Comments on: In The Buff

By: Kimberly Belle

Kimberly Belle — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 02:56:56 +0000

To Aunt Susie and everyone else who wrote, I just want to clarify that (a) I’m all for fatty, but it has to be fresh non-processed fat, and (b) indeed I must get out and experience more of what Buffalo has to offer. Your comments have urged me to get out there and try something new in B-lo. Yesterday I took the fam (Aunt Susie and her brood included!) to Korea House in Amherst for their first Korean BBQ. We grilled at the table, tried the beef tartar (which was awesome!) and I even got them eating kimchi (fermented spicy cabbage) and octopus. The meal was as good as any I’ve had in NYC…Korean Town is a favorite late night hotspot of mine: http://www.kimberlybelle.com/2009/01/its-after-midnight-dinner-anyone-part-ii.html Eat it Up! XO

By: Laura Lombardo

Laura Lombardo — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 01:53:05 +0000

Oh, Kim my dear do not fret. As a current and long lasting Buffalonian I can reassure you that there
are many great places to eat in Buffalo that will serve you fresh foods! You just need a little
refresher about all the wonderful dining Buffalo has to offer. For starters there is this great
restaurant called Ristorante Lombardo on Hertel Ave. It has a beautiful patio and I can
guarantee the food will be fresh and the service excellent (I know the owner, hee, hee). Also,
don’t forget about a long lasting Buffalo classic, Oliver’s Restaurant on Delaware Ave. I ate
there a few weeks ago, it was fabulous. One more good old Buffalo spot is Hutch’s Restaurant,
I’ve never had a bad meal there. Some newer favorites since you have lived in town are Torches
on Kenmore Ave. and Tempo on Delaware Ave. Those are some of the finer dining experiences Buffalo
has to offer.
If you are looking for something more casual or say a lunch venue try Romeo and Juliet’s or Joe’s
Deli. Both are located on Hertel Ave. and have delicious fresh sandwiches.
Hope my suggestions helped you. I laugh everytime old friends come home to visit because like
you all they want to do is eat at the fast food places and I, never having left Buffalo for more
than 6 months at a time, can’t understand why they want to eat junk. Don’t get me wrong I still
like to enjoy a good slice of pizza or a crispy hotdog every once in awhile but if I lived off that
stuff I would weigh 400 lbs.
Enjoy the rest of your stay and give me a holler if you have time before you leave!

By: Liam's mama

Liam's mama — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 00:07:55 +0000

In the Buff…..and sadly not in Bridgehampton. I have been here all week, reading Julie & Julia, going to the North Fork to visit wineries and pick blueberries with my baby (s), and thinking about nothing but you! (hence the visit to your blog) I am glad you are with your family, but I wish you were here with us! Miss you and again sorry for the missed opportunity to meet Mac. MH

By: Joanne Valkwitch

Joanne Valkwitch — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:12:16 +0000

Adding poison to food to delay is demise sounds like brilliant idea. Who came up with that idea? Anyhow heal us. We are sick and we need a doctor or just a really good Food Maven. Buffalo loves you Kimberly.

By: Kimberly Belle

Kimberly Belle — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:29:28 +0000

Wowsers! I must have hit a nerve, maybe it’s just the promise of a naked Belle, but I’ve never had so many hits in one day. Thanks and love to you all for sharing your thoughts! I promise Roy that I’ll go on a Fresh Foods Buffalo tasting with him when I get back from Chicago, I must tell you all about the winery my Mamma and I visited in Canada yesterday, Hillebrand, which might be the best meal I’ve had round these parts in years! Totally seasonal, local, and indeed fresh. Alas, it’s in Canada! XO

By: Aunt Susie

Aunt Susie — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 17:03:12 +0000

O.K. Kimberly Belle!!! Anytime you want to clean up my dirty diet….I’m in!! The problem is, I don’t really see you enough for us to cook together frequently :( However, I do love to try new things and, God knows, I could use some updating!!! In my defense, it’s hard enough to cook for 200 people (in which 50 of them are teenage boys) but to cook without using processed, fatty foods in this situation is IMPOSSIBLE!!! And, it is better to cook yourself then to order out. I will try harder!! As Mamma says: a burger and a beer does sound GOOD! There are some yummy places to eat in Buffalo that serve good food…you just have to find them!! Love You!! P.S. Wegmans is AMAZING!

By: mama

mama — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 15:13:34 +0000

I can tell you that foods from Buff are needed to survive the hard winter nights; how’s that for an excuse. Having you home and cooking opens my eyes to possible food style changes. But a burger and beer still sounds good.
You must inform you’re fans of the great dinner at Hilldebrand Winery – what a treat . luv u

By: Svetlana

Svetlana — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:22:04 +0000

OK, Wegmann’s is tha bomb… while I’m traveling for work this week and am in Michigan, around chain food restaurants with non-foodie men who want burgers for dinner every night, tonight, I went to Whole Foods to get some to-go dinner. I found a screwtop bottle of Cali red wine, so I don’t have to pay a cork fee at the hotel (doubt work would let me expense a cork fee), a bowl of veggie chili, 100g of olives from WF olive bar, and it all cost $15. BTW, you think you might have a killer appetite and feel like shit at the same time because of the cousin’s IV:XX brownies and peanut butter balls? Yummm. This might be the wine talking, I’m half way into the bottle. So, yeah, I miss going out to my garden in Indiana and getting fresh lettuce for my salads. However, yesterday and today, I had WF whole milk yogurt and Michigan blueberries for lunch (of course, work people thought I was a bit strange for not going out to lunch every day).
Glad I can vent to you about my disappointments with non-foodie colleagues! Oh well, at least I can go to Whole Foods and make a “Euro poor-student” dinner out of olives, wine, and chili :)

By: Roy

Roy — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:04:50 +0000

Kimberly,
Sometimes I feel that the “former Buffalonian” nostalgia and desire to eat the foods that made us so happy as kids dominates choices when traveling “home.” When I lived in North Carolina, every time I returned to Buffalo, I “had to have” beef on weck, Jim’s Steak Out, Mighty Taco, Ted’s hot Dogs, and Wings form a myriad of places. As soon as I moved back though, I realised that Buffalo does indeed have many whole and fresh food options. You have already mentioned Wegmans and the co-op…there are also tons of roadside farmers markets as well as the Bidwell Farmer’s market and the Clinton Bailey Market that operate regularly in season (with Clinton Baily operating year round!) so we can get the freshest and most locally grown produce that is out there. Another passionate local food person, Christa Glennie-Seychew, has started up an organization called Field and Fork Network (you can find them on Facebook) that puts local chefs and restaurant owners in touch with local farm sources for meat and eggs and produce and enables us to eat great fresh non-processed foods at many of our great locally owned restaurants at a fraction of the price that people pay for those things in Toronto, New York, or San Francisco.
As soon as you get back into town, I am going to kidnap you for a multi-restaurant food tour where we will eat all fresh and as local as possible (with the exception of raw oysters which we have to have). Enjoy Canada and see you soon!

By: Hannah

Hannah — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:18:22 +0000

What a great post. It’s such a thinking foodie girl dilemma. Eating too much fake buttercream might not be the best thing for your bod, but denying the culinary (and nostalgic) value of all things not perfectly pure would be a bit harsh and puritanical. And that’s not your style.

Your promises to yourself seem like wise guidelines. And into every life, a few wings and pot brownies should fall :)

And Wegmans is a-mazing!