After obtaining a culinary arts degree from SUNY Delhi in the Catskills and spending years as a chef in some of Rochester's best restaurants - including the Grill at Water Street, Sienna Grill and Bar, and Eros - Spencerport High School graduate Christopher Kisiel returned to his hometown and opened his first restaurant earlier this month. As a self-described "sometimes delinquent student," Kisiel has named his restaurant Bad Apples Bistro as a joking attempt to prove that "even a bad apple can make a great dish."

And that he does. Acting as both owner and executive chef of Bad Apples, Kisiel has filled the bistro's menu with sophisticated yet accessible dishes with interesting flourishes. For instance, while many restaurants serve fresh-baked bread before a meal, Kisiel takes it a step further by serving a rotating selection of breads baked in-house along with a trio of homemade dips, which also rotate. A recent night's offerings were a rosemary sage focaccia served with chive butter, extra virgin olive oil balsamic, and white bean hummus.

"I would say we offer higher-end cuisine for the area," says Kisiel. "But I don't like to use the expression ‘high end' because it sounds pretentious or expensive - which we're not - so I say ‘refined.'"

Situated in the former Chilango's Mexican Restaurant space in Spencerport (Chilango's is now located next door), Bad Apples Bistro is cozy, offering seating for 50 people with a large banquette running down one wall and several tables sprinkled throughout the dining area. Kisiel has completely rehabbed the space by removing a large dividing wall to open up the space, reducing the size of the bar and creating a modern-yet-rustic atmosphere with exposed woods, rubbed bronze, and green-apple-colored accent walls.

The seasonally rotating lunch and dinner menus offer a handful of soups, salads, sandwiches, wraps, appetizers, and entrees. Some of the more noteworthy offerings for fall include fried risotto croquettes stuffed with prosciutto and fontina cheese and served with house-made marinara and shaved romano; a mach� salad served with new potatoes, cr�me fraiche, mixed olives, feta cheese, and a smoked-tomato vinaigrette; a grilled pork tenderloin served with Brussels sprouts, a green apple and red potato hash, and finished with a wild mushroom and black truffle bordelaise; a surf and turf of a 5 oz. lobster tail and braised pork shoulder served with apple slaw, roasted beet risotto, and chive butter; and a sweet potato gnocchi with roasted chestnuts and braised kale in a sage butter sauce.

Bad Apples Bistro is located at 42 Nichols St. in the Village Woods Commons plaza in Spencerport. Prices range from $7 to $25. Hours are Mondays-Thursdays 11 a.m.-10 p.m., Fridays 11 a.m.-11 p.m., and Saturdays 4-11 p.m. For more information call 352-2231 or visit badapplesbistro.com.

It's elemental

A new neighborhood bar and grill has opened in the former Irondequoit Ale House location. Copper Grill, which opened its door in early August, is owned by Jeff and Serena Barry of Greece and offers a wide variety of foods - from pub grub to burgers, pizzas, barbeque, steaks, and pastas - in a family-friendly sports bar atmosphere.

Some of the menu's offerings include a Cubano sandwich (with ham, pulled pork, pickles, and Swiss cheese topped with meat sauce), ancho-encrusted Chilean sea bass (served over caramelized bacon and fennel risotto), applewood pork (center-cut pork medallions wrapped in bacon, served with sweet-potato mash, and an apple cider demi-glace), and a New Orleans burger (seasoned with Cajun spices and topped with tasso ham and pepperjack cheese).

Copper Grill is located at 2256 Hudson Ave. Prices range from $8 to $20. Hours are Mondays-Saturdays 11:30 a.m.-2 a.m., Saturdays noon-2 a.m. For more information call 270-4466 or visit coppergrill.org.

Gluttons rejoice

The end of summer signifies a lot of things - back to school, football season, trees changing colors - but for Rochester foodies the end of summer means it's time for the Foodlink Festival of Food, where patrons can sample eats and drinks from a seemingly endless array of local restaurants, bakeries, caterers, farms, coffeehouses, breweries, and wineries. This year's 8th annual festival, which will be held Monday, September 19, 6-9 p.m. at the Rochester Public Market, continues that model.

Festival of Food 2011 will feature nearly 90 participants in six categories, including 24 restaurants and caterers, 20 specialty food vendors, eight bakeries, 27 wineries and breweries, five non-alcoholic beverage participants, and four farms. Some of the participants include French Quarter Caf�, Napa Woodfired Pizza, Tapas 177, Otto Tomotto's, Rohrbach Brewing Company, Custom BrewCrafters, Ventosa Vineyards, Moonlight Creamery, F. Oliver's Oils and Vinegars, From Scratch Cakery, Joe Bean Coffee Roasters, and Freshwise Farms.

Tickets for the Foodlink Festival of Food cost $40 in advance or $50 at the door; they can be purchased at Wegmans ticket counters, the Rochester Public Market (280 North Union St), or online at festivaloffood.org.

UPDATE 9/23/11: The Festival of Food ahs announced the 2011 Best Taste Contest winners. The following vendors won in their respective categories: Restaurant & Caterer: Lento; Specialty Food: Zweigle's and Stony Brook Wholehearted Foods; Bakery & Desserts: From Scratch Cakery & Moonlight Creamery; Winery & Brewery: ROC Brewing Co.; Beverages (Non-Alcoholic):� Bona Fide Coffee

Down on the corner

National franchise Corner Bakery Caf� opened its first location in the Rochester area last month in the Pittsford Place Mall. The chain is known for its pastries, breads, breakfast dishes, gourmet sandwiches, and salads, served in a casual environment. Some of its signature dishes include the Asian wonton salad (with roasted chicken, edamame, cilantro, crispy wontons, napa cabbage, and ginger soy dressing), the Anaheim scrambler (eggs scrambled with applewood-smoked bacon, tomatoes, green onions, cheddar cheese, and topped with avocado), chilled Swiss oatmeal (European muesli made with rolled oats, fresh green apples, bananas, currants, dried cranberries, low-fat yogurt, and skim milk) and a Reuben panini (lean corned beef, sauerkraut, Swiss cheese, and Thousand Island dressing).

Corner Bakery Caf� is located at 3300 Monroe Ave. Prices range from $4 to $8. It is open Mondays-Thursdays 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Fridays-Saturdays 6 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sundays 7 a.m.-8 p.m. For more information call 662-5684 or visit cornerbakerycafe.com.

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