This guest post is perfectly timed, as last night we had the honor of meeting this lovely lady at our first WNY Happy Hour. Having both lived in DC and felt the same pull to come back home to WNY, we bonded instantly and I cannot wait to share more food and drink in the city with Ashley and her husband. Take a look at what she had to say about Roost in Buffalo, NY:
 
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As I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Alix and Scott in person we have so much in common it’s like I’ve known them forever — our love of perfectly paired food, the paths that brought us to the bustling D.C. and of course journey that brought us all back, which can only be summed up in one perfectly fitting tagline, ‘For the Love of Buffalo’.
 
roost
 
On Friday night, with the kiddos on an adventure of their own (Sesame Street; Make A New Friend at Shea’s), my husband Justin and I found an opportunity to check out the ever-so-mentioned sister restaurant of the late Martin Cooks recently added establishment, Roost. My expectations being extremely high, I was skeptical a “pizza and chicken” place would live up to all the hype. I can openly admit when I’m wrong.
 
seats scene winefridge hall
 

winelist

We were lucky to find a couple leaving the bar as we arrived. No reservation on a Friday, huh? Good luck. (This is your friendly reminder to make a reservation before you go, wink.) The bar which appears to be made from an old bowling lane, seats 40 easily, while the restaurant side is limited to around half that, so as you can imagine it fills up rather quickly! What’s everyone ordering? Why, pizza of course. The quick rotating fire oven which is extremely unique to not only this area, but in the entire country, is a pretty impressive sight to behold.
 

pizzaoven

Justin, an avid pizza eater, knew what he wanted before we even ordered drinks. He did make it a point to ask the server/bartender before making his final decision, but when he suggested the ‘Fig Pizza’ as well, his decision was sold. I had hoped for ‘Chicken Wings’, so I could get the full effect of an upscale “Pizza and Wings” night in Buffalo, but with the frequently-changing menu I had just missed that opportunity. I quickly decided on a pasta we had in Italy a couple years ago, ‘Trofie’ and was hoping I wouldn’t be too disappointed. It is with absolute disbelief I can report, the dish was so close to what I remembered it to be in Italy. It came out fairly quick for being so busy, served pipping hot with perfectly cooked pasta and flavors of tomato, kale, asparagus, and spicy sausage. Justin’s pizza was on point as well, crispy (but not too thin of a crust –how it should be for Buffalo), flavors of fig, prosciutto, and gorgonzola in every bite.

 

pizza pasta

 

To drink, almost everyone at the bar was drinking wine or champagne so that was the only thing that would quench my palate that night. With a unique and nice sized wine list I decided on the Touriga Nacional from Portugal, a pour worthy of the entire meal I might add. Justin, not a beer drinker, went for his first mixed cocktail of the night, a traditional Manhattan, which was perfectly executed.

manhattan wine
Although full from the generous size portions of pizza and pasta, we needed to try dessert. There were two. Which we never agree on, so indeed we got both. Mine was a perfect portion of three-dollops of deconstructed cheesecake, on top of a very thin cinnamon cookie with a caramel orange marmalade, and a mint leaf. Pastry quality dessert coming out of this pizza kitchen, now I’m impressed. Justin’s dessert choice, a flour-less chocolate cake with caramel malted milk, on top a dark chocolate bark with a medley of peanut, coconut, and pistachios. It was the chocolate cake to end all typical boring chocolate cakes.
 
choc-cake cheesecake

In short, we couldn’t find a harsh word to say about this industrial gem which glowed with mini chandeliers, located just doors away from Resurgence. It’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood –amazing food, free side street parking, great service, and pours to keep you happy while you wait in case you forgot to make that reservation I told you about. ‘For the Love of Buffalo’ go check them out!

-Ashley Eason

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Thanks Ashley for whetting our appetites and readying us for a weekend out! We are excited to follow Ashley as she continues to explore the food scene in Buffalo, and hopefully I can coerce her to continue sharing her thoughts here for you all. Happy almost-weekend!