Greatness aside, there's no consistent theme tying together the 20 items listed in this fourth part of our Top 100 food picks from Western New York (see Part 3); it just happens to be especially dessert-heavy, with sweet picks ranging from novel deluxe chocolates to wonderful ice creams and a local favorite, the Pastry Heart. But there's no shortage of healthy salads, small and large dishes from America and foreign cuisines, and even a noteworthy locally brewed beer. Read on for all the details, and remember, full reviews of all the establishments listed here are linked within!
39 + 40. Crawfish Etouffee and Blackened Shrimp at Chester's Cajun Grill. Cajun food isn't exactly easy to find around here, but Chester's versions of New Orleans dishes - particularly the completely loaded, always filling bowl of Crawfish Etouffee, and the less overwhelming but always delicious Blackened Shrimp - have all the spice and addictive flavor we expect from this cuisine.
37 + 38. Beef on Weck and Herb-Encrusted Prime Rib on Weck at Charlie the Butcher. Though we'll settle for versions of Buffalo's most famous sandwich at other places, our favorite version of the outstanding Roast Beef on Kummelweck comes from Charlie the Butcher, which always has superb, perfectly cooked and sliced meat; Charlie's Prime Rib version, specifically the one encrusted with herbs, served only on specific weekdays, is a comparatively royal treat, its thick hunt of medium rare beef surpassing the more common and frequently overcooked steak sandwich.
36. Gingerbread Chocolate at Chow Chocolat. While we don't actively pursue gourmet chocolates, we somehow find ourselves visiting local chocolatiers once or twice a month, and if we're impressed enough by something, we inevitably go back. The light-colored, ganache-filled Gingerbread Chocolate at city candy and coffee bar Chow Chocolate is crazy delicious, a mix of two beloved dessert foods that will have you wondering why you've never had them together before. Other inspired chocolate choices here are memorably good, too.
35. An EBC Blueberry Wheat Beer (and possibly Beef on Weck + Wings) at Brennan's Bowery Bar. Of the thousands of different beers in the world, and the hundreds available locally, dozens are actually produced around here, and one of our favorites is the Ellicottville Brewing Company's Blueberry Wheat Beer. Blonde and relatively light, its blueberry flavor is extremely subtle by comparison with fruity alternatives such as Blue Dawg Brewing's Wild Blue, which some - including us - feel is a plus. You can find it at any local Wegmans and many other stores, but it goes down really well with the solid, not world-beating chicken wings and roast beef sandwiches at long-time local favorite Brennan's.
34. Any "Creation" - We Recommend Coffee Lovers Only, in a Waffle Bowl - at Cold Stone Creamery. As easy as it might be to write off ice cream shops, particularly ones from national chains, recent visits to Cold Stone and its once-beloved local predecessor Jenny's Ice Cream have convinced us that there's no contest between the "design your own ice cream and candy mix" Cold Stone Creations and Jenny's Smoosh-Ins any more. The variety of candy, fruit, and nut toppings, waffle bowl variants, and ice creams at Cold Stone guarantees a dessert of epic proportions, and healthier Italian-style frozen yogurt options are beginning to appear now, too.
31, 32 + 33. The Spicy Beef Salad, Mee Krob, and Banana Coins with Coconut Ice Cream at Jasmine Thai. Though we've had regrettable billing issues at Jasmine Thai, we can't help but continue to love its renditions of three dishes: an outstanding lime and chili peppered grilled beef salad, also known as Yum Nua, the world-class appetizer plate of sweet, crispy rice noodles with or without shrimp called Mee Krob, and a dessert that other local restaurants attempt but none can touch. Jasmine's rendition of Banana Coins - golden-fried, rice paper wrapped banana slices, drizzled in honey - and its creamy, superb coconut ice cream are individually better than we've found anywhere else in Western New York; together, they're dessert dynamite.
30. A Buster Bar at Dairy Queen Looking for something a little less extravagant than one of those massive Cold Stone ice cream Creations? Dairy Queen offers another worthwhile, cheaper chain option that's been locally popular for decades, and though your personal tastes may lead you to something different, we're lifelong fans of the Buster Bar, which looks like a big cup was turned over, coated on the inside with a thin layer of hard chocolate, then stuffed with gobs of fudge, spanish peanuts, and vanilla ice cream. Served on a popsicle stick, it's hard to eat just one; they're also sold in take-home boxes.
29. Pastry Hearts from Russ's Bakery. Go ahead, try and find the pastry heart - a flaky, heart-shaped French puff pastry with a gooey, sugary white icing center - outside of Western New York. But first, be sure to try the ones at Russ's Bakery, a treat for anyone with a serious sweet tooth; you'll understand why we crave these at least a couple of times each year.
26, 27 + 28. A Slice of the Fresh Mozzarella Pizza, the Nutty Goat Salad, and Chicken Caesar Salad at Great Northern Pizza Kitchen. There aren't a lot of salads in our Top 100, but the ones we've picked are doozies. Take, for instance, Great Northern Pizza Kitchen's many versions; our favorites are the Chicken Caesar, with one of the only non-cream dressings we've liked on this type of salad, and the Nutty Goat, consisting of goat cheese, dried cranberries, apples and candied walnuts, all under a cider vinaigrette. Served with an oversized stick of garlic bread, either one is a meal in and of itself, but we often are ensnared by the Fresh Mozzarella Pizza as well, a spectacular example of how strong, fresh flavors in simple ingredients - tomatoes, basil, and cheese - can unexpectedly light up your mouth.
25. Ribs at the Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Rochester. Yes, Rochester's a bit of a drive from Buffalo - an hour at last count - but if you really love barbecue, particularly ribs, you're not going to find anything in Western New York that compares with Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. After the success of its first location in even more distant Syracuse, this biker bar-slash-down home BBQ joint opened in Manhattan and Rochester, and there are whispers that a Buffalo location is in the offing. Until it happens, the unique ambience, great ribs, and drunken spicy shrimp are worth an occasional drive East.
22, 23 + 24. Dim Sum, Particularly the Baked Roast Pork Buns, Abalone Dumplings, and Egg Custard Tarts, at Cantonese House in Rochester. There may be many types of Chinese food out there - Beijing, Cantonese, Shanghai, and Szechuan, to name a handful - but seeing their names on a restaurant sign doesn't mean much to the average patron. The words "dim sum" are different: they guarantee a variety of super-cheap small dishes, ranging from steamed dumplings to baked and fried rolls, that let you sample five or six cool items rather than getting stuck with just one old plate of food. Though we've grown to like the dim sum served at Uncle John's No. 1 - enough in fact that it rates multiple items on this list - there's no substitute for the real dim sum experience, which at Cantonese House in Rochester serves as an extended Chinese-style family brunch, complete with rolling carts full of hot items you can select from. Our picks above are ones you can't find in Buffalo, and ones we occasionally drive an hour to enjoy.
21. Banh Mi Sandwiches at 99 Fast Food Restaurant. Though the best Vietnamese place in the area does a better job on a number of our favorite dishes, 99 Fast Food Restaurant has one major ace up its sleeve: it's the only place we know locally that serves the Franco-Vietnamese toasted baguette sandwich Banh Mi, stuffed with your choice of meats and a collection of sweet and spicy vegetables. Though plain beef or pork versions are available, the curried beef or chicken would be our picks.
Our list of our top 100 Western New York foods, drinks, and restaurant picks concludes in Part 5.
