USRT Washington Road Trip – Day 1: Frederick MD
on August 28th, 2010
At this point, the Ultimate Sports Road Trip is all about visiting and experiencing new frontiers and venues where we have never been to, and even though our count is now well over 110 separate and distinct baseball stadiums, there are still a number of teams and leagues that we have yet to touch.
Frederick, Maryland, is the home of the Frederick Keys, an “A” level team playing in the Carolina League. (And just for reference, the only other team we have experienced in this league is the Wilmington Blue Rocks, leaving six teams on the plate.) Their venue, Harry Grove Stadium, sits tucked away between the I-70, suburban style shopping centers, and a cemetery. Yes a cemetery right across the street from the ballpark, but this is no ordinary cemetery. It is the burial ground of Francis Scott Key, the author of The Star Spangled Banner. Thus the team nickname and the omnipresent historical reference towards Key throughout this bedroom community.
That being said, the team does wayyyyyyy too little to take advantage of the Key connection as part of their game day presentation. Yeah there’s some between inning promo where fans are invited to jingle their keys. You would think there would be a marker and a path right from the front door of the ballpark, across to the cemetery and direct to Key’s grave, but instead only a massively long, unbreachable fence greets visitors. (We tried but could not even find an entrance.)
The ballpark is a very austere late 80s style venue. The main entrance lacks any sort of identifying marquee. The architectural design is bland and soulless. Memorabilia and sports historical exhibits are nowhere to be found. The team has put in some renovations, mostly infrastructure type of things, and we were told that the video board and scoreboard are somewhat new. The pressbox is behind home plate on the main level with the second level devoted to suites only. Off in the right field corner is a children’s play area, dominated by a carousel and it seemed to be a popular family amenity.
The one thing this ballpark does have is the FOOD. Great selection… Angus burgers and fresh grilled brats, a Crab Shack offering Maryland crab cake sandwiches, Philly cheese steaks. A brew pub stand with great selection. They also sell beer here by the PITCHER ($26), with refills offered at a discounted rate. Very nice if you got the drinking posse in tow!
Day 1 is in the books! Saturday it is a sightseeing day in the District, and we have booked tickets to visit The Newseum, probably a must visit for cool media types like us. Then it’s dinner with the legendary Mark Byrnes, our good friend and WNYMedia partner, and Mark will be joining us at Nationals Park and Day 2 as the Nats take on the St. Louis Cardinals.
Oh, and we hear Glenn Beck is in town, rousing some rabble? Darn! Gonna have to pass on that one!
WBEN: Primed for Pierogi at the Dozynki Polish Harvest Festival
on August 28th, 2010
(Brenda Alesii Reporting – balesii@entercom.com) Buffalo, NY — Last weekend the parking lot at Corpus Christi Church on Clark Street on Buffalo’s east side was transformed into a feast for the palate as contestants vied for the honor of serving the best pierogi. The third annual Best Pierogi Contest was open to all amateur cooks and, for the first time, businesses were invited to compete, using traditional recipes.
I had the pleasure of being among the judges at the Dozynki Harvest Festival, the Polish equivalent of our Thanksgiving holiday. I arrived early so I could watch some of the cooks at work.
[read full story--->]
Five players to watch
on August 28th, 2010
The first round of cuts is fast approaching on Tuesday, when the Bills and 31 other NFL teams must reduce their roster to 75. With jobs on the line Saturday night, Buffalobills.com gives you five p...
Colorado Eagles Signs Andrew Loewen
on August 28th, 2010
Andrew Loewen, a four-year standout goalie with the Golden Griffin hockey team, is set to continue his career with the Colorado Eagles of the Central Hockey League after graduating from Canisius in 2010.
“I am really excited to continue playing at the professional level,” Loewen said. “I am fortunate to be one of a few people who receives the opportunity to [...]
Wondering What’s Been Going Down on the Farm?
on August 28th, 2010
Perhaps the blog site has been a little quiet these days. As our lives get busier, the blog gets quieter. We have been cleaning out old beds and planting new seeds, harvesting tomatoes, okra, cucumbers, onions, squash, peppers, eggplants. We have been figuring out ways to use the different produce. Alex, the pepper lady, has made three different kinds of hot sauce. She has also been drying peppers for the winter, making a beautiful ristra out of the Red Rocket peppers, and hanging the Joe’s Long cayennes up to dry. We have made tomato soup, tomato sauce, salsa, dried tomatoes, canned whole tomatoes and eaten our weight in tomatoes. Our 9 – year-old son made salsa out of the first tomatillos and we put it in the freezer (after ample taste testing). We have made about seven different kinds of cucumbers. My onions are pulled and curing in the upstairs of the garage. In a week or so I will braid them and hang them in the house. We have been working on cleaning and sorting the garlic. Those of you who came by the stand on Thursday noticed that I had some out for sale. We have also prepared for the stand twice a week, sold the produce, and put together a few CSA’s on each Thursday.
[read more--->]
The Thirty One Club Jazzes up Johnson Park
on August 28th, 2010
The 31 Club, which has been opened for almost a year and a half after a meticulous restoration, is continuing in its goal to create a venue that caters to one's more refined tastes. The handsome brick building bridges the historic West Village, Chippewa and Delaware Avenuve at the corner of S. Elmwood Avenue and N. Johnson Park.
The 31 Club is looking to the past to attract new customers. The owners of the restaurant/bar have always had it in their plans to create a classic, refined atmosphere, where customers can escape to a time period where going out entailed enjoying some of the finer things.
The owners are introducing some new elements to its business model, bringing back traditional cocktails that have lost their place in today's bars and even some traditional recipes will find their ways back on the menu. But the addition the owners are most proud of is the introduction of live jazz on Friday and Saturday nights by two of the area's most predominant jazz artists and their bands.
With the introduction of live jazz, customers will be treated to smooth classical sounds while enjoying a first-class dining experience or a classic cocktail at the bar, bringing patrons back to a different period of entertainment.
The entire building, from inside-out, has been totally restored and renovated while keeping the architectural integrity of a pre-1900 built building. Now every weekend, customers will be treated with live jazz from the acclaimed Paul Hage and his band, Mirage, or WNY music hall-of-famer, Wendell Rivera. Both musicians play a different type of Jazz, Rivera a master at Afro-Carrabin and Latin grooves, while Hague is a mystery of a unique sound of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean sounds. Both are accomplished jazz performers making them the house entertainment all weekend long a major investment.
Get Connected: The Thirty One Club, 716.332.3131
Buffalo’s Mad Men
on August 27th, 2010
Hundreds of times a year, I would look outside a NFTA metro car by 620 Main Street and see the three last names etched in stone: “LEVY KING & WHITE” with two flower-like objects enclosed in circles with the letters “LK&W” artfully presented on each end of the title.
Eventually I found out that LKW was the premier advertising firm in Buffalo during their hey day. This knowledge came to me during the same time I started contemplating a career switch in mid 2008 to communications design and watched Mad Men (Dear hypothetical advertising firm that is contemplating hiring future me, Mad Men had nothing to do with my career switch-I swear). So with all these factors in my head, LKW became the premier suit wearing, brandy swirling, modernist commercial art producer in downtown serving the well-financed industrialists of Western New York.
The firm’s reality was still a mystery to me however, a quick Google search doesn’t always bring up much of anything in relation to Levy, King, and White but I finally came across a great article by Annie Deck-Miller of Business First from 2005, interviewing former employees and summarizing the firm’s peak and fall.
Although the firm’s roots can be traced back to the 1940’s, it only became LKW in 1984 after a merge between Weil Levy King and Mainspring Advertising-this is when they took up space in 620 Main. Ironically, Miller compares the firm to a fictional one from “Thirtysomething” -clearly we all need to compare ad firms to the ones we know through television.
But besides reality being two decades removed from my fantasy, the rest of the agency life seemed to fit what I expected- dependency on one big client, office shenanigans, and excessive spending.
And like the season finale of Mad Men’s season three when Sterling Cooper is about to be purchased by McCann,leading to the secretive formation of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, LKW’s finale seems equally dramatic. Levy, King, and White crumbled mostly due to the collapse of its biggest client, Empire of America Bank, a victim of the Savings and Loans scandal of the 1980’s. Two employees (Robert Travers and William Collins) salvaged as many clients of the collapsing firm as they could, departed, and eventually formed Travers Collins and Company in 1995. Another employee founded Crowley Webb. Syracuse’s Eric Mower and Associates merged with what was left of LKW and moved into the new Key Towers in the early 1990’s. These three form what are currently the most prominent members of Buffalo’s advertising scene, all carrying the LKW legacy with them through their founders and workforce.
*Image courtesy ECoastTransplant via Skyscraper City Forums
On a personal level, the next time I go by 620 Main, I will feel the crossings of my changed career path in that structure inside and out. Inside, a planning firm once on my list of potential workplaces, TVGA Consultants, and outside, still, the three names in all capital letters that are all that remain of a legendary local firm in a field I now pursue. Even with all the new facts I’ve discovered, the fantasy in my head is still just as vivid and the nostalgia still grows for something I never even experienced. Fittingly, it’s a similar feeling when I watch a typical day at Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce.
Soft Serve is for Suckers
on August 27th, 2010
Since moving to the area nearly two decades ago, I've learned to love many of the foods Buffalo considers its own. Pierogi, Sahlen's hot dogs, beef on weck, chicken wings, Bison chip dip--I've had them all, and have learned to enjoy each of them. There are plenty of others, too. Some I love (Charlie Chaplins) some I don't understand (loganberry drink), but very few do I loathe. Here's the one that presents a problem for me, the one I just can't figure out.
What is WNY's fascination with soft serve? Here I have learned it is often called "custard", but in my mind, real custard requires the inclusion of fresh ingredients such as eggs and cream. I can attest to the wonder and beauty of a cold blackberry or peach frozen custard from Hibbard's in Lewiston, NY, a place where the recipe and the equipment are both nearly 100 years old. What I can't accept is Buffalo's fascination and passion for the same old soft serve sold all over the country, but known here as "custard", and marketed as a specialty in businesses all over the region. I won't name names because I haven't made a study of their recipes so I can't attest with an absolute certainty that their product comes from a package and has an ingredient list as long as my arm. But, I can be sure it tastes like that's the case, and if it weren't wouldn't it cost a little more?
I often wonder if the reason some of our area's long term restaurants manage to stay in business so long despite a serious quality issue is because nostalgia and familiarity have a remarkable impact on our taste buds. This must be the story with "custard". Have so many of us gone so long without sampling a real, authentic frozen custard that we've forgotten what it is supposed to taste like? If that is honestly the situation, then I'd guess it is safe to say that there's at least one generation of WNYers out there who have never even had the real thing. I'd hate to think that we are so accustomed to the flavor of chemical-laden processed foods that we simply don't notice them any longer and have even accepted them as real.
For kicks, I decided to Google up the recipe for frozen custard and the ingredient list for soft serve. Here they are:
For the soft serve, here's a short list of common ingredients: Corn syrup, why, monoglycerides, diglycerides, guar gum, calcium sulfates, cellulose gum, polysorbates 65 and 80, etc. (You can read more detailed info here, along with an explanation of the role these chemicals play in your soft serve. I looked on a number of sites, this one seemed the most clear.) I also learned that soft serve generally contains 3-6% butterfat.
Here is an ingredient list for a frozen custard recipe from Taste of Home magazine.
- 4 cups milk
- 1-1/4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs
- 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
Interestingly, the original frozen custards were prized for their high butterfat content, nearing 18%. One website even makes the comparison that frozen custard is to ice cream what cream is to milk (
this site is ugly, but always loaded with great food info).
So, if Hibbard's is doing it right, it is my guess that there have to be a few other independent business out there that are also using good old-fashioned recipes that call for ingredients anyone would recognize in their raw form. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather serve my kids gelato from
Dolci or ice cream from
Lake Effect over buying them a $2 cone of calories
and chemicals. I am not such a food purist that I turn my nose up at all processed foods or have my munchkins on a macrobiotic diet, but I also dislike false advertising and am disappointed by our collective inability to recognize authenticity and demand better for ourselves in its absence.
We love to take the drive out to Hibbard's, and we make sure to do it at least once a year. Is there anywhere else in WNY where you can buy real frozen custard, custard that's so fresh the vanilla is a little yellow from the egg yolks and the chocolate tastes like heaven? I sure as heck hope so.
There are just some events that you shouldn’t miss…
on August 27th, 2010
Don't forget that tonight is the Fashion Maniac launch party. It's being called CUT, and from what I have heard (and seen), there is nowhere else to be other than hanging around beautiful Fashion Maniac models as they mingle with the crowd over at Big Orbit (behind Essex Street Pub). Need I say more? OK, if you want some more pressure applied, then maybe the Big Orbit venue is the tipping point? If you have never been to the Big Orbit, there is no better time to go than this evening.
Come raise a beer and toast to the models of Buffalo. Meet some fun people who run a few of the killer Buffalo events. Here are all of the details:
FASHION MANIAC presents CUT
-Aug 27th @ Big Orbit Gallery from 6-10pm
30 Essex St Rear D, Buffalo, NY 1421
-MULTI MEDIA FASHION PRESENTATION $15.00 @ the door Proceeds help the Children of Gateway Longview
-Please bring school supplies to donate for the Children of Gateway Longview
-Photography by Cheryl Gorski
-Paintings by: James Hickey & Dani Weiser
-Designers: Morgen Love, Lyu Kennedy, Holly Hue, Steven Bales Clothing, Sai One Elmwood, Atelier by Sebastiana.
-Makeup by: Dani Weiser & Andrew Brown of Salon Rouge
-Hair by: James Hickey of Chez Ann Salon & Andrew Brown of Salon Rouge
-Interior
Design & Furniture by: John Pusateri of Advanced Furniture, Michael
Merisola of CooCoo U, Lucy Perrone-Mancuso of Moda
-Catered by Obviously Avi
-Gourmet Sorbet by: Euriah Nunn
-ABCDJ music
-Live Music: Abafana, Leah Russo, The Heritage
-After Party at Prime 490
-Sponsors:
Pepsi Cola, Seneca Blue Print, Vinyl Graphics, Nova Photo, Buffalo
Rising, Urban Threads & Sleds, Certo Brothers, OPICI, Webart Designs
RSVP on Facebook
^Click to enlarge
Cornucopia Takes Shape
on August 27th, 2010
When developer Roger Trettel puts his mind (and his money) to something, you know it's going to be a good thing. How do I know this? As I write this post, I'm enjoying a cup of coffee in one of my favorite buildings in Buffalo... thanks to Roger. Not far from the Buehl Building (home of Second Cup Cafe) his latest project is well underway. It's called Cornucopia - future home to fourteen businesses, some of them commercial incubation projects. The interior of the building is beginning to take shape - each of the units has a point of delineation as does the Main Street frontage which is scheduled to be built out for anchor Golden Cup Cafe. Even the central lounge is imaginable with the long hallways, the sweeping rows of glass counter-style storefronts and the overhead central skylights to show it all off.
The new facade is being installed on the Washington Street side of the building (lead photo), while the Main Street facade is getting an intricate paint job to show off the original detail of the building. That commercial facade comes next. Already the outward improvements are commanding tons of interest from neighboring business owners who are happy to see the work being done (as well as the prospect of 14 additional businesses being added to the district). Now is the time for prospective businesses to walk through the space and talk to Roger about locations and dimensions. Interested parties can send an email to me and I will be happy to pass along your information to Roger.
^Main Street
TVGA’s 50 Employees to Fill 620 Main Street
on August 27th, 2010
The neoclassical beauty at 620 Main Street in the Theater District is getting a new tenant. TVGA Consultants, an engineering, land surveying, mapping and environmental firm, is relocating its corporate headquarters and 50 local employees from Maple Road in Elma. Business First broke the news this morning. The 18,250 sq.ft. property was last occupied in 2008.
Constructed in 1919, the building once housed the city's oldest jewelry store, E.B. Dickinson & Co. It was designed by architecture firm Esenwein & Johnson whose local portfolio includes the Calumet Building, Electric Tower, Lafayette High School, and the Buffalo Museum of Science.
620 Main was extensively renovated in the early 1980's. Advertising agency Levy King & White occupied the building until the firm merged with Eric Mower Associates in 1990. In 1991, the Buffalo Enterprise Development Corp. foreclosed on the property and occupied the building until 1999 when it was sold to internet firm Rights Exchange (which later became Softbank Net Solutions and then Reciprocal Inc.).
Current owner Larkin Development Group purchased the building in 2003. Appraisal.com moved in one year later. The promising real estate appraisal and software company was negatively impacted by the nationwide housing market slowdown and had shrunk its local workforce in recent months. Appraisal.com's assets were acquired by Zaio Corporation in February and the business was relocated to West Seneca.
The new location will be open for business January 3, 2011. TVGA also has offices in Jamestown, Syracuse and Saratoga.
Get Connected: TVGA, 716.655.8842; Larkin Development Group, 716.362.2677
Moz and Johnny
on August 27th, 2010
I love this picture. That’s all.
Bills/Bengals Preview
on August 27th, 2010
T.O and the Cincinnati Bengals come to town tomorrow for the Bills first preseason game of the year at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
While there is still plenty of work to do, the Bills hope to build off of their impressive offensive performance last week vs the Colts in Toronto. The third preseason game is viewed as the most important due to the starters playing well into the 3rd quarter of these games. So this can be seen as a final tuneup for the first string players.
So far, all we know is Trent Edwards will be starting at quarterback. As far as who comes in after that, it remains to be seen if Ryan Fitzpatrick or Brian Brohm will get the nod to run the second unit. This is a huge game for these two quarterbacks, with rookie Levi Brown almost certain to make the team as the 3rd string QB, these two men could be playing for their jobs.
The Bills final roster cut comes on August 31, so this is also a time where bubble players will give it their all out on the field. The Bills roster is currently at 78, and will only need to cut 3 players to reach the league requirement of 75. Not too many decisions here, but still a lot for the coaches to think about:
“Decisions are going to be tough in a lot of places,” Gailey tells Buffalobills.com. “There are some places that are pretty much locked up, but the backups there are some great fights for those spots.”
The Bengals:
This will be the Bengals fourth preseason game this year after kicking off preseason in the Hall of Fame game.
For a team that found most of the success last season on the ground behind Cedric Benson, the Bengals went out and filled out a strong arsenal for QB Carson Palmer. New additions include ex-Bills Terrell Owens, WR Antonio Bryant and first round draft pick TE Jermaine Gresham.
This game will certainly be another hard test for the Bills defense and their transition into the 3-4. But might as well play against some of the best in the preseason in preparation for when the games count!
The last time these two teams faced off in a preseason game in 2006, the two teams combined for 44 first half points at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
OchoCinco Up To His Old Twicks
on August 27th, 2010
If your attending the game tomorrow, make sure you let # 85 know what Buffalo is all about!
OchoCinco Tweets about Buffalo
