Rue Franklin veteran’s Bistro Avera gives Lewiston new fine choice
Stephen Pusateri steps up with vichyssoise and more rare, refined dishes
Stephen Pusateri, who honed his chops in one of Buffalo’s venerated kitchens, has finally opened a restaurant where he can bring all his skills to bear.
At Bistro Avera, 555 Center St., the former Rue Franklin sous chef gives fine dining fans another reason to set their route-mappers for Lewiston. The cozy space seats about 30, including the bar, so it’s smaller than the Villa Coffee House, the breakfast and lunch spot that was Pusateri’s beachhead in Niagara County.
He made some of the best breakfast sandwiches and breakfast enchiladas around, but that was like Pavarotti as an auctioneer - not really putting his strengths to use.
Bistro Avera’s compact menu sets out his agenda.
Small plates include housemade focaccia with olives and roasted peppers ($10), mussels escabeche with chickpeas, cucumber, and yogurt ($16), and the only vichyssoise I’ve seen on a menu in the last decade ($14), with mushroom vinaigrette and garlic chips.
Entrees include monkfish ($32) in citrus butter with crispy polenta and caponata, American Kobe bavette steak ($38) with smoked turnips, barley, green onion, and jus, and a legitimate vegetarian effort of mushroom bolognese pasta ($26) with leeks and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
The restaurant name is a portmanteau of his first two children’s names, Vera and Ariane.
Walk-ins are welcome, space permitting. Reservations can be made by phone, at 716-246-2035, or by email at bistroavera@gmail.com. If emailing, please provide your name, number, party size and preferred time.
5 p.m.-9 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday, 5 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday. Closed Sunday-Tuesday.
REVIEW: Since 2017, Almaza Grill has won the hearts of parents heading home on Transit Road, for the way it lets them show up with everything they need to feed the hungry. Peruvian-style marinated chicken, roasted over coals on a rotisserie, leads the hit parade. But the Lebanese side of the menu means that vegans and vegetarians are happy with an Almaza run, while carnivores can also explore kofta grilled meatballs, lamb, and deep-fried kibbe beef pockets. (Later today, for patrons.)
EVENTS
Fans of Jewish cooking, plant-centric lifestyles, and snazzy vegetarian delights should ink Aug. 1 on their calendar.
Culinary bookstore Read It & Eat Bookshop presents author Micah Siva of Nosh With Micah, and her new cookbook “Nosh: Plant-Forward Recipes Celebrating Modern Jewish Cuisine,” 6:30 p.m. at Just Buffalo Literary Center.
Siva will discuss her process and her approach to modern Jewish cooking, take questions, and sign books for guests.
All that tasty chat will make fressers out of anyone. Bloom & Rose, practitioners of samosa potato knishes and a whole atlas of crossover cuisine, will be there to help.
Charred eggplant babaganoush, labneh with pickled turnips. (Not shown: roasted garlic hummus with spiced mushrooms.)
Charred summer vegetables
Stone-fired pitas, getting everything bagel spice for Siva reception. Also coming: deli pickles, Russian dressing, smoked beet pastrami.
Tickets, $55, available here, include a copy of “Nosh.”
Guests are welcome to bring canned goods or pantry items, for donation to local food pantries.
CRITIC’S PICK
Four dates remain on the Crown Hill Dinners agenda this summer, offering one-of-a-kind repasts set in a working Eden farm. Priced at $108, with optional $30 wine pairing, these are ridiculous deals from ridiculously talented cooks.
Adrian Bylewski of Cast & Coal is up next, July 21. This menu should give you an idea of what to expect when chefs get to bare their true selves in Eden:
Amuse
Oh, you fancy huh?
Fire roasted potato, crème fraiche, caviar
Dinner
Don’t fill up on the....
Grilled focaccia, cultured butter, warm Brie, fire-roasted cherries, herbs
Et tu, Brute?: Fireside Caesar
Grilled Crown Hill romaine, roasted garlic Caesar dressing, warm brioche croutons, smoked ricotta salata
You can tune a piano...
Coal-seared tuna, farm egg jam, wild black raspberry, Crown Hill alliums, sunflower seed cracker
They’re kickin’ in, man!
Koji-aged beef tenderloin, wild foraged mushrooms, mushroom demiglacé,
wild chanterelle butter, shaved black truffle
Dessert
Movin’ to the country...
Cast Iron peach cobbler: Local peaches, bourbon whipped cream, warmed fireside
That’s just Bylewski doing his thing. If you want to enjoy the passionate Argentinian chef Valentina Garcia Montaño of Cucina at the Richardson Hotel and Che Garcia Chimichurri do her thing, it’s July 28.
Jessica Arends of Cornelia at the AKG and Babs of Buffalo Sausage gets to stretch her wings at the farm on Aug. 4.
On Aug. 25, Zach Rosenbloom and JB Pagels of Bloom & Rose get to stretch their canvas to white-tablecloth dinner style to accommodate their Jewish crossover classics.
ASK THE CRITIC:
“What’s good at the Taste of Buffalo this year?” is something of a specialty, with 12 editions under my belt.
First, check out the list of All-Star options, with Black Iron Bystro, Dopest Dough, and Frank Gourmet Hot Dogs offering next-level dishes for two hours each.
Then, my pick for this year’s spot: La Casa de Sabores, the Dominican restaurant at 1 Letchworth St., with mangu (mashed plantains with garlic) and pickled onions, rice with pigeon peas, pernil slow-roasted pork au jus, and tender chicken stew.
Also darn tasty is the New Jewel of India lineup, clockwise from top left: alu tikki, deep-fried spiced mashed potato patty with pickles and chutneys, chana saag, creamed spinach with chickpeas, chicken makhni, creamy curry, and chicken tikka, baked yogurt-marinated chicken.
More reading from Michael Chelus:
Mr. Galarneau told us about the Colombian classics to be found at Dulce Hogar Bakery in North Tonawanda [Four Bites]
Francesca put together a list of 13 new foods to try at the Taste of Buffalo [Buffalo News]
Hofbräuhaus Buffalo is now open for lunch [Buffalo Rising]
Brian told us about seven great outdoor spaces at local breweries like Wayland Brewing Company, Buffalo RiverWorks and more [Buffalo News]
Andrea ventured to Dalfanso's Italian Imports [Step Out Buffalo]
Brian's Buffalo Beer Briefs told us of the opening of The Lock Tender Bottle Shop & Tap Room, the Inflation Buster menu at Big Ditch and more [Step Out Buffalo]
Marta’s Market - a fast-casual Italian restaurant, bar and market - has opened in East Aurora [Buffalo News]
Andrew gave us highlights from Saturday at the Taste of Buffalo and told us where to eat on Sunday [Four Bites]
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