Sunday News: Nine and Night lights up Black Rock with own restaurant

Plus iftar special at Sahar Bakery, Burmese 101 at Downtown Bazaar, and who has the best fasnachts?

Nine and Night chef-owner Hyay Naing is ready to see how fast his new kitchen can go. (Photo: Nine and Night)

On Saturday, 542 days after Nine & Night last wokked up an order for a waiting customer, the black pepper beef and green coconut curry flowed again, in Black Rock. 

At 414 Amherst St., Htay Naing has his own kitchen, and it’s a beaut. The Thai noodles, stir-fries, soups, and salads West Side Bazaar diners enjoyed before fire closed the Grant Street original location in September 2022. 

Check out the menu and order online at nineandnight.com. Phone: 716-541-7963. 

Hours: Monday- Saturday 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Closed Sunday.

Crispy spicy fish at Peking Quick One

REVIEW: Peking Quick One, the Chinese restaurant at 359 Somerville Ave., was my personal gateway to learning more about Chinese cuisine as practiced in China. Today, it remains one of the best places in Western New York to explore the joys of Chinese homesyle cooking, along with an exemplar Chinese-American menu with $6.95 lunch specials (11 a.m.-3 p.m.) that slay.

RAMADAN SPECIAL: After 4 p.m, in the best-hidden bakery in Tonawanda, Mehdi Attai sells an iftar of bolani, fresh crepelike flatbread with potato and green onion inside for $4. That floppy delight comes with a zippy green chutney to jazz up the proceedings. 

At Sahar Bakery, 2784 Sheridan Drive, in the Molinara's NY Pizza plaza, sells bolani (upper left) at 4 pm, for $4, during Ramadan. Year-round offerings include Afghani breads like roht and barbari plus an outdoor tea stove, and jameed, the dried fermented yogurt needed to make mansaf.

Now you want to know where to find Sahar Bakery? Look for the Molinara’s NY Pizza plaza on the north side of Sheridan, just west of Niagara Falls Boulevard.

It’s worth getting to know Sahar Bakery, a rare source of Afghan everyday breads like the paddle-sized barbari, two to a bag in white or whole wheat, or barbari, the round semisweet coffee cake.

Sahar Bakery, 2784 Sheridan Drive, Tonawanda. Hours: 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Closed Sunday.

Roht, semi-sweet Afghani coffee cake, is another Sahar Bakery specialty.

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EVENTS: Burmese 101 at Downtown Bazaar starts March 19, the first in a monthly series at curated, narrated meals at Downtown Bazaar to dive into the details of some less familiar international cuisines.

Burmese cooks have broadened Buffalo’s collective menu for more than a decade. In 2010, in the back of a grocery at 1989 Niagara St., Kevin Lin fed me a bowl of coconut chicken noodle soup, ohno khao swe, that changed my life. It was my first taste of Burmese cuisine.

That grocery became the first Sun Cuisines restaurant, with Lin and his wife Stephanie opening a second in Williamsville. Sun was followed by a dozen Burmese restaurants in Erie County, most serving Thai dishes too. As food editor for The Buffalo News, I became a student of Burmese cuisine.

Now I’m inviting you to dig into Burmese cuisine, 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. March 19 at Downtown Bazaar, 617 Main St. It’s the first in a monthly series of culinary exploration sessions at Downtown Bazaar, each featuring a cuisine that you can sample, savor, and explore.

Elizabeth Sher, Pattaya Street Food chef-owner, is offering five courses and dessert for $35. That’s owno khao swe, tea leaf salad, samosa and curry puff, Burmese noodle salad, beef curry, and a lotus flower cookie. Buy tickets for the March 19 session here.

The second Burmese 101 session is 5 p.m.-6:30 p.m. April 16. Tickets for the April 16 session are on sale here.

Here’s what $35 gets you at Burmese 101 at Downtown Bazaar

Taste some of the genius cooking our new neighbors have to offer. Learn about Burmese culture, culinary techniques and ingredients. If you’re a cook, learn where you can get the ingredients to start making ohno khao swe yourself.

ASK THE CRITIC

Q:  Do you have any leads on where to get the best fasnachts in Buffalo?  The hubs and I have been on a quest to find the best, but need more leads.  So far our results are:

1. Donut Kraze:  light and crunchy.

2. Eileen's Bakery, West Seneca:  large with good crunch.

3. Tops: hit or miss, good crunch when you get it.

4. Wegman's:  out of the running, just a regular square cinnamon donut.

5. Mazurek’s Bakery: off the list, regular donut, greasy too.

- Sue Mager, via email

A: I’ll pass on your findings, and invite readers to send their observations, and photographs, to andrew@fourbites.net so we can share the knowledge. Once again, we know more than me.

MORE READING by Michael Chelus

This week on the Nittany Epicurean, I wrote about the 2020 Aubaine Wines Estate Chardonnay, the 2021 Hoopes Vineyard Rosé and the 2018 Michele Chiarlo Rovereto Gavi DOCG.

• Mr. Galarneau wrote about a personal favorite - Toutant [Four Bites]

• Jamaican dishes have been added to the lineup at the West Side Bazaar with the opening of Chef Big Wayne Jamaican Cuisine [Four Bites]

• Brian put together a list of seven local Irish-style craft beers to enjoy from places like BriarBrothers Brewing, Mystic Hills Brewing and more [Buffalo News]

• Christa told us how Saint Neri has breathed new life into 220 Lexington [Buffalo Spree]

• Christa also urged us to take advantage of Visit Buffalo Niagara's local food trails [Buffalo Spree]

• This weekend and next are the annual Maple Weekends in New York [Buffalo News]

• Newell visited the recently opened a Yemeni coffee and tea café on Hertel - Sana’a Café [Buffalo Rising]

• Newell spoke with 42 North founder and operator, John Cimperman, about their new tasting room in Buffalo's Theater District [Buffalo Rising]

• Brian's Buffalo Beer Briefs told us of the new release of Ruby Red Kolsch from Genesee Brewing, Homebrew Sessions at Woodcock Brothers and more [Step Out Buffalo]

• Christa wrote about a newly opened gem in East Aurora - Pizzera Florian [Visit Buffalo Niagara]

• Here’s your chance to star in a cooking video [Four Bites]

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