Guides
At his roastery located inside Java's at the Market, Joe Palozzi, who has been roasting coffee beans in the Rochester area under one name or another for more than 30 years, pulls a tiny scoop from the latest incarnation of his century-old coffee roaster and looks closely at the smoking
Restaurant Articles
From Monroe Avenue, Sakura Home looks like a pretty nondescript place - the building has been home to other restaurants over the years, including one of those massive Chinese buffet operations that you see scattered across the city. Step inside, though, and you immediately find
Restaurant Articles
Empty-nest syndrome. It motivates some people to renovate the house. Or take a trip around the world. It inspired Marlene Henry to open a restaurant. "Not having the kids to cook for," she told me recently at her year-old restaurant Peppa Pot on Gregory Street in the South Wedge,
Restaurant Articles
If Rochester's restaurant community has an old guard, Charlie Scanio, more popularly known as "Charlie Brown," is one of its charter members. Having worked in what he describes as the "hospitality industry" since he was in high school, and as the original owner of that restaurant
Restaurant Articles
The first time I set foot in Mao Seng and Vilay Sysavath's Viet Thai Restaurant in Irondequoit a couple of weeks ago, I had a strange feeling of deja vu. It wasn't because the place is similar to the couple's popular pho and noodle restaurant SEA on Monroe Avenue
Restaurant Articles
Italian steakhouses in general have a very hard balance to strike: not family red-sauce joints, and not extremely high-end "French" restaurants, they occupy a niche where white tablecloths and bright silverware often co-exist with powdered Parmesan cheese and dolled-up versions of classic dishes like veal
Restaurant Articles
Chile rellenos, golden brown outside, bursting with beans, shredded pork, and queso fresco, and slathered in salsa roja. Consomme-clear chicken broth garnished with bits of fried tortillas, avocado, and a dusting of queso fresco. Frijoles - refried beans - a deceptively mundane-looking study in brown,
Restaurant Articles
Magan Pilato stands behind the counter at Lunch, her sandwich shop at the intersection of Church and State streets, chatting up a customer as she rings up his order. She seems to know him pretty well. She knows the customer behind him by name, and suggests
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My companion and I are seated in a bright, airy dining room at a table covered in screaming white linen. The walls around us are painted in rich earth tones. An amuse-gueule, a long plate with slices of orange and pineapple drizzled with balsamic vinegar, arrives
Restaurant Articles
When my wife and I moved to the Rochester area almost a decade ago, one of the first restaurants we visited, largely because it was close to the condo we were renting, was Timothy Patrick's Irish Restaurant in Penfield. The pub became our frequent restaurant of
Restaurant Articles
Winter has returned to Rochester at long last. Our two-month reprieve from snow and ice came to an abrupt end last week, and within a day I started thinking about escaping to somewhere warm and sandy. At such times, I'll often gravitate toward Latin-American food, particularly
Restaurant Articles
The plate full of lamb tagine and cauliflower risotto I'm having for lunch cost me roughly $10. The loaf of raisin-fennel bread sitting on my counter at home set me back about half that. My son is addicted to $4 orders of braised pork-belly buns. All of that adds
Restaurant Articles
The first piece of chicken hit me right between the eyes before plopping neatly onto my plate. Between gusts of shocked laughter, I took a proffered towel from our smiling hibachi chef, knocked back a swallow of sake, and caught the next bite
Restaurant Articles
One holiday down, two to go. With the holiday season finally upon us, it's time to break out the cheery smiles and the bonhomie, time to brush off that forced good cheer. Time to eat too much, drink too much, and generally try to bury your
Restaurant Articles
The first time I set foot in the Istanbul Market on Norton Street, my head was filled with fond memories of lahmacun - a Turkish cousin of thin-crusted pizza topped with a spicy mixture of finely ground lamb, beef, onions, tomatoes, and Italian parsley. Not being
Restaurant Articles
Little things matter. The light in the dining room. The spacing of the tables. Whether the butter that comes with the bread is brick-hard or creamy smooth. Whether the consomme is crystal clear or cloudy. Whether silverware is replaced. And whether everything from the center
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With winter right around the corner, the impulse to eat like a glutton and crawl into my burrow for a nap becomes nearly irresistible. As the temperature drops, I start to emulate bears by eating more than I should, and mimic squirrels by putting food up
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A few days ago, I walked into the Winfield Grill on Winton Road for the first time, and felt like I'd just stepped out of a time machine. It was a busy Saturday evening, and the tables were filling up with happy families, couples both young
Restaurant Articles
On my third visit to New Taj India Cuisine in Corn Hill Landing, my cover - and at least some of my objectivity - was blown. As I pushed through the door on a blustery afternoon, Avtar Singh, co-owner and chef of New Taj, recognized me
Restaurant Articles
Los Gallos Mexican Grill in Greece, despite appearances, is not your typical Tex-Mex restaurant. I'm putting that up front, because the minute I stepped in the door a few days ago, my heart sank. Colorful sombreros on the walls, crepe-paper dancing senorita decorations, and basin-sized unearthly
