(585) magazine Jan-Feb 2021

Pop-ups DIALED IN

Women bridge the gap in the wine industry p.8

GROW

Book series highlights local Black leaders p.12

EXPLORE

Mark Daniels’s journey to the stage p.20

TASTE

A guide to your whiskey deep dive p.68

POP-UPS

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW: MICRO WEDDINGS ARE HERE TO STAY p. 34 COFFEE AND DONUTS: BUSINESSES THAT BEGAN AS POP-UPS p. 43

2021 JAN • FEB

$3.95

PLUS! (585)’S QUARANTINE TAKE-OUT RESTAURANT GUIDE p. 64

January February 2021 585mag.com

EXTRA

JANUARY | FEBRUARY 2021

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONS & SUPPLEMENTS

29

45

47

Kids ..............................45 Getting out of the house during COVID

Features

Wedding .......................47

26 Pop-up

Pop-ups were a minor trend pre-COVID. Now, an uncertain world brings us a flower pop-up, pop-up food and beverages, pop-up workplaces, and even a pop-up wedding. Stories by Donna DePalma, Laura DiCaprio, John Ernst, Mary Rockcastle, and Carolyn Sperry.

8

12

22

Hosting your small celebration of love

Financial ......................53 Planning in crisis

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Pop-ups DIALED IN

Women bridge the gap in the wine industry p.8

GROW

Book series highlights local Black leaders p.12

EXPLORE

Mark Daniels’s journey to the stage p.20

TASTE

A guide to your whiskey deep dive p.68

SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW: MICRO WEDDINGS ARE HERE TO STAY p. 34 COFFEE AND DONUTS: BUSINESSES THAT BEGAN AS POP-UPS p. 43 PLUS! (585)’S QUARANTINE TAKE-OUT RESTAURANT GUIDE p. 64

January February 2021 585mag.com

Dialed in

Grow

Explore

Taste

6

12

20

56

By Jinelle Vaiana

By Christine Green

By Leah Stacy

Around town

In This Moment

Mark Daniels: the Lyric Tenor

8

16

By Dawn Kellogg

By Tanvi Asher

By Donna De Palma

Visual legacies

What2Where

Salty and sweet

22

18

By Dawn Kellogg

By Julia Smith

Appert takes over as the Amerks coach

Out of the fire

26

By Todd Etshman

In every issue

60

5

Food and drink trends

By Megan Colombo

62

Welcome to the cuisine of the Levant

68

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Deadlines, Hello (585)

77

Index of Advertisers

78

Seen

Photos from (585)’s January/February driveby happy hour

A word on whiskey

80

Plus, our updated (585) take-out guide

Danielle Ponder just can’t stay still.

By Pete Wayner

2

Photo by Julia Merrell Design by Josh Flanigan

A spirited operation

By Naz Banu

Plus, the (585) “Do list”

ON THE COVER

Unplugged: The soul purpose

By John Ernst

Contributors Publisher & Editor Jane Milliman Creative Director

Josh Flanigan

Managing Editor Regan Wagner Production Manager Caroline Kunze Editor-at-Large

John Ernst

Graphic Designer Cathy Monrad Staff Photographers Tomas Flint, Michael Hanlon Contributing Emily Beagles, Greg Hollar, Photographers Pete Wayner Contributing Tanvi Asher, Naz Banu, Writers Megan Colombo, Donna

DePalma, Laura DiCaprio, John Ernst, Todd Etshman, Christine Green, Dawn Kellogg, Mary Rockcastle, Julia Smith, Carolyn Sperry, Leah Stacy, Jinelle Vaiana, Pete Wayner Proofreader Phyllis Mangefrida Editorial Intern

Alexandria Hutton

Vice President of Sales Caroline Kunze Advertising Sales Beth Anderson, Terri Downey

What we do: Local heroes DIALED IN The return of acid wash and tie-dye p.8

GROW

Childhood above the Arctic Circle p.12

EXPLORE

One Hip Chic named the country’s best p.24

Tanvi Asher

Christine Green

is a Rochester-based fashion and industrial designer.

She is the owner of Shop Peppermint and Salty.

is a freelance writer, teaching artist, and writing coach.

Learn more at christinejgreen. com.

Naz Banu

Katie Johnson

is a software engineer by day and a food appreciator by night (and day). She is often seen trying to convince people to try the spicy salsa for once. Follow her on Instagram at @tablefornaz.

A lover of good food and red wine, Johnson is a freelance writer from nine to five.

John Boccacino

Patrick Scanlon

is a Seneca Falls resident and works for Syracuse University as the communications coordinator in the office of alumni engagement. A 2003 SU graduate, Boccacino loves telling compelling stories.

Donna De Palma

is a freelance writer based in Rochester.

Martin Edic

writes full time, loves to cook, and walks three to five miles daily to get inspired.

John Ernst

is a passionate writer, hiker, and gamer born and raised in Rochester. He is currently developing his website, johnmwrites.com.

Nancy O’Donnell

is a freelance writer who is curious about everything. is an RIT professor, writer, and fly fisherman.

Erin Scherer

grew up with Seneca Lake in her backyard and wrote about Lake Tunnel Solar Village in the May/June 2019 issue.

She lives in Geneva.

Leah Stacy

is a hospitality and arts writer based in Rochester.

Jinelle Vaiana

is a Rochester-based freelance writer.

Pete Wayner

is a food- and beveragecentric content creator based in Rochester.

TASTE

Improving old holiday beverages p.68

LOCAL HEROES

TEACHER JIMMY BUNTLEY IS A HERO TO HIS STUDENTS p. 42

November December 2020 585mag.com

BREWERY HONORS EVERYDAY HEROES p. 36

(585) magazine Upstate (585) Kids Gardeners’ Journal Custom Publishing (585) Hot Off the Press Happy Hours Dawn Kellogg

is a Rochester city resident, likes to celebrate everything that the 585 region has to offer, and feels fortunate to live in such a great area!

Carolyn Sperry

is a wife, mother, and freelance writer who is looking for a beekeeping mentor in 2021.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS To order or renew a subscription online, visit 585mag.com and select the “Subscribe” tab. For personal service, call 413-0040. All major credit cards are accepted. New subscriptions will begin with the next scheduled issue.

Hello (585) Dear friends, 2021 ... never in my lifetime has a new year been more eagerly anticipated.

CHANGE OF ADDRESS Please send all address changes, whether temporary or permanent, with effective date(s) to 585subscriptions@585mag.com, or call 413-0040. Address changes will take effect with the next scheduled issue.

FEEDBACK We’d love to hear what you think! Send us an email at jmilliman@585mag.com or mail us at Letters to the Editor, 585 Magazine, 1501 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610.

DEADLINES FOR LISTINGS Calendar listing deadlines for our upcoming issues are as follows: For March/April 2021 issue: Jan. 15 For May/June 2021 issue: Mar. 15 For July/August 2021 issue: May 15 For September/October 2021 issue: July 15 ADVERTISING If you’d like to learn about advertising in an upcoming issue of (585), you can view our advertising rate card and mechanical requirements at 585mag.com—or call Caroline at 413-0040.

ON THE WEB Visit 585mag.com to take a tour of the current issue, get exclusive webextras content, check online calendar listings, and review our dining guide.

FIND US ON

RENTAL LIST ADVISORY On occasion, (585) magazine makes available its mailing list to companies in which we feel our readers may have an interest. If you do not want us to share your name, please write to: Circulation, 585 Publishing, Inc., 1501 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610.

But we have been busy bees over here at (585) World Headquarters. I am excited to announce that, in November, we acquired a new title.You may remember Genesee Valley Parent, which beacame Roc Parent a few years ago.

Now it will undergo another transformation—into (585) Kids!

We are all very excited about this new venture. The magazine will be similar to its past iterations—free to pick up almost anywhere and full of great stories, activities, columns, and the rest—but we’ll put our own stamp on it, of course.

If you are interested in becoming a contributor an advertiser, or if you have any questions or concerns, email me at jmilliman@585mag.com.

Way back in March when the pandemic forced all of our local restaurants to shut down, my friend Brian Donovan starting posting takeout reviews on his Facebook page—excellent reviews. Brian is a great guy with a big heart, and his pieces are funny, thoughtful, and informative—I looked forward to them every day. As restaurants were allowed to reopen, the reviews were put on pause, but then the second wave came and he started them up again.

He got such a positive response that Brian and his colleague Andrew Trout collected them all and published the Quarantine Takeout Restaurant Guide (subtitled: Helping people find the best meals possible during the worst times imaginable), which we have reprinted in this issue in place of our usual dining guide. I guarantee you will enjoy it.You can download the latest version as a PDF at donovanres.com or follow Brian on Facebook for updates. Enjoy, and, if you can, please support our local restaurants by ordering some delicious takeout—our guide will provide the inspiration!

We couldn’t have our issue launch party in November, and we don’t have one scheduled for January. We miss seeing all of you, and we fervently hope that by the time March rolls around, we’ll be able to be together again.

Thank you, as always, for reading—

PLEASE RECYCLE THIS MAGAZINE ... OR PASS IT ON! PRINTED BY

Photo by Cathy Monrad (585) January/February 2021. Published six times a year. Published bimonthly. Copyright ©2021 by JFM Publishing, LLC 1501 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610. Telephone (585) 413-0040. Fax (585) 413-0296. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any text or graphics without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. Send change of address to JFM Publishing, LLC, 1501 East Avenue, Rochester, NY 14610. Domestic subscription rates: $12/one year, $18/two years. Single issue: $3.95 U.S. Newsstand distribution is handled by Wolfe News Service, Inc. (585) assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts. A self-addressed stamped envelope must accompany all such submissions for possible return.

585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Dialed in Around town | What2Where

Around town

By Jinelle Vaiana

Celebrating women who created change

Andy Warhol at the MAG Few artists have captured or celebrated twentieth-century pop culture quite like Andy Warhol. The eccentric artist, film director/ producer, and publisher saw the world through a colorful lens, and his artwork reflects that.

The Memorial Art Gallery is currently celebrating the artist’s legacy in its exhibition Andy Warhol Portfolios: A Life in Pop | Works from the Bank of America Collection, open through the end of March.

“Rochester already has a rich arts and culture scene, and Bank of America is pleased to add to that richness by sharing (this collection),” said Colleen Matteson, Bank of America Rochester market president in a recent release. “Visitors of the Memorial Art Gallery will be able to experience one of America’s most vibrant artists through Bank of America’s ‘Arts in our Communities’ program, which loans exhibitions at no cost to our museum and nonprofit gallery partners.”

The exhibition features seventy-nine original screen prints from Warhol, including the artist’s most recognizable pieces, like his 1967 portrait of Marilyn Monroe, as well as Campbell’s Soup II (1969), and Flowers (1970).

Warhol was known for the avant-garde world he created in his New York studio, dubbed the Factory. The space became a hub for muses he called his “superstars,” as well as Hollywood celebrities and famous musicians. He also managed experimental rock group the Velvet Underground.

And while that scene died long ago, thankfully Warhol’s treasured artwork lives on today.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

As 2020 marks a century since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, what better time to celebrate local women who have cultivated and driven change in our communities and beyond?

The Rochester Museum & Science Center is cur rently featuring an inspiring exhibit titled The Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World through May 16. What is a Changemaker? According to the museum’s website, they’re visionaries: persistent and not afraid to ruffle feathers. They walk the walk and build solid relationships.

The exhibit features stories of more than 200 women— including activists, entrepreneurs, inventors, and others—from Greater Rochester and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. A range of objects in the exhibit bring their stories to life, including photographs, personal affects, and fun interactive components.

Museum visitors will find a flight simulator modeled on Bessie Coleman’s JN-4 plane and a display where beads are poured into forms to build a “concrete” house—representative of Kate Gleason’s contributions to business and engineering.

More than 400 local women were nominated for inclusion in the exhibit, and the selection process was aided by community feedback and a content committee composed of RMSC staff, community members, and diversity and inclusion consultants.

The goal was to bring forward stories that museum visitors may not have heard before— stories from women with diverse backgrounds, fields of study, and areas of impact.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions, one bus at a time In case you missed it, the Regional Transit Service (RTS) has been steadily rolling out electric buses since September 2020, with more yet to come.

By the end of this year, RTS aims to have a total of twenty electric buses and the associated charging infrastructure in place.

This push toward an electrified fleet is in part thanks to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has required RTS and a number of other transit systems around the state to transition twenty-five percent of their bus fleets to zero emissions by 2025, with 100 percent due in 2035.

The first group of ten buses introduced last year in phase one of the project, as well as charging and electrical infrastructure, had a price tag of $12.4 million—the majority of which was paid for by the New

York State Department of Transportation.

The typical charging time on one bus is three to four hours, and the typical range on one battery’s electric charge is up to 190 miles.

The environmental impact of making the switch is huge. By replacing just ten diesel buses with electric versions, greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by 905 metric tons—the same amount of emissions generated by nearly 200 personal vehicles in one year.

Dialed In | Around town Local company helps New York and beyond mask up Since the onset of COVID-19, many manufacturers around the state have pivoted their business to begin manufacturing personal protection equipment (PPE). When supply chain issues caused product shortages statewide, grant funds became available from the state to help manufacturers make the transition to PPE production easier.

Carestream, a local developer of digital medical imaging systems, received $750,000 in state funds to develop its Carestream Shield, a personal face shield to protect against exposure to harmful bodily fluids. Those funds, in conjunction with the company’s own investments, have helped create five new manufacturing jobs to assist with production of 135,000 face shields by May of this year.

The shields come in two sizes, and they have an adjustable strap in the back (similar to a baseball cap), a forehead cushion, and an opening at the top to help reduce the accumulation of fog and sweat. The shields also disassemble for easy cleaning or travel, and they’re meant to be worn

with other PPE like face masks and goggles.

The shields will be shipped worldwide, and a list of authorized dealers can be found on Carestream’s website at carestream.com/face-shield.

Photos provided except top left by Steve Schapiro/Corbis via Getty Images

Little Theatre honors longtime patron Jack Garner The late Rochester film critic Jack Garner will be the first person to have a theater in the Little Theatre named after him.

Garner was a Gannett film critic for decades, as well as a regular supporter of the theater. He was often seen in the theater watching films, giving concert/movie introductions, and leading panel discussions. In fact, he was made an Honorary Trustee of the Little Theatre before his passing in July.

As the Little works t owa r d r e o p e n i n g , it maintains its commitment to be “a home for meaningful community e n g a g e m e n t , t h o u g h t - p rovo k i n g programming, and the dynamic exchange of ideas.”

585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Dialed In | What2Where

Working in wine

Women bridging the gap in the wine industry

By Tanvi Asher

Before the pandemic upended the hospitality industry, most modern wine bars were straightforward affairs. They would offer thirty or so wines by the glass, several types of stemware, a few esoteric bottles, and perhaps some educational classes and tastings.

Due to rapidly changing health and safety protocols, wine bars must now redefine themselves. Across the country, vinological hosts have transformed white tablecloth restaurants and brick-and mortar bars into seasonal pop-ups. These mobile wine bar ventures represent a new breed of hospitality. Wine programs are abbreviated at some, while others reimagine their target audience and what they want out of their business.

I spoke with two wonderful women based in Rochester who have extensive experience in the hospitality industry and also happen to frequently collaborate.

Colleen Hardy is the co-owner of Living Roots Winery in Rochester, and Maiah Johnson Dunn is the creator of Chasing Grapeness, a wine pairing dinner series.

Colleen Hardy Colleen Hardy spent many years in Australia with her husband, Seb, each of them working in different aspects of the wine industry. Seb’s background is in viticulture and winemaking, while Colleen’s is in marketing. In those early years they also made a bit of their own wine on the side. Seb was always keen on branching out and experimenting with his own winemaking. When the time came to explore that more seriously, they decided it was a venture they wanted to enter into together. As a result, Living Roots, Rochester’s first urban winery, was born in 2017. Living Roots is a unique operation that makes wines from grapes grown in two different terroirs: the nearby Finger Lakes region and South Australia.

Recently, Colleen debuted a casual wine bar pop-up at her family’s Keuka Lake property. She wanted to make it approachable by swapping fine dining for mality with a welcoming guest experience. “It’s more about the feeling than anything,” she says, noting that the pandemic has “pushed things into new test models.”

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Dialed In | What2Where Pop-ups are all the rage, and the pandemic has driven everyone to be creative. Since Living Roots started to do these, will you do them more often?

CH: Even pre-COVID, we enjoyed participating in wine dinners, festivals, and the occasional pop-ups at local businesses.

But we hadn’t done anything quite like our FLX Pop-Up until this summer. We saw a need for outdoor experiences, something we can’t really offer at our Rochester location, and we’d already been planning on building a tasting room on my family’s Keuka Lake property. COVID made that concept a little more urgent, so we adapted the plans to more of a simple pop-up style operation. It all happened quite quickly, and we were limited on what types of permits we could use on such short notice. It was a great first run, and we look forward to doing it even bigger and better for the full season next year.

Did the pop-ups change your business model at all since COVID seems to be changing the landscape of hospitality?

CH: They certainly lend flexibility, which has proven to be key in a year like 2020.

Pop-ups won’t replace our core business, where the tasting room and distribution are crucial, but there’s no denying that popups can expand our reach and offer another stream of revenue that is so badly needed in times like these.

What are you most excited about in 2021?

CH: We plan to open our FLX Pop-Up for the full season, and we’ll expand both the set-up and the offerings. While that is a great short-term option, we’re also working on plans for a proper tasting room on the property. Ideally, we’ll start building in fall 2021 for a spring 2022 opening. We’re also working on plans for a small tasting room in South Australia and are seeking distribution in both the US and Australia. I’m hopeful and excited to see our wines reaching people outside the Rochester area.

On the production side, we’re increasingly experimenting with low-impact winemaking techniques and different varieties best suited to the climates we’re working in. That would make them more sustainable in both the vineyard and the winery. This includes southern Mediterranean varieties in South Australia like Teroldego, Nero D’Avola, and Montepulciano, and high-quality FrenchAmerican hybrid varieties in New York like Traminette, Cayuga White, and Aromella.

We’re really excited about our new and upcoming releases, along with the release of a new label for our more emerging varieties and alternative styles. We’ve also started kegging some of our wines this year and will expand our refillable bottle program as we start to roll out those newer vintages.

585mag.com | January/February 2021

9

Dialed In | What2Where Maiah Johnson Dunn Pop-upss are very en vogue at the moment, but I like them.

The reason? It allows passionate people with good ideas and plenty of talent the ability to try to create a business and develop a following from a safe start, without needing to risk large amounts of up-front capital. A perfect example of this is Maiah Johnson Dunn, an experiential marketer and the creator of Chasing Grapeness, a charitable wine pairing dinner series that grew its roots as an FLX-wine focused Instagram account.

Tell us about the pop-ups you’ve done with Avvino and the Historic German House.

MJD: I call Chasing Grapeness my accidental activism, and I’m just so proud of it. Toward the beginning of the pandemic, I wrote an Instagram post detailing why I shut down my wine-focused account, and it went a bit viral.

Of the people who reached out, one came to me with an actionable plan to help amplify the message further: Chris Grocki. Chris has been a fantastic ally and partner in the dinners, facilitating the initial partnership with Avvino, and orchestrating a second dinner at his own venue, the Historic German House.

Each dinner is typically a five-course meal with wine pairings from FLX winemaker allies and Black-owned wines from across the US. Proceeds from the dinner have been donated to charities focused on the wellness and betterment of the Rochester BIPOC [Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] community.

What is your overarching goal for these pop-ups?

MJD: Outside of the charitable contributions, my pop-up dinners have one main goal: to start the conversation about a lack of racial diversity in the wine community of the Finger Lakes, and overall.The format of dinners seems to work well for this goal, with wine and food pairings providing a soft landing for the hard truths. My hope is to inspire attendees into actionable (not performative) allyship. The pop-up nature only adds to the impact of being able to have these conversations with a broader audience across our city, with interest in expanding them across the state and maybe beyond.

Are pop-ups likely going to be the way of the future?

MJD: Absolutely. They already are, in my opinion. I was lucky enough to work for a pop-up pioneer at the start of my career, where I had the honor of building experiences for clients like Delta Air Lines, Google, L’Oreal, and Sports Illustrated. Pop-up experiences have only continued to grow in popularity over the years, but especially now as we’re living in a post-COVID world where outdoor activities are preferred. I think a brand would be remiss not to capitalize on seasonal open-air opportunities, especially now when customers are essentially begging for them.

The beauty and the opportunity of a pop-up is that it is built to be transient. Pop-up businesses are generally more affordable than permanent venues, which makes them attractive to proprietors who need agility. By focusing on appealing to wider audiences, these temporary venues also capture the sincerest essence of hospitality and provide the comfort many will be seeking in a post-coronavirus world.

WORDS AND STYLING BY TANVI ASHER PHOTOGRAPHY BY GREG HOLLAR MAKEUP BY LAMANY CHANTHAVONG 10

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Dialed In | What2Where

585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Grow

Literary arts | Style | Art

In This Moment

Book series highlights leaders who inspire

By Christine Green

When Amanda Chestnut got a call from Jeanne Strazzabosco asking her to curate a series of chapbooks highlighting the lives of Black leaders in Rochester, she knew that the idea could turn into something special.

“Once we spoke the idea into being, it just kind of kept going on its own,” says Chestnut.

It wasn’t long before the texts, emails, and calls turned into a multibook project called In This Moment.

Chestnut and the In This Moment production team are publishing ten chapbooks profiling ten leaders and will include professional photos of each participant through the Visual Studies Workshop in Rochester.

But what was the genesis of such 12

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

a n a m b i t i o u s a n d w i d e - re a c h i n g collaboration? It started with a stunning photo of a Black woman draped in gauzy red fabric. Local photographer Adam Eaton posted the image on Facebook.

Strazzabosco, a retired French teacher, saw the photo and was struck by its somber beauty. Eaton released it just as the world was feeling much sorrow and uncertainty amidst the beginning of the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. Seeing that photo allowed her a moment to feel the intense sadness and despair of the world.

“I’m feeling it now just thinking about it,” says Strazzabosco.

She thought that perhaps Eaton would be interested in collaborating on a photography project centering around Black subjects. Eaton, though flattered, said

he wasn’t quite ready for a collaboration of this scope. That didn’t stop Strazzabosco from moving forward. But she was advised to hire a Black curator to head up the venture. That’s when she reached out to Chestnut, who was on board right away.

“She wanted to do a project that could really elevate the voices of Black artists and Black folk,” Chestnut says of Strazzabosco’s idea.

Chestnut, a Rochester-based artist and educator, went to work selecting candidates for the profiles, but it was no easy task. Rochester is flush with dynamic Black leadership and talent, so she and Strazzabosco had a lot of decisions to make.

“As we kind of narrowed down our dream list, we really wanted to make sure that we had coverage in an array of professions in

Photos on opposite page by Michael Hanlon; this page Michael Darcy

Grow | Literary arts

an array of fields.

And also, we wanted to make sure that we were being representative of what the Black community in Rochester looks like. So we wanted to make sure we included someone who was a disability advocate; we wanted to make sure that we were inclusive of a range of gender representation, a range of ages, a range of socioeconomic status,” she notes.

(See sidebar for full list of profiles.)

Quajay Donnell of Rochester is both a writer and a photographer for In This Moment and is thrilled about the different leaders included in the books.

“The scope of the folks that we’re profiling is absolutely amazing, so it’s an honor to even be included once but then to be included twice. I am writing a profile for Samra Brouk. And then doing the photos for Danielle Ponder,” says Donnell.

Writer Lu Highsmith is also happy to be a part of In This Moment. “Mine was really interesting because I had two generations of people. I had a mother and son (Dorian and Dorothy Hall) and was able to see things from the mom’s perspective, who’s been at their home for fifty years, and then Dorian who is probably a little bit younger than myself.”

Cocoa Rae is the photographer for the

book about Adrian Elim and is buzzing with joy over it.

“Adrian ... I think that is very divine energy,” she says.

“I’m excited to capture that on my camera and see what we come up with.”

While the selection of the leaders was important, Chestnut notes that choosing the writers and photographers was just as

crucial. “I wanted to build a team that would be able to build the best portraits,” says Chestnut of choosing the staff. “It was conscientious and deliberate.”

Even though the books are free, the team is not volunteer; each person working on In This Moment is paid staff.

Chestnut was not going to ask for free labor.

“I’m not taking stories from people without compensating for that. Stories have value, Black stories have value in particular, especially to me, so everybody’s getting paid.”

While the entire group is working tirelessly to bring this project together, the true heart of In This Moment is Chestnut.

Donnell expresses respect for Chestnut and her ability to curate a large group of artists for a project of this scope yet not micromanage their creative visions.

“I think that’s the embodiment of a curator, where she’s bringing creative folks together but then allowing us to do what

In This Moment Team Leader 1. Shawn Dunwoody 2. Herbert Smith 3. Adrian Elim 4. Samra Brouk 5. Danielle Ponder 6. Dorian & Dorothy Hall 7. Debora McDell-Hernandez 8. Kate Mariner 9. Dr. Celia Macintosh 10. Luticha Doucette

Photographer Arturo Hoyt Jackie McGriff Cocoa Rae Andre Walker Quajay Donnell Ralph Thompson Rashaad Parker Chris Caldwell Olivia Bacot Erica Jae

Interviewer Chris Thompson Taurus Savant Jevon Elim Quajay Donnell Luticha Doucette Lu Highsmith Lisa Marie Rickman Erica Bryant Vanessa Cheeks Irene Kannyo

585mag.com | January/February 2021

13

we do and kind of curating that process in a way that it’s still our voice, our images, our work.”

Chestnut’s skills as a leader in her own right have “been amazing to witness,” says Rae. She adds that one of the best parts of working on In This Moment is the opportunity to work with fellow Rochester artists and writers like Chestnut.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

“It’s a great opportunity to be a part of a collection—a collection of work with amazing artists, photographers, and writers, and I’m super excited about putting this publication out. I’m excited to see everybody’s work and writing.”

After the first ten chapbooks are published, Strazzabosco and Chestnut hope to create a fine art edition and donate proceeds to the Avenue Black Box Theater in Rochester.

“I know we easily have enough people to do a second and third edition. If the money is available, there is no shortage of Black leadership in the city of Rochester that deserves to be recognized and highlighted.”

When asked who the audience is for In This Moment, Chestnut says, “As much as this project is to educate folks, especially white folks, about the work that’s being done in the city of Rochester, it’s also really important to me to make sure that we are celebrating and commemorating the work that’s being done by Black people.”

It’s also a love letter to the Black community and its leaders. “I almost want the audience to be the leaders,” says Chestnut. “I’d love them to love this representation of themselves and be proud of the work that they’ve done and see all of that hard work of their portraits. Because I think that if I can do that, everyone else will see it too.”

To get your copy of In This Moment and to donate to the project, visit Visual Studies Workshop’s site: bookstore.vsw.org.

Photos by Michael Hanlon

Grow | Literary Arts

For me print never goes out of style, and (585) is the best place to find out about “cool people, places, and things happening in my hometown.”

—DOUG HENDEE Chief Sales Officer, Brighton Securities

HOME & CRAFT BEVERAGES DIALED IN South Wedge shop satisfies Euro cravings p.6

EXPLORE

EXPLORE

Local author Robert Glick’s Two Californias p.12

Waterport’s unusual entrepreneurs p.18

TASTE

Discover French Week at Rooney’s p.57

The flower crown— updated with air plants p.8

EXPLORE

Beloved Junior Leagus cookbook turns forty p.14

EXPLORE

The ladies— and kids—of Laughing Gull Chocolates p.18

TASTE

May June 2020 585mag.com

SUMMER STYLE p. 33

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THE WILD CENTER P. 27

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CRAFT BEVERAGES: Make your own drink modifiers p. 37

Home // Style DIALED IN

Bitter city— How is Rochester like a digestive? p.66

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Grow | Style

Salty and sweet

The taste of fashion in Rochester

By Donna De Palma

Salty Boutique 749 Park Ave., Rochester 662-9092 Before she came to Rochester, Tanvi Asher designed packaging for beauty products and perfumes in New York City.

When she landed a job here right out of grad school as a packaging engineer for the medical industry, she thought her career was about to take off.

However, it wasn’t long before Asher began to plot an escape from corporate life.

Asher designed women’s accessories while in college, exhibiting scarves, handbags, and fabric jewelry as part of her thesis project at RIT. One day, while waiting for the light to change at the corner of Park Ave. and Meigs St., she jotted down the phone number for a studio for rent. Her husband, who noticed how unhappy she was with her job, encouraged her to check it out.

Asher rented a 500-square-foot space at 16

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

the location, working in back and selling her handmade accessories up front. She even invited friends to sell their designs from her studio.

“My husband and I live in a 1,000-squarefoot house in the city. By that time, I’d taken over the whole house. He never said, “please get a studio,” … but I had a feeling it was time. The rent was so reasonable.

I signed a one-year lease and began by renovating the space,” Asher says.

Peppermint was born. Sales took off.

Asher called on connections she’d made at her packaging job in search of a manufacturer who could produce her line.

Asher created a line of clothing tailored to juniors with a signature style that was youthful, fresh, and whimsical. After promoting her work at craft sales and trade shows, she found a manufacturer willing to produce her lines of clothing, jewelry, and accessories.

By then, Asher had already been

downsized from her corporate job. No matter, she was off and running with her new designs.

In 2016, Asher moved Peppermint to the Armory on Culver Road: a 1,600-squarefoot clothing store catering to girls and women sixteen and up.

Then, in 2018, she expanded her retail presence back to Park Avenue with the opening of Salty Boutique, a clothing store for women. Asher wanted a retail outlet that catered to women with classic taste.

“I asked myself, ‘What happens to the girl who shops at Peppermint when she grows up?’ Once she ages, I hope she’ll come here.”

Asher says she got tired of hearing her customers ask, “Do you have this in black?”

“I opened a store that offers customers all the black, white, and grey they can imagine with just a hint of color: a pop of mustard yellow or olive green here and there,” she says.

Asher designed the interior space of Salty Boutique to reflect its merchandise with

Grow | Style

Photos provided

white walls, an exposed ceiling painted black, and open, black-framed fixtures for hanging clothes.The result: a contemporary, hip atmosphere that showcases fashion.

Three years ago, Asher added a fashion truck to her retail venues, equipped with dressing room, wood floors, and track lighting. She drives her truck to festivals or anytime she feels like taking fashions on the road.

“All the clothing on our truck is priced under forty dollars. A fashion truck parked in a town that may only have a strip mall or a Walmart brings fashion to girls who may not have access to contemporary style,” she says.

Born in Mumbai, India, Asher came to the States in 2000. She says her line of clothing reflects her cultural heritage in subtle ways.

“The accessories featured bolder prints and bright colors in the beginning. Today, my accessories still exhibit some of what I admire about fashion from India. I’ve come to consider more traditional tastes here as well,” she says.

Asher draws inspiration from the extensive travel which she’s had the privilege of experiencing. Her favorite fashion hub? Denmark. She admires how Danes layer apparel so artfully.

“Everybody wears black in Denmark.

The textures and combinations are so beautiful, so unique.”

Asher admits she’s a designer first and a business owner second, though her businesses are both doing well.

Asher named her latest boutique after herself. “I have a sister who’s very sweet.

I’m the salty one; that’s just my personality.

Salty Boutique is me. This is where I would shop.”

585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Grow | Art

Out of the fire

Anything but ordinary glassware

By Julia Smith

Founder Elizabeth Lyons cradles one of her pieces in her Field Street studio.

More Fire Glass Studio 36 Field St., Rochester 242-0450 Over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit should not sustain life nor metamorphosis, and yet, this is precisely what happens when the artisans of More Fire Glass Studio go to work. Sand and silica, engulfed with fire and hours of the glassblowers’ immersion, transform even the most obliterated materials into something beautiful. It is a delicate balance, a tightrope walk of gravity, force, and heat that founder Elizabeth Lyons must maneuver ever so gracefully.

Lyons was drawn to the flame at a young age. “My grandparents had a chandelier and mirror shop in New York City,” Lyons recounts. “One of my most vivid and early memories is of going there.”

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

A bureau filled with illumining crystals meant for chandeliers was kept inside the shop—a treasure trove for the young Lyons. “I remember opening all the drawers, thinking it was kind of magical.”

More Fire’s gallery itself is an explosion of shape, light, and color. Opalescent orblike vessels cover the studio’s bright white display tables, strikingly counterbalanced by textured, translucent blooms that hang from an organic sculpture overhead.

A daughter of artists herself, Lyons moved to New York City and worked side jobs to support her career in sculpture and glassblowing before ultimately opening More Fire Glass Studio—composed of fellow artists Jennifer Schinzing and Michael Krupiarz—in Rochester, in 1998.

“I’m very interested in how glass works with other materials—not just on its own,” Lyons muses.

Observing the gallery, it’s clear that Lyons is inspired by the region’s natural elements. Perched on the walls of the studio are carefully crafted concrete birds, stones gathered from beaches across the state peeking through the exterior of their charcoal colored wings. Above the front desk hangs abstract glass shovels uniquely bonded by steel fasteners to wooden branches Lyons herself found in the woods. Shades of gray-and-brownspeckled, oblong containers mimic stones Lyons collected on a trip from the shores of Long Island—the design appropriately named Montauk Rock Vase.

“I just think of it as one more possibility,” Lyons explains. “Whether it’s cement or metal, it’s sort of finding the right material to meet the needs of the idea.”

Perhaps the key to the studio’s longstanding success is its versatility. In

Grow | Art fact, More Fire Glass Studio is as much an international business as it is a local one.

Represented by luxur y design company Holly Hunt, the products Lyons and the team at More Fire Glass Studio design have been featured on the cover of Architectural Digest and in publications such as Vogue, Town & Country, and The New York Times.

In addition, the studio wo r k s p r iva t e l y o n commissions for clients all over the world. Recently, they completed a hanging, b ro n z e - p ow d e r - c o a t e d sculpture, featur ing 168 glass-blown magnolias, which measures more than eight feet in diameter for a hotel in Hong Kong. While Lyons refuses to name names, she did have a client who sent out a private jet to pick up one of their glassworks … only for the design to be too large to fit through the door of the plane.

For clients looking for a more accessible pr ice point, More Fire Glass Studio’s gallery is located in the Upper Monroe neighborhood of Rochester and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Handmade glassworks such as vases, candleholders, and cups fill the shelves, each one crafted with the team’s eye for design.

“I just really love making things,” Lyon chimes. “I love making things you use, but I also really love making things with layers of meaning.”

Photos by Michael Hanlon

Above, left to right: artists Michael Krupiarz, Jennifer Schinzing, and More Fire founder Elizabeth Lyons

585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Explore The arts | History | Sports

Mark Daniels: the Lyric Tenor One Eastman singer’s journey to the stage

By Dawn Kellogg

Mark Daniels (right), with his coach and accompanist Rob Goodling

From the first notes of Cavaradossi’s aria from Puccini’s Tosca, “E lucevan le stelle,” you know that you are hearing an exceptional voice. For Mark Daniels, singing comes naturally and, to the listener, appears effortless.

Daniels has made Rochester his personal and artistic home since he arrived at Eastman School of Music as an undergraduate. He grew up in Kennebunk, Maine, but has family ties to Rochester. His great uncle, Ernest Kimball, owned Kimball Trucking and worked at Hallman Chevrolet on 20

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Winthrop Street (the building that housed 2 Vine, where Daniels once worked as a waiter) fifty years before Daniels arrived to study at Eastman. As he likes to say, “My great uncle and I grew up in the same farmhouse in Maine and somehow worked in the same state, city, and building decades apart.”

Like most kids, Daniels started singing in school. His first- and second-grade teachers told his family, “You know, he can sing!” Daniels joined the Boy Singers of Maine and, in junior high, auditioned

for the Southern Maine Music Festival. As a freshman in high school, he auditioned for his first musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and was cast in the title role. Life led him to a career in music, and he made his professional debut in Brigadoon in Portland, Maine. He was accepted into the undergraduate program at Eastman School of Music, where he made his opera debut as Sam in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah with Eastman Opera Theatre. His operatic career has taken him to Italy, to engagements in Buffalo, and all over the Finger Lakes region.

Musicians chart their professional lives through their teachers, coaches, and mentors much like people chart their family trees. Daniels’s first voice teacher in Portland was David Goulet, who worked with the legendary Sarah Caldwell. On arrival at Eastman, Daniels joined Rita Shane’s studio. Shane, a coloratura soprano, had a glittering career at the New York City and Metropolitan Operas and the great opera houses of the world.

Since 2017, Daniels has worked with acclaimed coach and accompanist Rob Goodling. Goodling’s professional career began as a violinist in the Elmira Symphony and Corning Philharmonic orchestras, but the greater part of his career has been as a coach, accompanist, and trainer of singers.An Eastman alumnus, Goodling spent twentyeight years teaching at Churchville-Chili High School, where his students included Renée Fleming and her sister, Rachelle. He was an affiliate professor of music education at Eastman School of Music and the music history instructor at Hochstein School of Music and has worked with the board of the Rochester Opera Guild.

Daniels and Goodling met more than three years ago when Daniels was working at Rocco’s restaurant. The pair chatted and discovered they had much in common; Goodling invited Daniels to come and sing for him. “After I heard him, I recognized that he had a great, natural voice, but there were things that needed to be worked on and some technique that he needed to be reminded of.” Goodling continues, “After six months of working together, I was able to say, ‘Mark, it’s all there.’”

Although his voice is reminiscent of that

Explore | The arts

The Do List | Jan/Feb

Photos by Tomas Flint

Except where noted, all events take place in area code (585).

of a young Jussi Björling, for himself, Daniels comments, “I needed to be reminded that I didn’t need to sound like or compare myself to anyone else. It’s important for me to find my own voice (literally).”

The dynamic between singer and accompanist is a unique one. It is a definite partnership with each artist feeding off of the other—a delicate balance. Like any relationship, this develops over time. A good accompanist must be a good listener, flexible, adaptable, and able to stay calm. Daniels and Goodling’s synergy is apparent. After a recent performance, one audience member posted the following: “Having heard many concerts, what immediately grabbed my attention was Daniels and Goodling’s intimacy, with their flawless sense of each other, and conveying that to their audience. One was caught, drawn in, gathered up, and surrounded by the passion of the music … and it is their genius and duality that is the magic.”

Daniels and Goodling consider the Lyric Theatre on East Avenue in Rochester their artistic home. Their first concert there in June 2019 with special guests Susan Delly Cotroneo, Marc Falco, and Jessica Ann Best was a hit: the curtain had to be held to accommodate the patrons lined up outside the door waiting to get in. Another concert, originally scheduled for April 2020, had to be postponed until April 2021 due to the pandemic. They have performed together in Syracuse and, most recently, in February 2020 at the Ilse Newell “Forgotten Coast” Performing Arts Series in Florida, featuring artists from all over the globe. In 2019, they collaborated on a CD of arias, The Lyric Tenor in Recital, available on iTunes, Spotify, and Amazon.

Recently, Daniels and Goodling have been exploring the work of American composer (and Rochester native) Alec Wilder, a composer with whom Goodling was familiar, but who was new to Daniels. Wilder is best remembered for his songs written for the Mills Brothers, Frank Sinatra, and Peggy Lee and his definitive book on American Popular Song, in addition to several classical works. Although his songs are rarely performed today, “they really should be included in the Great American Songbook,” comments Goodling.

One of Wilder’s songs, the stunning “Blackberry Winter,” was sung in a virtual recital of arias and winter-themed songs performed by Daniels and Goodling, which is now available online. This virtual concert is part of the Bravo Night Series, originally presented preCOVID at the Little Theatre in collaboration with the Rochester Opera Guild. (Daniels was the featured performer at the first of the series last year.) As this concert is virtual, it was filmed by Demian Spindler, himself a musician and filmmaker. “It helps to have a fellow musician film this for us,” comments Goodling. “He brings a unique perspective to the project.” This is the first video on which the three have collaborated and is a bit of a passion project for Daniels and Goodling.

Being an artist in the middle of a global pandemic has been difficult, with no venues open and no audiences to entertain. “This virtual recital gives us something to work toward in this very unsettling time,” says Daniels. “To have a virtual outlet is great.”

What do Daniels and Goodling hope that people take away from this virtual concert? “I hope, during this time when people are confined to their homes, that this gives them something else to focus on—that it’s a welcome distraction,” says Daniels. “We want anyone watching to feel that they are part of a very special, intimate soiree,” adds Goodling.

Every artist has dreams and aspirations. In talking to Daniels about his life here in Rochester, which he has adopted as his home, he says, “Singing gives me an overwhelming feeling of joy. I’m doing what I’m meant to be doing.”

Mark Daniels and Rob Goodling’s virtual recital is now available for viewing via the Opera Guild of Rochester’s YouTube channel.

Have an event of your own to publicize? You can add it to our online calendar at 585mag.com. You may also e-mail details Many of the great options in our to rwagner@585mag.com. calendar are offered at no cost.

Disclaimer: some events may be postponed or canceled— Keep an eye out for Honest Abe. check with organization He’ll point you to FREE events.

ONGOING

ONGOING

ONGOING

The Changemakers exhibition

Recognition Radio: An Audio Play Festival

Michael Rapaport: Disruptive Comedy Tour

ONGOING

work has always been striking. Warhol did work in painting, printmaking, film, television, commercial illustration, sculpture, photography, installation art, rock music promotion, publishing, writing, modeling, and advertising. Visit the Rochester Memorial Art Gallery to explore the world of Warhol.

Through March 28.

Memorial Art Gallery, 500 University Ave. (276-8900 or mag.rochester.edu)

a fun-filled evening of trivia with The Strong! hosts are Strong archivist Julia Novakovic and Memorial Art Gallery curatorial assistant Lauren Tagliaferro. Join for an evening of virtual fun!

Quilts=Art=Quilts

The Schweinfurth Art Center’s exhibition features seventy-one of the best art quilts from around the world.

The show includes artwork from twenty-six states and five other countries.

Through Jan 10.

Schweinerfurth Art Center, 205 Genesee St., Auburn ((315)255-1553)

The Changemakers: Rochester Women Who Changed the World

Celebrate the stories of more than 200 Rochester women, past and present.

The Rochester Museum & Science Center’s third floor is dedicated to the struggles and hard-won victories of Rochester women, with hopes to inspire more to carry the work forward.

Through May 16. Rochester Museum & Science Center, 657 East Ave. (rmsc.org)

Heart of the Horseshoe art exhibition

Visit this exhibit to admire Canadian artist Sam Paonessa’s paintings of the power and majesty of Niagara Falls.

Through Jan 31. International Art Acquisitions, 3300 Monroe Ave. (264-1440 or Internationalartacquisitions.com)

Recognition Radio: an audio play festival celebrating Black voices

During an unexpected year, Geva Theatre has adapted its showings to continue to entertain Rochester.

Recognition Radio is a compilation of four plays, written and directed by Black artists that amplify a mosaic of Black stories.

These stories are specially crafted for an immersive listening experience. (recognition-radio.com)

Season of Warhol

Often seen as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, Andy Warhol’s

Those Who Served: Items from the Clothing Collection Travel back to the past via this exhibit, honoring those who have served in the military. From uniforms to dresses and t-shirts, the exhibition has over 3,000 items from men and women who served in the military on display.

Through Jan 2.

Geneva Historical Society, 543 S. Main St., Geneva (genevahistoricalsociety.com)

Where Did We Sit on the Bus Brian Quijada’s one-man show Where Did We Sit on the Bus is inspired by a Latino boy’s question during a lesson on Rosa Parks.

With original rhymes, this autobiography is told through a mix of rap, hip-hop, spoken word, and live looping.

Quijada’s electric show is about falling in love with performing, the importance of family, and growing up Latino in a world categorized as black and white.

Online through Feb 28.

75 Woodbury Blvd. (2324382 or gevatheatre.org)

JAN 7

Are You Game? virtual trivia night

Have you ever memorized the back of a Trivial Pursuit card? Is watching Jeopardy! part of your nightly ritual? Think you know “a little bit about a lot of things”? Kick off the new year with

(museumofplay.org/calendar/ virtual-trivia-night)

JAN 20

Champions of Magic

Every magic-loving member of the family will be captivated by this mind-bending theatrical production. Featuring mind readers, illusionists, escapists, and close-up magicians, the show’s magic really does need to be seen to be believed.

Rochester Auditorium Theatre, 885 East Main St. (222-5000 or rbtl.org)

Wine Down Wednesdays

Critically acclaimed, Grammy Nominated and award winning Saxophonist Jimmie Highsmith Jr. is pairing with the Hideaway and the Penthouse to bring back “Wine Down Wednesdays.” Each ticket holder will receive a “Bite Box,” including antipasta skewers, hummus and veggies, a meat and cheese board, and a mini Cheesecake with cannolis.

Entertainment is provided

by Mr. Highsmith himself.

From 6 to 9 p.m. The Penthouse, 1 East Ave. (7752013 or penthouseroc.com)

JAN 21

Michael Rapaport: Disruptive Comedy Tour

Looking for a laugh?

Famed comedian and actor Michael Rapaport is bringing his raunchy, trash talking comedy show to Rochester. Keep the kids at home—the Disruptive Comedy Tour is twenty-one and up.

Through Jan 23. Comedy at the Carlson, 50 Carlson Rd. (carlsoncomedy.com)

585mag.com | January/February 2021

21

Explore | History

Visual legacies

The Albert R. Stone and Howard W. Coles Collections at the Rochester Museum & Science Center

By Dawn Kellogg

The eight candidates for the Lilac Festival’s Lilac Queen pose on a city sidewalk. Left to right: Gladys Kerr, Betty Arthur, Gladys Lincoln, Lydia Sciarrino, Christina Blackwell, Asta Lundahl, Ruby Bacon, and Mary Wesson, 1930

Tucked deep in the bowels of the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) lie the collections of two prominent Rochesterians. Their work, carefully stored and archived, together chronicle nearly a century of Rochester events, people, and everyday life.

Rochester was at one time a big newspaper town. Prior to Frank Gannett acquiring a stronghold and basing his publishing empire in Rochester during the early 1920s, the city had a long history of publications, including Freder ick Douglass’s North Star, the Post Express, the Daily Advertiser and Telegraph, the Evening Journal, the Herald, and the Times-Union. It is in this arena that both of the men at the center of this story worked.

The Albert R. Stone Collection is made up of approximately 14,000 glass plate negatives charting Rochester’s history from 1902 to 1936. Stone began his career as a photographer for the Herald, one of Rochester’s leading daily newspapers 22

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

from 1892 to 1926. Originally housed in a building on Aqueduct Street, the Herald eventually became the Times-Union when it was purchased by Frank Gannett in 1926 and moved to the Times Square Building on the corner of Exchange and Broad Streets.

T h ro u g h o u t h i s c a r e e r, S t o n e photographed four US presidents, many dignitaries, and countless Rochesterians.

He was at the first public flight of Glenn Curtiss’s White Wing in Pleasant Valley and took the first aerial photos of Rochester on Kodak’s then new A1 aerial camera.

Stone was good friends with George Eastman and always used Kodak cameras.

His press camera was one of the original box cameras, and his 8 x 10 camera was a Kodak Graflex made at the Hawkeye Plant on St. Paul Street. Both cameras are in the collection at RMSC. A very visible fixture of the Rochester community, “Stoney,” as he was known, could be seen riding around town, first

Elinor Smith, holder of the women’s altitude record in the 1930s (32,000 feet), stands by her plane at the Le Roy Airport

on his bicycle and then by car. He was an active member of the Automobile Club of Rochester. For twenty-five years, he was the color caller for Rochester’s opening day of baseball.

Stone died in 1934 of heart failure at the age of sixty-eight and was honored with a funeral procession through the city that he loved. A large floral display float in the shape of a camera accompanied the cortege to Riverside Cemetery, where he is buried.

For many years, the collection of glass plate negatives was stored in the attic of Helen Stone Reinhard, Stone’s granddaughter. Reinhard thought that as it captured images from more than thirty years of Rochester history, it should have a permanent home in a place where it could be taken care of in its entirety. In 1943, the RMSC purchased the collection.

More than three tons of glass plates were lowered from Reinhard’s attic window to the ground in preparation for transport to the RMSC.

All images from the Albert R. Stone Negative collection. Rochester Museum & Science Center, Rochester, NY

Explore | History

Four men at Kodak Park. Left to right: Hays’s assistant Courtland Smith, Will Hays (president of the Motion Picture Producers of America), Kodak founder George Eastman, and Eastman Kodak salesman Eugene Chrystal, 1922

The RMSC regularly uses the collection to enhance social media posts and as representative of images that appear in its exhibits. Other local businesses and organizations have utilized the collection for various purposes. “The breadth ... of the collection is always surprising,” says Stephanie Ball, the RMSC’s archivistlibrarian. “In addition to photographing ever y major event and prominent Rochesterian, he pictured Rochester from all sides with everyday Rochesterians enjoying everyday life in the city.” Some of Stone’s photographs were compiled into a book, Images: Afro-Rochester 1910–1935 by Lea Kemp.

“We are walking in our forebears’ footsteps every day,” says Glenn Galbraith, Stone’s great-great-grandson and the grandson of Helen Stone Reinhard. He hopes that the collection will give people a greater understanding of how they lived and what they did here. “When you have a photograph, it’s a direct image of what

actually happened that can tell you more than any painting or illustration.”

He was introduced to the collection by his grandmother, Helen Stone Reinhard.

Reinhard even came to his thirdgrade classroom in Livonia with a slide presentation of photographs from the collection to show kids what life was like in the early part of the last century.

Galbraith continues the family tradition.

He has always had a passion for film and photography and has made a career in radio, TV, and film. He attended MCC and SUNY Brockport and is an alumnus of the George Eastman Museum’s one-year film preservation certificate program.

Now he runs ROC Archive (RocArchive. org), a non profit organization dedicated to the collection, preservation, and accessibility of the region’s audio visual media as an artistic and historical record of the regions’ rural, suburban, and urban cultures and heritages. The audio visual archive focuses on newsreels, home movies,

photographs, audio and video recordings, and more to capture Rochester’s history and culture.

“Everyone takes photos or videos for a reason,” says Galbraith. “Images are of value. Once put into a context, there is a lot of information in an image as a record of our culture and heritage.”

Since 1998, the Rochester Museum & Science Center has held the Howard W. Coles Collection. The collection consists of photos, newspaper articles, objects, and personal items connected to Howard W. Coles, editor and publisher of one of Rochester’s leading and long-running newspapers, the Frederick Douglass Voice.

Published by Coles from 1933 to 1992 and by his daughter, Joan Coles Howard, from 1992 until 1996, the Frederick Douglass Voice was recognized as the longest continuously published African American newspaper in Rochester history.

Born in 1903, Coles was the grandson of a former slave, Clayton Coles, who was 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Explore | History

Mrs. Deloss G. Eldredge, foreground in dark hat, poses with the Flower Day saleswomen who carry large containers of flowers to sell to benefit the Children’s Dispensary, 1912.

Starting the engine of the White Wing, one of the first planes built by Glenn Curtiss, 1908

Rochester Herald photographer Albert Stone sits in the rear of an airplane piloted by Earl F. Beers, 1919.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

the “body servant” to Stonewall Jackson. (Clayton Coles would eventually settle in Mumford and found the Second Baptist Church there.) Howard Coles himself grew up in Mumford. He attended Scottsville High School and, not being very interested in education, left school at the age of fifteen to begin earning money.

He spent the 1920s working around the Northeast as a bell boy and waiter, returning to Rochester in the early 1930s.

Borrowing $2,800 from a life insurance policy, Coles established and began publication of the Frederick Douglass Voice newspaper. Throughout its thirty-year history, the Voice focused on community news and chronicled the lives of African Americans. In the Voice, Coles called for the hiring of Black educators and the establishment of food co-ops in Black neighborhoods. He examined conditions in migrant camps, and conducted the first documented survey of Rochester’s low-income housing.

As a little girl, Joan Howard remembers how her father produced the paper. “He would set type using wooden blocks and then give me the blocks to play with to build things,” says Joan. Frederick Douglass and his legacy were so much a fixture of the family’s daily life that as a young girl, Joan was convinced that he lived with them.

The Voice was delivered by hand, and Joan remembers going with her father to area churches on Sunday to deliver issues to the congregation. The Voice sold on stands for fifteen cents, but Coles was adamant that his paper be available to everyone, often giving it away at churches, barbershops, community centers, and momand-pop stores. At its height, the circulation throughout Western New York reached 10,000 copies.

In addition to his newspaper, Coles was Rochester’s first Black DJ, working at WSAY and developing radio shows such as The Vignettes, The Gospel Hour, and The King Coles Show. His wife, Alma Kelso Coles, became the first Black woman DJ in Rochester, hosting the station’s popular Bronze Trombones show. He saw the radio station as a way to reach even more people and to serve as a sounding board for relevant issues in the African American community.

For all of his success, Coles was not a man of ego. He was an activist determined to make his community a better place. “He used to say that he ran for every public office except that of dog catcher,” says Joan. He once said, “I felt I could place the seeds of an idea that these sorts of things weren’t unattainable even to Blacks.”

Like his hero, Frederick Douglass, who lived a century before him, Coles was a renaissance man and supported similar causes. He was very aware of how deeply racial injustice pervaded American society. Coles was involved in everything: helping members of Rochester’s Black community find jobs and housing. “He even earned his real estate license so that he could help people with good, affordable housing,” says Joan.

He had every opportunity to leave Rochester and conquer larger markets, but he was devoted to his city and chose to help his people. His 1941 book, The Cradle of Freedom published by the Oxford Press, is a definitive history of African Americans in Rochester. He also compiled “The Negro Family in Rochester,” documenting the African American community’s progress during a century of living in Rochester; and “Nomads of the South,” illustrating

Explore | History

Six members of the Hiking Club at the University of Rochester seated on a toboggan at the top of a hill in Highland Park, 1927

the journey of various migrant groups to upstate New York.

Howard W. Coles died in 1996 at the age of ninety-three.

Coles collected the materials that make up this collection housed at the RMSC, using them as regular references and storing them at his Atkinson Street home.

After his death, the collection of sixty-four boxes was stored in a Rochester garage until 1998, when Joan was looking for a Rochester institution to house her father’s collection. It had to be a location in the heart of the city, where everyone would have access to it. The RMSC seemed the most natural choice, as Richard Schultz, the then executive director, had been a friend of both hers and her father.

In collaboration with the museum, a celebration of Coles’s birthday was held in 2009, which local churches and members of the Rochester community were invited to. The attendees were given a chance to explore the collection and identify friends

and family members in some of the many images contained therein. Oral histories were also collected.

Joan’s life would take her to Japan, Arizona, California, and Alabama before returning to Rochester in 1992 to carry on her father’s work by becoming the editor and publisher of the paper. Journalism is in her blood. She has a personal obligation to the Fourth Estate, providing truthful information, presenting the facts, and allowing people to make up their own mind. Today, at eighty years old, she works closely with Teen Empowerment and the RMSC. Last year, she spent a day with students from Teen Empowerment exploring her father’s collection at the RMSC, where students had the chance to read articles, see photos, and discover what life was like in Rochester, and in neighborhoods such as the vibrant Clarissa Street, of long ago.

Glenn Galbraith and Joan Howard each see their family member’s collection as a

great, relatable resource for the community.

“I hope that people find a sense of home through these photos,” comments Galbraith.

“I hope that it helps people understand who we are as citizens of Rochester and as Blacks in the United States,” comments Joan on her father’s collection.

Both the Albert R. Stone and Howard W. Coles Collection are accessible to the public .

Visit the RMSC’s online collection at libcat. rmsc.org.

The Howard W. Coles collection is available by appointment. Please contact Stephanie Ball at sball@rmsc.org.

Images from both the Albert R. Stone Collection and the Howard W. Coles Collection can be seen in The Changemakers, the current featured exhibition at the RMSC. Helen Reinhard Stone and Joan Coles Howard are included as featured “Changemakers.”

585mag.com | January/February 2021

25

Explore | Sports

Appert takes over Amerks

Rochester Americans look ahead as a new season approaches

By Todd Etshman

Rochester Americans player Andrew Oglevie celebrates with teammates.

COVID-19 has affected most aspects of American life, including professional sports.

The 2019-2020 Amer ican Hockey League season was rolling along in March when play was suspended, then cancelled. It was going especially well for the Rochester Amerks, who were thirteen games over .500 at the time.

Pinpointing an exact time to return now depends on the grip the coronavirus has over the world. Can the league safely resume play in time to salvage a 2021 season? It thinks it can and is planning a February 5 return, subject to ever-changing COVID conditions and restrictions.

However, this is not something new Amerks coach, Seth Appert, and his staff can worry about. “I’m a big believer in focusing on the things I can control,” says Appert. COVID, league protocol, and ownership protocol aren’t things within his control. When it comes to the Buffalo Sabres organization that oversees the Rochester Americans, however, there are some clear goals and expectations Appert will have to control to be successful.

Readying players to step in or stay in Buffalo is a big one. Winning games is a coaching standard expectation anywhere.

An AHL coach has the added task of an unstable lineup.

Players from all over the world can be 26

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found in the AHL. They can get there through the NHL player draft, in season promotions and demotions, NHL player injury rehab, new player signings, and more.

The good old days Unfortunately for fans of the old days, rosters change quickly, and, for the most part, players don’t spend multiple seasons in Rochester. There’s almost an ongoing experiment to keep finding players that could help in Buffalo or to get noticed anywhere in the NHL. It’s also an experiment for rule changes the NHL wants to make. Three-on-three overtime started here.

For a player to remain here three years is an eternity now, says former longtime Democrat & Chronicle Amerks beat writer, Kevin Oklobzija. That makes it hard for kids to identify with players like Jody Gage, aka “Mr. Amerk,” who thrilled Amerks fans from 1985 to 1996. Appert says player turnover doesn’t mean the team can’t have a great relationship with new and old fans, however.

The game has changed, but there is a positive side to the changing roster. Fans can see Amerks and AHL players in person one night and on national television the next. The vast majority of NHL players have spent time in the AHL.

On the ice the skill level is much greater than ever before. “Craziness describes the speed of the game now,” Oklobzija says.

The longtime broadcast voice of the Amerks, Don Stevens, agrees. “There is so much talent out there now. It just keeps getting better and better.”

Stevens says the way players approach the game today is much different than in the past. “The mentality of the game has changed. It’s a much more educated or cerebral player than it used to be,” he says. Players are more concerned about nutrition, the science of fitness, and their mental focus.

Appert’s past and present Appert comes to the Amerks from the college ranks, where he coached at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Albany for eleven years and in the USA Hockey National Team Development Program since 2017.

It’s his first foray into the professional ranks, but his peers include close friends like Detroit Red Wings head coach Mike Blashill and Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams.

Appert, forty-six, was a goaltender in his college days at Ferris State University in Michigan but didn’t play pro hockey. To get that connection, he wanted assistant

Explore | Sports

Photos by Rena Laverty

coaches who did play pro and who had to work hard to get to the NHL much like Amerks players have to. His assistant coach choices, Adam Mair and Mike Webber, are former Buffalo Sabres who had that work ethic.

Appert will also get to see players he formerly coached for and against. “It’s always fun to get the opportunity to see the success they’re having and where they’re at now,” he says.

Appert replaces popular former Amerks’ coach and player, Chris Taylor, who was let go when Buffalo named Kevyn Adams general manager in June.

“It’s understandable and not uncommon when there are changes at the top,” Stevens says. Adams wants his own people in positions such as the Amerks coach.

“I have nothing but the utmost respect for Chris Taylor,” Appert says. “I know what he meant to the city and to the organization but this is pro sports and these things happen a lot in pro sports.

I need to be the best version of who I am for our prospects and our players, for the city of Rochester, and for the Buffalo Sabres.”

Fans should be pleased the cupboard isn’t bare in the Sabres organization despite the Sabres inability to make the playoffs since 2011. Even with change, there will still be familiar names fans can identify with in the lineup.

What he expects There are basic tenets a Seth Appert-led team must have.

“First of all, I want a team mentality, a love and respect for each other and for the organization that they play for. That’s critical for success in life not just as a team.You need to care about each other.

You need to be fully invested in each other. That team mentality is very important to me. I’m a real believer in positive energy so I want players that are energy drivers and energy givers,” Appert says Fighting in pro hockey continues to decline, an aspect not all fans embrace. But, Appert says his teams will be physical.

“It’s still important to take care of your teammates and let opponents know we cannot be taken advantage of,” Coach Appert says. “The hallmarks of my teams are that they’re together, they’re passionate, and they’re competitive. Those are things I believe in at a high level.”

Appert has scouted the upstate New York area for enough years to know he’s excited to be a part of it, an area he says has a high quality of life and people of substance. As a lifelong baseball and Minnesota Twins fan, Appert is looking forward to a Red Wings game if and when time allows. His brother Luke made it to AAA pro baseball.

The new Amerks coach hopes he doesn’t face the same fate the Red Wings did in 2020, which is a virus-caused season cancellation.

In the COVID era anything and everything is possible regarding a schedule, and Appert says the team will just have to adjust accordingly as will every other team in the AHL. Until the league and ownership say it’s safe to play, Appert will remain at his home in Plymouth, Michigan.

“I have a lot of faith in our leadership to make sure that whenever we start our season, we’re doing so in a manner that is safe for our staff and for our players,” he says.

It helps that the Pegulas own the Bills, Sabres, and Amerks, and ownership is learning how to cope with the pandemic through their experience with the Bills.

“We’re fortunate that we’re one of few franchises that have a connection to another major pro sport that is going through this and we can learn from the successes and mistakes that have been made,” Appert says.

After everything the city of Rochester and the nation have been through with the pandemic, the return of live pro sports at Blue Cross Arena promises to be a welcome relief.

FEB 5

FEB 6

Stacey Steers: Night Reels exhibit

Valentine’s Pet Photo Fundraiser

JAN 22 Jurassic Park in Concert

Lovers of Jurassic Park and symphonic harmonies alike rejoice—Experience the action-packed adventure like never before, projected in high definition with a full symphony orchestra performing a live score.

Kodak Hall at Eastman Theater, 26 Gibbs St. (454-2100 or rpo.org)

JAN 23

Napoleon Dynamite Live

Enjoy a unique evening with a full screening of the indie classic Napoleon Dynamite followed by lively conversation with Napoleon, Pedro, and Uncle Rico themselves.

The event its BYOT (Bring Your Own Tots).

The Vine Theater at Del Lago Resort & Casino, 1133 State Rte. 414, Waterloo (dellagoresort.com)

Rust Belt Rumble II

A friendly indoor axe throwing competition?

Sign us up. Bring a friend and enjoy drink specials and big payouts for the hatchet throwing tournament winners.

Axes and Ales, 349 East Ave. (270-8801 or axesandales585.com)

JAN 26 Mean Girls

You can’t sit with them, but you can sit in the audience. Based on the film by Tina Fey, this hilarious hit musical from an award-winning creative team reflects Cady Heron’s experience in high school with, well, mean girls.

Through Jan 31. Rochester Auditorium Theatre, 885 East Main St. (222-5000 or rbtl.org)

FEB 3

Eco-book club and hike

This book club meets at Cumming Nature Center and features a different book about an aspect of the natural world to discuss followed by a BYO brown bag lunch. Participants can then head out into the woods for a guided hike tailored to the theme of the book. Book discussions start at 11 a.m. Occurs on the third of each month.

Cumming Nature Center, 6472 Gulick Rd. (374-6160 or rmsc. org/cumming-nature-center)

FEB 5

Stacey Steers: Night Reels exhibit A filmmaker originally from Colorado, Stacey Steers is known for her laborintensive animated films composed of handmade works on paper. The first of its kind, this exhibit brings together Steers’s sculptural works in conjunction with the sculptures that inspired them.

Through June 6.

George Eastman Museum, 900 East Ave, (327-4800 or eastman.org)

Last Year on Earth Exhibit With an open call to artists in the area, the Rochester Contemporary Art Center hopes to capture a collective experience of the past twelve months, to reflect and observe the way that the past year has impacted a range of people.

Through March 13.

137 East Ave., (461-2222 or rochestercontemporary.org)

FEB 6

Valentine Pet Photo Fundraiser

Want adorable photos of your furry friend? Look no further—with cute holiday backdrops and fun props, you’ll cherish these images for a lifetime. All the proceeds are donated to Lollypop Farm.

Pet Supply Plus, 2947 Monroe Ave. (223-1330 or lollypop.org)

FEB 14

Polar Plunge

If you haven’t taken part in this longstanding Rochester tradition, what are you waiting for? Take a dip in the icy Lake Ontario waters to help local law enforcement raise money for the Special Olympics.

Ontario Beach Park, 180 Beach Ave. (polarplunge.net)

FEB 12 Mardi Gras in New Orleans

Enjoy a night of steamy jazz with Byron Stipling’s trumpet and vocals.

Celebrate the spirit of Mardi Gras with music from New Orleans natives Fats Domino, Louis Armstrong, and more.

JAN 20

Wine Down Wednesdays Through Feb 13. Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, 26 Gibbs St. (454-2100 or rpo.org)

FEB 23

The Band’s Visit

In this critically aclaimed hit musical, a band of musicians arrives lost in a town off the beaten path.

They bring the town to life in the most unexpected, tantalizing way. With a Tonyand Grammy-winning score, the talented musicians will sweep you off your feet and seduce your soul.

Through Feb 28. Rochester Broadway Theatre League’s Auditorium Theatre, 885 East Main St. (222-5000 or rbtl.org)

FEB 25

Preacher Lawson at Comedy at the Carlson

Lawson’s goofy, highenergy stand-up act won him Funniest Comedian in Florida, Seattle’s international comedy competition, and a top five spot on America’s Got Talent. He’s bringing the laughs to Rochester with this adult show.

Through Feb 27. Comedy at the Carlson, 50 Carlson Rd. (carlsoncomedy.com)

Theresa Caputo Live— the Experience The star of TLC’s Long Island Medium, Theresa Caputo has been seeing, feeling, and sensing spirits since she was a kid. Join her audience for a chance to receive a healing message from a loved one who passed.

Kodak Center, 200 W. Ridge Rd. (254-0181 or kodakcenter.com)

FEB 27

Rochester Royal Princess Ball

Come one, come all to the royal princess ball.

This day of magical fun is perfect for every princess lover. The little ones will get to play princess games, have a story time sing-along, learn ballroom dance moves, and meet all their favorite princesses.

RIT Inn & Convention Center, 5257 W. Henrietta Rd. (eventbrite.com)

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POP-UPS

Pop-ups were a minor trend pre-COVID, but now that we’re used to never knowing when we are going to be able to do things, impromptu events are, well, necessary.

This uncertain world brings us flower pop-ups, pop-up food and beverages, pop-up workplaces, and even … pop-up weddings? Now that intimate gatherings are all we have, supporting local businesses is essential, and, for many of us, the days seem to be a blur of sameness, we appreciate the small things—and surprises—more.

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M O O L B N I P U P A PO

By

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La

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IVITY T A E R C S E G A R OU BAR FIORE ENCLLY GROWN FLOWERS WITH LOCA iC

ap

rio

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Flower trucks are fairly new to the pop-up scene, with the majority of them located in larger cities in the South. Jessica Weiss fell in love with this “budding� trend while visiting down there. Her job as a traveling nurse was fulfilling but left her creatively starved, and she wanted to bring the joy of do-it-yourself bouquets closer to home. And so her journey to join her love of flowers and community began.

Photos by Tomas Flint

Weiss’s first task was to find the right vehicle to house her business.

Although most pop-up floral businesses were set up in open-bed trucks or walk-in vans, Weiss set her sights on something more unusual.

She scoured local classifieds for weeks and finally discovered an old twohorse trailer for sale on Facebook Marketplace. After taking a year to renovate and customize her new digs, she was ready for business, and the newly minted Bar Fiore hosted its first pop-up event in September 2020.

Weiss spent the summer of 2019 working on a flower farm in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which solidified her desire to stock Bar Fiore with blooms from small, locally owned businesses.

Her flowers come from a variety of local growers, including Tarry Grove in Ontario and Flowerwell in Brockport. Because her flowers are locally sourced, they always reflect the fresh colors, scents, and spirits of each season.

Although Weiss is certified in floral design, she encourages her customers to assemble their own bouquets when

they visit. She finds great satisfaction in educating people on the different flower varieties and pushing them to be creative. “There are so many flowers that people don’t know about, like lisianthus,” she says. “I try to label all the flowers so that people know what they are. It’s fun to educate people on the different varieties and what it takes to grow them.”

The Bar Fiore trailer had a busy first season, attending seven pop-up and three private events in six weeks.Weiss is taking the fall and winter seasons to fine-tune her business plan and schedule events and will host more pop-up events come spring 2021.

The process of setting up shop at events all around the area can be stressful, but it’s all worth it when Weiss sees her clients with their finished bouquets. “I get to see people in their best state and create something beautiful with them. It’s an all-around positive experience.”

For more information on Bar Fiore, visit barfiorewny.com or follow @bar_fiore_flowercity on Instagram.

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‘JUST KEEP TRUCKIN’’ THE MEATBALL TRUCK COMPANY KEEPS ROLLING

By Carolyn Sperry

“Just Keep Truckin’” is the slogan printed on the Meatball Truck Company’s 2020 t-shirts. It aptly describes the attitude that company president Michele Yancey, her husband, John, and their son, chef Matthew Petrillo, brought to bear this 32

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year. During the pandemic, the food truck—which typically brings in money by cooking for crowds at Rochester’s favorite large festivals and events—had to completely reinvent itself to stay on the road.

The entire city dealt with disappointment and the loss of normalcy as the list of canceled events grew—the Lilac Festival, Jazz Festival, the Fringe Festival, and finally even ROC Holiday Village. But the Meatball Truck Company owners also watched their income slip away. “Every single solitary event that I had been building up for a year in my calendar was gone,” Yancey says. “We had nothing left.”

The truck got its start back in 2012. An experienced chef, Petrillo had worked for his grandfather, who owned Antonetta’s restaurant, then further honed his skills at Restaurant Good Luck and then Cure.

He wanted to start his own restaurant and partnered with his parents to launch a business. Instead of spending money on a buildout, the family decided it might be more cost-effective to invest in a food truck instead. “The truck ended up being just as expensive,” laughs Yancey.“You can’t believe the paperwork and the permits.”The idea for the menu was inspired by a trip to New York City, when the family sampled meatballs and realized that this was what Rochester was missing at its food truck rodeos. During the annual family vacation to Maine that year, Petrillo prepared several versions of meatballs, and they weighed in on recipes and presentation. The truck, which has a flexible menu depending on the event, now serves meatballs in a cup with bread—perfect for walking around a festival without spilling!—fresh truffle fries, a “Meatball Truck Plate,” which is, of course, a version of our local “plate,” and a meatball sub.

In 2014, the Yanceys purchased Antonetta’s, and the restaurant became the home base for the food truck. Until this year the family ran both businesses successfully. Then the pandemic hit. It became clear early during that time that the takeout model simply would not work for a downtown lunchtime restaurant. The family was forced to close Antonetta’s permanently.

However, Yancey’s marketing and social media savvy saved the food truck business.

“Are you on Nextdoor?” she asks. “You should be on Nextdoor.” Through word of mouth and networking, the Meatball Truck began dropping off hot food to order early in the pandemic. The Yanceys live in Pittsford, but they are originally from Wayne County, and the family realized that they had a huge following out there—people who wished they were closer and could enjoy the food more often. So, Yancey put out an offer on social media—she would drive to Wayne County on a Saturday with food from the Antonetta’s menu to sell out of her car.

“I was worried about getting fifty orders, to even make it worth it,” she says. To the family’s surprise, they received more than two hundred orders to be delivered

Left and bottom right photos by Tomas Flint, remaining photos provided

in one day. “We were overwhelmed,” she admits. They switched to a heat-and-serve format, with a streamlined menu, and continued making those deliveries for about six weeks.

Business is rebounding a bit. The truck now serves hot food at small neighborhood pop-up events throughout Rochester and even at some small, scaled-back weddings.

Patronizing a food truck, it turns out, is an easy way to maintain distance and still socialize with people outdoors in small groups. Some clients even host the food truck in their driveways, and some events have featured a band or a DJ. “Neighborhoods were starving for things to do with their kids,” Michelle says. “It became like an old-fashioned block party.”

Companies will sometimes also bring the truck in to cheer up their employees. The Meatball Truck even partnered with a couple of bars. Still, business is down eighty percent as compared to a normal year.

Yancey looks forward to a future when larger events are back on the schedule, but for now, she says, she’s looking forward to leaning into a quieter winter with her family.

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SOMETHING OLD,

SOMETHING NEW Are micro weddings here to stay?

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By Mary Rockcastle

Photos by Stamp & Co. Photography

Photos by

I’ve been working in the wedding industry for most of my life. My family business is a floral shop that prides itself on making couples’ dream flowers come true, and we’ve been doing it for sixty-nine years. Personally, I’ve been assisting on wedding installation since my early teen years when I had nothing to do on weekends and I was tall and competent enough to be helpful in this sort of situation. Never leave your teen at home when she can be dutifully pinning boutonnieres and placing centerpieces free of charge. Now, nearing my thirties, I work as a web designer and media manager for my family business but am still part of our wedding team when we need extra hands.

One of the last things I did before the seriousness of COVID-19 hit hard in New York State was meet with the micro wedding all-inclusive production team at Curated Love. Full transparency: I was pretty pessimistic about the micro wedding trend. I had seen wedding trends come and go, seen elopements come in and out of fashion, and I couldn’t visualize where a pop-up micro wedding would fit into the wedding world. If you wanted a small intimate gathering, you would have an elopement, and if you wanted your friends and family there, you would just bite the bullet and have a full-size wedding. Those were the rules; I didn’t make them.

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Looking back on this in a coronavirussaturated world, I realized that I was totally missing the point. Perhaps we were all missing the point of marriage pre-COVID. Now, thinking about the big theatrical style of wedding with more than 150 people would make most of us cringe in our newfound germophobic boots. The image of a packed dance floor and naked hands rummaging through a candy buffet elicits the same response as when you’re watching a pre-2020 movie and you find yourself uncomfortable with the actors’ unmasked proximity to each other. Not only have we been deterred from big gaudy weddings because of our new cleaning habits, but we have also found that under the fuss of planning a wedding there is a commitment worth celebrating with your closest friends and family without all the fuss. After scheduling, cancelling, and rearranging vendors all year, most betrothed couples have had enough with the planning and are ready to start their lives together.

The appeal of a completely curated micro wedding is looking like a dream come true to future newlyweds everywhere.

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“It’s a great opportunity for couples to have their visions brought to life without fussing over the details too much,” says Robin Copey, head wedding designer at Rockcastle Florist. “Couples have shifted their focus from trying to manage every detail to ‘going with the flow.’” After 2020 becoming a wash for big weddings, and the threat of a second wave of coronavirus cases spiking in the cold months, the idea of taking what remains of your dream wedding and dropping them in the hands of someone who can perfectly plan and execute a small-sized ceremony and reception seems like a miracle. Curated Love is not only planning beautiful small weddings with the luxuries of a bespoke ceremony, but they’re doing three of them in one day.

“There’s a lot of stress, spending, and pressure with traditional wedding planning,” says Casey Stevens of the management team. “Curated micro weddings alleviate much of the demand of a traditional wedding, so couples can focus on enjoying their engagement.

Rochester’s average wedding spending is in line with the national average, $26,000

(according to 585wedding.com). As couples can have an all-inclusive, curated micro wedding for a fifth of this price, we think this will appeal to local couples, par ticularly those who are budget conscious.”

For Lea Countryman, the stress of planning a wedding during these difficult times is personal.

“After getting engaged, I felt like the wedding experience I was searching for wasn’t available close to home. We wanted to share this option with other couples who may be looking for something unique and affordable. Rochester has countless talented vendors and beautiful venues. Many of these cater to largerscale weddings, with higher guest counts.

It means a lot to us to be able to provide a unique perspective on weddings in our hometown.”

The Curated Love team creates more than just a small party to tie the knot, they also create visually stunning memories to show off for a lifetime. Their most recent wedding package, sold as a moder n metal- and stone-styled shoot accented with marble and the stunning interiors of

Kin Event Space, was a complete success with all three time slots booked by brides and grooms ready to tie the knot. Fitting three ceremonies and receptions into one day in one space sounds like a nightmare, but the appeal of a ninety-minute, fully styled wedding has proved to be a great business decision.

To say that the market for micro weddings has exploded is an understatement. “The amount of administrative changes to dates and orders has been unprecedented in 2020. We hope 2021 will be a better year for gatherings. We are currently almost completely booked for 2021 due to so many 2020 weddings shifting dates,” says Wendy Rockcastle, co-owner of Rockcastle Florist. Those committed to their big celebrations have taken up all of the dates in 2021, and now those couples who survived quarantine without killing each other are more ready for marriage than ever. More bespoke elopement and coronavirus-acceptable micro wedding companies are popping up in Rochester, hoping to make engaged folks' stress-free dreams come true. I do have to wonder if the trend of intimate weddings with

little to no customization is built to last the test of time. A year ago if someone asked me if I thought that styled mini weddings with little to no personalization would be profitable, I would have said no.

Think about it: how many weddings have you been to with cocktails named after the couple’s pets and tiny statues made to look exactly like the couple to adorn the cake? Traditional weddings are rife with intimate glances into the personal lives of couples. Will perfectly packaged, prearranged weddings fit into the new landscape of a post-COVID Rochester?

The team behind Curated Love assures us that they’re not just a trend. “Curated micro weddings are here to stay! While they’re not for everyone, the ability to share an intimate, genuine experience with your nearest and dearest is something that will resonate with couples in the current climate and in the future.”

Despite being skeptical about micro weddings, I do have to admit that I think that they are a much-needed respite from the terror that a big wedding can be.

Even an event under 100 guests can very easily become a swirling drain in your life,

pulling in your time, money, and energy.

Something that I also hadn’t considered is that not everyone has the creative mind to plan a beautiful wedding, but most people still want to have one. My engaged best friend is the intellectual yin to my innovative yang, and I often have found myself as the artistic translator for her while she plans her wedding. She doesn’t know how to match the table linens to the font style on the save-the-dates … she just knows she wants it to look nice.

Curated weddings open the door for those who want to remember their special day forever and not waste their precious energy on planning, especially during an already taxing time. Plus, Rochester has so many unbelievably talented vendors and creatives; professionally planned little weddings allow them to show off the best of their work without working around the parameters of those who don’t share their vision. It appears that curated weddings are here to stay in Rochester, as long as the couples are there to fill them up with the love that makes a wedding magical.

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COWORK OR CUBICLE?

The coronavirus has left a record number of Americans with a choice of their work environment—and there might be better options than kitchen table or bedroom nightstand.

By John Ernst

Man buns, thick-rim glasses, ping pong, flannel, and more flannel. Cowork spaces, popularized by companies like Wework and often the punchline of jokes, are marketed as a kind of Everyman’s Google office. There’s kind of an unspoken assumption that, for “digital nomads” without a routine nine to five, this is the ideal work environment. So, if you’re a gig worker without a corporate office, why not?

That question “why not?” is one facing more Americans than ever. According to the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank, about twenty-six percent of the population were still working from home in September, even after many offices reopened.

That’s up more than 400 percent from prepandemic February 2020. And, for a plethora of reasons—some universal, some highly personal—that might not be the best situation for ever yone’s productivity or happiness. But does that mean that a quarter of Americans need to roll up their T-shirt sleeves and buy a skateboard?

“That’s how the typical cowork space is perceived,” says Chris Cooley, a Rochesterbased workspace design consultant, TEDx speaker, and cofounder/chief innovation officer at Evelo Agency. “Trendy design, beer tap, high-growth metropolitan area.”

To Cooley, the trendiness is a result of real estate spaces building environments that 38

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aren’t necessarily rooted in the community’s needs. “What I noticed early on, as cowork really started to catch on, is that developers thought, ‘oh, this is easy. If I open up a space, people will come use it.’ And that’s fine,” he says, “until after a few months, and members start thinking ‘what’s really the difference between working here and my house, except that I’m paying for it?’”

As Cooley puts it, he works with developers to create the “glue” that cowork spaces thrive on. “The ones who embrace a real sense of community—the kind that comes from the members—those create bonds that are lasting,” he says. “They’ll last when the novelty of the trendy stuff dies off.” In fact, Cooley clarifies that the popularity

of coworking arose from a recession— there was nothing flashy or hip about it.

“People needed short-term leases to start up companies and get out of the house. And the economy was kind of, you know, in the tank,” he explains. “And people started to assemble collective resources. That’s what cowork is: an assembly of resources—either people or amenities—shared in a likeminded way.”

But, there’s no one-size-fitsall solution for ideal working conditions. “Everyone is a unique mixture of introvert and extrovert,” he says. He and his team have developed an assessment tool that identifies ten different work environments and calculates an individual’s top three ideal work environments based on per sonality and preferences. “There are ten work environments, and five of those are different types of coworks,” Cooley says. It’s no secret that fluorescent-lit corporate cubicles aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution, either. In fact, after COVID19 sent the nation’s workforce home, corporate higher-ups have been admitting to Cooley that they’ve known that for some time.“We’ve been talking with some major corporate entities—including big companies locally—and they said, ‘we knew that we could and should turn our workforce more remote. We just never did.

And this pandemic made us realize that we

Photos by Michael Hanlon

Pictured: Interior design style at Spot Cowork

were just being complacent.’” While Cooley is working with these companies to design a better model, he can’t help but wonder: “What’s the reason for not doing it?

Why did it take a pandemic to understand and appreciate people as individuals, allowing them to work in a place that they thrive? If you can do your work from anywhere, why work in a cubicle?”

That’s not to say no one should ever work in a cubicle, though. Cooley’s assessment tool can identify individual work styles. “Some people really need five days of centered, focused time without any distractions,” Cooley says. “Or, results for another person might say they should work from home two days a week and a private office three days a week. And a beer social would be really good for you on Fridays,” he adds. “The hybrid is the future.”

And despite serving as the butt of jokes and the quintessential cowork stereotype, Cooley’s reluctant to even rule out ping pong tables. “You know, a ping pong table for the right market, for the right audience, could be the thing they need. They might need games to rewind or some healthy competition.” At the same time, games in other office environments might be gimmicky and counterintuitive. “In a very professional meeting space, like suit-and-tie consultants, that ping pong table’s going to be detrimental to their persona.” To Cooley, everything is dependent on individual needs, and like-minded people coming together for workspace creates the most successful environments. “For creative people intensely focused on creative work for hours at a time, they might need a release. They might need a beer at the end of the night, right?”

Like the individuals that comprise them, different communities have different needs. “So, I have never gone into a project and said, ‘we need to launch a cowork,’” he says. “We’ve gone into projects where someone says, ‘I want to launch a cowork,’ and my response is, ‘that’s up to you, but if our data comes back and says you shouldn’t do 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Pictured: Metro Cowork's interior.

one, would you be open to that?’ And some people aren’t.”

Even here in Rochester, there’s an incredibly diverse set of cowork models. But they all follow Cooley’s number one rule: it has to happen naturally in order to meet the community’s needs.

Jim Salvinski founded Spot Cowork in 2018. He says it started small, but increasing demand led to rapid growth, and Salvinski’s no stranger to emerging industries. “Two to three years ago nobody knew what cowork was,” he says. “It reminds me of when I started my internet company in 1995, and I spent more time explaining what the internet was than actually doing it!” With locations in Henrietta, Victor, and a brand new one on East Avenue, Spot is fairly in line with a traditional cowork model. Boasting state-of-the-art amenities, lightning-fast Wi-Fi, conference rooms, and unlimited free coffee from Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters, each member has 24/7 access to all locations, which they unlock with their phones. Salvinski expects to see a 40

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lot more brands emerge in the next three to five years—alongside Spot expanding even further. “We’ll be a brand with at least six or seven locations, poking east and west to Syracuse and Buffalo as well.” Salvinski sees the pandemic as a way for companies to realize how little space they actually need.

“People who sign a traditional lease are rethinking that now,” he says. “They may not need twenty or thirty thousand square feet now, when they’re only using two or three thousand. So companies both large and small are thinking about, ‘hey, we can have a smaller space,’ and they’re shrinking as needed.”

Metro Cowork, founded by Craig Webster, also follows a traditional cowork model like Spot. The difference is that Metro Cowork exists under the umbrella of the Metro Collective, a web of collaboration spaces for niche industries. Webster was already a business owner looking for ways to connect thought leaders in different industries when he launched his Metro family of workspaces.

“Coworking was a logical model for me to

investigate,” he says. While Webster and his partner, Maureen Ballatori, do offer shared office spaces like Metro Cowork on East Avenue, the bulk of their energy is spent maintaining and expanding their unique model of spaces for niche industries. For example, a “wrench club” is a shared garage where motorists collaborate and exchange tools, experience, and know-how. And at 510 State Street’s “Made on State,” artisan business owners operate independent studios with some overlapping community space.

Their newest venture is a salon cowork, where stylists can join to pool experience and resources in order to benefit everybody involved. “Rising tides raise all ships,” says Webster. “That’s what we’re looking to support. It’s not all about Maureen and me; we want to elevate other businesses, other people in the community, and we think this is a really great opportunity to do that.”

On top of serving as a respite for homebound employees, in their design to support members cowork spaces have adapted to become a hub of emotional support and community, as well. “What we’ve built is shared spaces and environments for people to come together. So regardless of COVID, that hasn’t changed,” Ballatori explains.

“The focus is still to bring people together in these shared collaborative environments and workspaces so they can support each other to help them thrive. What’s changed is that we’ve put a more significant emphasis on culture and community and support, because that’s what people need right now.

Especially when you think of the emotional component of what it means to be stuck in your home.”

Luckily, some employers also recognize their workers’ increased needs for community and emotional support. As a result, some companies are paying for their employees’ memberships to cowork spaces.

This represents a fundamental shift in the

Above: Need. salon coworking space; below: Creative Estate motorcycle cowork

down to, ‘how do I know my employees are being productive?’”

Cooley asks. “And that comes back to what we talked about earlier: culture.” If corporations want to trust that their employees will be as productive working from home with less oversight, they need to foster a supportive, trusting community in the same way that coworks need to.

Some companies are fully embracing the shifting dynamics.

Siemens, for example, implemented a “new normal” policy in July.

According to their website, part of that policy is that “employees—in consultation with their supervisors—are to choose the work locations where they’re most productive.” The “new normal” policy—which benefits more than 140,000 employees in forty-five countries—also redefines performance based on outcomes rather than time spent in the office.

Cooley thinks of one of his friends who works in human resources.

“He wakes up, showers, and then feels obligated to sit in front of his computer from 8 to 4:30, even when his work’s done. And his daughter’s in the background, saying ‘Daddy, come play with me.’

And he’s home, his work is done, but he feels obligated to just sit there.” Cooley pauses. “There’s something fundamentally wrong with that to me.”

To reach out to Chris Cooley and access his assessment tool, contact him through LinkedIn.

Photos provided

employer/employee relationship, one that Cooley knew in March was inevitable. “We had a couple verbal contractual agreements on a Friday, and the next Monday they all reached out to say ‘we’re postponing the project,’” he remembers. “And that was where I went, ‘ooh, you know what? Something’s going to shift here. Significantly.’” Since then, Cooley’s work has deviated from cowork spaces to focus on guiding corporate entities through the changing work climate. But, he says, not every company realizes how significant and lasting that shift is. “Now offices have reopened for the most part, but they still can’t exactly mandate people come back to the office,” he explains. “What I keep hearing corporations say is, ‘people will come back if they have a choice.’” But, as it turns out—that’s not really happening: Cooley says only about ten percent of workers have chosen to return to the office on a full-time basis.

So, what should a company do? Cooley is trying to break the old mindset of overarching policies.“Everybody works in the office, then everybody works from home, and then there’s an expectation that everybody’s going to come back into the office. It’s like a pendulum swing,” he says. But, the best solution, he preaches, is a hybrid middle ground tailored to each individual. “Hybrid workspace physically, hybrid programs structurally, hybrid work from home policy. That is what I see for the future.”

So back to that question—if corporate higher-ups knew they could (and should) start taking another look at how they treat employees and the spaces in which they work, why didn’t they? “It really comes

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A COFFEE LOVER'S DREAM No ordinary latte

Ugly Duck Coffee 89 Charlotte St., Rochester On a crisp, sun-filled October morning, I line up with other mask-wearing coffee lovers to order the brew at Ugly Duck Coffee.

Once at the window and ready to place my order, I was, shall we say, skeptical. So many coffee shops boast the best coffee in town, yet I often walk away disappointed, wondering why I just paid so much for a cup of joe.

It still seems surreal to proffer five dollars for a latte, but after the first sip of the creamy, foamy, buttery latte at Ugly Duck Coffee, my buyer’s remorse soon faded. A delicate rosetta drawn into the foam on top was the first tip that this was no ordinary latte. I took pause to savor the flavor: a perfect blend of frothed milk and espresso.

Joining a handful of patrons at three mintgreen café tables set up outside, I began to sip and enjoy.

The struggle to choose what to order among many pleasing offerings had already been decided. Drip coffee, cold brew, espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, mocha, or a beverage named Gibraltar would all be for another day. A housemade chai with steamed milk called the Chai Fieri latte 42

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

definitely required a return trip.

Specialty drinks like the Snug, made with espresso, milk, maple syrup, and molasses bitters; and Spicy Eyes with espresso, spicy chocolate sauce, and milk, also were reserved for another day.

As for the innocents—which I often dismiss as lacking in taste—Rooibos Ginger Lime, an essence of lime, ginger, and fresh organic herbs combined with green Rooibos tea, and the Sun Salutation, made with turmeric, ginger root, cinnamon, and steamed milk, would have to wait too but not for long; beverages are seasonal, and the menu can change.

Snacks from Black Cat Baking Co., cookies and brownies from Scratch Bakeshop, Red Fern jam bars, and croissants that sell out early from Flour City Bread Co. were all tempting, but, alas, I had come on a mission: to taste test the coffee.

Owners Rory and Chris Van Grol came by coffee shop ownership honestly. Rory’s interest in coffee began while living in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and working at New Harvest Coffee Roasters. Upon returning to his hometown of Rochester, Rory tended the coffee bar at Joe Bean Roasters, earning the title “Best Barista” in a 2015 Best of Rochester poll by City Newspaper. Chris also worked in food

service before the two married and now manages photography, design, and business affairs for the coffee shop.

The Van Grols’ multi roast shop at 89 Charlotte Street began as a pop-up mobile coffee bar appearing around town at restaurants and bakeries. The weekly rotation included Fiorella, the Playhouse/ Swillburger, and Scratch Bakeshop.

It’s been five years since the Van Grols opened up shop in their current location on Charlotte Street. The shop sources local, regional, and out-of-town roasts for its espresso-based beverages. They select growers who source green coffee ethically, who have direct relationships with farmers, or who are Fair Trade. The Van Grols try to buy local whenever possible for other items sold at the café. Chocolate for hot chocolate and mocha beverages comes from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates.

Dr inks are crafted to highlight characteristics of each roast with something for everyone from coffee neophytes to those with more discerning palates. Coffee blends rotate every three to four months.

The fanciful mural-like exterior of this brick-and-mortar local haunt on Charlotte Street speaks to the creativity and wit of its owners. A true coffee lover’s stop on the way to ...

Photo by Emily Beagles

By Donna De Palma

THEY’RE SELLING LIKE

HOT CAKES

Photos by Emily Beagles

Boxcar Donuts 127 Railroad St., Rochester 270-5942 Boxcar at 127 Railroad Street in the city is the brainchild of partners John Ebel, Marc LeBeau, and Mike Beinetti. Riding the coattails of the City of Rochester Public Market’s recent expansion, businesses spilled over onto Railroad Street. Situated near Rohrbach’s Railroad Street Beer Hall and Black Button Distilling, Boxcar offers gourmet donuts that will challenge your thinking about the once humble donut.

These donuts are fancy and a little offbeat.

Owners and founders of Glen Edith Coffee Roasters, a coffee shop and roastery on Somerton Street in the Park Avenue area, Ebel and LeBeau had met working together at Verizon. Both were heavily into motorcycles. The two would meet up

to talk about businesses they dreamed of starting someday.

In 2013, they opened Smokestack Cowork at High Falls. “We decided to brew coffee for the freelancers who rented space from us. Needless to say, our tenants enjoyed the coffee. The following year, we opened up our coffee shop and eventually started offering custom roasts to businesses around town,” Ebel says.

Equipped with a coffee roaster they bought from a casino in Nevada, they opened Glen Edith Coffee Roasters in 2014.

“We were buying pastries from suppliers for the coffee shop. We’d developed contacts in the pastry business, and one day we asked ourselves, ‘Why don’t we make our pastries in house?’”

Glen Edith began selling donuts produced on-site every Friday, and things took off.

About that time, Ebel and LeBeau heard

BOXCAR ON RAILROAD STREET

by Donna De Palma

about the city’s capital investment in the Rochester Public Market.

“We used to hang out on Railroad Street, so we had an attachment to that section of the city.We decided it would be a great time to invest in the neighborhood,” Ebel says.

The pair signed a lease on a space that had been a former mushroom storage warehouse.

“We were one of the first people interested in renting the space. It was damp, had low ceilings, and needed tons of work.”

It took two years to build out the space.

In May 2017, Boxcar opened to a line of people out the door that ran all the way down the street.

“It caught on pretty quickly. We had extra room under the fryer hood, so we also offered fried chicken as a specialty item on the menu,” says Ebel.

Boxcar manager Jane Levernz now 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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doubles as head pastry chef. Although she says kids who love donuts are, by far, her favorite customers, she also likes to serve their parents.

“We have regulars who come in each week to meet up. It’s a friendly place to sit and relax,” Levernz says. Sometimes the younger patrons leave a toy or two behind, though.

“One day, a little boy forgot his toy dinosaur on the counter.We kept it for him just in case he returned. Our customers would ask about the dinosaur by the register when they came in. The little boy eventually came back and picked up his toy dinosaur. There was so much interest though, we began to hide dinosaurs around 44

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

the shop. We have eighteen now. When kids come in, if they can find all eighteen, they win free donut holes.”

Donuts at Boxcar come in three classes: Coach, Executive, and First Class, priced accordingly, as a takeoff on the shop’s railroad theme. Donuts come in every shape, size, and flavor. On the menu the day I visited: a square Maple Bacon donut; Black Magic, a deep dark chocolate glazed fry cake; an apple fritter; and more. Some donuts come iced with neon green frosting or topped with hot pink sprinkles. If you can imagine it, you may just find it at Boxcar.

Coffee beverages from Glen Edith and noncoffee selections like Chai Guy’s chai, a London Fog, and the Matcha Tea Latte

can be had. If you love tea, King Crimson, Ginger Peach, Emerald Spring, and others will delight your senses. Rohrbach is also on tap along with an assortment of IPAs. Ebel, who loves to start new businesses, says the demand for high-end donuts has taken hold across the country. While he’s not sure he’ll ever leave his corporate job—that’s what funds new ventures—he delights in the next big thing.

According to Ebel, there’s nothing he’d rather do.

“We were born here; we love the city, and what could be better than helping this city thrive? Railroad Street is starting to feel a little bit like Little Italy in New York City.

That’s not bad for Rochester,” he says.

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It’s cold and it’s COVID

BY ALEXANDRIA HUTTON

I

t’s the dead of winter, you’re in the middle of a global pandemic, and the kids are bouncing off the walls. Everyone’s tired of being stuck inside the house … but have no fear.There are still plenty of socially distant winter activities perfect for the whole family. Outdoor adventures like snowshoeing, sledding, tubing, and even some warmer indoor activities are included below.

Photo by Angia Armstong via flickr

Snowshoeing

Winter in Western New York means snow … lots and lots of snow. But don’t let the snow stop you from getting your family out of the house. Snowshoeing is a fun way to get some fresh air in the winter months. Carry toddlers on your back, pull them in a sled, or let them walk with some snowshoes of their own. It’s easy to learn. Start on flat ground and let your little ones get used to walking around in their snowshoes.

Cumming Nature Center in the Finger Lakes region is a 900-acre preserve filled with wetlands, forests, and hiking trails. In the winter months, the nature center offers fifteen miles of groomed ski trails and three miles for snowshoeing, perfect for a winter day trip with the family. Ski equipment and snowshoes are available to rent at the visitor center.

Tinker Nature Park in Henrietta offers a close to home snowshoeing experience. Deer and geese commonly gather in the park, which makes for a fun animal spotting adventure for children.

This sixty-eight-acre, handicap accessible park features a short 1.2mile trail, pavilions for cold weather picnics, and a playground

recreation area. The park also offers snowshoe and cross-country ski rentals as well as public access to bathrooms.

Sledding

Sledding is a winter must; it’s free and fun for all. Whether you want to go fast or slow, play it safe, or take your sled over snow ramps, sledding can be anything you want it to be. The sledding hills in Monroe County parks are designated, maintained, and— most importantly—safe!

A fan favorite of families on the west side of Rochester, Black Creek Park in Chili has a large sledding hill located behind the Woodside Lodge. The hill is tall but not too steep. A unique feature of this hill is the fence on the side of the hill that gives sledders a safe path to climb back up.

Mendon Ponds Park has two designated sledding hills and several nondesignated. With multiple options of hills, you can scope them out to see which hill is least crowded in order to remain socially distant. In the colder months, this park is a winter wonderland.

Mendon Ponds Park also has groomed trails that offer more than twenty miles of marked cross country skiing trails.

Birdsong Trail and Wild Wings

Birdsong trail in Mendon Ponds Park is a family favorite. In warm or cold weather, you can gather with loved ones, grab a handful of birdseed, and stand very still. Then, the birds will come and eat from your hands! Follow this looped trail in order to visit other 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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small creatures: the fairies. Some fairy houses are easy to spot on the walk, but others you have to really scout for to see.

Follow @birdsongfairytrail on Instagram for more information, as well as for the names of contributing artists.

Also located by the entrance of Birdsong Trail is Wild Wings Inc. This not-forprofit educational organization rescues and rehabilitates injured animals who are unable to survive on their own in the wild.

Residents of the institution include eagles, hawks, falcons, vultures, and owls. While the organization is asking for one family at a time at each enclosure, “Sharon’s Sensory Garden” as well as the bird of prey facility are outdoor offerings for everyone to enjoy.

Snow Tubing

Do your kids love the thrill of flying down a snowy hill but hate the climb back up, paired with the lasting chill from being outside too long? Tubing is your answer.

It’s just like sledding but with some major perks: all you need to do is sit down, hold on, and enjoy the ride.

Holiday Valley Tubing Company in Ellicottville has a snow tubing park with more than twenty lanes. After your exhilarating trip down the 900-foot hill, a conveyor lift brings you back to the top to do it all over again. A warming hut awaits you at the bottom of the hill with a snack

bar, fireplace, and restrooms. This space allows for a quick refresh before hitting the hills again, or for parents to stay warm while the kids enjoy the snow.

The big hills have a height requirement of forty-two inches, but Holiday Valley Tubing Company has a special tubing park so smaller children can enjoy the thrills of tubing safely. Two hours on the hills costs twenty-five dollars, a small price to pay for comfort and safety.

Indoor Activities

The Strong Museum and the RMSC are go-to options for getting the kids out of the house on a snowy day, but they might be more packed in the winter months (making it hard to remain socially distant).

The following lesser-known museums are sure to be less crowded and perfect for a day trip.

The Glenn H. Curtiss Aviation Museum is located in Hammondsport, near the southern tip of Keuka Lake. The museum contains a priceless collection of aircrafts, automobiles, boats, bicycles, and motorcycles, including twenty-two historic aircrafts. In addition to the displays and exhibits, visitors are welcome to explore the restoration shop where they can talk with craftsmen as they work on historic aircrafts.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Museum is a historic site for family recreation and learning, located in North Tonawanda. The museum features exhibits such as the still-operating Wurlitzer Music Roll Department, where visitors can watch the ninety-year-old machines in action, making paper music rolls that produce the iconic carousel music; the Carving Floor, where carousel animals begin to take shape; and the Children’s Gallery, which holds a kiddie carousel and interactive activities.

Admission comes with two ride tokens, which can be used for any carousel in the museum.

Explore Earth’s prehistoric past at the Museum of Earth in Ithaca. Find and even take home fossils from the Fossil Lab; admire the Hyde Park Mastodon, one of the most complete mastodon skeletons ever found; and learn about the world’s coral reefs by admiring two aquariums filled with live coral and fish. With more than twenty exhibits and displays, this museum teaches kids about our planet’s history in a fun and engaging way.

With a little creativity, you can find plenty of socially distant activities to keep the kids happy and yourselves sane. Even in the dead of winter, we can find fresh, new places to explore during these chilly months. Cheers to keeping you and yours warm and happy!

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The Don’ts in your “I Do”

Hosting a celebration of love despite the year’s limitations

BY REGAN WAGNER

Photo courtesy Bristol Mountain

S

o, you had a wedding planned. That probably hasn’t gone as imagined, right?

But it’s a season when celebrating love is more important than ever, even when we’re far apart from some of those closest to us.

So, we have to find different ways to share our love. And as we feel the weight of a changing world, and we examine the rules to live by, we can also search for opportunities to be creative through it all.

Something beautiful that has grown from a discouraging year is the way that people have begun to put their energy and creativity into close, carefully curated intimate celebrations of love.

So how can you make your wedding day stand out?

You can have:

The most gorgeous bouquet

Wisteria is known for its floral arrangements that are guaranteed to stand out in a crowd. This shop, conveniently located on Culver Road in Rochester, will work with you to ensure that your vision

comes to life. The shop also offers professional in-home custom decorating and design services for weddings or any other special event.

The dazzling ring

A four generation family-owned business, Jerry’s Jewlers is known for its honesty and high quality. Whether you’d prefer to browse the shop or work with the team to create a custom style ring, the team at Jerry’s is both flexible and personable.

The tasteful elopement

This past year, couples have embraced chic, small celebrations that reflect their personal style. Heron Hill’s newest offering does just that. Its elopement package allows you to get married in a tower, in wine country. Dreamy, right? This is an exclusive curated event for participants and their special small-group gathering in the beautiful floral garden or tower with a picturesque view of Keuka Lake. The package comes with an officiant, flowers for the couple, space for 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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fifteen–twenty guests, two and a half hours with a professional photographer, and light fare provided.

The dress that takes everyone’s breath away

While Joeval’s in Rochester began by selling formalwear, they eventually got an overwhelming request to carry bridal gowns. Joeval’s responded to the task.

Joeval’s Bridal now carries bridesmaid dresses and Mother-of-the-Bride gowns, as well as bridal gowns. This family-owned shop is prepared to curate gowns for every every shape, size, and budget. You can find more information at joevalsbridal.com.

The stunning venue Bristol Mountain

Bristol Mountain’s recently renovated Rocket Lodge’s space has made summer events possible while maintaining its historic charm. In fact, this lodge is still the original lodge that was built for the resort’s opening in 1964. This renovation comes with an added picturesque wedding ceremony venue on the Rocket Lawn and new outdoor patio with firepits (perfect for cocktails, mingling, and s’mores).

The first floor has been completely redone, establishing an excellent alternate ceremony location in the event of rain (although we know it never rains on wedding days). On the second floor, new floor-to-ceiling windows offer panoramic views that showcase the mountain and provide the perfect backdrop for wedding receptions.

Set on more than 1,000 acres with a 1,200-foot vertical summit, Bristol Mountain has unlimited options to make the mountain your own for your special occasion. Rustic touches and incredible views pair with convenient amenities to offer you and your guests an unforgettable resort experience.

Have you always dreamed of something more rustic for your wedding? Antique light bulbs, exposed brick, maybe even a barn? During Farmer’s Creekside’s recent renovation, many of the original stone and timber architectural characteristics were able to be exposed. These historic details allow for a “barn wedding” feel alongside expected amenities of a contemporary restaurant. Not to mention a venue that overlooks Oatka Creek, for waterside memories to last a lifetime.

Maison Albion

If you truly want to have a glamorous day, look to the historic mansion “Maison Albion” in Albion. The 1878 mansion features a breathtaking ballroom and parklike grounds reminiscent of a late-

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Photo courtesy Wisteria Flowers & Gifts

Farmer’s Creekside Inn

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Something beautiful that has grown from a discouraging year is the way that people have begun to put their energy and creativity into close, carefully curated, intimate celebrations of love.

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Enchanted Photo by Sean B. of SouthTown Images on location at Maison Albion

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Not sure where to start? Schedule an in-store or online appointment and we can help you find the perfect symbol of your love.

Customizable packages and band si in to fit any bud et. ervices also available.

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Seth@TheUptownGroove.com 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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nineteenth-century French estate. This space is ideal for indoor and outdoor celebrations, as the gardens and the mansion itself make for a beautiful setting for guests and photographs. You can enjoy a picnic on the Great Lawn, indulge in a romantic dinner in the Secret Garden, and even cozy up with your beloved in the handcrafted rowboat floating gently in the pond.

A bridal brunch to treat your girl gang Blades

When the world is uncertain, you’re going to want to make the memories that you can remember and share for decades.

With a special day like this, you’ll be able to make even those who were absent feel like they were there.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Photo by Sarah Sayeed

Whether it’s catering at home while getting ready for your nuptials or a bachelorette brunch, Blades’s event spaces indoors and outdoors are filled with tasteful decoration and natural light. Let Blades know how you envision your event, and they will set the stage so that you don’t have to.

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Gifts for the Bride

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d i a n e p r i n c e f u r n i t u r e. c o m 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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OUR COLLABORATION MATTERS

WHEN YOU WANT TO ENSURE CERTAINTY OVER YOUR FUTURE Each of us has unique situations and objectives, but at our core we want to protect our loved ones and preserve a legacy. Connecting these objectives is where we bridge the gap between desire and achievement. We educate and empower you by reviewing asset protection techniques, securing the documents you need, and ensuring you have a dedicated professional who stands ready to connect you with caregiving resources. Our statewide team of Wills, Trusts and Estates attorneys has the resources, connections and knowledge to guide you through today’s uncertainty toward tomorrow’s peace of mind. Explore our services for individuals and families at harrisbeach.com/estateplanning.

Contact Lisa Powers | 585.419.8869 lpowers@harrisbeach.com

Actor portrayal.

Image used is stock photography.

Meet our statewide attorneys and consultants at www.harrisbeach.com ALBANY BUFFALO ITHACA LONG ISLAND NEW YORK CITY ROCHESTER SARATOGA SPRINGS SYRACUSE WHITE PLAINS NEW HAVEN, CT NEWARK, NJ

99 Garnsey Road, Pittsford, NY 14534

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Financial planning in crisis

An offer of certainty in a COVID world

By Lisa Powers Although 2020 may have seemed like it lasted a lifetime, the flip of the calendar to 2021 continues uncertainty and a “new normal” that is anything but. The unexpected and unsettling events that COVID-19 created have only heightened the need for everyone to implement a strategy to address the concerns and challenges of aging.

Perhaps you became a caregiver for an elderly or disabled family member while struggling with remote school and work demands. Your retirement plans may be thrown off course. Whether you deem yourself wealthy or consider your savings and retirement modest, your decisions now will impact how you age and your legacy for your loved ones. Here are three key questions: Do you have an estate plan? Creating or updating your plan provides a roadmap to family members, protects your wishes, and can preserve your assets. Beyond the essentials (will, power of attorney, and health care proxy), your plan must address your specific preferences and name alternate agents if your primary choice cannot act.

Naming your spouse alone is not enough, as he or she may be quarantined with you.

Have you considered you might need Medicaid to pay for care? The pandemic has forced many families to care for loved ones at home, but costs can exceed those of institutional settings. Working with an experienced eldercare attorney who

understands Medicaid eligibility, including the harsh new rules that penalize transfers of assets for home care, is critical to protect assets. We dispel the myths about qualifying for Medicaid and offer legal strategies to help you qualify to receive care at home from providers you choose. Do not wait until you have exhausted your savings or, worse, liquidated your IRA to pay for care.

Who’s on your team? Proper estate and Medicaid planning is never a do-ityourself project. It is dangerous to assume a financial planner, accountant, or individual attorney can do everything you need.

Consistent with our team approach, we refer and partner with other community supports and agencies to preserve your choices for care.

Bottom line: the stresses of COVID-19 cannot pull your attention away from your estate plan.

Contact the experienced attorneys of Harris Beach’s wills, trusts and estates practice group at 419-8800 for certainty and peace of mind.

Fiscal Preparedness

By Michael Farrell Everyone knows their personal finances are important. But sometimes, any life occurrence—from a small shift to a seismic event—can push the significance of these fiscal concerns to the forefront.

That’s what the COVID-19 pandemic has done for so many people. Economic downtur n, employment fluctuation, and unexpected monetary needs have illuminated the necessity for financial preparedness, no matter your age or

professional stage. For those committed to cautious savings and tactful investments, their preparation has helped manage this time of need and establish a way forward to the brighter days ahead.

That’s why understanding the importance of fiscal literacy and planning is so important. It may be too late for some to reverse the past effects of this economic and health crisis, but it’s never too late to inform your present and prepare for the future.

M a s s M u t u a l N e w Yo r k ’s T h e Establishment can help. The Rochesterbased education entity within Metro Cowork’s East Avenue location now offers free webinars focused on financerelated topics important to both young and experienced professionals—and are convenient for those staying safe at home.

These online sessions educate attendees on such things as student loans, money management, investing, and insurance and do it in an accessible way that resonates across a wide range of fiscal proficiencies.

It’s engaging education to elicit financial preparedness and could provide protection for the next batch of unforeseen financial challenges in the distance—or just down the road.

To learn more about The Establishment and its upcoming schedule of classes, visit theestablishmentnys.com.

Navigating Transition

By Lizz Ortolani As the pandemic continues to impact our community, it brought many questions and unexpected anxieties for many people.

Our work lives changed and adjusted; the work we do at Ortolani Services remains as important as ever. We specialize in helping people on Medicare, individuals, sole proprietors, contract workers, retirees, and small businesses.

Health insurance changed a lot in the past twenty years, and our staff is committed to advocating for and supporting all of those who choose to work with us.

An essential part of our work is helping people in transition.This year, many people experienced transitions, including being laid off, furloughed, or choosing to retire early. You may find yourself overwhelmed as you go through a life change, like marriage, divorce, birth of child, or death of a spouse—further escalated by the strain of the pandemic. With this come questions about how to make choices about health insurance moving forward. If you are sixty-five years of age or older or on Social Security Disability, Medicare is a federal health insurance program that helps to cover some healthcare expenses. Many people choose to enroll in Medicare when 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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they retire, but still have questions about how exactly to enroll in the program and how it will impact healthcare costs. There are decisions to make after enrolling in Medicare, including whether to purchase a stand-alone prescription drug plan, a Supplement/Medigap plan, or enroll in a Medicare Advantage plan. For others who are not eligible for Medicare, you may have questions about how to find a healthcare program you can afford without employer support, either direct through an insurance company or the NYS Marketplace.

Connecting with a brokerage can help ease this process and answer any questions you may have.

When we meet with clients who have questions and feel overwhelmed by the need to decide about health insurance premiums, deductibles, copays, or the “donut hole”, our goal is to see an exhale at the end of that meeting. That sense of relief is truly what motivates our team.

Prior to this year, many people might say to themselves,“why am I spending so much on a high deductible plan?” There is value even in the catastrophic plans that provide bankruptcy protection. It is important to know that if something happens that you’re covered and can access the care that you need, no matter what transition or life change you may encounter.

Knowledge of your options and the resources available is important. This includes understanding your health insurance plan and knowing who you can trust. At Ortolani Services, we pride ourselves in guiding people as they make decisions about their future benefits.

Ortolani Services, Inc. is a resource for people who want to make a change or are facing the types of life transitions that affect their health insurance or other benefits. We take the time to thoroughly explain benefits offered by local carriers to both individuals and businesses, and we provide advocacy and support throughout the year. Ortservices.com; (585)242-9749.

Pumping Money into Roth IRAs—Now More Important than Ever

by James Terwilliger It is no secret that I like Roth IRAs … a lot. The Roth IRA is one of the most beneficial gifts ever bestowed by Congress upon the American taxpayer.

Roth IRAs are funded with after-tax dollars. Most important, Roth IRAs are tax-free accounts. No income tax will ever be paid on the account’s income and appreciation, provided that certain conditions are met.

While the beneficial features of a Roth IRA have always made it an attractive retirement savings vehicle, the SECURE Act boosted its importance to the top of the priority list. The demise of the “stretch” IRA for most non-spouse beneficiaries makes inheriting a tax-free Roth IRA much more desirable than inheriting a pretax, Traditional IRA. Yes, most non-spouse heirs must now empty Traditional and Roth IRAs within ten years following the year of the IRA owner’s death. But a non-spouse heir of a Traditional IRA must pay income tax on all the distributions, whenever they occur, over the concentrated, ten-year timeframe.

The heir of a Roth IRA can maintain the account in full force for ten years, then empty the account completely tax-free on the final day.

Building Roth IRA balances is becoming increasingly important, particularly for estate-planning purposes, and the options are many, depending on individual circumstances. Work with a trusted financial planner to help develop your personal Roth strategy.

James Terwilliger, CFP®, is Senior Vice President, Senior Planning Advisor, CNB Wealth Management, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Company. He can be reached at 585-419-0670 ext. 50630 or by email at jterwilliger@cnbank.com.

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January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

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Classes and financial events are general in nature, and not personalized for any attendee’s specific situation.

Financial advisors will not recommend specific securities during classes or financial events. CRN202212-275236

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Taste

Fine fare Table for Naz Take-out guide Critical drinking

A spirited operation

Hollerhorn Distilling raises the bar in Naples

By Leah Stacy

Top to bottom: An outside look at the Naples distillery and the Naples Mule cocktail

If you’ve never heard the word “hollerhorn” before, that’s because the folks behind the farm-to-distillery about an hour south of Rochester made it up.

It’s a combination of “holler” and “horn,” and they define it as “an instrument used to herald or heed.”

From spirits to experience, normalcy isn’t the goal at Hollerhorn Distilling. Even the heading on their “About” page has a message you don’t often see on an industry website: “Dreamers Attracting Dreamers.”

One visit to the Naples destination confirms it. A bright energy flows through the entire space, from friendly employees who greet visitors and instruct COVID19-friendly procedures (they keep your credit card for the visit for contactless food, drink, and merchandise purchases) to the airy, woodland-themed decor. The showstopper of the space is a two-story mural on one wall of the tasting room: the “Mother Apparatus” drawing, as they refer to it. It’s a gripping, whimsical image of a dark-haired woman leaning her head to the side as her hair, full of leaves, is swept 56

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behind her from the force of a—what else?—hollerhorn.

Owners Karl and Melissa Neubauer (who drew the aforementioned wall scene by hand) are Naples natives who wanted to bring a big city feel to the sleepy Finger Lakes town, year-round. Hollerhorn opened in 2018, just off Country Road 36 in the small, grape-growing town of Naples. High-quality cuisine, house made spirits, events, and live music were all on the docket, with the hope it would become a destination for guests from surrounding towns and cities—especially given the close proximity to skiing and leaf peeping in colder months (spoiler: it did).

While COVID protocols have changed some of the layout and entertainment options indefinitely, the upper and lower dining rooms at Hollerhorn are socially distanced to allow for indoor meals, while a spacious outdoor porch with lounge seating and heaters accommodates outdoor dining (as of this publication, it was unclear how long on-premise dining would remain available).

Taste | Fine fare

Photos by Michael Hanlon

Clockwise from top: the The Ploughman, the “Mother Apparatus� drawing, and the Pulled Jerk pork

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Taste | Fine fare

Cloc wise fro top the li e Crush, the bread and butter board, and the aller ree pirit flight

First on our visit agenda were the in-house spirit offerings. It made sense to get cocktails, of course, but also to try the spirits on their own. Karl Neubauer is the head distiller, and he’s been perfecting his technique for more than a decade. He has a few different options, but his inspiration (and ingredient list) is local: spirits distilled from Finger Lakes maple syrup. There’s also a collaborative gin made with Black Button Distilling in Rochester, an occasional grappa made with local wine harvest castoffs, and several other limited-edition spirits, ranging from brandy to rye.

My table selected the “Baller Tree Spirit Flight,” which included tastes of Silverleaf, Seedling, Sapling, and Old Growth (the last being a newer spirit to the collection). While the process for each is different, Neubauer’s goal is to bring out smoky, tequila- and Scotch-like qualities in the spirits—fans of those liquors will be quite pleased. And at eighty to 100 proof per spirit, a flight will leave you feeling buzzed and ready for a meal (oh, and another cocktail) before heading anywhere else.

Next up was the “14512” cocktail (a hat tip to the Naples zip code) incorporating the Seedling spirit, which is aged in used bourbon 58

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barrel casks for less than six months. Added to that is Sazerac rye whiskey, local Wohlschlegel’s maple syrup, lemon juice, and walnut bitters. It’s a dry, strong cocktail that was a nice follow-up to the tasting flight.We also ordered the Naples Mule, which adds Concord grape juice to a Moscow Mule for a fun color and sweeter taste.

The craft cocktail menu rotates seasonally, but it always contains Hollerhorn base spirits peppered into creative takes on classic drinks.

The food menu is thoughtful and varied, but folks ’round this region will always favor their carbs and proteins, so the burger is unsurprisingly the best-selling dish. We skipped that in favor of some more adventurous dishes. The Ploughman/Die Plfuger came out first, a fully loaded board of charcuterie, marinated cheese curds, pickled veg, and a loaf of pillowy, seeded bread. The name for this menu item comes from Ploughman’s Lunch, an English tradition of a cold, midday meal consisting of cheese, bread, onions, pickles, and sometimes meat or a hard-boiled egg. (It’s thought to be the inspiration for modern-day cheese and charcuterie boards, so obviously we are very grateful to all ploughmen for this discovery.)

For the remainder of the meal, we sampled the Potatoes Tostones,

Taste | Fine fare Pulled Jerk pork, and the crab cake sandwich.

Each one was flavorful and creative, with the crispy, smashed potatoes being the highlight. The crab cake sandwich was a nice surprise, as wellexecuted seafood dishes are often hard to find in this region. The crab was tender, and the buttery roll and sour slaw perfect complements. The pulled pork serving was so large that we barely dented it; the open-face style of the dish made for a mountain you needed a fork to conquer.

(While the menu does rotate, there’s usually some variation on these kinds of dishes available.)

The service at Hollerhorn was superb, even on a busy weekend in the fall when every table was fully booked. A table outside allowed us to leaf peep from the upper deck of the Hollerhorn building, looking out over a pond and across the vista to rolling Finger Lakes hills. Karl Neubauer himself even popped out to say hello and give some insight on the spirits, as he’s often around the premises.

Hollerhorn, as it promises, does attract dreamers.

Even if that dream is as simple as a good meal and a nice drive into the Finger Lakes on a Sunday.

And as an up-and-coming generation of spenders leans more toward experiences over material goods, this still-undiscovered spirits, concert, and dining venue is poised for even greater success, especially once COVID is a distant memory.

The crab cake sandwich

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Taste | Trending

Food and drink trends

By Megan Colombo

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In December of 2019, Yelp came out with a list of food trends to watch out for in 2020 based on user searches and review data. On that list was ube, cauliflower comfort food, boozy kombucha, and more. Not on the menu? A global pandemic and calls for social justice that would alter the way consumers behave

and buy. Key phrases and themes that came out of the year’s reviews and data include values-driven support (searches for Black-owned businesses were up twenty-five-fold in 2020), mentions of gratitude (the average Elite user star rating was 4.12), and a new focus on meal kits and cocktails for takeout.

This year’s trends to watch out for are things you’ve likely seen all over your feeds: pop-ups, food trucks, and brickand-mortar restaurants alike have already hopped on board. Read on for what food and beverages you can expect to see popping up on menus all over town.

Old Pueblo Grill

Pizza Wizard

Cha Chat Café

Taco Dero pop-up

Peels on Wheels Pizza

Kung Fu Tea

Birria Tacos Old Pueblo Grill and Taco Dero pop-up Birria is a juicy, spiced meat stew from the state of Jalisco, Mexico. This year it made waves in the food truck scene, and in the year ahead, we expect to see traditional birria tacos and spins like birria quesadillas, fondly called “quesabirria,” and birria pizza hit plates everywhere. Somewhat elusive here in Rochester, Old Pueblo Grill offered up birria as a special in 2020, and Taco Dero is the hot new pop-up serving up birria goodness once weekly. (Birria’s review mention rate is up 235 percent.)

Detroit Pizza Pizza Wizard and Peels on Wheels Pizza Detroit-style pizza has gone national.

With pop-ups turned brick and mortar like Pizza Wizard, and food trucks like Peels on Wheels getting ahead of the curve, this Sicilian pizza recipe with a Motor City twist is having a moment. (Detroit-style pizza’s review mention rate is up fifty-two percent.)

Brown Sugar Bubble Tea Cha Chat Café and Kung Fu Tea Boba, also known as bubble tea, is a yearround favorite drink. In the year ahead, flavors like brown sugar are emerging as a go-to for those in the know as well as fusion desserts like boba flan, popsicles, and ice cream. Both Cha Chat Café and Kung Fu Tea offer brown sugar milk tea. (Brown sugar boba’s review mention rate is up 185 percent.)

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Taste | Trending

Chick’n Out

BC’s Chicken Coop

Fried Chicken Chick’n Out and BC’s Chicken Coop The Japanese version is crispy and light as air. In Korea, it’s fried twice and brushed with sauce. Americans brine it in buttermilk and fry until golden brown.

Korean fried chicken (review mention rate up twenty-six percent) and Nashville hot chicken (up sixty percent) are poised to be breakout stars in 2021. BC’s Chicken Coop has been a ROC staple for more than a decade, while the folks behind Chick’n Out hopped on the scene for the first time as a pop-up at the Blossom Road Pub in April of 2019.

Juicy Seafood

hat Crawfish

Seafood Boils Juicy Seafood and What! Crawfish!

Whether dining in or taking home, seafood boils proved to be a fun, handson dining experience for many this year.

Restaurants like Juicy Seafood and What!

Crawfish! are helping customers embrace the mess, and we predict more people will don their bibs and gloves this year.

(Seafood boil’s review mention rate is up sixty-five percent.)

Something Delicious Bake Shop

Scratch Bakeshop

Confetti Cake Something Delicious Bake Shop and Scratch Bakeshop Parties looked different last year, with many adapting plans to navigate virtual celebrations or socially distanced celebrations. But even the most socially distanced celebrations still need cake.

Confetti cakes, cakes filled with surprise centers of candy or sprinkles, will be the centerpiece of parties in 2021. These gorgeous cakes are available at both Something Delicious Bake Shop and Scratch Bakeshop.

For a full list of trends, including wellness, travel, and beauty, head to blog.yelp. com/2020/12/yelp-predicts-the-toptrends-of-2021 —Megan Colombo, Yelp Rochester Community Manager

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Taste | Table for Naz

Not your average Mediterranean place Welcome to the cuisine of the Levant

By Naz Banu

Clockwise from top: the Classic Platter, Mixed Grill Plate, Barley Salad, and Mehliyaeh Pudding.

Levantine’s Cafe & Bakery 750 Elmgrove Rd., Rochester 434-0441 Have you ever walked into a restaurant that bills itself as Mediterranean, but you realize it is not quite the “Greek salad and hummus” joint one associates with that description? It is a label used by many 62

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Middle Eastern restaurants to seem more approachable to the American diner in the past. Recently, more restaurants are shedding that cover and embracing their heritage. While the Mediterranean region and the Middle East overlap, they are home to several distinctive cuisines that should be celebrated individually (and not lumped

under the Eurocentric “Mediterranean cuisine” designation).

The owners of Levantine’s Café takes great pride in their Syrian heritage and it shows in the menu. While they serve some familiar dishes such as hummus, they put their own touch on it. Yes, you can walk into Levantine’s and get your usual

Photos by Tomas Flint

Taste | Table for Naz “Mediterranean restaurant” order. You will be content with your food— everything I tried there was tasty.

However, they this is the only Syrian restaurant in Rochester, so you would be remiss to not take the chance to try something new.

Let’s start off with a uniquely Damascus/Levantine dish: fetteh. The combination of soft chickpeas, garlic sauce, creamy yogurt, crisp pieces of toasted pita, nutty tahini, and roasted almonds sound strange, but it is oddly comforting. This dish is a study in contrast of textures and flavor, yet they all come together in one harmonious note. I have a hard time describing the taste. Each bite conjures up terms like soft, crunchy, mild, and garlicky. Those terms may not seem complementary, but fetteh is one of the most wellbalanced dishes I have had in a while.

The original fetteh is vegetarian and hearty. If you would like to add more protein, you can also get it topped with some delicious chicken shawarma or eggplant and beef braised in tomato sauce.

Abu basti, a traditional Syrian dish, sounds like an autumnal American concoction on the surface: a tomatobased stew made with squash, beef, and chickpeas. This version features pumpkin and chickpeas, slowly simmered in a gently spiced tomato sauce. It is served with a buttery rice that has bits of toasted vermicelli and topped with a light dusting of sumac.

While it is vegetarian as is, you can add koftas (beef meatballs), and I highly suggest you do. The koftas are tender and mildly spiced. Altogether, this is a stew that will nourish your soul in winter. If you enjoy vegetable or beef stew, you will be an abu basti fan. It is a dish offered only on select weekends, so it may not always be available. If you see it on the menu, try it! It is a great dish to start your discovery of Syrian food.

The mixed grill platter is every meat lover’s dream. Two grilled kebabs, one tender chicken kebab and a lightly spiced ground beef kebab, are nestled on top of smoky rice. It comes with a salad and a dip of your choice to complete the meal. This is a delicious dish that will also please any picky eaters you have in your life. Levantine’s Cafe is one of the few restaurants in town that serves halal food (halal is used to describe food that has been prepared in accordance to Islamic dietary regulations, similar to the

Owners Mohammad and Beth AlFayad behind the counter of the cafe

Jewish concept of kosher). So, this is also one of the places in Rochester that you can bring your Muslim friends.

The barley salad may not have the most exciting name, but it looks and tastes beautiful.

Rows of bright green scallion, vividly red pomegranate seeds (when in season) or craisins, snow white crumbled feta, and toasted pistachios lay on top of perfectly cooked barley tossed in a light and tangy dressing. It is almost too stunning to eat, but please do eat it. This is an incredibly balanced salad that’s greater than the sum of its parts. In the summer, I would be content with just this a hot day. In cooler weather (otherwise known as most of the year in upstate New York), I recommend pairing it with one of their heartier dishes to enjoy the contrast between the lightness of the salad and the warmth of the stews and kebabs.

Levantine’s Cafe also has a sizable variety of

Middle Eastern desserts in the dessert case.

There is the well-known baklava. There are also the lesser-known and equally delicious cookies like the gharaybeh (petite butter cookies that melts in your mouth) and ma’moul (cookies stuffed with nuts or dates). These are cookies that would make great companions to your coffee or tea. The mehliyaeh (creamy pudding with whipped cream, topped with pistachios and scented with rose water) sounds amazing. Unfortunately, they were out of it on my last visit and, while I can’t personally attest to it being delectable, it wouldn’t be a stretch given the quality of the other food served at Levantine’s Cafe.

Given the current state of the world, it seems unlikely that we will get to take a trip to another country any time soon. Instead, why not travel to Gates to explore the cuisine of the Levant at Levantine’s Cafe?

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Taste

(585) take-out guide

By Brian Donovan and Andrew Trout

ROYAL OF INDIA

INDIAN 300 Park Point Dr., Rochester 585-360-4418 Royal of India is run by an amazing husband and wife team. They’ve been around for many years, most recently at Thali of India. Royal India is located in Park Point RIT, on the corner of John Street and Jefferson Road.

For me, Royal of India is simply the best Indian food in Western New York.

That’s high praise, but I really believe it is. I recommended chicken curry, aloo gabi, and chana masala from the express lunch takeout menu.

If you’re ordering from GrubHub, get the Chicken Momo dumplings. The dumplings are amazing, to say the least, and the tomato sauce they serve them with has just the right amount of heat.

FIAMMA CENTRO

Brian Donovan, left, and Andrew Trout at Fiamma Centro

This guide started in early March of 2020, as the coronavirus was spreading across the globe and starting to enter the United States. At first, bars and restaurants weren’t quite as full anymore, and then, mid-March, bars and restaurants were closing with no idea when they’d be open again. Suddenly an entire industry had to pivot overnight. There was panic, confusion, and fear everywhere.

Looking for a way to be a good neighbor and help out, we decided to use Brian’s extensive personal and professional network to share restaurant reviews. Attention spans were understandably short, so we focused on a few menu items to help people find a place to grab

take-out from at the spur of the moment. We also included some of the history or story of the restaurants to show what made each one unique and how all of these places contribute to the character of our community.

What was planned as a few weeks, maybe a month’s worth of daily reviews wound up going for three months until indoor dining was able to resume in our region. During that time, we never wavered in our commitment.

Instead, we dove deep into Brian’s knowledge of restaurants, looking to showcase as many styles, cultures, and delicious foods as possible.

Download our guide at donovanres.com and follow Brian on Facebook for the latest.

FIORELLA

or chocolate milk. I recommend the Glazed Donut or the Old Fashion Plain Cake if you can get them.

ITALIAN 5 Rochester Public Market Rochester, 585-434-5705 If you’re looking to share with your family or coworkers, I suggest the pizzas. My personal favorite is the margherita pizza with pepperoni and mushrooms to really round out the flavors. Not that hungry or looking for a smaller lunch? You’ll love the roast pork sandwich with a side of french fries.

RIDGE DONUTS

DONUTS 1600 Portland Ave., Rochester 585-342-5236 Looking for a quick, tasty treat? Hit up Ridge Donut Café—it’s a great way to get out of the house for a few minutes.

Ridge Donut has bigger, fresher donuts than national donut companies and has been in business for more than thirty years. Both kids and adults love a great donut, and you can pair them with coffee, juice, 64

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SWAN MARKET

GERMAN 231 Parsells Ave., Rochester 585-288-5320 During a rough week I like to go to Swan Market and get a sausage platter, a couple of sides, and a liter of beer. After a meal like that, I always feel a little bit better about everything. Swan offers a unique dining experience with the best German food in Western New York. The business has been an integral part of our community for a long time and has even brought national attention to our city when Esquire named it one of the eighteen best bars in America.

Thankfully, Swan Market’s deli counter has stayed open and it’s also offering takeout lunches. Any sausage platter is good, but I recommend two smoked brats along with sauerkraut and German potato salad.

If a sunny day has you itching to fire up your grill, get some more sausages for sometime in the future.

Any of the specials are worth your attention.

ITALIAN 4 Elton St. #1216, Rochester 585-471-8917 This suggestion is more of a request. I’ll get to the why in a moment, but first I want to talk about the restaurant, Fiamma Centro. Fiamma is run by Giuseppe Paciullo, who moved here from Italy and cooks some of the most life-changing meals I’ve had in Rochester.

He’s never compromised on his menu or how he prepares it, cooking the food he wants regardless of public opinion. He’s certainly ruffled a few feathers along the way, but that uncompromising passion is one of the reasons I love this restaurant so much.

I always go on Sundays with my wife and son, and we were heartbroken when we could no longer do that. Giuseppe is doing everything he can to keep his doors open, including takeout. I heard he’s even cooking his pizzas with a thicker crust so they’ll survive the car ride home. Ask for pepperoni as a topping at your own risk though. There are limited quantities, so be sure to get your orders in fast.

While you’re in the neighborhood, swing by Three Heads Brewing. The owners started off as home brewers and have rightfully grown to become pillars of Rochester’s craft brewing scene. Additionally, Three Heads has donated countless kegs of beer to charitable causes around town over the years. They have cans and bottles for sale and can fill your growlers with one of sixteen beers on draft.

ROAM CAFÉ

ITALIAN 260 Park Ave., Rochester 585-360-4165 Roam Café, or simply “Roam,” is located on Park Avenue, just off the intersection of Park and Goodman. Roam is run by Drew Nye, a big guy with an even bigger heart who has been a fixture in Rochester’s bar and restaurant space for more than ten years.

There are a lot of great items on the menu, but on a cold, dreary day I go straight for the chicken parm sandwich. Like many classic meals, it’s an easy one to do okay, but hard to nail. Roam Café absolutely crushes it. The texture of fresh focaccia bread in my hands, the warmth from the freshly breaded and seared chicken, and the melted mozzarella combined with marinara all come together in a wonderful bite that gives me a deep, warm feeling.

Taste | Take-out THE CUB ROOM

CHORTKE HOUSE OF KEBABS

MEDITERRANEAN 352 Goodman St. N., Rochester 585-498-1216 Chortke House of Kebabs is located in the back section of Village Gate. This great little place is run

by Yasha Aghdasi and his wife, Rana Rezaei, natives of Iran who love this city—and each other—deeply.

The space has a nice industrial-chic design to it, and it feels very bright and clean.Yasha’s menu is able to accommodate a lot of different dietary needs, even paleo or vegan if that’s your preference.

Yasha’s father passed away last year, and Yasha was unable to return home for the funeral. Despite that, he still has the biggest smile on his face while cranking out food and sharing his culture with all of us.

It always lifts my spirits to walk in and see him hustling around the kitchen, smiling, just happy to see people enjoying themselves.

I always go with the spicy joojeh (chicken), with half rice and half salad.

For the price, you get a lot. Every dish is practically overflowing with food and flavors. But it’s the little things that make a big difference.

Yasha uses Persian basmati rice and real saffron.

The cucumber yogurt is cooling and refreshing to help balance out the heat of the seasonings and sauces. The tomatoes are grilled and have a beautiful char on them that adds a lot of flavor. Even the to-go plating is well thought out, with the dish visually composed and balanced, not just dumped into the container.

Photo credit Guiseppe Paciullo

DIBELLA’S

SANDWICHES/SUBS Vist dibellas.com to find the one nearest you DiBella’s Old Fashioned Submarines is a locally owned and operated, family-run business that has been serving customers for more than 100 years.

During the past twenty years the business has stretched its wings considerably and now forty-four locations in five states.

What’s so great about DiBellas? It’s the bread. We know it’s the bread. We all agree it’s the bread. It’s a labor of delicious love that keeps us coming back time and time again. My favorite combination with the bread is the Chicken Philly. Grilled chicken and melted cheese with peppers and onions; it’s like a Philly cheesesteak, only healthier and with better bread.

NEW AMERICAN 739 S. Clinton Ave., Rochester 585-363-5694 The Cub Room, located in the Edge of the Wedge development near the corner of South Clinton Avenue and Gregory Street has been owned and operated by husband-and-wife team Jodi and Greg Johnson since May of 2015.The Cub Room is a beautiful space. Modeled after Manhattan’s famous Stork Club nightclub and its club-within-a-club, VIP “Cub Room,” the Cub Room has an incredible atmosphere.

It starts with a street-level entrance that takes you down into a below-grade space with exposed stone and brick walls. High ceilings help the space feel big and open, and a floor of reclaimed barn wood brings in history. The artwork is a great nod to the history of the Stork Club, with my favorite being Dean Martin’s and Frank Sinatra’s burger recipes.

These elements combine to give the restaurant a warm, inviting atmosphere that oozes character and charm.

Executive chef Greg Johnson has put together an incredible menu, balancing rotating in new dishes while keeping staples on. The legendary Amish chicken and tagliatelle bolognese are both absolutely worth having. But my favorite dish, hands down without a doubt, is the paella, available Thursdays only. But you must order by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, as all dishes will be made to order.You can get paella for two or four (or more!) depending on your family, budget, and appetite.

SEA RESTAURANT

SOUTHEAST ASIAN 741 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-473-8031 If you’ve never had pho before, there’s no time like the present to try it.

Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam consisting of broth, rice noodles, herbs, and a meat (either beef or chicken). While beef might be more traditional, I tend to steer towards SEA Restaurant’s chicken pho with chicken broth. For me the key to an exceptional pho is the broth.

The cooks at SEA really take their time and consistently produce a wonderfully aromatic broth with deep flavors. The herbs and bean sprouts add an enjoyable brightness and freshness to each mouthful.

For a lot of people, a bowl of pho will be enough to fill them up, but if you think you’re like me and tend to skip breakfast, muc chien don (fried squid) to start is always a good idea.

AVVINO

NEW AMERICAN 2541 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-270-5229 We all like to go out to a fancier restaurant after a long week, and we’ve all had more than our shares of those recently. I’ve known Avvino’s owner, Janine Wasley, for many years, even before she opened Avvino. While at Max Chophouse, Janine helped me pull off proposing to the most wonderful woman, my wife, Amanda.

Like many restaurants, Avvino has a great menu focused on fresh, local, seasonally available ingredients and impeccable plating. What really sets them apart is an equally impressive wine list. While that doesn’t help us right now, that attention to detail and thinking has shown through in how they’ve taken social distancing very seriously. Janine and her

team have quickly put together an impressive, efficient operation behind their no contact take-out.

When ordering, you get a fifteen minute pick-up window so you’re able to grab your meal and go.

For dinner entrees I recommend the dry-aged pork chop or porcini lasagna. Dry aging really adds to the tenderness of the meat, and the sides add a great creole flair and color with hushpuppies, tasso jambalya, and pickled okra. Lasagna is always a wellloved meal and is kid-friendly, but Avvino takes it to the next level with a smoked mozzarella béchamel.

OLD PUEBLO GRILL

MEXICAN 55 Russell St., Rochester 585-730-8057 Old Pueblo Grill opened late in 2018 in the NoTA district and has been pumping an amazing amount of food out the doors since then.

Chef Joe Zolnierowski—also the executive chef at Nosh—grew up in the Southwest with a Polish father and Korean mother. His background and innate talent give him the ability to blend a wide variety of styles together, which is great news for all of us.

My favorite creation of Chef Joe’s is the Korean taco. It’s a completely unexpected menu item in Upstate New York, and I absolutely love it. The tacos are a showcase of Chef Joe’s technical abilities and how well he understands flavors as they combine.The kimchi gives some great tangy flavors, and the gochujang delivers a beautiful combo of umami with some nice spice and heat.

If you’d rather have a more traditional Southwest meal, the carnitas tacos are what you’re looking for.

The roasted pork is tender and flavorful like you’d expect from a chef of Joe’s caliber, and the textures of the cotija, guacamole, and onions all blend together wonderfully. There’s a little bit of cilantro as well to add some brightness and freshness to each bite.

MARTY’S MEATS

SANDWICHES 703 Park Ave., Rochester 585-434-3292 Marty’s Meats started out as a food truck way back in 2012 and absolutely crushed it, serving some of the best meats and flavors I’ve ever tasted. Marty’s continued to expand, first with catering, and then with a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Park Ave. Marty’s Meats is run by Marty O’Sullivan, an active member of our community. He and his team have been looking to help out the community they love during this difficult time, so they’re actually offering a limited grocery store pickup as well.You can grab some food items for your house along with your meal. It’s a win-win-win-win, as you’re able to get groceries, get a meal, reduce contact with people, and help out a local business!

The entire food menu is great, but I always look forward to the weekly specials. One favorite is the chicken parm hero, which might be the most beautiful three words I’ve ever seen. If you’re looking for something other than chicken, you can’t go wrong with the pastrami sandwiches. Marty’s offers two: a breakfast sandwich with a farm-fresh fried egg, smoked pastrami, and a hashbrown in a toasted bun; or a hot pastrami with Swiss cheese on toasted rye.

Marty’s gets just the right amount of toast on the bread so it doesn’t get soggy from all the delicious meats and toppings.

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Taste | Take-out FUROSHIKI

SOUTHEAST ASIAN/JAPANESE 682 Park Ave., Rochester 585-771-0499 Furoshiki is a self-described Pan-Asian restaurant focusing on comfort food, specifically ramen.

Ramen is one of Japan’s most famous dishes and initially came into existence in the early 1900s.

Ramen saw a large growth in popularity in post– World War II Japan, and the instant ramen variety many of us are familiar with was invented in 1958. There are a lot of varieties of ramen in Japan due to geographical and supply differences, so that means there’s plenty of options for people to find their favorite type of ramen.

I like the pork bone broth ramen at Furoshiki and think it’s a great dinner option. You need a great broth for ramen, and Furoshiki’s process for making the pork broth is a long, eighteen-hour journey that results in a silky-smooth broth that is absolutely packed with flavors. The scallion and cabbage add a great crunch and texture to each spoonful, and the perfectly gooey-yolked egg adds some a wonderful richness to the dish as well.

DOGTOWN

HOT DOGS 691 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-271-6620 Dogtown is located on Monroe Avenue at the intersection of Monroe and Oxford. Like any good Rochester restaurant, Dogtown uses Zweigle’s hotdogs, specifically the German frank, which is a longer, skinnier dog that fits perfectly into their buns. The buns are locally sourced from Martusciello Bakery and fresh. Dogtown started off doing quality recreations of regional hot dogs from across the nation, and over the years it’s grown into an impressive menu.

Some of you may just want a good, standard hotdog with your favorite toppings.You can build your own easily, but if you’d rather go with a specialty dog, I’m a fan of the Fido Castro, which has bacon, coleslaw, melted swiss, brown mustard, and a dill pickle. If you’re looking for a little more zest, I’d recommend the Coyote, which has cilantrolime sour cream, salsa, melted cheddar, and jalapeños.

One dog probably won’t fill you up, but two might be too much—so I’d get some sides as well.

The onion rings are great and a classic pairing, and the loaded fries (covered in meat sauce and cheddar cheese) will certainly fill you up. Don’t be scared off by the meat sauce, either. It’s rich, thick, and nicely spiced.

And of course, my two bull mastiffs, Bobby and Molly, approve of this restaurant suggestion.

CURE

NEW AMERICAN/FRENCH 50 Rochester Public Market, Rochester 585-563-7941 Cure is home to some of my favorite cocktails in Rochester, made by the best bartender in Western New York, Donny Clutterbuck. He’s innovative and creative in his drinks, and best of all he’s just a nice, friendly person. When this epidemic started, Cure began doing pre mixed cocktail deliveries to people’s homes and has now started doing takeout meals with curbside pickup.

I’m really excited that one of my favorite meals is available for take-out: banh mi. Banh mi is a Vietnamese dish that has alternated between luxury 66

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dining and street food over the years but has always remained delicious. Cure’s banh mi offers a wonderfully seasoned pork, rich pate, and an incredible spice in the aoli/mayo. Unsurprisingly, the pickling is outstanding, giving the carrots a great crunch and tangy flavors. I like my sandwich breads toasted, and Cure nails the toasting on the French baguette, ensuring every bite is tasty and delicious.

Cure shares its home in the Public Market with Java’s as well, so if your coffee stash is getting low, you can also order a one-pound bag of the No. 1 Cup coffee with your meal to ensure you start off on the right foot the next morning.

FLX HOSPITALITY GROUP

FLX FRY BIRD 60 Seneca St., Geneva 315-789-1613 FLX TABLE 22 Linden St., Geneva 315-730-3083 FLX PROVISIONS 18 Linden St., Geneva 315-670-1412 FLX WIENERY 5090 NY-14, Dundee 607-243-7100 FLX @ ROC BREWING 56 S. Union St., Rochester 585-794-9798 FLX Fry Bird is located on Linden Street in downtown Geneva. FLX Fry Bird is part of FLX Hospitality, started by Master Sommelier (one of only 147 in the US) Christopher Bates and his wife, Isabel Bogadtke. For those of you not familiar with their story: The pair applied for a bank loan and while waiting for approval, started opening their restaurant on a credit card. Right before they opened, the loan was denied. Since that moment, they’ve overcome enormous adversity to open five locations and employ forty-three people. Along the way they’ve also brought an incredible amount of well-deserved national media to upstate New York and the Finger Lakes.

The couple and their team have provided me with some incredible, mind-blowing, life-changing meals, which alone is a feat. But they’ve continued to expand and offer new experiences and menu items. They’ve consistently nailed the day-to-day operations at all of their locations. I’m always legitimately excited to go to one of their restaurants, and I am looking forward to checking out the FLX Weinery location at Roc Brewing.

Lucky for us, there’s a bevy of ways to still get our fix. FLX Fry Bird is open for business with curb-side pickup Thursday-Monday, noon to eight. They’ve added a fish fry on Fridays, and Bates has been firing up the smoker for briskets as well. If you like things with some spice and heat, be sure to get whatever you order “K-Style.” FLX Table is able to provide wine pairings in their normal tiers (Fun, Baller, Big Pimpin’, or Rick James) based on your meal. FLX Wienery’s merchandise shop—great for casual clothing—is open for business as well. You can also shop FLX Provisions for staples (including toilet paper!) and the justopened Super Secret Wine Shop, which has access to FLX Table’s wine list—great if you’re looking to fill out your cellar with some truly exceptional wines to open on special occasions or whenever the mood strikes you.

BLU WOLF BISTRO

BAR & GRILL 657 Park Ave., Rochester 585-270-4467 Blu Wolf Bistro on the corner of Park and Berkeley opened in late 2013 and quickly became a favorite place for a burger and beer.The décor is slick but still a little casual, with lots of black and cobalt blue in the colors. There’s a bevy of seating options, with high-backed booths for a more private dining experience, along with tables scattered around the restaurant and bar seating. The menu is great, offering a wide variety of flavor profiles and styles in the entrées, salads, sandwiches, and burgers. As I mentioned, the burgers are where Blu Wolf really shines, with fourteen different options to choose from.

My favorite burger to get at Blu Wolf is the Royale with Cheese. It’s a hand-made, fresh-ground burger patty with cheddar cheese, caramelized onions for some sweetness, lettuce and pickles for crunch, and their “wolf sauce” for extra flavor. The brioche bun holds up nicely to all of the ingredients. For sides, the bent arm fries are absolutely worth the upgrade.

They’re beer-battered and slightly twisted but not curly.

Like most restaurants, Blu Wolf is offering takeout and delivery. You can call directly or order online. For those of you who love your hangover bowls and brunch at Blu Wolf, they’re offering the BOGO mimosas as a to-go option as well.

REVOLUTION KARAOKE

CHINESE 400 Jefferson Rd., Henrietta 585-287-6573 Revolution Karaoke, on Jefferson Road in Henrietta, opened five years ago, starting off with a basic bar food menu focused on catering to karaoke singers. The owners quickly realized there was a demand in the area for a quality dining experience focused on authentic Chinese cuisine. It’s since expanded to have an incredible restaurant staffed by Sichuan or Szechwan chefs whose style of cooking focuses on bold flavors, particularly pungent and spicy flavors resulting from a liberal use of garlic and chili peppers.

Ordering from Revolution Karaoke is best done via GrubHub. I have a couple recommendations from their menu. Overall, these are flavors you don’t typically get in Western New York. The quality and depth of flavors is on par with the meals you’d get at major metropolitan Chinatowns such as San Francisco, New York, or Toronto. This is not the takeout we got in college.

For an appetizer, I tend to go for the spicy organic cauliflower. For entrees I go for either the spicy beef noodles or sliced fish in hot chili oil. All of these are great examples of Sichuan or Szechwan cooking, with strong, bold flavors and an impressive spicy finish to them.

NENO’S

MEXICAN 642 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-978-7210 It’s Taco Tuesday again? The place to go is Neno’s, located on Monroe and Boardman, next to JD Oxford’s. Neno’s was founded by Fidelio Rita Jr., who left law school and learned the skills needed while working in various Rochester restaurants—while working a few other jobs as well—before opening a food trailer in 2015. After getting rave reviews, a food truck followed in 2017. Most recently, Rita

Taste | Take-out opened a dine-in restaurant that offers the same delicious meals as the truck as well as a few new ones, too.

One of those, the relleno poblano, has special meaning to Rita and his family. They come from Chinantla, a village in the state of Puebla, which is home to poblano peppers. The relleno pobalano is stuffed with Spanish chorizo and Monterey Jack cheese and served atop white rice with two sauces and queso fresco. The chorizo has some great heat to it, and the cilantro topping brings a little bit of freshness to the dish as well.

As I’m focusing on tacos, I’d also recommend the al pastor tacos. In general, Fidelio uses a traditional preparation style for his tacos that includes delicious, flavorful braised meats and corn tortillas. For his al pastor tacos, the pork is marinated in guajillo chiles, which adds a mild spice and great, deep flavors. The grilled pineapple topping is tender and a refreshing flavor of sweet, which plays wonderfully with the spice of the pork. The whole taco just gets you excited for summer weather.

flavor from your meal. If you’re wondering what a banana goes to bed dreaming it could taste like, get the sweet plantains.

PINO’S

ITALIAN DELI 2590 W. Ridge Rd., Greece 585-227-8160 Pino’s Deli in Greece has been in business since 1994, offering a beautiful, classic Italian Grocer experience. It’s got everything you would expect.

There are high-quality deli meats—like Boar’s Head—freshly sliced for you ... family recipes for many of their meals ... pantry items for cooking at home. The delicious, wonderful bread that’s baked fresh in house is nice and airy, with a thin crust for some texture when you bite into it. There are dozens of pasta dishes, sides, and subs. Best of all, the staff have decades of caring about the community and the customers who walk in.

As I mentioned, there’re a lot of options on the menu, but I’m a sucker for any sort of cutlet. I go for the breaded pork chop. It’s baked and then fried, and oh-so-tender. I usually pair it with a side of greens and beans.

I also love a good sub, and Pino’s steak sub does not disappoint. I get it with some provolone cheese for some nutty flavors and a bit of salt, along with peppers and onions on a medium roll.With this sub, there’s no need to toast the bread. Looking at it in my hands before I take my first bite, it’s like seeing a piece of heaven.

GIUSEPPE’S

ITALIAN 50 Spencerport Rd., Rochester 585-429-6540 I’ve known Guiseppe’s for almost twenty years and helped move them into Gates Plaza. I’ve proudly watched the place expand twice since then. The restaurant’s roots in the Rochester area go all the way back to 1927, when family members moved to America from Naples, Italy. They even claim to have been the first place in Rochester to offer a steak sub. The business has grown, moved, and evolved since 1927, and they have even opened a second location in Irondequoit.

As a combination of bakery, restaurant, and pizzeria, there is a lot to offer on their menu. For dinner, I’m always looking at what their steak specials are. The cuts may vary, but they’re always perfectly cooked and seasoned. If you’re looking for more traditional Italian fare, the greens and beans are excellent, as are the clams. The bakery puts out an amazing bread that’s baked in-house. You don’t need to take my word for it either—several restaurants in the area buy from them, too. As a pizzeria, they make a beautiful New Haven-style pizza— which is similar to a Neapolitan pizza—with a thin, oblong crust cooked in an extremely hot coal-fired oven and served whole. The resulting subtle smoky, charred flavors that you get in the crust make it exceptional. I like to get mine with sausage, peppers, and onions.

HYDERABAD BIRYANI HOUSE

EL LATINO

LATIN 1020 Chili Ave., Rochester 585-235-3110 A hidden gem over in the 19th Ward, El Latino Restaurant on Chili Avenue, near the 390 on/off ramps, is not much to look at, but the magic happens on the inside.

The owner and chef, Claribel Medina, has been in business since 2006. There are several dishes to consider. The ox tail is also delicious, for example, but requires a little more work to eat. For me it’s all about the pernil, or roast pork shoulder. A pork shoulder can vary from piece to piece due to varying fat content and proximity to the bone, but El Latino does a great job of getting you a little bit of everything on your plate. Medina has an innate ability to get the most flavor out of the pork, with each bite being juicy and rich. The first bite you have is life changing. I’m always asking for some pork skin as well, with mixed results. If you get some, savor each delicious, crispy bite.

There are three sizes: small, medium, and large.

You’ll get rice as a side by default, and I’d go for the beans as well and then cabbage with lightly pickled red onions for some tangy flavors and a little bit of their house-made pepper sauce to round it out.

An average person can probably split a medium with someone else and then load on up sides. The tostones, or fried, unripe plantains, are super savory and useful for soaking up the last bits of sauce and

go for the beef brisket broth noodle. The beef is always tender and flavorful, and there are plenty of noodles. The broth is the real star though, with rich flavors coming from pork bones, chicken and seafood. If you’re looking for something without broth, the ginger scallion with braised pork belly is great. The ginger and scallions are light, fresh, and bright, and the braised pork belly has some seriously deep flavors.

HAN NOODLE BAR

SOUTHEAST ASIAN 687 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-242-7333 Han Noodle Bar is on Monroe Avenue, next to Dogtown. It opened in 2011. Han Noodle’s more open kitchen design has the whole restaurant smelling of soy and sesame, which really gets your mouth watering before you’ve even looked at a menu.

With generous serving sizes for the price, it’s a great place to grab several dishes to share with a larger group.

One must-have is the pork belly steam buns. The craze for these was started by Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York City’s East Village back in the mid2000s, and Han Noodle does a great homage. It’s a fluffy bun folded around crisp yet tender pork belly and dressed with hoisin sauce. Scallions and cucumbers add a beautiful crunch and pop of fresh colors as well. They’re wonderfully addictive to eat.

For an entrée, get anything with noodles in it. I

INDIAN 1100 Jefferson Rd., Rochester 585-413-0263 Hyderabad Biryani House on Jefferson Road in Henrietta is newer to the Rochester market, having opened in June of last year, but they also have a restaurant on Transit Road in Williamsville, if anyone from Buffalo is hungry.

Hyderadbad offers North Indian Biryani cooking, which uses rice, spices, meat, vegetables, or eggs. In Biryani cooking, the rice and meats are cooked separately before being layered and cooked together, much like mixing a curry. Hyderadbad uses basmati rice, which is a longer grain than white rice and has a light, nutty flavor to it and some spice, which is great for complementing the flavors of their dishes.

There are also South Indian dishes, but be ready, as this can be some hot, spicy, sinus-clearing food.

There are two dishes I like the most. Dosa are a fun eating experience and great to share with others. A dosa is thin, crepe-like cooked rice batter, served with different fillings and chutneys. I like the Masala dosa the best. Don’t be shy when dipping into the chutneys, either.

For Biyranis, I go for the Raji Gari Kodi. For me, growing up in a middle-class working family, this reminds me of the thick, rich stews I had for dinner as a kid. Only now I’m getting a spicy chicken with gourmet spices and a beautiful gravy being created by a skilled chef.

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Taste | Critical drinking

Whiskey? Neat!

No matter how you spell it, whiskey is a treat

By Pete Wayner

The nice thing about whiskey is you can enjoy it in complete ignorance. So, feel free to skip the next thousand words or so, pop down to the liquor store, buy a bottle at about standing eye level, pour two fingers’ width in a glass with very good ice or on its own, and have a great night. Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.

George Bernard Shaw called it liquid sunshine. Its effect is simple, heady bliss.

But there is confusion as to what qualifies as whiskey and the differences between various styles. People ask the difference between whiskey and bourbon, whether Jack Daniel’s is its own thing, and what Scotch is and why it only comes up with their snooty friends.

To answer these questions, we’ll strip away some of the amber aura and most of the machismo surrounding this venerated beverage. It’s going to get nerdy in here.

And while this master class won’t make your whiskey taste better, it will help you understand what you’re drinking and how to order something you actually like.

Let’s start here: whiskey is to bourbon, rye, Irish whiskey, Scotch whiskey, etc. as wine is to pinot noir, cabernet, sauvignon blanc, etc. So, while it’s fine to order a whiskey, you’re giving your bartender dealer’s choice on what they pour. Knowing some key differences will help you narrow your field of play and probably give you a better shot at getting a better shot.

At its heart, whiskey starts with grains, soaked in hot water—this is called mash.

The hot water extracts sugars from the grain, which can later be fermented to create alcohol. The type of whiskey, and the qualifications that get tacked on, come primarily from the type (or types) of different grains used in this step. So, we’ve got fermenting grain sludge in an oak barrel. A humble beginning, agreed. But from here on, things get interesting, and it’s where we start seeing the different types of whiskey distinguish themselves.

Bourbon Bourbon, by US law, has to be made in the United States with at least fifty-one percent corn mash, aged in new charred oak barrels. It also has to be at least eighty proof, but not more than 160 proof. To be considered straight bourbon, it must be aged for at least two years—other bourbons are aged for as little as three months. Straight bourbon also can’t contain any added 68

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colors, flavors, or other spirits. Blended bourbon, on the other hand, can contain all of that, as long as it’s at least fifty-one percent straight bourbon. Are you writing this down? You should probably be writing this down.

Bourbon was probably either named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, (where some say a Baptist preacher/American hero first made the stuff) or Bourbon Street in New Orleans: the whiskey shipped down the Mississippi boomed in NOLA as an alternative to French cognac.

The main flavor profile here includes sweetness and smoke. Sweet from corn (the most sugary whiskey ingredient), and smokiness from the charred oak barrels.

Tennessee whiskey This is Jack Daniel’s, and, to be honest, it’s basically bourbon. That sentence alone could convince the South to rise again, but we’ll risk it because it’s true. Corn + oak + America = bourbon. Yes, there’s an extra step for Tennessee whiskey called the Lincoln County Process that filters everything through charcoal, and yes it’s great marketing but for the layman, this is gonna taste a lot like bourbon. Because, *ahem* once again, that’s what it is.

American rye whiskey Rye is having a moment. Maybe it started with Don Draper’s heart-palpitating affinity for rye Old Fashioneds (recipe below).

Maybe it’s because Jack Daniel’s recently started making a rye and wreathed it in a really sharp marketing campaign. Whatever the reason, drinkers are high on rye.

Before Prohibition, the US made millions of gallons of this stuff. George Washington even made his own brand at Mount Vernon. That said, it’s admittedly a harder sell than bourbon, because it replaces the sweetness of corn with the hot spice of rye.

Similar rules to bourbon govern American rye: it has to be at least fifty-one percent rye, at least eighty proof but not more than 160 proof, and aged in new charred oak barrels. Straight rye has to be aged for at least two years.

Scotch whisky We’re leaving America’s fair shores and in turn, also leaving the “e” in whiskey behind. Even more so than bourbon, it’s hard to talk about Scotch as a single entity.

I mean, this stuff is old—the first written

mention was recorded in 1495—and there are five distinct Scotch-producing regions in Scotland. By law, all true Scotch must be made in Scotland, with Scottish ingredients.

It must be aged for at least three years, and the age must be printed on the bottle, with the number reflecting the age of the youngest whisky in the bottle. In case you missed it until now, whisky aficionados dig the rules like a middle school hall monitor.

Scotch’s flavor is a bit more challenging than bourbon for the uninitiated, but if you stick with it there’s a ton of rewarding depth to explore. Overall, expect a lot of smokiness as well as something we’ll call

Taste | Critical drinking

Photo taken at the Daily Refresher, a restaurant with one of the most extensive whiskey collections in Rochester

Photos by Pete Wayner

“peatiness.” Peat is a plant that grows all over Scotland and is a big part of the distilling process—grains are dried over smoldering peat fires, so the smoke gets in the whisky and contributes a very earthy flavor.

Irish Whiskey Even though Irish whiskey is made so close to Scotland, the rules governing production are entirely different. If it’s aged for three years in Ireland, it’s Irish whiskey.

That’s it.

The story of Irish whiskey, like so many stories in Ireland, is one of endurance through strife. The drink enjoyed an extreme popularity in the United States,

until American Prohibition effectively pooped the party and closed many Irish distilleries. The Irish War of Independence and subsequent Irish Civil War didn’t help, either.

Fortunately, today Irish whiskey is one of the fastest growing spirits in the world, with a projected return to 12 million case production. And it’s no wonder— it’s delicious. There’s a lot of variance, obviously, given the lax production rules, but Irish is generally less sweet than bourbon, less spicy than rye, and smoother than Scotch.

If you didn’t know, now you know. And of course, you should take this newfound

knowledge to a local distillery and strut your stuff. Black Button sells nine different types of whiskey, including some really inventive variations on old classics. Iron Smoke has two straight bourbons and a couple of sweeter, liqueur-esque offerings as well, and Finger Lakes Distilling carries four whiskeys made with local grain and an unaged, white whiskey that’s pretty much pure corn flavor. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg floating in our local whiskey waters. Now that you know what you’re drinking, pioneer the currents as you see fit. Esoteric spirit knowledge is a lot of fun but don’t forget to simply enjoy what’s in your glass. After all, that’s the point.

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Taste | Take-out RIO TOMATLAN

MEXICAN 106 Bemis St., Canandaigua 585-394-9380 Rio Tomatlan, in downtown Canandaigua, has been in its current location since December of 2014. It’s on a side street behind Main Street with plenty of parking. Rio Tomatlan offers drinks (read: life-changing margaritas) to go, as long as you order some type of food with them. Even pico de gallo, which is an excellent appetizer and dish to share, and you should get it regardless. Ordering can be done online via the website.

Speaking of the food, everything here is prepared fresh and cut, dried, or ground by owner Raphael Guevara and chef Andrew Turk. Some spices and cheese are imported, but you’ll never see a Sysco truck dropping off cans of tomatoes. Guevara is very careful not to call his food “Mexican.” He and his family hail from the Tomatlan region on the southern Pacific coast of Mexico, where the food is a blend of Spanish, Asian, Philippine, and Chinese.

Any taco option is great, but I enjoy the tacos de tilapia. There’s some nice sweetness from the garlic butter sauce to play off the heat from the tomatillo jalapeño sauce and a great crunch from the cabbage.

The beer-battered tilapia tacos are also great, with a creamy avocado sauce balancing out a chili aoli, and both playing off the crispy batter from the tilapia.

The blue tortillas are a fun visual element and help to elevate the dish.

magazine), opening a restaurant and having the long-term success that Good Luck has is a testament to Cerankosky’s vision, talent, and work ethic.

Cerankosky’s an amazing example of making your own path in life. Armed with a design degree, he’s touched hospitality spaces all over town, including his own projects Jackrabbit Room, Cure, Lucky’s, and Rochester Cocktail Revival, as well as consulting at Radio Social and Bar Bantam, to name a few.

Good Luck is currently doing a limited takeout menu, and you’ll need to get your order in by 3 p.m. of the day you’d like to pick it up curbside.

Obviously, I’m going to recommend the burger.

One pound of freshly ground, grass-fed organic beef, cooked medium-rare, on a hearty brioche roll with cheese and a generous side of fries. While it’s intended to be shared, under the current circumstances I think we’d all understand if you ate the whole thing yourself. I’d also go for their Sicilian pizza. Sicilian-style pizzas have a much thicker crust than Neapolitan-style, with the crust having a crunchy base and light, airy interior. Good Luck’s has a great blend of cured meats for some salty flavors and different mouth feel, kale and pickled fennel for earthy flavors and added crunch, and a multiple cheese blend for color and taste.

I’d also suggest the red lentils if you’re looking for something you can set aside for a future meal in a few days. It’s a warm, comforting dish that leaves you feeling good afterward. There’s some pleasant heat and spice from the curry powder and a touch of bitterness from the swiss chard.

Opened in 2008 by chef Mark Cupolo, Rocco offers an intimate setting with straight-forward yet incredibly flavorful Italian dishes. It’s a place you have to go as you search for your favorite Italian restaurant in town. Cupolo has recently expanded as well, opening Rella, a seafood-focused restaurant, last year with Chef Cruz Nieves, who worked at Rocco for several years before heading to New York for a stint.

For an appetizer, I’d go with their Caesar salad.

It’s the best one in Rochester. Then get the AllDay Pork with roasted potatoes and rapini. Cupolo always has incredible flavor and tenderness in his meats, and rapini adds some nutty flavors and bitterness. If you haven’t had the opportunity to check out Rella yet, get the fish chowder. Cupolo worked in Boston for many years before coming to Rochester and is deeply experienced in how to make a creamy, delicious chowder.

If the winter cold has you really looking forward to warmer weather, get the blood orange martini.

It’s got a beautiful color to it, and the combination of tart and sweet citrus flavors will have you thinking of summer cocktails outdoors in no time.

Mark Cupolo has also opened a bodega-style grocery store on Park Avenue near Goodman Street with Valeria Clapp and Tim Tompkins. Park Ave Bodega offers a small menu of to-go meals cooked

by Mark himself as well as the usual assortment of small grocer items.

ROCKY’S

TONY D’S

BRANCA MIDTOWN

ITALIAN 190 Jay St., Rochester 585-232-9717 Rocky’s on Jay Street is part of Rochester’s famed “Italian Triangle” (now down to two spots) and has been run by the Mastrella family since opening in 1949. Similar to the recently departed Antonetta’s, Rocky’s is very much an old-school Italian restaurant. There’s an unassuming exterior, and you get massive servings of incredible food for affordable prices. Like at other cornerstones in our community, on a typical day you can find a steady crowd of regulars mixed with newcomers seeking a good meal. I went to Rocky’s almost every Saturday for a year straight with a revolving group of friends and enjoyed every minute of it.

My favorite dish on the menu is the homemade cheese raviolis, but be sure to order a meatball and piece of sausage, too. As any self-respecting Italian restaurant should, it has a wonderful sauce that ties the whole plate together, bite after delicious bite. If you’re concerned about the amount of bread and pasta you’ve been eating lately, I’d suggest the beef stew, which is only served on Thursdays. The tripe is also something to check out. The old timers and regulars swear it’s the best in Rochester and claim there’s nothing better to dip bread into.

GOOD LUCK

NEW AMERICAN/ BAR & GRILL 50 Anderson Ave., Rochester 585-340-6161 Good Luck, the brainchild of RIT alum Chuck Cerankosky and Mike Calabrese, opened in 2008 and was the first of its kind in town. Since then it has become one of the best cocktail bars in Rochester and great place to hang out. While the success and popularity of Good Luck seems obvious now (it’s even been mentioned in Esquire 70

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

ITALIAN 288 Exchange Blvd., Rochester 585-413-3640 Tony D’s in Corn Hill Landing has been in business since late 2008, outside of a brief closure due to the sudden passing of co-owners Chris DeGrazia and Tony DiCesare.Tony D’s is now run by chef Jay Speranza, who has been with the restaurant since it first opened.

For recommendations, I’ll start with the Sevenhour Sunday Sauce.

Yes, that’s right: seven hours, and because of that it’s only available on Sundays. Chef Jay’s masterpiece is something beautiful to behold.

Slowly simmered with incredibly tender pork shoulder, massive meatballs made of a blend of beef, pork, and veal, as well as Rubino’s Italian sausage, this sauce is thick and meaty, with excellent color thanks to Cento San Marzano tomatoes.

To the best of my knowledge, Tony D’s also has the only coal-fired pizza oven in Upstate New York.

This allows for an incredibly high heat while cooking. The result is a crust that is crunchy and more well-done and gives that beautiful char that pizza aficionados know and love. For toppings, I go with pepperoni, onion, and banana peppers, which add some nice, tangy sweetness.

Last I checked, Tony D’s wasn’t selling its chicken wings with Italian seasoning that are cooked to perfection in the coal-fired oven, but hopefully with enough demand they’ll be available in the future.

ROCCO

ITALIAN 165 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-454-3510 BODEGA/GROCER 206 Park Ave., Rochester 585-319-3473

ITALIAN 280 E. Broad St., #100, Rochester 585-434-5243 Branca Midtown, located in Tower280 in downtown Rochester, as the name proudly states, is an Italian restaurant but with a lighter, contemporary twist on the menu to better reflect the location and bright, clean décor. It’s a flat-out gorgeous space with great food, and I’m looking forward to going back there to dine as soon as possible.

Opened by restaurateurs Josh and Jenna Miles in late 2016, Branca Midtown has become a favorite of downtown workers and residents such as myself. Josh and Jenna also run the Revelry and Bitter Honey. If you enjoy either of those restaurants, this is a great way to support them as well, and you can even get some Bitter Honey Margaritas with your meal.

Branca Midtown has a limited to-go menu Wednesdays through Sundays, and you can order up to one hour ahead of your pickup time. If you’re looking for something bright, fresh, and healthy, I’d go with the broccolini salad. Broccolini tastes like a cross between broccoli and asparagus, with a nice, mild, almost earthy flavor with some sweetness from the caramelization of being grilled. There’s a nice garlic scape vinaigrette for added brightness and acidity, too.

For heartier fare and bigger families, try the salumi pizza with fennel salumi, pickled red onions, cherry peppers, and rich balsamic; the pepperoni and honey with cup and char pepperonis; or the chicken parm. As I mentioned earlier, Branca has a light, contemporary twist on Italian, and the chicken parm is a great example of this concept. There’s the expected breaded chicken cutlets and sauce but also a basil pesto, which adds nutty flavors as well as sharper, fresh notes of basil to the dish.

Taste | Take-out MAMASAN’S

SOUTHEAST ASIAN/THAI 1330 Mt. Hope Ave., Rochester 585-461-3290 Since moving from its Monroe Avenue location to its temporary home in College Town, Mamasan’s has gone takeout only. The restaurant started on University Avenue and became a favorite of city office workers and radio icon Brother Wease. Comedian and actor Rob Schneider even ate at the original location. Over the years, it’s expanded and moved several times but has always stayed a familyrun operation. I’ve got a few favorites on the menu.

For an appetizer, I really like the fresh chicken rolls.

They’re wrapped in rice paper and filled with rice vermicelli, which is a super-thin rice noodle, and loaded with vegetables and herbs for just incredibly fresh, crisp flavors.

For entrees I go for the garlic pork dish or Thai rice noodle with chicken. Thai Rice noodle is Mamasan’s interpretation of a classic pad-thai dish. Like a lot of amazing ethnic meals, it started off as a street food, this time in the 1930s. The dish itself consists of rice noodles with meat, peanuts, scrambled egg, and bean sprouts, along with some spices for a little heat. It’s then tossed in a sauce that gives it some tamarind flavors that are tangy—almost salty—and have a touch of sweetness.

AWARDED OVERALL EXCELLENCE AS A TOP 100 CHINESE RESTAURANT IN THE U.S.A.!

Dine in / Take out.

585-385-2808 FAX 585-385-2833

Open 7 days

MON-THURS 11:00 AM – 9:30 PM FRI & SAT 11:00 AM – 10:30 PM SUNDAY 11:30 AM – 9:30 PM 1802 PENFIELD RD. Behind Dunkin Donuts

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HOT OFF THE PRESS

JOHN’S TEX-MEX

TEX-MEX 426 South Ave., Rochester 585-232-5830 John’s Tex-Mex was opened by John Roth in 2006 in a cozy spot on the corner of South and Alexander and put out great, enjoyable MexicanAmerican dishes. Last year John’s Tex-Mex moved a few doors north on South Avenue to a larger space, close to the Wedgepoint Apartments. In addition to a larger restaurant space and the corresponding additions to the menu, there’s now off-street parking next to the building.

Regardless of what you’re ordering, I’d suggest getting some of the house-fried tortilla chips with your side of choice. Queso is available regularly at the new location, and it’s one of my favorites. The chips are fresh, crisp, and lightly salted. For tacos, I’d go with either pork or beef, and I like the Mexstyle with the crunch and freshness you get from the radishes, cilantro, and lime. If you have children who are fussy eaters (like every child seems to be), getting Tex-style tacos should appeal to them.

John’s Tex-Mex also offers enormous burritos. I love my classics, so I’d go with beef or pork, refried beans, and lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and cheese.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention the Mexican Plate, John’s version of nachos. You can get your choice of meat or John’s Mexican Mush, piled high on top of tortilla chips with all the staples you’d want. I’ve heard it described as a flavor tornado and agree with that 100 percent.

A JANUARY HAPPY HOUR JUST ISN’T IN THE CARDS THIS YEAR... BUT

We can’t wait to celebrate in the future at:

YOUNG’S KOREAN

KOREAN 120 Mushroom Blvd., Rochester 585-427-7650 Young’s Korean is located on a side street off of Clay Road in Henrietta. It’s hard to find but worth the extra effort.Without a doubt,Young’s is the best Korean restaurant in Rochester, and the owner is the former chef at Seoul Garden. The food might not look appealing in some photos, but the flavors are absolutely incredible.

For questions, call (585) 413-0040

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Taste | Take-out My two recommendations from their menu are for the kimchi pancake and the chicken bulgogi.

The kimchi pancake is packed with kimchi and other vegetables, giving it a great crunchy texture that makes it ideal for dipping into sauces. Young’s usually offers a fish sauce, which will be a bit salty. It has little to no spice and is very flavorful and light.

The chicken bulgogi—which can best be described as Korean BBQ chicken—is a fun dish.

Bulgogi involves thinly sliced meats, marinated and then grilled quickly. The marinade is important for this as the meat is very thin, so you can easily dry it out while cooking.Young’s does an outstanding job, though, keeping the meat juicy, tender, and flavorful and gets the perfect amount of caramelization for some sweetness to mix with the BBQ flavors. You can also get beef or pork bulgogi as well. The dish usually comes with a side of rice and onions and scallions, which are also nicely glazed.

SWAN’S ON PARK

ROUX - FRENCH 688 Park Ave., Rochester 585-461-2960 DORADO - MEXICAN 690 Park Ave., Rochester 585-244-8560 VERN’S - ITALIAN 696 Park Ave., Rochester 585-340-6689 Swan’s on Park, named as such because the restaurants are all owned by various members of the Swan family, is better known as Roux, Dorado, and Vern’s.

The newest member of the family,Vern’s was my favorite new restaurant in Rochester last year, serving up modern Italian cooking in a beautiful space.

For any meal, I’d start off with the broken burrata. It has slow-roasted tomatoes, which amplifies the flavors of the tomatoes, and their juices mix in with everything else. It’s fun to eat, getting a little bit of burrata, tomato, and basil each time as you play around with proportions to try and find the perfect bite for you.

For entrees, I’d go with the Roux burger. Roux focuses on French-style cooking, but that doesn’t stop them from putting out a beautiful burger with crisp lettuce, melty cheese, and a brioche bun. If you’d prefer something more traditional, I’d go for the duck cassoulet, or the whole chicken to feed the family.

If you’d rather have something Italian, I’d have the Lost Meatball Ragu back at Vern’s.The lumache pasta holds extra sauce inside it, and the fresh ricotta on top is light and fluffy with a touch of sweetness, with parmesan cheese adding some salt.

PIZZA D’S

PIZZA D’S - PIZZA 1350 Pittsford Mendon Rd., Mendon 585-582-6087 Pizza D’s offers never-frozen wings. Even better, there’s a Char-B-Q option where they’ll grill your wings to give them a strong, crunchy flavor with a touch of smoke.You also have the option of getting your wings re sauced after grilling or not. I’m a big fan of getting the Tiger sauce (Country Sweet and medium) when getting my wings grilled, as that ups the intensity of the flavors.

AŞ EVI TURKISH CUISINE TURKISH 315 East Ridge Rd., Rochester 585-544-0101 72

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As Evi Turkish Cuisine, located on East Ridge Road in Irondequoit, is owned and operated by Selami Tulum, who immigrated here six years ago from Giresun. Giresun is a city right on the coast of the Black Sea in northeastern Turkey, an area best known for growing hazelnuts.Turkey’s proximity to multiple countries and regions gives its food some shared elements with Greek and Middle Eastern cooking, meaning there’s something for everyone to enjoy.

I’ve got a few favorite dishes. My affinity for kebabs is well known, and I really like the adana kebab. It’s minced beef and red bell peppers with a touch of paprika on a skewer. Getting a minced meat to stick to a skewer is a little tricky to pull off to say the least, but Selami’s skill comes through, and the meat has a great texture to it.

I also like the dolma, which has some Greek influences. Dolma is grape leaves stuffed with seasoned rice and olive oil drizzled over top, served cold. Last up is the lahmacun. Best described as Turkish pizza, it’s a thin layer of dough covered in minced beef, minced vegetables such as onions or tomatoes, and some herbs like cayenne or cumin, and it’s then baked. While described as pizza, it’s not. There’s no cheese, and the dough is a different texture and thickness. But it’s delicious.

To really get the full experience, I’d suggest getting either ayran, which is a cold yogurt-based beverage, or uludag gazoz, a carbonated beverage similar to Sprite but with stronger lemon flavors.

GUIDO’S PASTA VILLA

ITALIAN 1313 East Ridge Rd., Rochester 585-266-2676 Guido’s is a small Italian restaurant in Irondequoit with an incredibly loyal following. First opened in 1992 by Frank Guido and his late brother Jesse, Pasta Villa became popular with its “Bigger is better” approach of generous portions and sides. Customers can order off-menu if the ingredients are available in the kitchen, enabling you to get classics or favorites when possible. Combined with a seasoned, experienced staff, Pasta Villa is a well-oiled machine that cranks out happy customers night after night.

When ordering from Pasta Villa, you’ll want to start off with greens, beans, and gnocchi. It has great garlic flavors, the beans are firm, and the greens have a solid crunch to them.What more can you ask for?

For entrées, I love their chicken parm, but with the chicken pan fried instead of baked. The mozzarella is stringy and sticks to each bite, and the sauce has a beautiful, deep, sweet tomato taste to it. I also get a side of angel hair/cappellini pasta with garlic and olive oil. If you’d rather have veal, go with the veal cacciatore. The mushrooms add some nice earthiness to the dish. And if you want something without pasta, try the pork pizzaiola with a side salad and the garlic smashed potatoes. The pork is tender, and the smashed potatoes have a touch of sweetness from the garlic.

JUAN & MARIA’S

LATIN 280 Union St. N. #6014, Rochester Juan and Maria Contreras of their eponymous stop in the Public Market were childhood sweethearts in their native Chile, moved to America at a young age, and married in 1977. Juan started off making empanadas for co workers at Xerox and, after getting rave reviews, opened up a food truck called “Juan and Maria’s Chuck Wagon” with his

wife before opening their store in the Public Market in 2000 and then purchasing the building in 2003.

Juan and Maria’s has a straight-forward menu. I don’t think I’m alone when I say I always get the breakfast empanada when I’m at the market. As the tagline says, it’s highly addictive. The smaller size makes it perfect to munch on while multi tasking.

For kids and those with a sweet tooth, the churros are highly recommended by my son. If you’re looking for a bigger meal, I’d do the combo dinner of rice, beans, pork loin, and a delicious, wonderful empanada.

CHAR STEAK & LOUNGE

STEAKHOUSE 550 East Ave., Rochester 585-241-7100 Char Steak and Lounge is the restaurant in the Strathallan Hotel. Its been doing a limited takeout menu during the shutdown. First opened in 2012, Char is a high-level restaurant focused on a great dining experience. There is a coal- and wood-fired grill that gets up to 900 degrees, allowing for perfect searing on their meats, and a Wolfgang Puckinspired oven.

As its name would imply, Char has a bevy of steaks that are cooked to perfection. However, my favorite menu item is the burger or, as they call it, “12 oz. of Ground Brisket.” Dressed with an applewoodsmoked bacon-onion jam and a nice sharp cheddar, this masterpiece is then placed in a rich brioche bun. After doing an eight-stop burger crawl the other year, I crowned this burger the best in Rochester, and I still stand by that today.

I’d also do the half an organic, free-range chicken.

There’s some strong Mediterranean flair with the harissa crust and preserved lemon-yogurt sauce.

Harissa is a spicy, garlicky seasoning that goes great with chicken all on its own and is contrasted by the cooling lemon-yogurt sauce.

If the sound of spices makes your eyes water, go for the house made ricotta gnocchi with a Bolognese sauce and parmesan. Ricotta gnocchi is different from traditional potato gnocchi but still gives you the light, pillowy gnocchi you’d expect while tasting a little bit better.

For sides, I’d do the glazed asparagus or the wild mushroom risotto. The truffle butter adds earthy richness, and mascarpone brings in creamy textures.

“Char Bar To Car” is a great way to stock up on wines as well, with bottles offered at an incredible discount.

BEST SLICE OF PIZZA

PIZZA STOP - PIZZA 131 State St., Rochester14614 585-546-7252 PONTILLO’S - PIZZA 665 Pittsford Victor Rd., Pittsford 585-248-5372 CHESTER CAB - PIZZA 707 Park Ave., Rochester 585-244-8211 Best slice in Rochester? I’ve got three favorites.

The first is Pizza Stop. It’s been in business since the mid 1980s, serving slices for downtown workers for decades. Pizza Stop has the best New York–style pizza in town. It’s so good I’m not going out on a limb when I say that. The crust is thin and foldable with a little char, and the customer service is gruff at best. My favorite toppings are cheese or cheese and pepperoni: simple but rich and flavorful.While

Taste | Take-out you can certainly get your fix at the Pittsford or Greece locations, the State Street location is the best. The oven has a certain je ne sais quoi to it, and whatever it is, it’s essential to making a great pizza.

Second up is Pontillo’s Bushnell’s Basin location and only this location. Pontillo’s locations can vary as they’re not required to get ingredients from specific vendors or stick to recipes. The Bushnell’s Basin location is home to Rochester’s favorite slice, with a thin-to-medium crust and a slight char. I really like that the blue cheese is free (ranch is for savages). I go with the pepperoni/hot peppers with a side of blue cheese.

Last but not least is Chester Cab. Located on Park Avenue, they give you a monstrously oversized slice that can easily fill you up. There’s a thicker crust that’s harder to fold with a crunchier texture to it, with a thick layer of toppings and a decent char as well. It’s important to mention Chester Cab offers beer by the can or six pack as well.

GRINNELL’S RESTAURANT

STEAKHOUSE 1696 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-244-3710 Grinnell’s on Monroe Avenue between Highland and Twelve Corners has been family-owned and -operated since 1961. Originally focused on thick steaks, over the years Grinnell’s has expanded the menu to offer seafood and lighter fair. The décor has evolved as well, with an excellent balance of classic and contemporary. But above all else, there’s great service from the ownership and staff.

Like many restaurants, the menu is a little bit limited right now, but there are some fun specials. For Fridays they have a fish fry with a fluffy-yet-crispy breading encasing the fish, along with house-made coleslaw and tartar sauce. On Sundays, there are turkey dinners. Turkey can get a bad rap as being dry and flavorless, but not this one. The meat is juicy and perfectly seasoned, covered in a rich, thick gravy and lovingly placed over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes. It’s practically a mini Thanksgiving dinner.

And on Wednesdays there are Gourmet garbage plates with an eight-ounce burger cooked the way you like it, with cheese, over homemade mac salad and garlic mashed potatoes, all covered in a beautiful, thick meat sauce.

Grinnell’s is certainly known for prime rib. Slow roasted to a perfect medium-rare, this prime rib has a great, flavorful crust with a tender, juicy interior.

ABBOTT’S

ICE CREAM 4791 Lake Ave., Rochester 585-865-7400 For those of you not fully familiar with the story, in 1902 Arthur Abbott started traveling the Eastern Seaboard selling frozen custard. In 1926, he opened his first store in Rochester. A fan of horse racing, Arthur put his frozen custard proceeds toward buying a horse. In 1952, his horse, Blue Man, won the Preakness Stakes, allowing Arthur to consider retirement. He eventually sold the business to Lenny and Tiby Schreiber in 1957.

Over the past century, the recipe has remained the same but still secret. Eggs, milk, sugar, and cream are mixed together and churned slowly in a custommade machine, producing something denser than traditional ice cream. The custard is made fresh at stands each day, with a few staple flavors like chocolate and vanilla, as well as occasional surprises like black raspberry.

There are locations all over town, but the best one is at Charlotte Beach. I always go for vanilla with almonds and a Chip Wheel for my son because he absolutely loves them. Abbott’s offers delivery via its website.

HEDONIST CHOCOLATES

CHOCOLATES 674 South Ave., Rochester 585-461-2815 Hedonist Artisan Chocolates was opened in 2007

by Jennifer Posey and is located in Rochester’s South Wedge. Posey and her team produce a wide variety of hand-crafted, small-batch confections.

Hedonist offers chocolate caramels, truffles, bark, dipped fruits, and even ice cream, to name some of their delicious offerings.

But Posey doesn’t just offer exceptional craft and flawless execution of Old-World techniques. In the Classic Chocolate Truffle, Goat Cheese Truffle, and Chocolatier’s Choice collections there are incredible favors and combinations of fruits, nuts, or herbs and spices, resulting in sweet, savory, and tangy treats. There’s also a strong focus on high-quality ingredients and partnering with local companies, be it Pittsford Farms Dairy for the cream, Finger Lakes wineries for wine and chocolate pairings, or Genesee Brewery for the Salted Caramel Chocolate Porter or Dark Chocolate Scotch Ale. Hedonist is able to offer pick-up and delivery for those close by and can ship to your loved ones as well.

BITTER HONEY

MEXICAN 127 Railroad St. #110, Rochester14609 585-270-4202 I’m excited to recommend Bitter Honey. Opened in 2017, Bitter Honey is another incredible creation by Josh Miles. Located on Railroad Street by the Rochester Public Market, Bitter Honey has a unique offering for customers. Bartender and business partner Zach Mikida has traveled to Mexico more than a dozen times and knows more about tequila and mezcal than anyone in town, and the corn tortillas are hand-made through a process call nixtamalization. The results are the freshest possible tortillas you can get in Western New York.

This sets up the taco-focused menu very nicely.

Bitter Honey offers taco kits that will feed four to six people (meaning leftovers for smaller households) to help with efficient ordering. I always go for barbacoa as my filling, and al pastor as a second option. If you’re feeling a little intimated by the size of a taco kit, you can order two tacos of your choice.That probably won’t be enough, so you should get a chip kit with three dips or chips and your dip of choice. Mine will be guacamole.

There are also excellent Margaritas to go.

ORIGINAL GRAIN

SANDWICHES 280 E. Broad St., Rochester 585-270-4844 Original Grain, like Branca Midtown, is located at Tower280 in downtown Rochester. The first location was opened in downtown Syracuse by Chris Bily in 2015. Original Grain is the end result of Bily working for years in restaurants, traveling around the country, and sketching out ideas until 2 a.m. in whatever spare time he had. (Bily is also the mind behind XO Taco in Syracuse.) Focused on urban markets, Original Grain expanded to Roch-

ester last year.

Original Grain’s menu is focused on wellness and healthy eating, with multiple California-style menu items. Ingredients are sourced from New York state as much as possible to ensure freshness. The space itself is bright, inviting, and upbeat, with tons of natural light. There are grain bowls, green bowls, sandwiches, smoothies, and nori wraps, meaning there are plenty of ways to get a healthy meal at an affordable price. Even better, there are numerous gluten- and dairy-free options on the menu for those with dietary restrictions.

I’ve got a few favorites from the menu. The EZ BLT sandwich, with prosciutto, bacon, greens, and pickled red onion makes for a nice salty/sweet flavor combination. I also enjoy the Southwest Smoke green bowl. There’s lots of freshness and crunch in it, with corn, sweet lipstick peppers, sesame seeds, avocado, scallions, cilantro, and a mild heat from the avocado-poblano dressing.

CEDAR

MEDITERRANEAN 746 Monroe Ave., Rochester 585-442-7751 Located in the small shopping center at the corner of Rutgers and Monroe, Cedar is owned and operated by Elia and Ghada Ghanatios. They previously owned Sultan Lebanese Cuisine and Bakery on Mt. Hope Avenue, and while this new restaurant falls in the Mediterranean category, the food is absolutely Lebanese. They still have a few standard Mediterranean dishes on the menu though, including gyros and Greek salad.

The Ghanatioses make a lot of their food inhouse from scratch, including the hummus, pita, and desserts. You can really taste the difference between what they serve and store-bought products you might have at home. The house made pita is also an integral part of my favorite dish at Cedar, chicken shawarma. Popularized by Tony Stark mentioning it in the first Avengers movie, Shawarma is a pita loaf opened up and stuffed with roasted vegetables, garlic spread for some sweetness, and soft, juicy chicken that’s carved right off the rotisserie.

The chicken is rich and flavorful, covered with a secret blend of spices.

Another favorite dish is the Lebanese rice, called hashweh. It’s a dirty rice of sorts, with rice and meat (usually lamb) mixed together with allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg to give it some sweetness. And if you want something for dessert that will blow your mind, get the house-made baklava as well. It’s got the flaky, buttery phyllo you want and a nice nutty filling, with more of a honey sweetness instead of the overpowering sweetness that turns some away.

JINES

DINER 658 Park Ave., Rochester 585-461-1280 In business since 1971, Jine’s has been a mainstay of the Park Avenue neighborhood for decades, serving good affordable meals to residents for almost fifty years. Currently on its third generation of ownership, Jine’s has worked hard to evolve as Park Avenue has changed. Jine’s has expanded, added outdoor seating and beer on draft, and updated the interior design and décor. By keeping up with the trends and demands, Jine’s is as popular as ever. There are always long lines for breakfast on weekends, and the desirable outdoor seating allows you to enjoy the energy and nice weather during 585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Taste | Take-out warmer months. And right now they have an online ordering system on their website to help streamline getting your food.

The menu at Jine’s has a lot of favorites. The frittata omelet is always delicious and will absolutely fill you up. As an Irishman, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the corned beef hash. As any good Greekowned restaurant should have, there are a few special dishes like avgolemono, gyros, and lemon and egg soup. But I love the fish fry—the beer battered option best. While the beer (Coors Light) doesn’t add much, if any, taste, the carbonation of the beer adds body and lightness to the batter. Jine’s uses haddock, which has a mild sweet taste and some medium flakiness.

SAVOIA PASTRY SHOPPE

PASTRY 2267 Clifford Ave., Rochester 585-482-1130 Savoia Pastry Shoppe is located in the northeast corner of Rochester, on Clifford Avenue near the intersection of Culver Road. Savoia was opened by two Sicilian immigrants in 1929 and has been in its current location since 1971.

The first suggestion is for meatball cookies if they’re available. They’re simply the best and are as rich and delicious as something your grandmother would bake. Next would be cookie cakes, which are an assortment of tea cookies. Tea cookies have a crisp texture and crumble easily, with a mild flavor with just a hint of vanilla. The ingredients in tea cookies also help them last longer, and they can be frozen and saved for a later date. Another suggestion is the almond biscotti. It goes great with morning coffee, particularly if you’re able to serve both in bed.

Savoia has a full line of pastries as well. Sfogliatelle, a flaky pastry with some citrus flavors and a ricotta filling is available on Saturdays. Savoia also has several cannoli options, with chocolate, cream, and ricotta fillings available, as well as cheese and cream puffs. If you’re looking for something with fun, try rum torte, a sponge cake soaked in rum flavoring, which is then filled with custard and frosted with buttercream for some extra decadence.

CALABRESELLA’S

SANDWICHES 1386 Buffalo Rd., Rochester 585-235-7860 210 Park Ave., Rochester 585-355-4460 2781 Lakeville Rd., Avon 585-226-9354 146 N Main St., Fairport 585-598-3510 Family owned and operated, Calabresella’s has been in business since the late 1960s, starting off in the Bulls Head Plaza on West Main Street before moving to Gates in 1974. Calabresella’s now has multiple locations around Rochester, with the aforementioned Gates site, as well as Park Avenue, Fairport, and Avon. Known for overstuffed subs, sandwiches, and cannolis, Calabresella’s also packs and ships out hometown favorites including Zweigle’s, Abbott’s, and Grandma Brown’s Baked Beans.

It’s a great way for expats to get a taste of home, as well as a good gift idea if you know someone who’s in need of a little pick-me-up these days.

For sandwiches, there’s an expansive and impressive list of options, but my favorite is the hot pastrami. Calabresella’s serves Boar’s Head meat, one of the best, highest-quality deli meats on the market.

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always available in this area. If you’ve never had a sub or sandwich with Boar’s Head meats, now is as good a time as any. I’ve also heard good things about the Rueben, which is always welcome on a cold, overcast, miserable day.

Calabresella’s is also a classic Italian deli, offering a good selection of imported and domestic pantry items such as pastas, olives, sauces, and oils, meaning you can combine your shopping needs and spend less time out.

LENTO

NEW AMERICAN 274 Goodman St. N., Rochester 585-271-3470 Located in the Village Gate, Lento opened in 2007 and really pioneered the concept of farm-to-table dining in Rochester.The menu changes almost daily as the chefs work with local farmers and purveyors to bring fresh, seasonal ingredients to customers. It’s certainly not easy to stick to a concept like farm-to-table for so long when growing seasons can be impacted, but chef Art Rogers has stuck to his guns with incredible results. In 2015 Rogers was a semifinalist for a James Beard Award, and I believe Lento will be the first restaurant in Rochester to receive a coveted Michelin Star. The service is always great no matter how busy the restaurant is, and you know there’s going to be something fresh and new on the menu when you come in.

Those in the know are aware that in normal times, Lento boasts dollar oysters on Tuesdays. But Tuesdays are also for tacos, and I’m going with the al pastoras. The braised pork is from River Ridge Farms, which is south of Rochester, between Avon and Geneseo. There’s also a house-made chorizo sausage on the menu for those looking for something with spice and heat to it. The duck fat frites are one of my favorite appetizers and come with a delicious garlic aioli. As I mentioned, the menu changes daily, so be sure to check regularly and see the lobster rolls, poke bowl, or fish fry show up again. All orders are done over the phone, so be sure to call in as soon as you can.

THE REVELRY

NEW AMERICAN 1290 University Ave., Rochester 585-340-6454 The Revelry on University Avenue was Josh and Jenna Miles’s first restaurant in Rochester, opening in 2013. With a menu focused on foods from the mountains and Lowcountry region of South Carolina, you really get a sense of the charm and flavors that Josh’s home state offers. One of the highlights of the Revelry for me is the talented bar staff lead by bartender Mack Hartman, one of the best in town. Mack has brought innovative custom creations to the bar menu as well perfectly executed classic cocktails. The Rev is part of a bright, vibrant section along University Avenue and helps make that entire area a fun place to hang out.

I have several recommendations from the take-out menu.The fried chicken strips have great flavor and crunch to the medium-brown breading with perfectly cooked chicken inside. Shrimp po boy is a great way to momentarily transport yourself down south, and the crispy cabbage is a great textural contrast to the tender, buttermilk-fried shrimps.

Finally, the lobster roll is served Maine style, meaning it’s cold and lightly dressed in Duke’s Mayo, a product of Greenville, South Carolina. The Rev’s lobster roll ranks right up there with the lobster rolls of Portland, Maine.

A sneaky favorite is the Rev Burger, one of the

best in Rochester. The double patty is key, as it allows for more caramelization, texture, and sear, and the cheese tends to melt better when placed into a double stack as opposed to one thick patty. The tricky part is keeping your bun-to-patty ratio dialed in, and this burger nails it.

Regardless of what you order, to really get the Revelry experience at home you have to have it with one of Hartman’s cocktails to go.

PLUM HOUSE

SOUTHEAST ASIAN 686 Monroe Ave. #3147, Rochester 585-442-0778 Plum House is one of Rochester’s favorite sushi restaurants, and I enjoy it a lot as they offer sashimi as well as sushi and california rolls. Sushi is certainly offputting to some as it usually contains raw fish, and that can be intimidating to people new to it.

Plum House is focused on freshness and high-quality ingredients.You hear about how we eat with our eyes, and the dishes at Plum House have beautiful, elegant plating and compositions.

Navigating a sushi menu can be overwhelming if you haven’t done it before. To start off, go with the seaweed salad and the wasabi shumai, which are wasabi flavored steamed pork dumplings, and they have some strong wasabi flavors. For a main dish the sashimi dinner is a great idea. Sashimi is raw fish, thinly sliced, and in the sashimi dinner the fishes are selected by the chef each day, so you rarely have the same dish twice. Be careful when dunking your fish in soy sauce, as I’ve seen plenty of white shirts stained by errant splashes. If you’re not quite ready for the sashimi dinner, try the beautiful beef negimaki. It’s thinly sliced beef rolled up with scallions and pan-fried and coated in a tasty teriyaki sauce.

There’s still great plating even if it’s not a sushi dish.

For a side, get the chicken fried rice–it’s the best in town.

PERLO’S

ITALIAN 202 N. Washington St., East Rochester 585-248-5060 At Perlo’s, the feeling of family is important.

Owner Donna Perlo greets every customer and keeps a watchful eye on every aspect of the restaurant, which is open seven days a week. Many dishes at Perlo’s are now named after regular customers.

While that’s certainty a testement to the quality of Perlo’s dining experience, you don’t have to be a regular with your name in the menu to get great, friendly service.

There are many options, but be warned: like any good Italian restaurant, the portions are very large.

Unless you’re also a college or pro offensive lineman, plan on leftovers. I like to start off with the “Garbage Plate” appetizer. It’s a warm antipasto plate that takes a wonderful greens and beans and adds sliced Italian sausage with sweet red bell peppers, some spicy cherry peppers, and briny kalamata olives. Any of the butter and garlic wine sauce that remains is best soaked up with some bread.

My favorite dish to get is the chicken riggies, a Central New York favorite that can be found here in Rochester at few restaurants. Perlo’s are my favorite. Its twist on chicken riggies has longer Barilla rigatoni with tender chicken, hot and sweet peppers with sliced baby bella mushrooms for some earthy flavors, and a blend of spicy marinara and creamy alfredo sauces, all brought together with a parmesan and basil chiffonade for garnish.

Taste | Take-out BEE HIVE BREW PUB

BAR & GRILL 20 Pleasant St., Canandaigua 585-919-2471 Bee Hive opened up in 2014 and is owned and operated by two wonderful local ladies, Tracy Sidmore and Kim Killigrew. They both have decades of experience in the bar and restaurant business and put their hearts and souls into this restaurant, thinking about every detail six different ways.

With thirty-two beers on tap, there’s plenty of room for local and national craft brewers. For food, I’d go with one of their burgers. The Bee Hive Burger has a nice creamy/spicy combo with avocado and a spicy house sauce. The All-American Burger is a great alternative if you’re not a fan of spicy foods. The pub is also known for its over-thetop Bloody Mary.You should definitely add one to your to-go order.

YOUNG LION

BREWERY 24 Lakeshore Dr., Canandaigua 585-412-6065 While in Canandaigua, the other place I’d check out is Young Lion Brewing Company. Young Lion opened up in 2017. It has a small but solid lineup and a beautiful space with a fantastic view of the lake. I know plenty of people who have enjoyed a beer or three while watching the sun go down at Young Lion. You can order some beers to go via their website. My personal favorite is the pilsner.

There is also a uniquely delicious orange cream ale.

Creams are hot right now, and this one is a winner.

PITTSFORD FARMS & DAIRY

ICE CREAM 44 N. Main St., Pittsford 585-586-6610 733 Park Ave., Rochester Commonly known as Pittsford Dairy around town, the Pittsford Farms & Dairy can trace its roots all the way back to 1814. Owned and operated by the Zornow and Corby families since 1946, Pittsford Farms and Dairy is an institution within the Village of Pittsford. On a warm summer night you would see families walking in from the village or perhaps pulling up in a classic car to enjoy a little sweet treat after dinner.

What makes Pittsford Farms so incredible is their low-and-slow pasteurization technique that keeps the milk and cream tasting a little bit sweeter. Most farms and dairies use a faster pasteurization system that changes the flavors slightly. It feels clichéd to say, but you can literally taste the difference from store-bought milk or cream.

My suggestion on what to get starts with the chocolate milk. It’s simply the best, as any child or adult who’s had it will attest. There’s also a little bit of rustic charm as you can get your milk in a reusable glass container instead of plastic. Get a halfgallon; it goes quick. Obviously, there’s ice cream as well. If regulations prevent scooping when you visit, you can choose from plenty of quarts to go. There are a lot of flavors, and it can be overwhelming to try and pick out one or two. My suggestions are the mint chocolate chunk, chocolate almond fudge, and Cow Tracks if this is your first foray.

There is a small grocery component as well, and you can get farm fresh eggs, local breads, and some juices as well, though supplies and inventory vary right now. Call or check the website.

house margaritas as well. If margaritas sounds ambitious to you, you can order Tecate beer cans available to go.

LUCKY’S

RUBINO’S

ITALIAN DELI 1304 East Ridge Rd. #2005, Rochester 585-544-5680 Family owned and operated since 1958, Rubino’s started off as a small deli on Portland Avenue and found incredible success feeding construction workers at lunch time. Business continued to grow, and they moved to East Ridge Road in Irondequoit. There’s a second location on Main Street in Webster as well. To get the full experience, though, try the Irondequoit location. It has the biggest selection and the best smells when you’re walking through it.There are meats, cheeses, pastries, bakery, deli, and groceries. You can also get prepared foods like subs, sandwiches, and pizzas.

When ordering from Rubino’s, you have to get some of their sausages. They have an excellent butcher department and make their sausages the right way, with meat and spices, no additives or preservatives. I have a couple of favorites, including the Sicilian style with fennel, rapini, and provolone or any of the chicken sausages.

Another must-see area is the cheese shop. With nearly 100 cheeses available, there’s something for everyone. I love the flavors of Provolone cheese and enjoy it sliced up on sandwiches or freshly grated over a plate of food.

Lastly, there’s the bakery, where you can get breads that are baked fresh in-house. It’s a magical feeling when you’re able to pick up a still-warm loaf of bread or two and know it’s just about as fresh as you can get. I like the sweetness of the roasted garlic bread or the classic Italian bread with a fluffy interior and crispy crust.

THE SILVER IGUANA

MEXICAN 663 Winton Rd. N., Rochester 585-270-4723 Opened in 2017, the Silver Iguana is co-owned

by Aaron Gibalksi of Bug Jar and Dragonfly and Shane Stevens of Roc City Tattoo Expo. The inside of the space is cool, with a weathered, rustic vibe, almost like a saloon. The menu is focused on the three food groups of a good Taco Tuesday: tacos, tequila, and margaritas.

The Silver Iguana offers online ordering with pickup in their parking lot. For menu items, I’d start with the barbacoa taco. Marinated and braised, it’s super tender and has a little bit of a spice to it.

Pico de gallo, crema, and queso fresco round out the flavors, with some cilantro for freshness. There’s also a portobella mushroom for those preferring a meatless meal. If you really love spicy foods like I do, give the Diablo taco a whirl. Be warned, the spices are intense, with a spicy arbol orange sauce, chipotle aioli, jalapenos, and habaneros. All tacos are served on a six-inch flour tortilla.

To round out your meal, add some chips and guacamole as an appetizer and mid-meal snack and wash it all down with one or two sixteen-ounce

BAR & GRILL 628 Winton Rd. N., Rochester 585-270-4075 Lucky’s, a collaboration between established restaurant operators Mike Calabrese, Chuck Cerankosky, and Dan Martello, is a neighborhood bar and grill located in the former Wintonaire. Outside of the bar itself though, not much remains. The team gutted the rest of the space and started over.

The name Lucky’s implies a little bit of gambling and excitement, and the décor plays off that with a 1930/1940s–inspired theme featuring dark stained wood, photos of horse racing and card playing, and a tin ceiling. Like any Cerankosky operation, there are fun graphics on the menus and website as well.

The menu is quite impressive with the blend of ethnic flavors and American classics with contemporary twists that you’d expect from the talented minds working on this. For me, I’m going straight for the Rueben with house-smoked and cured pastrami to start. The smoking of pastrami, as well as the extra black pepper and coriander you get, really makes it a more flavorful meat than corned beef.

The Pub Burger, with aged cheddar, pickle, and onion, pairs with the root beer float for a nice taste of vintage America. If you want to feel like you’re on vacation in a faraway land, go for the gnocchi Bolognese based on mascarpone gnocchi, which is pillow soft and fluffy, and pair it with the Lucky’s Caesar Salad.

TOURNEDOS

STEAKHOUSE 26 Broadway, Rochester 585-269-3888 Tournedos is in the Inn on Broadway in downtown Rochester. The Inn on Broadway’s history goes back to 1909 when it was known as the University Club, a gentleman’s social club. In 2000 the University Club shut down, and the Inn on Broadway opened up as a boutique hotel in December of that year.

Tournedos is a steakhouse first and foremost, with some of the best steak in Rochester. In fact, Tournedos is the only place in Rochester to offer in-house dry aged prime beef. While other restaurants may offer one or two cuts dry aged,Tournedos is able to offer more cuts and have more control over the process by handling it themselves. Dry aging increases the tenderness and flavor of the steak as moisture leaves over the course of three to four weeks. After aging, the executive chef carefully trims off the crust, resulting in the most beautiful pieces of beef I’ve laid eyes on. Tournedos also offers an expansive wine list that has been praised by both Wine Spectator and Wine Enthusiast.

If you’ve gotten into cooking at home and are looking to try your hand at a high-end dinner to celebrate or just have something exquisite, try Tournedos at Home, which allows you to select your appetizer, entrée, and side for home cooking.

Tournedos will pull everything together and provide you with detailed cooking instructions. I’d go with jumbo lump crab cake with lobster sauce, duo four-ouce bacon-wrapped beef au poivre, and the pan-roasted crimini and button mushrooms.

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Taste | Take-out MULCONRY’S IRISH PUB

BAR & GRILL 17 Liftbridge Ln. E., Fairport 585-678-4516 Owned by Damien Mulconry of Cork City, Ireland, this place has been in business since April of 2008. Mulconry moved to the States in 1999 and to Rochester in 2006. He opened up his restaurant to bring “a little bit of Irish to Fairport” and absolutely knocked it out of the park. It’s a place where you can always find Guinness and Harp on draft, as well as a great mix of craft beers. The menu has a similar blend of American pub favorites as well as traditional Irish classics like bangers and mashed, shepherd’s pie, and Irish boxtys (potato pancakes). Mulconry himself regularly checks in on guests and keeps a close eye on all aspects of the restaurant, charming customers with his Irish lilt and making his restaurant feel like a second home for anyone who walks through the door.

For food suggestions, first up is the classic fish and chips. When it comes to making an excellent fish and chips, who would you trust more than the Irish?

Mulconry’s lives up to expectations, with a nicely fried and crispy breading paired with a creamy coleslaw. If you’re looking for something a little meatier, go for the braised short ribs. And for those eternally fussy eaters, our beloved children, get some chicken fingers and fries.

OWL HOUSE

NEW AMERICAN 75 Marshall St., Rochester 585-360-2920 Owl House is a staple of the restaurant community.

Since 2010, it has offered a high-quality and deep menu filled with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free offerings. Reading that, some people may ask why I ever step foot in this place. Well, first, thanks for the judgement, and second, there are meat options on the menu. Also, the cocktails are exceptional and creative.

Right now, there are two offerings on the menu I’d recommend. The first is chicken parm. They bread their chicken in panko breadcrumbs, which absorb less oil and produce a lighter, crunchier crust on the chicken.

The other option is the Sirloin Sammy. It’s perfectly roasted sirloin roast carved up and topped with kale, sauteed onions for some sweetness and crunch, and a horseradish aioli with enough potency to let you know it’s there, but not so much that your eyes water.

SWILLBURGER // PLAYHOUSE

CASUAN AMERICAN 830 S. Clinton Ave., Rochester 585-442-2442 Located on the corner of Meigs and South Clinton, this place is in an old church that has been transformed in a burger joint, bar, and arcade. To do this there are two businesses living under the same roof.

Playhouse, the arcade portion, is closed for the time being, but it’s a great place to hang out and play some old-school video games with your friends. Swillburger is a classic burger joint with a focused menu and regular specials. The interior of the building has a really sharp design, which combines a streamlined contemporary look with the retro styling of an oldschool burger bar.

As I mentioned, Swillburger has a more focused menu, but it’s still a great burger. I always go for the double burger, with cheese, and grilled onions for some sweetness. Depending on my mood I get either a side of tater tots or fries with cajun seasoning for some extra spice and heat. The beef—which is formed into thin patties (not pressed!)—comes from 76

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

the very excellent Seven Bridges in Lima. Holding everything together is a bun is from Di Paolo Baking Company. It’s a pillowy soft and fluffy bun that pairs beautifully with the burger. I like to think of this place as Rochester’s version of Shake Shack.

PANE VINO

ITALIAN 3400 Monroe Ave., Pittsford 585-586-7000 Pane Vino has been in business since 2006, offering great Italian dining with a Tuscan vibe out of its downtown location on Water Street, which has the added bonus of offering outdoor dining on the river with a great view of downtown Rochester. In 2018 the owners expanded and opened a second location on Monroe Avenue in Pittsford. They’re currently only operating the Pittsford location with a take-out only and delivery menu.

When dining at Pane Vino I always start off with the Burrata salad. Burrata has a great, creamy texture to it, reminding me of a cross between ricotta and mozzarella. The grilled crostini is great for scooping up the last bits of burrata as well. Next up is an order of Lamb Lollipops.You get four perfectly sized lamp chops marinated in soy and Worcestershire sauce before grilling. Normally those are flavors that can take over a dish, but they don’t here. Another option is the classic Escarole & Beans. For entrees I oscillate between Chicken Anthony and Rigatoni Bolognese, which has a beautiful blend of beef, pork, and veal simmered in a mouth-watering tomato sauce.

FARMER’S CREEKSIDE TAVERN & INN

NEW AMERICAN 1 Main St., LeRoy 585-768-6007 The Farmer’s Creekside buiding, in LeRoy, dates back to the 1820s and was one of the town’s first buildings. In 2004 the building was heavily damaged in a fire. Bill Famer, owner of Catenary Construction, offered a quote to the previous owners for repairs in 2007. The quote was rejected, and Bill wound up purchasing the building in the fall of 2007 with his son Billy and a business partner, Anthony Posella.

The restoration began but paused from 2012 to 2015 due to economic concerns. In 2017, the Creekside Tavern and Inn finally reopened.

It’s an impressive space, with incredible attention to detail in the design and construction. Despite many new parts, the building still has the charm and character you’d expect for a building of its age.The layout is able to host events, large gatherings, and as well as overnight visitors with five beautifully designed and appointed suites.

For dinner, I have two standbys. My first option is the Creekside Fried Chicken, with crispy breading and pleasant spice that comes with a side of mac & cheese and some brussels sprouts and apples so you feel healthy while motoring through the rest of the dish. I’m also a big fan of the Jambalaya, with tender chicken thighs (more flavor than chicken breasts) along with shrimp and some chorizo instead of the traditional andouille to provide the heat.

HONG WAH

CHINESE 1802 Penfield Rd., Penfield 585-385-2808 Hong Wah opened in 2007 by Vicky Shi and Kevin Zheng. Located in Penfield on 441 near the intersection of Five Mile Road, this is a great place for people on the east side looking for a quality Chinese meal.

The menu is extensive and can be overwhelming if you’re not familiar with all of the flavors and combinations that can be made. I recommend moo shu pork, which is a stir fry of veggies, egg, and meat (pork in this case) that is wrapped in a thin pancake. It’s kind of like tacos. Another option is pad Thai shrimp, which is vegetables, scrambled egg, and shrimp seasoned with garlic. All of that is dressed in a Thai sauce that gives this dish a sweet, sour, and spicy flavor.

You can also go for the sliced chicken noodle soup.

This soup has Thai influences, so there are brighter and fresher flavors than you might get in an American chicken noodle soup.The broth—the foundation of any good soup–is tangy and has some impressive aromatics to it.

Finally, be sure to try the Mongolian beef. It’s thinly sliced sirloin beef, scallions, garlic, and ginger stir fried in a savory brown sauce, with sesame seeds sprinkled over the top for some crunch and a mild, sweet, nutty flavor.

PERRI’S PIZZA

BAR & GRILL 1881 East Ave., Rochester 585-244-9090 Perri’s Pizza. There are multiple locations around town, but I always go to the East Avenue location right at the corner of Winton.The menu is your standard pizza place, with wings, calzones, hot subs, and pizzas. Perri’s has a nice twist on its hot subs in that they are toasted in the brick oven. This isn’t available at every location, so be aware of that when ordering.

For me though, I always get the Original Pepperoni Huge Slice, which has proper cup-and-char pepperoni on it. The dough is made fresh each day, and the slices really are huge. The crust itself is a thicker, bready crust. If you’re the kind of person who likes a lot of toppings on your pizza, Perri’s is going to be right in your wheelhouse. Overall, the huge slices are incredible value. You get a lot of pizza for your money, and more pizza is never a bad thing in my experience.

If indoor dining is available, Perri’s on East Avenue is a wonderful place to grab a slice and a beer or two, and watch a little sports with your friends or complete strangers before heading on your way.

THE SAWMILL

DINER 1290 University Ave., Rochester 585-266-5000 The Sawmill (formerly Blades) is my go-to breakfast spot. On University Avenue near the corner of Culver Road, this place is located in a bright, vibrant part of Rochester. I regularly hit up the Sawmill for breakfast after going to the gym. It’s a big, awesomelooking space with plenty of parking. Owned and operated by Sami Mina—the owner of Pomodoro Grill and Aladdin’s Natural Eatery—it opened up in 2018.

My favorite breakfast to order is the Toscana omelette. It’s plenty filling with Italian sausage, herbs, and oven roasted tomatoes that are a great treat, and is packed with mozzarella cheese. The side of toast at Blades is underrated, as it is made from thick slices of bread. I tend to go for the marble rye when it’s available.

I’m also a big fan of corned beef hash for breakfast, and you’re able to get a side of it with your breakfast at Blades. If you’re feeling ambitious, go for the Irish Wake, which is two poached eggs and hollandaise over a bed of corned beef hash. It might not be the healthiest breakfast to eat regularly, but it’s a great treat to have from time to time.

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585mag.com | January/February 2021

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Seen

(585) magazine’s November/December drive-by issue launch and happy hour At (585) World Headquarters, November 10, 2020 Photos by (585) staff

George Conboy

uess who with (585) pu lisher ane

illiman

enis efi augh

uess who and (585) graphic designer Cathy

(585) am assador

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ark Cleary

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

Raj Garg

onrad

rian arnatones

Seen | Issue launch (585) magazine’s November/December drive-by issue launch and happy hour

ill Cutro

(585) editor-at-large ohn rnst

(585) intern le andria utton and o y

Gene DePrez

uess who

. . Rogers

uess who

Chris and evin utton

uess who

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Unplugged The soul purpose

anielle onder ust can t stay still

y ohn rnst

thing there earlier in the year. They’ve never had something like that before, and we talked about having a strings section, and it was going to be beautiful but because of the pandemic we couldn’t get approval to do it.

It’s really interesting that one of your choices is a place that isn’t even a venue.

Yeah, I love doing that. In January we performed at a church, the oldest public building in Rochester, Two Saints Church on Fitzhugh, and it’s not really a concert venue, but … when I do shows here I like to give people a different experience because I’m performing here a lot. So to keep it kind of fresh, and to keep a novelty to it. In the world … I would go with Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado. It’s a space I’ve always wanted to perform, it’s outside, beautiful, in nature. So, off the top of my list, I would say that. Or maybe like an old church in Italy. Or the Sistine Chapel [laughs].

Where do you grocery shop?

I am obsessed with Wegmans, but I want them to do better with their racial justice policies and support for Black Lives Matter. But my niece got me a gift card from Wegmans for my birthday because she knows I’m obsessed. It’s just comfortable! It’s home. I know it. I know where to go. I know where my things are, the bread I’m gonna get, the sugar cookies I’m always gonna eat [laughs]. So I have to say Wegmans, East Ave.

In your Tedx Talk, you describe how being a musician and an attorney are symbiotic, and you couldn’t have one without the other. What was that like last summer, with no community through music?

It sucks! There has been a different type of community with the protests and some rallies, and so many young women activists I’ve become really close with, so that’s been a certain sense of community. But I’m definitely grieving the loss of the stage.

It’s really heartbreaking. I’ve been performing for fifteen years, so to not be able to just step on a stage or play in a show has been really difficult.

Emotionally? Spiritually?

Yeah, I feel it deep in my heart. Like I’ve lost a friend. Yes, I can play my guitar.

Yes, I can do a live at home. But, last night I was on my Instagram and I just started going through all of these shows that we’ve done, watching all these clips, and it was so depressing. But I couldn’t stop going down that rabbit hole. There definitely is a mourning for what was … you know, in 2019 [laughs].

If you could choose one venue to open for one night, when everyone’s tested and it’s 100 percent safe, where would you choose?

Anywhere in the world? Or the country? Well, in Rochester … man, I have to give two answers. Probably the Eastman Theatre, and then my second answer would be the lawn of the MAG, where those steps are with that light installation. If it’s warm out. That would be a beautiful space, and we actually wanted to do some80

January/February 2021 | 585mag.com

What do you consider to be the most powerful lyric you’ve ever written?

I think it depends where I am. Right now for me the most powerful lyric is, “he just wants to love her but his love is no match for her pride.” So if I was in a different space in life, it would probably be a different pick.

Have you ever accomplished a New Year’s Resolution? [laughs] Uh, NOPE. I made one. I always have them, and I’ve never kept them. I’m not really a good commitment person. It’s not really my strong suit [laughs]. I’ve done a lot of things, and people will see that as, like, ambition, or goal oriented. But it’s also because I haven’t been committed to one thing that I can pop from one thing to the next.

Oh, I’m gonna go to law school. I’ll be a singer. I’ll be in this band. I’ll go to Europe. I’ll come back here. So I’m really just moving around because it’s hard for me to stay still.

For more from Danielle Ponder, including what countries she wants to live in, her advice to Wegmans, and her most common Google search, read the full interview on 585mag.com.

Photo by Michael Hanlon

Well known for practicing law by day and music by night (and weekend ... and vacation ...), Danielle Ponder’s life work reaches people in new ways—on both the stand and the stage. This time, it’s through (585) magazine.