Food and Beverage, Food and Beverage News
When Mighty Taco closed, it was always a little sad. But for the people next door, this means not having to clean the Nacho cheese from the sidewalk every morning.
Brian Mittus is the man next door. He is the chef and owner of a successful high-end restaurant called Bacchus on Chippewa Street in Buffalo. When Mighty Taco next door to Bacchus recently closed, Mietus seized the opportunity to take over the space.
The result of the acquisition is b-Side Market, which is a fast-casual concept based on grilled meat. With these two restaurants, Mietus now occupies the entire first floor of the iconic Calumet Building and its terracotta facade built in 1906.
"I have always liked this building. It is located in one of the best corners of the city," he told me in a recent phone call. "The thought of a certain chain store taking over that place again... I firmly oppose it.
"We have been here for nearly 20 years. We have seen all of this. We were the only (upscale restaurant) here for a while, only us and The Chophouse on Franklin Street. We saw all these bar concepts come and go ...There are some troubles here and there."
In keeping with Chippewa's recent themes, the new b-Side Market is an upgraded version of Mighty Taco. Mietus said that this casual fast food restaurant will be powered mainly by his powerful barbecue grill, and will mainly focus on roast chicken.
Post shared by @bsidemarket
You might think that a traditionally trained chef would be bored with the idea of running a fast food restaurant, but during our call, Mietus stated that he is interested in new concepts and offers food at lower prices.
"Today's specialty is cornbread pancakes with grilled chicken, corn, and bacon, topped with barbecue sauce," he mused. "So, it's a bit random, for $10, it's a killer side dish or dinner."
Whether you are out for an annual dinner or to feast on your lunch break, it’s important to be value for money. A $150 dinner should taste like $150. (Ideally, its taste should be more than that). Similarly, a $15 lunch should at least taste like $15.
In b-Side, you really pay a little more than Mighty, but the value of the nuanced taste and complexity far exceeds Mietus's fees. I recently ordered the Feed Your Flock meal ($30), which has eight pieces of roast chicken and three sides. I chose sweet waffle fries, crispy brussels sprouts and tomato olive salad.
As you'd hope, the chicken is fully cooked and the skin is precisely seasoned with salty salt from Australia called "chook"-this gives it an addictive white umami taste. The included dill and cabin sauce are a perfect match. Although the waffle fries and salad are above average, the crispy bean sprouts "how do they do it?" Okay.
The menu also offers a variety of different sandwiches ($12 each), including Philadelphia steak, Japanese fried chicken sandwich and Cuban sandwich. Fresh food can be ordered at the counter and there is also a cooler that is ready to use. Soft drinks are the beverage choice.
The current menu is New American, and Mietus said that he hopes to provide flavors from all over the world and provide customers with some approachable daily life.
"Just like in Bacchus, we are not bound by a delicacy," he said. "This is a global approach we can move in any direction."
Business hours (subject to change): Monday to Friday 11 am – 9 pm
52 W. Chippewa St. Buffalo, NY 14202 • $$
b-Side is an exciting new restaurant concept from Chef Brian Mietus, who is the long-term owner and operator of the prestigious Bacchus Wine Bar & Restaurant in the city center. This...
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