Sunday News: Casey Foundation gives Buffalo Resilience wheels
Volunteer for national cheese conference, fine French in Lockport, Lao-Thai in West Henrietta, and YOLO reboot
The emcee was announcing the 50-50 raffle numbers at the Conor J. Casey Foundation fundraiser in Orchard Park last week when a winner, pleading nervousness, asked her friend Phil McNamara to go with her to the stage to collect the prize, a restaurant gift certificate.
“If it isn’t my friend Phil McNamara,” Maura Crawford, Coco owner and foundation organizer, said into her microphone. Bad news, Crawford told him: I don’t actually have a gift certificate. “But you seem like the kind of guy who's more comfortable delivering dinner than going out for dinner.”
Then a Ford XL Transit cargo van rolled up into view, to a cheering crowd. The foundation got McNamara’s organization a van to use for three years.
McNamara founded Buffalo Resilience in 2020, during the pandemic, to harness community energy to make and distribute masks. Its mission grew into helping vulnerable communities in other ways, like distributing harm reduction kits and Narcan education, and connecting restaurant donations to street-level hunger fighters.
That’s where a van will come in particularly handy, as food couriers are always needed, and the trunk of McNamara’s compact has limited room. Last week, Buffalo Resilience hit the 20,000 mark in meals distributed by coordinating partner donations.
Crawford learned about the group and its work through an article in The Buffalo News. She helped found the Conor J. Casey Foundation in memory of the promising executive chef at Coco, dedicating it to raising money to help serve community needs. The foundation also gave $5,000 to Buffalo Resilience after a spring bowling fundraiser.
“We got our 501c3 in August,” said Crawford. “We're learning and finding our way. But one of the problems is that we need to break out of our group. How do you get beyond that? That’s the challenge for the next year.”
(Restaurant owners and others who’d like to support Buffalo Resilience can start at buffaloreslilience.com or email phil@buffaloresilience.com.)
REVIEW: Cafe Bar Moriarty has gifted Buffalo with the chance to fall in love with a little family-run restaurant with a tiny menu of practically perfect dishes, just like they do in Paris, Naples, and Barcelona. At Great Arrow and Elmwood avenues, Caitlin and Tom Moriarty have built a source for all things meat, and a frequently changing menu that draws on its shop and hardly ever hits $20. In the hands of veteran chef Jennifer Boye, simply sophisticated dishes with European accents are making folks swoon. (Later today, for patrons.)
YOLO CODA: YOLO served its drinking and dining customers faithfully for 12 years, long enough for its hip name to become cringe.
That’s a rare accomplishment in the restaurant business, where five years is a decent run.
YOLO, 5841 Transit Road, East Amherst, will close after service June 29 - for a reboot, not a funeral.
“After a brief shutdown along with menu changes, cocktail changes and some interior work, we will be rebranding ourselves into what will be known as Duke’s Tavern. Duke’s will be a place to come have drinks, dinner and enjoy live music in a casual family friendly environment,” wrote owner Justin Bingel. “Our goal is to be closed the month of July and reopen on August 1st.”
(Thanks to Larry Kerman for the heads up.)
EVENTS
A rare chance to see French chef Lionel Heydel cooking comes Saturday. He’ll offer five courses paired with Freedom Run wines on June 15, 6 p.m.-9 p.m.
Amuse-bouche: corn cachapa, local mushrooms, goat cheese.
Soup: local apples, potatoes, leeks, bacon.
Antipasto: cheese, charcuterie, honeycomb, all New York.
Meat: sous vide smoked pork chop, apple pico, farm-fresh vegetables, Korean BBQ sauce.
Dessert: deconstructed creme brulee, fresh berries, caramel.
It’s $150 per person, including tax and tip, at Freedom Run Winery, 5138 Lower Mountain Rd, Lockport. . Get tickets here.
LAO-THAI FEST TODAY: If you can jump in the car soon, the Lao-Thai Food Festival will still serve you a Southeast Asian feast on the grounds of a stunningly colorful Buddhist temple in West Henrietta.
Wat Pa Lao Buddhadham, 135 Martin Road, West Henrietta, hosts home cooking food fairs twice a year, including an early fall version. This one’s open till 4 p.m., apologies for the late notice. Mark your calendars for the next one, anyways.
CHEESE VOLUNTEERS: The American Cheese Society’s annual convention, where the awards for best American cheeses of the year are awarded, comes to Buffalo July 13-15.
The nationwide event draws hundreds, and relies on a crew of local volunteers. People can help with check-ins, registration, ticket taking, and other necessary tasks, said Tara Holmes, the society’s executive director.
Cheese nerds and others can sign up for shifts via the website, and enjoy certain benefits.
Volunteers may not be able to actually eat their weight in cheese, but there’s no harm in trying.
“We've got tasting sessions, education sessions, receptions, you name it, we've got it if there's cheese involved,” said Holmes. “We really have a variety of volunteer slots available, from a couple hours to, I mean, you can sign up for as many slots as you want and we'll put you to work.”
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