Laura Rebecca's Kitchen

Fraiche is closed as of July 2014. Originally published on December 25, 2013. Dessert is often a casualty in culinary cost-cutting. An eatery might work to keep a good steak on the menu, top-shelf liquor behind the bar, and fresh greens in the salad, only to phone it in for the final course. Sometimes literally, […]

Originally published on November 27, 2013. There are streets in Manhattan that have yet to be completely overtaken by chain restaurants, though they are further and fewer between than they were 10 years ago. These patches of resistance are little, rabbit-warren-like spaces, crammed with wood-grain Formica two-tops and tiny black chairs. They’re dimly lit and […]

  Rumi’s is closed as of Spring 2014 Originally published on November 13, 2013. Route 31 is a busy thoroughfare, particularly the section south of the 590 ramp and north of the Pittsford village. It’s a suburban, commercial juggernaut. Get a bestseller fix at Barnes & Noble, a bag of frozen Parisian carrots at Trader […]

Originally published on October 30, 2013. An early 20th century brick fortress, the Culver Road Armory is now a mixed-use space, boasting modern flourishes of blonde wood, burnished chrome, and glowing light accents. On a Friday or Saturday night, the parking lot is packed. The main draw is TRATA, a.k.a. The Restaurant At The Armory. […]

Originally published on October 2, 2013. The first items arriving to our table from Bistro Han’s kitchen were the braised pork belly steamed buns ($5). Two to an order, perched on a small plate, these were fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-sized sandwiches: thick slabs of browned pork encased in snowy, white dough. The pork belly and the belly of […]

  Tap & Table has been redesigned and is now the Rochester Tap Room.   “It will not be your average sausage bar!” said owner, Joe McBain.  Read more about the switch at RocWiki. Originally published on September 18, 2013. Tap & Table, the 14-month-old restaurant in Corn Hill Landing, hums with activity on a Saturday night. […]

  Originally published on September 4, 2013. Early on a Saturday evening, I drove with my husband along 490, toward West Avenue. The sun was shining, traffic was flowing, and my stomach was growling in anticipation of dinner. Just prior to crossing the Douglass-Anthony Bridge, the scent of barbecue — a perfume of smoke, meat, […]

  Originally published on August 7, 2013. Dining in a restaurant housed within a grocery store — a store featuring an animatronic crowing rooster — is an odd sensation. In the span of a few minutes, you can move from dodging grocery carts in the parking lot, to walking by cupcakes decorated to resemble Cookie […]

Originally published July 24, 2013. If you do a Google image search for “rodízio,” a Brazilian-style restaurant in which servers continually bring diners food until the patron signals they’ve had enough to eat, one of the first images you’ll see is a man sitting in a restaurant. Before him is a table cluttered with dishes, […]

Originally published on June 26, 2013. Summer is in full swing, which is a good excuse to get out of the city. Head south on Route 64, down toward Canandaigua Lake, through Bloomfield, past Bristol Mountain Ski Resort (marvel at the green summer slopes), and stop before you reach Monica’s Pies and downtown Naples. Near […]