to have another choice for casual dining and great beer in Niagara County.”
Big Ditch Brewing Co. founded by Kahn and Corey Catalano in 2014, opened its original taproom at 55 E. Huron St. After Paul Iskalo joined as principal investor, Iskalo’s purchase and renovation of Lockport’s historic post office made Big Ditch’s second location possible. More than 70 people work at Big Ditch Lockport, mostly Niagara County residents, Khan said.
With two floors of seating, Big Ditch has become a solution for people who realize they need a table for 20 tonight. The lower level includes a shiny new two-barrel brewing system that will produce test batches for Big Ditch product development, with a selection of rare experiments making its way to the upstairs tap menu.
In clement weather, about 50 folks can fit on the location’s covered patio.
Two months after its launch, Big Ditch Lockport’s shakedown cruise is over. It’s full speed ahead, Kahn said. “Come and see us,” he said, “and you might be surprised.”
1 East Ave., Lockport, bigditchbrewing.com, 716-742-0080
Hours: 4 p.m.-10 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday, noon-11 p.m. Saturday. Closed Tuesday, Sunday.
REVIEW: Anyone who has enjoyed Burmese cooking since its addition to Buffalo’s collective menu in 2012 should put Millions Tin on their dining calendar. In Black Rock, at the corner of Grant and Amherst streets, park in the Polish Cadets parking lot and cross grant street to meet Kyu Kyu Mar, a Burmese chef who is serving the best owno koksware (coconut curry noodle chicken soup) and lapeth thoat (tea leaf salad) of this critic’s life. (For patrons, on Tuesday.)
HELLO SPRESH: Last week, when I needed besan, chickpea flour, to fry up some pakoras and paneer pakode cheese fritters, I discovered that Super Bazaar, my longtime spice-and-samosa stop at Bailey and Sheridan was no more.
So I went across the street. All hail Spresh, a thoroughly modern Indian-Pakistani-Bangladeshi-etc. grocery with online ordering and a takeout counter called Masala Memories, where you can pick up freshly made dosas, and much more.
Spresh sports a much larger selection of fresh, frozen, and shelf-stable ingredients than Super Bazaar, which was about half the size.
3355 Sheridan Drive, Amherst, spresh.com, 716-836-0200
Hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m. daily.
VEGAN PHO ALERT: Since the Vietnamese noodle soup called pho is traditionally based on beef or chicken stock, the rare vegetarian versions on Buffalo restaurant menus tend towards pale mildness.
Not at Pham’s Kitchen. The Cheektowaga Vietnamese standout is already the only place baking its banh mi sandwich bread fresh every morning. Banh mis are available in tofu as well.
With Vincent Pham’s pho broth, made from all sorts of fruits and vegetables as the base of its veggie pho ($16), vegans have another restaurant that takes them seriously.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: Any food advice for ethnic food in Lackawanna? I know there’s a lot of places but I don’t really know what stands out.
- Andrew Dk185, from TikTok
A: My first suggestion is Crave King, a humble but delicious Yemeni restaurant at 2693 South Park Ave. Bread made just for you is only the beginning of its charms.
Always order bread, and help yourself to a cup of red tea (black tea, cardamom, sugar) from the coffee urn by the door, a Yemeni tradition.
Meat eaters can opt for hummus topped with sauteed meat, lamb or chicken gallaba, sauteed with vegetables, or kibdah, sauteed lamb liver.
There’s plenty for vegetable fanciers, too, from hummus and fasolia, fava beans sauteed with garlic, or fahsah, vegetable stew that emerges from the kitchen bubbling in a battered black cauldron.
More reading from Michael Chelus:
- Mr. Galarneau ventured to Geneva to tell us about a great dining experience at FLX Table [Four Bites]
- Andrew also told us of the new offerings at the Broadway Market during its busiest season [Four Bites]
- Francesca wrote about the potentially devastating effects these new tariffs will have on local businesses [Buffalo News]
- Francesca also wrote about the Neapolitan pizza you can find at the newly opened Artusi in Amhest [Buffalo News]
- Newell told us about the wonderful start to business had by Roseland’s Atlas [Buffalo Rising]
- Christa wrote about the Escovitch Sea Bass at Bratt’s Hill [Buffalo Spree]
- Brian put together a list of local places where you can celebrate Dyngus Day including Sto Lat Bar & Restaurant, Buffalo Brewing Company and more [Buffalo News]
- Brett wrote about the tropical-horror vibes found at Monster Beach Brewery & Tiki Bar in Fredonia [Step Out Buffalo]
- Francesca told us that the best lunch in the city is made by 17-year-old cooks at Emerson Commons [Buffalo News]
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