Sunday News: Remedy House and Flint go dark, Funkapalooza 2024, and where to find pita
Five Points coffeeshop will get new owners, natural wine shop coming, a samoon primer, and more
Remedy House and Flint closed this week, disappointing coffee and baked goods seekers in Five Points and Fountain Plaza while owners decide what happens next.
“Remedy House is being sold to a new owner. It will be reopening soon, but I don’t have details to share,” said Andrew Trautman, an owner of Flint and Remedy House with Justin Smith.
“Justin and I felt like it was time to pass the torch to a new owner, with a new perspective and passion to be able to keep that wonderful area of the city alive,” Trautman said.
Addressing complaints that Remedy House workers were left unpaid, Trautman said on Saturday that “employees have received all money owed. There was never going to be a time where we weren’t going to pay them.”
Remedy House opened at 429 Rhode Island St. in 2017. With Five Points Bakery, Butter Block, and Extra Extra Pizza, it’s one of the businesses in the Five Points area of Buffalo’s West Side whose coffee and baked goods lure people to the neighborhood that was a drug corner a decade ago.
“We are grateful to have had the opportunity to operate Remedy House for six and a half years, and we appreciate all the employees that have worked so hard to keep it running,” Trautman said. “Thank you to the community for all the support they have given.”
REVIEW
Cornelia at the AKG: People don’t go to museums to eat. Cornelia, the restaurant at the newly expanded Albright Knox Gundlach Art Museum, can crown your day of art absorption with an evening of degustation. Going miles beyond the “fast casual” standard, Chef Jessica Arends has crafted a menu capable of smiting your hunger while elevating your appreciation of the finer things in life. (For paid subscribers Sunday evening.)
Funkapalooza 2024: The fertile-minded fermentation folks at Barrel + Brine offer a unique one-night tour of all the ways noble rot makes life better.
On Feb. 29, in the Barrel + Brine tasting room, 155 Chandler St., RJ Marvin offers five courses paired with natural wines from Funk & Fermentation, a soon-to-open shop from Justine Powers specializing in wild wines. Here’s the menu:
AMUSE BOUCHE: fermented radish / whipped cultured butter / fermented garlic honey
COURSE 1: Cured Scallop Crudo: Sake Preserved Kumquat / Aleppo Chile / Mint
COURSE 2: Stone Fruit Salad / Mixed Greens / Last Year’s Peaches, Plums, Cherries / Goat Cheese / Walnut / Quince Vinaigrette
COURSE 3: Kombucha Marinated Pork Belly / Fermented Fennel, Apple & Mint / Amba Sauce
COURSE 4: Korean meatball / kimchi rice stew
COURSE 5: Long-fermented chocolate cake / caramelized yogurt / compressed berries
Get your tickets here. It’s $135.38 ($125 plus tax), not including tip.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: Where does one buy good pita bread these days? Seems Wegmans has eliminated the couple of good brands it had.
Henry, Amherst
A: Since Pete’s Lebanese Bakery closed, the pita question comes up frequently. Folks miss the thin, pliable pitas that tear open into a pouch.
At the moment, to my knowledge, the closest you can get in Buffalo is by visiting the Broadway Market, 999 Broadway. There, Michael Giokas, as That Greek Guy, rolls out and bakes his pitas every week. He and his son Alex also offer spinach-phyllo pies in hand-rolled dough, and bougatsa, custard folded into crispy phyllo and dusted with powdered sugar.
That said, have you considered the joys of samoon? The pointy-tipped Iraqi loaf can substitute for pocket pita if you cut them in half. They’re baked daily at Buffalo Fresh, the international grocery’s second location, at 284 Ontario St. in Riverside. The original, 999 Broadway, carries bread from its sister store.
Go to the back of the store, and you can see the oven, in late morning selling still-warm loaves packed in paper bags because they’d steam in plastic. Fresh loaves are also usually for sale at the front of the store by the cash registers. They’re 4/$5, or close.
Chelus Reading Roundup:
Every Sunday, I'll post some of my favorite local stories from the worlds of food, wine, beer, cocktails and spirits.
This week on the Nittany Epicurean, I wrote about the 2020 Grieve Family Estate Sauvignon Blanc, the 2021 Pedroncelli Winery Sonoma Classico and the 2022 Castello di Titignano Salviano Sauvignon Blanc IGT.
Mr. Galarneau reviewed Hayes Seafood House [Four Bites]
Griffon Brewing is now open in Youngstown [Four Bites]
Mark finally visited Frank Gourmet Hot Dogs [Buffalo Eats]
Andrew demystified the offerings at Waxlight Bar a Vin [Four Bites]
Andrew also had Miller's Thumb baker, Steve Horton, on the most recent episode of Four Bites Show [Four Bites]
Brenda wrote mushroom coffee [Buffalo News]
Brett stopped by the new brick and mortar location of Buffalo Bros Burger [Step Out Buffalo]
Brett also visited the newly opened location of the Virginia-based chain, HCK Hot Chicken [Step Out Buffalo]
Brian's Buffalo Beer Briefs told us about cider dinner pairings at Donavan Orchards Estate Ciders, a release to benefit charity from One-Eyed Cat Brewing and more [Step Out Buffalo]
Donnie told us that as expected, Pizzeria Florian is excellent [Buffalo Eats]
Remedy House closed, but the property owner is already looking for a new tenant to take over the space [Buffalo Rising]
Have a suggestion for a story or article? Contact me via email, message me on Facebook through the Nittany Epicurean page, tag me in a post on X @michaelchelus or send me a DM on Instagram @michaelchelus.
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You can also get samoon and fresh pita at falafel house on hertel ave. 4 samoon for $2.99
Congrats Chef Jessica Arends!