food

This is a perfect recipe for a great Superbowl appetizer!

Maybe this headline should read: How Batavia can save downtown by doing the opposite of what Rochester does... Allow me to explain. Most of us in the area remember the Fast Ferry flop. For Rochesterians, the very word ferry still stings like a jellyfish whip. In a poor attempt to promote cross-cultural relations between Rochester and Toronto, the city sunk millions into a ferry that would cart folks back and forth from the two cities. We all know where that went—nowhere.

Why? One reason that I'm guessing at, is that you're not going to boost your own city's cultural wealth by sending your residents elsewhere. Keep them here. One good way to do that is to offer low-rent studio space to artists in neighborhoods they can afford to live in. Rochester has done this on North Goodman Street, where the city's cultural center faces Village Gate, a quaint shopping center, and Anderson Alley, an old button factory turned into studio space. Ditto Artisan Works off of Winton Road.

Some of you may be wondering why we should give the artists a break. Look at New York City. Wherever artists flourish, along comes business: initially in the form of good eateries, but soon, small shops begin to pop up, followed by large banks. This, unfortunately, then leads to the phenomenon known as gentrification, when all the rich folks with a penchant for what the hipsters have built, simply move and take it over. Go to Brooklyn sometime if you don't believe me. Of course, artists alone do not create this environment. A lot of the appeal is based on a sort of myth of the authentic urban experience: a city block that looks, smells and feels like a city block should feel. It's got natives, it's eclectic, the people have roots there, and the place has a cultural vibe all its own. Again, this is the myth of the authentic urban experience. But as we know, myths are often rooted in actuality.

Rochester has much of this authenticity in many parts of the city. The idea being bandied about for Renaissance Square was designed—or so I believed—to provide a catalyst to further this sort of authentification downtown, which has unfortunately lost its flavor, its character, and, in many cases, its business. With that in mind, the city thought to build a big theater, a cultural mecca right downtown to draw folks in, rather than push them out. Flanking this theater would be a bus terminal, so people can get to and from the theater, and a satellite campus for Monroe Community College, so people can go there to learn, as well. That was the plan anyway.

From the Democrat & Chronicle:

A decision announced Monday to move ahead with the Renaissance Square project will allow federal funds to be spent on a bus station and a community college campus.

Funding for the third part of the project, a 2,800-seat theater, has not been secured and if the money isn't raised, the theater won't be built, Monroe County Executive Maggie Brooks and Sen. Charles Schumer said during a joint appearance in Rochester.

"The likelihood of federal or state funds being raised for the theater is unlikely for the foreseeable future, certainly for the next few years," Schumer said. "Given the economic situation, it's difficult to raise private funds, so moving forward with the community college and the bus terminal is very important. We don't want to hold things up any longer."

Some of you may be saying: "Big deal. No theater. Who cares." Rochesterians should care. What sort of "Renaissance" with a capital 'R' does Rochester hope to effect with a bus station and a satellite campus? How will these two components bring people downtown? Going ahead without the theater would mean, in my honest opinion, not going ahead at all, but just standing still, which Rochester has proved itself quite capable of doing over the past few decades.

So Batavia, take a lesson. Do not do what Rochester does. This does not mean sink all the tax money into expensive cultural projects. What it means is play up your strengths and appeal to the culture of your population by creating an atmosphere that is hospitable to making and performing the arts. The rest will follow.

Batavia already has the authentic urban experience on the Jackson Street block downtown: good eats at locally-owned restaurants, established shops that appeal to people's curiosity and the mall. Uh, wait a second. Scrap that last one. Literally: scrap that last one. Large-scale programs such as Summer in the City do a great job of attracting people to this part of the city. But it's a one-time, thanks for your patronage kind of event. What about micro-celebrations. How difficult would it be to close up a lane of parking across from Margueritas and the Jackson Street Grill, set up some tents, tables and chairs, and serve a summer evening outside. Maybe book a juggler or something to keep folks entertained. I'm sure there are better ideas out there.

Although technically not downtown, the Harvester Center and the many buildings around it, offers a perfect place to start incubating: businesses, artists, offices and public spaces. Maybe above all else: public spaces. Small courtyards where people can gather, grab a drink, listen to some live music, whatever. Maybe a violinist in the local philharmonic can be persuaded, via a modest monetary encouragement, to practice a few nights out in the open, outside a coffee shop that fronts a courtyard in the now verdant square that once was an indsutrial wastescape.

Whatever you do, Batavia, just don't do what Rochester does. No matter how pretty you paint it, you can't call a bus terminal a renaissance.

Sad news for local gastronomes: Sallome's Deli in Batavia is dark. The Oak Street eatery has been closed up since at least last week. A sign on the door simply reads: "Closed until further notice," and a number is given where customers are encouraged to leave a message. We called that number and left a message. Anyone with a gift certificate is encouraged to call the same number (201-7300) and leave an address where a refund can be mailed.

Sallome's opened up this past summer.

We will keep you informed of any updates.

It's been a placid day out here in Le Roy today. It's cold but not too cold. Grey but not too grey. So many homes here have shutters. It reminds me of the Parisian suburbs, peopled with tree-lined rues and avenues and stately, majestic homes. After a morning of work and wandering and talking up the few folks I already know in the area, I pulled up a stool at the Eagle Hotel for a hot lunch.

You can't read the plaque in this photo—obviously—but it's there, behind the tree. It reads: "Here at the Eagle Hotel the LeRoy village government was organized on July 12, 1834. Presented in honor of the LeRoy Sesquicentennial 1984." Sesquicentennial means 150th anniversary. Of course, 2009 would then make this the 175th anniversay of the village. Rochester and Toronto are also in the midst of their 175th. That's the demisemiseptcentennial for you other logophiles out there.

So we know that the Eagle Hotel, too, has been around for at least 175 years, likely more. Unfortunately, the owner, Nancy Scott, was not around to chat with me when I stopped by for a fish fry—tasty and served with a smile—earlier today. I'm looking forward to finding out more about the place. A couple folks at the bar were able to tell me enough to only whet my appetite further. For example, it used to be a stagecoach stop on the route between Buffalo and Canandaigua. A few folks even swore that much of the furniture inside, including an old liquor cabinet and the bartop, are leftovers from the days when the Eagle likely served sarsparilla and the clientele knew the difference between the withers and the croup.

Anyhow, the Eagle is old, and, according to the bartender who readily admits a fear of the ghosts who haunt the place, it's got its share of stories to tell. Once we find out more about the place, we'll share it with you.

You couldn't ask for more perfect timing on this one folks—that is, as long as you've already got the ingredients in the house. In this fifth episode of Cooking With the Dairy Princess, Anika Zuber shows us how to prepare a rich, white chocolate, hot chocolate.

Mmm.

 Thanksgiving is this Thursday and Americans will come together to give thanks and enjoy a safe and affordable meal with their families.  It's important to remember where our food comes from and the family farmers and ranchers who provide America with such a bountiful harvest.

Earlier this month, eleven 4-Hers from around the county showed off their nutritional and culinary know-how at the Produced in New York State Food Contest that was held at Martin's Super Food Store in Batavia. In front of a panel of judges, each participant prepared a recipe using at least one cup of fruits, vegetables or meat that had been produced here in the Empire State.

Jennifer Lichtenthal showed us how to make her cabbage casserole, a recipe passed down from her grandmother. She also informed us that New York, if you can believe it, is the number one cabbage growing state in the country. Enjoy! 

For the complete recipe, or for any of the other ten recipes featured at the Produced in New York State Food Contest, please contact the Cornell Cooperative Extension at (585) 343-3040.

We begin our countdown to Halloween tonight with the first of five videos devoted to the celebration of the spooky. Our good friend Anika Zuber, the Genesee County Dairy Princess, will show us how to make Jell-O eyeballs, a perfect treat for the ghoul and goblin in your life. So, without further ado...

For those of us who know, all of the commercials on television that tout the greatness of this or that fast-food patty have got it all wrong. No Wendy's or Burger King or MacDonald's slab can hold a candle to a real, fresh ground beef burger made from scratch.

When we first began to sample the culinary bounty of Batavia back in May, I was sure that I had found the best hamburger to be found at Jackson Street Grill. It was thick, grilled and seasoned almost the way my Italian grandfather would do it: as if it were a meatball.

Then, last week, I stopped by the Alabama Hotel for lunch and ordered their half-pound burger. It, too, was thick, grilled and seasoned to perfection. Plus it came with fresh-cut french fries. Now I don't know who has got the best. Nor have I tasted all that's out there.

So I turn to you, trusted readers, to help settle this age old debate once and for all: Who's got the best burger in Genesee County? Feel free to send us your photos as proof. Because a good-tasting burger is often a good-looking one, too.

Today, on my drive around Genesee County, I came across a few signs and flier for various church dinners or other community meals coming up this month.

It reminded me of a dinner at attended at Emmanuel Baptist Church on Oak Street a few weeks ago.  A woman at the event said, "Emmanuel has always put on the best dinners of any church in Genesee County."

Is that true?

If you could go to only one community dinner in October, which one would it be?  And if not in October, what church or civic group serves the best dinners?

Check out WBTA for these and other stories:

• No working smoke detectors were found in the apartment complex in Byron that burned down Monday, according to the Genesee County Sheriff's Office. A family four died in the fire that looks to have started in their kitchen, possible near the stove.

• Smoked "Kuta Fish" and "Boney Fish" purchased from the African Caribbean Market on North Clinton may be tainted with botulism, according to the Department of Agriculture and Markets. No problems have yet been reported, but the fish should be thrown out.

• Local law enforcement will be holding a child safety seat inspection between 10:00am and 2:00pm — WBTA reports the date of the event as "next Saturday," which we assume to mean two days from now.