Sunday News: Waxlight, Southern Junction raise Buffalo's culinary tourism beacon again
Tipico debuts less expensive menu, where to find 'husband-and-wife lung slices'
This week, Waxlight Bar a Vin and Southern Junction advanced Buffalo’s rightful claim to a place on the national restaurant map.
The 2025 nominee list for James Beard Awards has Waxlight Bar a Vin for the third year in a row, unprecedented for a Buffalo restaurant. Southern Junction, nominated last year in the new chef category, returns in the best chef New York State division.
Last year both made it to the finals, onstage in Chicago. This year, in a way they’ve already won. The Beard semifinalist list drives culinary tourism, and their return appearance means people will be booking tickets for Buffalo.
What’s next for them? Waxlight’s Jessica Railey Forster and Southern Junction’s Ryan Fernandez took a few minutes to share what’s important to them today.
“This is not a is not a fluke, right?,” said Forster, Waxlight’s level two sommelier and partner. “Three times in a row.”
In October, new partner Lauren Romanillos, former manager at Dobutsu and Compass Run, joined Joseph Fenush, Tony Rials, Ed Forster, and Jessica Railey Forster in making Waxlight work at 27 Chandler St.
Beard’s beverage category, where Waxlight has made semifinal list three times and the finals last year - is titled “Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.” That’s given some people the impression Waxlight’s liquid offerings were singled out for praise.
That’s not the case, she noted - it’s how Waxlight’s food and drink soar together. It’s right there in the award definition: “exceptional care and skill in the pairing of wine and other beverages with food.”
“It's our ability to pair, and to think about flavors, in regards to both food and drink,” said Forster. “That gets all the way down to the tea that we serve, espresso, beer, all encompassing.
“That's why we do this,” she said. “That’s why Tony and I constantly have our noses in books, even Ed and Joe constantly reading cookbooks, getting inspiration, different techniques, different ideas. We try to create an actual experience, from top to bottom, where we can enlighten someone in the most chill, non-condescending way. Where we can introduce them to something they haven't had before. That’s what makes us tick.”
Come to Waxlight if you’re “looking for something different, unique not run-of-the-mill,” she said. “Our doors are open, our arms are open, we're an open book, and we love taking care of people, and introducing new things to new guests.”
At 365 Connecticut St., owner Ryan Fernandez was just happy to survive the year after his first James Beard appearance, finishing as a finalist - one of five best new chefs in the nation.
“Last year, when all this happened, we weren't ready for that, overnight,” he said, about the lines stretching out the door, Texas barbecue joint culture transplanted to the West Side. “Everybody in that team has been just practicing their role for the past year, and they're really good at it now.
“We could have expanded the menu last year,” said Fernandez. “We could have brought on online ordering, and we caught some flack for not doing any of that.
“But our main focus was: I need my crew that's waking up coming into work, to not fear coming into work. I want them to get comfortable doing what they're doing. And I think focusing on that has really, really, paid off for the whole team.”
REVIEW: Once considered exotic, sushi has earned its way into the American diet. At Wasabi’s Amherst location, Japanese-style raw and cooked seafood served on rice is part of the attraction. But in an age of supermarket sushi, it takes more than a decent California roll to make a visit worthwhile. That’s where straightforward Japanese cooking like crispy fried katsu chicken cutlets and grilled hamachi kama, the “collar” from a tuna relative, should put Wasabi Amherst on your sushi radar. (Later today, for patrons)
New Tipico menu lowers prices: When former Cafe Godot chef Kevin Thurston took over the food offerings at Elmwood Village’s Tipico Coffee, he knew it’d be a challenge to balance diverse housemade quality, and the prices customers were willing to pay.
Shaped by customer feedback, Thurston’s new winter menu offers lower prices and more housemade goodies. It starts with baking loaves of Pullman bread as the foundation of budget-friendly meals.
Breakfast melts of eggs, cheddar cheese, chipotle mayonnaise, scallions ($7), with bacon or housemade chorizo ($9). Cauliflower toast ($7) offers roasted seasoned cauliflower, pickled red onions, and chipotle mayonnaise.
Logan’s Bagels ($7) are toasted to order and slathered with chipotle honey cream cheese, regular cream cheese, or other schmears.
Chai-spiced rice crispy sweets ($3.50) make the childhood favorite right for enjoying with one of Tipico’s single-origin coffees.
1084 Elmwood Ave., order.tipicocoffee.com, 716-464-3449
Hours: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
Mourning Gusto? Read The Hive: A week after The Buffalo News folded its Gusto section, effectively eliminating the last vestiges of what had been a must-read arts and culture section for decades, The Buffalo Hive was stepping up to fill the gap in Buffalo’s information landscape.
Where can you find out what’s good tonight, or next week? The Buffalo Hive is six months into its mission to provide the answers for Western New York, as a non-profit community-owned resource to help people find fun, and artists find audiences.
The Buffalo Hive’s day started with Monica Power’s music and community events daily roundup, Hive editor Elmer Ploetz wrote in his letter from the editor column today.
Shows coming up in the growing Buffalo live comedy scene got an update in Jason Pomietlasz’s Comedy Buzz. The legacy of the Old Pink was explored in a piece on the “Old PInk” art popup at the Buffalo History Museum, including work by Joe George, Adam Zyglis, Jesse Zuefle, Joshua Underscore, Michael Mulley, Mickey Harmon, Jean-Claude Delettrez, Emmitt Fitzhughmes and Johnny Mayhem.
Journey’s End Refugee Services, one of Buffalo’s main refugee aid agencies, got its turn in the spotlight, focusing on current needs, in the “How Can We Help?” column.
Then came Melinda Miller’s review of “The Last Five Years” at MusicFare - remember theater reviews? Plus the lineup for the Nietzsche’s fundraiser for the Mulligan’s Brick Bar workers who lost their jobs when the place burned down.
Veteran film critic M. Faust’s offered a review of “The Room Next Door.” More music from Jeff Mier’s “Where the Bands Are”column, previewing outfits headed here to make some noise.
“When I stopped to think about it,” Ploetz wrote, “I realized that we had done online almost everything that Gusto had been offering in hard copy for all of those years.”
Give The Buffalo Hive a chance to keep you informed on what’s good. The website’s a bit clunky looking, but it’s not even an adolescent yet, and will grow - if its audience grows too.
Check the Events Calendar next time you’re looking for something good in Buffalo. As a 501(c)3 operation, your donations to The Buffalo Hive are tax-deductible. If you want to know what’s good in Buffalo, start supporting the Hive by reading it, sending in your event notices, and sending links to your friends.
ASK THE CRITIC
Q: Anywhere locally where you can get “husband and wife lung slices” / fuqi fepian in Buffalo? Had it over the weekend at Mala Project in NYC and really liked it. I don’t usually like tripe, but I guess cold and thin sliced, it was good.
A: “Husband and wife lung slices” is available in the Buffalo area under the slightly less horrorshow name “cold beef and tripe in hot oil” (A12) at Golden Hill in Amherst, and Mahar Moe, in Tonawanda. As “ox tongue and tripe with spicy pepper sauce,” Miss Hot Cafe in Amherst serves another version.
Please note that lung is rarely used for the dish these days. The Chengdu-rooted pairing of beef and offal in chile oil with a touch of numbing Sichuan peppercorn remains popular, using trip instead.
More reading from Michael Chelus:
Mr. Galarneau wrote about one of the best restaurants in WNY and a personal favorite - Prescott's Provisions [Four Bites]
Caffe @ Amy's plans to open in March and bring back one of the best breakfasts in the University Heights [Four Bites]
Winter Soup Fest takes place on 2/2 at The Terrance at Delaware Park including offerings from Beacon Grille, D.A. Eatz and more [Buffalo News]
Southern Junction and Waxlight Bar á Vin have once again been nominated for James Beard awards [Buffalo News]
Brian's weekly beer news told us of the transition of One-Eyed Cat Brewing to One-Eyed Cat Craft House, a New York Beer Project beer dinner at RationAles and more [Step Out Buffalo]
#30#
People actually had the nerve to give Southern Junction flak for not kowtowing to Online ordering? In Texas, when it's gone, it's GONE!!! You DO NOT scale up real BBQ and be able to keep it real!!
There is nothing wrong with your menu, Please, Dear Goddess, do not give in to the common crowd!! They do not deserve you if they cannot be bothered to line up for the Best in Town!!