Passive pleasure: Sun tea
My mom always said, with the kind of certainty used by parents relaying wisdom to half-listening children, that iced tea is more thirst quenching than water. I don’t know if this is fact or belief, and I’ve never bothered to look it up – because my mom said so, and it certainly feels that way, […]
In the Field: East Hill Dairy & Creamery
A dairy family in Wyoming County is the only producer of the Alpine-style comté cheese in the United States This article originally appeared in the April 2019 edition of Buffalo Spree Magazine. Photo by Eric Frick. Dairymen often do what their dads did. What their granddads did. Sometimes, they’ll look to see what other farms […]
Maple: The sugar harvest
The first food. This is how I once heard a Vermont Public Radio guest expert, on sugaring, maybe, describe maple syrup years ago as I maneuvered the Outback down some unpaved Green Mountain back road on the way to who-knows-where. And that simple, pregnant phrase has stuck with me ever since. Long before the snowpack […]
Buffalo’s legacy of chocolate
This article originally appeared in Buffalo Magazine’s February 2018 issue. In Buffalo, the questions “Who makes the best wings in town?” and “Where’s the best beef on weck?” are met with fiercely defended proclamations by factions of fans who swear by their picks, and theirs alone. These alliances are often sworn based on family favorites […]
In the field: Senek Farms
This article originally appeared in Buffalo Spree Magazine’s November 2017 issue. Apples are the indisputible harbingers of fall. Come September, the round, red fruit signals “back to school” from every store ad and end cap. Their role in pies sends taste buds into a spiced autumnal tizzy that rivals pumpkin for many. Apples are bobbed […]
Taste the world: Black Forest Adler
This article originally appeared in Buffalo Spree Magazine’s September 2017 issue. The USA platter Includes a jager schnitzel (a pork cutlet pounded thin, breaded, fried, and smothered with a dark pork gravy and mushrooms), a generous pile of spatzle (homemade noodles boiled and pan seared), a rouladen (paper-thin slices of beef stuffed with dill pickle, […]
In the field: 3 Guys Garlic
This article originally appeared in Buffalo Spree Magazine’s September 2017 issue. To some, garlic is an ordinary ingredient that gets chopped up and lost in the sauce. To others, it’s a one-item food group around which meals are made—and there’s no such thing as too much of it, social norms be damned. A trio of […]
In the field: Niagara Malt
This article originally appeared in Buffalo Spree Magazine’s August 2017 issue. By now, it’s more than safe to say that locally made craft beer has made a comeback in Western New York, with new breweries opening faster than ever. Pub crawls, human-pedaled beer trolleys, brewers’ festivals, booze cruises, and tap takeovers have all become part […]
In the field: Erba Verde Farms
This article originally appeared in Buffalo Spree Magazine’s August 2017 issue. On Porterville Road in East Aurora, a gravel driveway winds past a cozy red 1800s farmhouse, beyond a wood-clapboard barn and resting tractor, to lush fields that quietly undulate toward a pine tree line in the distance. This farm is Erba Verde, Italian for “green […]
It’s time for the making o’ the corned beef
This article originally appeared in the March 2017 issue of Buffalo Spree Magazine. I like pickled things. A lot. My German grandmother taught me the basics of making pickles, and now it’s become a several-hundred-jar-a-year “problem” in my pantry. The other half of me is Irish, so I feel compelled to go out for corned […]
Cheers to chocolate (beer)
This article originally appeared in the February 2017 edition of Forever Young Magazine. The “craft” of craft beer is in the experimentation, creativity—and sometimes consumer trends—that let brew masters play with palates and ingredients to come up with new and interesting beers. Among the latest flavors to grace taps around the country and here at […]
Osteria’s spaghetti & meatballs
This article original appeared in the November 2016 issue of Buffalo Spree Magazine. The heart of this comforting classic is Nani’s Famous Sunday sauce, a slow-cooked labor of love that is a near-cathartic culinary experience. Nani is Osteria 166 owner Nick Pitillo’s mom. She’s been making this recipe—and passing it down to family members—for nearly […]
