Review: At Bandana's, soulful home cooking worth a Youngstown detour

In 20 years of service, Rob and Melissa Kudel have built a Niagara County destination

If you remember potato skins, Bandana’s housemade skins might strike a chord.

Rob Kudel was 26, running the kitchen at Cozumel, when the bandana became his signature look.

Not only to satisfy health code while keeping sweat out of his eyes, but keep male pattern baldness to himself.

When he got to open his own restaurant, he called it Bandana’s Bar & Grill, he already had a logo. Drawn by Cozumel bartender Larry Lambert, it was a portrait of a chef working 80-hour weeks.

Rob Kudel, chef and cancer survivor, runs Bandana’s with Melissa Kudel, his wife.

Kudel finally got to put his work ethic to work for his family on June 1, 2003, opening Bandana’s in Youngstown. His wife Melissa, a teacher, worked shifts around her other job.

When you come around the corner and see lines of parked motorcycles, that’s the place. Riders who enjoy 100-mile drives along Lake Ontario found Bandana’s years ago, and came back with friends. In 22 years of service, the Kudels have built a blue-collar institution that ought to be on the to-eat list of anyone roving near the northwest corner of Niagara County.