Sunday News: Deep-fried nuggets power Flat 12 Mushrooms expansion

Art of Beer aids NACC, Super Bazaar yet persists, Moriarty for classy lunch

Flat 12 has orders for tons of lion’s mane mushroom nuggets.

The fertile soil of Robbie Giannada’s mind has brought Flat 12 Mushrooms from a backyard experiment to a company whose gross receipts neared a half million dollars last year.

Now Flat 12 is taking its Black Rock fungi factory bigtime, leasing space on Northland Avenue to grow more lion’s mane mushrooms, the heart of its breakthrough product: mushroom nuggets.

“We made it this shape to bridge a knowledge gap,” Gianadda said. “People don’t expect mushrooms to be this tasty. It’s not fake chicken, it’s real food.”

Not chopped or ground, just bite-sized mushrooms, dipped in coatings like seasoned crushed cornflakes and deep-fried. Reheated to a crisp and served with dip, Flat 12’s lion’s mane mushroom nuggets caught the attention of Buffalo Public School officials and other institutional food buyers at last year’s NY Farm to School Summit, Gianadda said.

Once Buffalo Public Schools ordered six tons of mushroom nuggets, the expansion was official. It’s 15,000 square feet of dedicated lion’s mane grow rooms and production space. If Flat 12 is successful enough, more room is available next door.

Lion’s mane mushrooms growing from bags of substrate at Flat 12’s 37 Chandler St. headquarters.

Jake Whitefield, who joined Flat 12 from Billy Club, has developed spinoffs with Gianadda, from lion’s mane coffee to canine tinctures. (On June 10, Patina 250 will host Whitefield for “Mush Love,” a five-course dinner featuring Flat 12 produce, paired with fungi-infused cocktails.)

Oyster mushrooms were Flat 12’s focus. Shredded, fermented, and cured, pack an anchovy-like whack of umami. Mushroom Bolognese and faux scallops punched out of oyster mushrooms didn’t sell that well.

But Flat 12 has found its greatest success with the foamy white lion’s mane. “Every single day, we were frying nuggets in our two-basket fryer here, 40 pounds a day, flash-frozen and shipped out. Following the conference, Flat 12 sold 3,500 pounds over the course of three months.

With Buffalo Public Schools as a client, Flat 12 is thinking even bigger. “As we move forward and we get better with our ingredient list,” Gianadda said, “we can get high enough protein and whole grain levels to be a whole grain and meat substitute.”

REVIEW: K Dara Noodle Bar completes the mission that its predecessor Kaydara Noodle Bar started: Delivering gutsy soups, pastas, and salads with Southeast Asian roots that are best-in-Buffalo eating. Driven by Vathanathavone Inthalasy’s rakish cooking, with ecstatic broths, enticing textures, and a menu of finely honed favorites that make you want to let loose and suck the marrow out of life. (On Tuesday, for patrons.)

EVENT: Raise your glass May 2 to support Niagara Falls art space Niagara Arts & Community Center at Art of Beer, its main annual fundraiser.

Tickets, $40 advance, $45 at the door, bring tastings of beer, wine, and cider, plus food and live music, and a commemorative glass. It’s 6 p.m.-9 p.m. May 2, 1201 Pine Ave., Niagara Falls.

Super Bazaar sighting: After mentioning that I’d lost track of Amherst Pakistani-Indian grocery Super Bazaar, alert reader Ryan Fernandez sorted me out. The grocery yet persists, a block east in the mall strip between Wal-Mart and Sheridan Drive, across the street from Spresh, featured last week.

Super Bazaar, 3308 Sheridan Drive, has your spices, rices, and Alphonso mango puree at $4.99 per can. The samosas are lovely as ever.

Spanish potato salad, egg salad on toast, radishes with butter and salt, Cafe Bar Moriarty tapas.

ASK THE CRITIC:

Q: I have family coming in from Wichita and my wife asked if we could find someplace classy in North Buffalo.

Mark P., Buffalo

A: Cafe Bar Moriarty gets my vote for the classiest lunch in North Buffalo.

From 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesday, then 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, people in the know negotiate its cozy little parking lot or find spots nearby and hoof it to the restaurant next to Tom and Caitlin Moriarty’s French-style butcher shop.

Pork, provolone, broccoli rabe, on French bread, $15 at Cafe Bar Moriarty.

Before they line up for picanha and other rare beef cuts, meat pies, sausages, and bacon, they line up at the cafe register to place their orders, delivered to the seats they find at the bar or tables.

Two-bite tapas ($2.50), pinxtos du jour like pastas and soups, and meat sandwiches make up the heart of the menu. A beer and wine bar, and broad selection of snazzy non-alcoholic beverages round out its offerings.