Review: At Risa's, kosher-style deli with parking, for a bubbe with corned beef credentials

Four blocks from Buffalo City Hall, matzo ball soup and handmade knish, hiding in plain building since 2009

Matzo ball in chicken noodle soup at Risa’s

Are you a Western New Yorker who yearns for matzo ball soup, corned beef with a schmear on rye, and a nice knish? You need to know about Risa’s Deli.

Buffalo’s only kosher-style deli restaurant is hidden in a plain-Jane office building at 285 Delaware Ave. A tragically large tribe with a yearning for deli style delights have been driving by for years, verklempt at the knish-sized hole in their soul, unaware that inside that bank-looking office building, Risa Paonessa waits for them.

She’s Buffalo deli royalty, daughter of Anthony Gengo, who converted to Judaism to marry her mother Anne. “Stumpy” Gengo’s corned beef starred at Stumpy’s Deli, originally Ralph’s. For 40 years it was a Hertel Avenue destination for American Jewish soul food like matzo brei, scrambled eggs with nova salmon, and shaved meat sandwiches on rye.

Buffalo Courier Express, 1963

His daughter followed in his apron at several locations before opening in her current spot. Besides Risa’s, another admirable feature of 285 Delaware Ave. is the parking lot behind the building, where those allergic to parallel parking may find safe harbor.