Nickel Plate coming to Niagara Frontier Food Terminal, Mike A’s Chopped win, and more
For more than a century, the Clinton-Bailey area has fed Western New York through a concentration of warehouses and wholesalers. Supplied by train and truck, food companies sort and re-route much of the fruit, vegetables, meat, and other groceries that feed supermarkets across the region.
Clinton-Bailey’s strong suit has never been feeding hungry individuals. That could change soon, with Nickel Plate, a 5,000-square-foot food hall coming to the Niagara Frontier Food Terminal.
Tyrel (Ty) Reynolds and Nick Smith, former Mazurek’s Bakery owners, are making a big bet on Buffalo’s interest in eating local. Restaurant, bar, locally-produced food showcase, artisan market – there’s room for lots of ideas, and lots of work to finish before Nickel Plate opens, hopefully in January.
“We’ll have Babcia’s Pierogi and Go Veggies burgers on the menu, and sell them in our freezer section,” Reynolds said. “Avenue29 sauces will be in the market, as well as used on a couple of burgers, another option is from Moneybags Dumplings. It’s a great way for people to sample the product before buying it to take home.”
The burger lineup includes a doughnut bacon cheeseburger burger, wraps, wings, chicken fingers, housemade tater tots and salads.
Breakfast, with housemade bread, should be introduced a month after opening, means biscuits and gravy, omelets, doughnut waffles,apple fritter french toast, and breakfast tots.
The bar will offer eight or more New York craft taps, New York wine, with bottles to go.
Reynolds said Nickel Plate seeks staff, and welcomes applications at its website, tnpbuffalo.com.
REVIEW: The deft seasonal cooking available all day is my second-favorite thing about Grange Community Kitchen in Hamburg. My first reason to tell you about Brad Rowell and Caryn Dujanovich’s operation is its potential for proving that healthy restaurants can help its workers thrive too. (For subscribers, coming later today.)
NEXT WEEK: At Downtown Bazaar, 617 Main St., Lloyd Ligao has brought the glories of Filipino cuisine to Buffalo at last in Pinoy Boi. From the essential lumpia fried pork rolls to impossibly luxurious beef kare-kare and the kaleidoscopic dessert called halo-halo, Ligao’s work is of such depth and nuance that eaters of any stripe should hie themselves to the Theater District for a taste. (For subscribers, Dec. 17)
MIKE A WINS: The most famous chef to ever hail from Lancaster, N.Y. added another Food Network win to his television resume.
Mike Andrzejewsi triumphed in a three-course bout on Chopped: Julia Child’s Kitchen to decide who would go to the finals. Make a crepes Suzette inspired dish that incorporates dried ramen noodles, the giant citrus fruit called pumelo, and beets? No problem.
“I’ve been getting overwhelmed with messages of support from the Buffalo area,” he said. “It really means so much.”
Tune in at 8 p.m. Dec 12 to see how Andrzejewski fares. If he wins, he gets to spend a week in Julia Child’s former home in France, leaving only to eat in local restaurants. Then he’ll spend a week at the Cordon Bleu cooking academy in Paris, brushing up on his bouillabaisse.
If you like reading this, you can get it every week for free, forever, by punching in your email address.
EVENTS: Mary Ann Giordano keeps her Italian specialties front and center with a Feast of the Seven Fishes dinner on Christmas Eve.
At Gigi’s Cucina Povera, 981 Kenmore Ave., Giordano has cued up a traditional La Vigilia Italian-American seafood food feast she’ll offer 4 p.m.-8 p.m. Dec. 24.
Even if you’re not fortunate enough to grow up in an Italian household, the sevenfold seafood feast is a chance to plunge into an ocean of canny preparations honed over generations. It’s $74 person plus tax and tip, which is a steal. I mean, really, read this menu:
Smoked mackerel dip, caponata, bread
Baccalà alla Messina: salt cod with tomato, potato, olives, and mint
Caesar salad with fried calamari
Steamed mussels alla finocchi, meaning fennel, garlic, cream, housemade fennel liquor
Portuguese octopus escabeche: grilled-and-chilled octopus in orange-vinegar marinade with smoked paprika, onions, peppers
Spaghetti alla bottarga: garlic, crushed red pepper, parsley, bread crumbs, olive oil, and bottarga, cured fish roe
Grilled swordfish: lemon and rosemary marinated, with couscous, red pepper, fennel, capers
Dessert: sfinge, pitzelle, cuccidati, biscotti, fresh grapes, and oranges
Make reservations by calling 716-877-8788, or at gigiscucinapovera.com.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: I’m looking for a bakery that makes their own flour. Do we have any?
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Jean C., Clarence, via email
A: Yes. Five Points Bakery, 44 Brayton St., has been grinding its own flour for its lineup of whole-grain bread, including the spectacular sharp cheddar loaf and cinnamon rolls, since it opened a decade ago across the intersection, in the space where Butter Block is today.
In Tonawanda, Miller’s Thumb Bakery, 258 Highland Parkway, has a line every morning for its bread, including master baker Stephen Horton’s uncanny homage to Wonder Bread, Wonder Loaf. For $6, you can remember the days, bite by bite, and like all the other loaves, it’s made from flour ground onsite. In fact, Miller’s Thumb’s foyer has a window thoughtfully aligned so you can watch flour made while you wait. Next to it, bags of Miller’s Thumb flour are part of a gift-shop-lite display.
Emily Savage’s Savage Wheat Project’s lineup of breads and sweets, made without white sugar or refined oils, also use some of the flour she has ground from purpose-grown ancient grains. Savage Wheat products area available at several locations across Western New York.
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