Sunday News: John Young's mumbo returns, to Buffalo and world acclaim

But whether Lina Brown-Young can stop people like a Niagara Falls restaurateur from biting her father's style remains unclear

The official debut of John Young’s Original Mumbo Sauce was a smash hit, with people flooding into the Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor building, 136 Broadway, on Saturday.

Lina Brown-Young’s years-long effort to bring the original Buffalo Wing King’s flavor back was met with the best kind of standing ovation: people waiting patiently for their chance to grab a bottle or six.

Fans toothpicked up mambo chicken tidbits and crinkle-cut fries, watched Brown-Young invested as the Chicken Wing Queen, and bought every bottle of sauce she had on hand in an hour. 

Her Royal Sauceness granted many requests to take selfies, with fans from across Western New York, for this was a day of jubilee.

Backup cases of mumbo are arriving from Rochester soon, said business partner Marc Moscato. Order at johnyoungsoriginal.com if you’re interested.

Watch Channel 2’s story, or Channel 7’s, for some of the local response. On a national level, the return of John Young’s sauce to the city of its birth was news.

The question of whether Buffalo wanted John Young’s Original Mumbo has been answered. 

Whether Lina Brown-Young can stop other restaurateurs from biting her father’s style remains unclear.

Menu at F BITES Cantina, 310 Rainbow Blvd., Niagara Falls

Lina Brown-Young was serving her father’s mambo-sauced wings at the Broadway Market this summer when tourists told her they’d just taken a John Young tour in Niagara Falls. The best part, they said, was finally getting to try John Young’s original recipe wings.

The news landed like a punch. 

For three years, Brown-Young had worked to bring her dad’s mambo sauce back to Buffalo. She invested thousands, not expecting to get rich, but honor and continue her father’s legacy of flavor. The Black restaurateur opened the first chicken wing restaurant in Buffalo, before the Anchor Bar version that would sweep the planet.

Months before the first bottle would ship, somebody in Niagara Falls was biting John Mack Young’s style. 

The next day, his daughter drove to Niagara Falls. She tried to order the “John Young’s Original Recipe Buffalo Chicken Wings” listed on the menu at F BITES Cantina, run by Bobby Anderson at 310 Rainbow Blvd. They were sold out, a worker told her, and there was no manager to speak with.

Then Brown-Young listened to her father’s life story, as related by a Niagara Falls Adventures tour guide. Tourists who bought the tour for the promise of John Young wings at Cantina recorded their experience. As she listened to a recording provided by a friend, she ticked off the mistakes.

No, F BITES operator Bobby Anderson did not meet with her before he started selling John Young wings at “the most popular restaurant in Western New York.”

No, her father did not start his mambo sauce experiments with spaghetti sauce.

No, the final product was not based on hot sauce. 

F BITES founder Bobby Anderson

After Brown-Young’s visit, in September, her business associate Marc Moscato sent Bobby Anderson and F BITES a cease and desist letter telling them to stop selling falsely advertised product and remove John Young from their marketing. 

That didn’t work, Brown-Young said. F BITES Cantina closed for the winter, but outside the menu still offers John Young’s Original Recipe to passersby, a block from Niagara Falls State Park.

Cantina is run by Anderson and his wife Jamie Anderson. F BITES is the non-profit they operate, working with the Niagara Falls School District and other organizations on job training programs. A message to Bobby Anderson asking why he was advertising John Young’s sauce for sale was returned by his wife Jamie.

“There was nothing malicious, and we took all the advertising down,” she said. “I thought we were good” after a November phone conversation with Moscato, she said. “So I guess I don't understand what the problem was.” 

Is the advertising down? “That’s been down for over a month,” she said.

F BITES does not plan to sell any more John Young labeled wings in the future, she said. 

“We had a whole conversation about it,” she said. “It was all worked out.”

Except that when the sun rose on Old Falls Street on Jan. 7, here’s what it saw:

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REVIEW: Maizal Mexican Kitchen & Mescaleria is an outstanding Mexican restaurant in Amherst specializing in complex mole sauces and Oaxacan specialties. That reflects the heritage of the Rosario family, who settled in Niagara County after spending decades in its fertile fields as migrant workers. The Rosarios have opened two Mexican groceries and three restaurants so far, enriching Western New York’s eating culture in diverse ways. (For paid subscribers.)

Two moles from a seven-mole tour de force dinner at Maizal

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

Bosnian to Bengali: The Tonawanda space that once held Buffalo’s only source of Bisnian borek, Balkan Dining has become a Bengali Bangladeshi restaurant, Bengali Restura.

At 687 Kenmore Ave., Chinese-Indian, Bangladeshi, Indian, and Pakistani dishes like haleem dot a sprawling menu offered by a tiny kitchen crew. This is not fast food, and while the staff is polite, they tend to be busy in the kitchen.

One standout was the Chinese-Indian classic chili chicken ($14.99), tender chicken morsels arriving on a sizzle platter glazed with soy sauce and lowkey chile support. 

Check out the menu at bengalirestura.com. 

Hours: 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Saturday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 2:30 p.m.-11 p.m. Friday. 

Arcade Indian: The Indian restaurant population of Wyoming County climbed significantly last month, when The Indian Bistro debuted at 282 Main St., next to the Arcade & Attica Railway Station. 

Tandoori flatbreads, curries, samosa chaat, lamb rogan josh, and more are on offer. Check out the menu here.

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. Phone: 716-544-8658

Grant Cakery: Bee Sweet Cakery opened at 1006 Grant St., offering custom cakes, gluten-free cookies, and more.

Remembering Robert Schmitt: The patriarch of the family operating West Seneca family dining mainstay Connor’s Restaurant, Robert Schmitt Jr., died on Christmas Day.

“Thank you for all of your patience and grace as we continue to provide outstanding food and service while we mourn the loss of Bob, who joined his beautiful wife Chris in heaven on December 25th,” the restaurant’s Facebook page read. “As usual, we saved his seat at the bar, though we know he’s got an even better view to watch over the restaurant now ❤️❤️❤️.”

EVENTS

Ethiopian Christmas celebration 4 p.m.-9 p.m. Jan. 13 at Downtown Bazaar. 

Ethiopia is home to one of the oldest Christian churches, celebrating Christ’s birth on Jan. 7. Abyssinia Ethiopian Cuisine’s Zelalem Gemmeda helped organize and Ethiopian Christmas party at Downtown Bazaar, 617 Main St.

Abyssinia’s full menu will be available, plus a buffet option, $20, or $35 per couple. The buffet will include 10 selections of customer favorites. Complimentary Ethiopian coffee will be served after an Ethiopian coffee ceremony. An Ethiopian community tradition emphasizing hospitality and togetherness, it will include an invitation for attendees to join in brewing and enjoying coffee.

Ethiopian clothing and wall art will be on sale, supporting small business owners in Ethiopia.

OF NOTE

Polka, Piwo, and Pierogi, Jan. 13, Broadway Market, 999 Broadway.

Catalan dinner presented by Vanessa Dolce, Jan. 12, Mojo Market, 3030 Delaware Ave., Kenmore.

Western New York’s First Asian and Pacific Islander Happy Hour, 5:30 p.m. Jan. 12, hosted by Lloyd Ligao of Pinoy Boi, at Downtown Bazaar.

REPORTER ASKS:

Calling all community supported agriculture program operators and customers: Please send me information about your CSA. I’m assembling a list to turn into a guide, and y’all can help me get the basics down before I have to start plugging holes with reporting.

If you would be so kind, send me the deets at andrew@fourbites.net.

#30#