Allen Street Hardware Café, located at 245 Allen Street, is a wonderful addition to Buffalo’s Allentown shopping district. Mark Goldman, the owner and developer of this property, sees it as the perfect opportunity to revitalize the arts community in this neighborhood and to give local artists a place to gather, share ideas, and unwind.
This new café provides a nice space for a casual but fashionable, upscale crowd. Thanks to the help of Manager Lisa Dimiceli, Allen St. Hardware has quickly become a busy drinking and eating emporium, humming with activity all night long every night of the week. Dimiceli, who has experience both in the kitchen and behind the bar (after many years in the business here in Buffalo), is not only the manager but the kitchen guru, so to speak; she oversees the menu planning and spends a significant amount of time preparing the food.
The menu is small, designed to be finger food and light fare to accompany wine and cocktails. The idea is to be informal, affordable, and, most of all, pleasurable for the neighborhood artist, the casual shopper and the downtown professional. From what we observed, the menu is also elegant and every dish is made to order using fresh ingredients.
Rather than divide the menu into the traditional appetizers and entrées, Allen St. Hardware offers a list of small dishes for light snacking, from spiced almonds or marinated olives to a cheese board and warm Brie with dried fruits and nuts. For the more substantial appetite, there are slightly heartier selections like a veggie wrap or grilled panini.
The Café is a full-service bar featuring some great top-shelf liquor and some very good beers, but it is primarily a wine bar. And as wine should be the order of the day, it was a glass of Riesling for my wife, a Pinot Noir for myself, and a cocktail for my cousin Cindy. This was a night for catching up with family.
Wine at the Hardware Café is served in a tumbler—a popular trend thanks to the latest glassware designs of companies like Riedel Crystal now producing a collection of stemless wine glasses. I’m not sure if this is trendy or anti-trendy (stemware is also available if you prefer).
Our party of three started with a cheese board, an order of pan-fried potatoes with dip and an antipasti du jour. Dishes are served on boards and platters without plates and utensils; this is social food—meant to be shared, eaten with your hands while communing with friends. On the other hand, some of us like plates. Cindy requested them and they were promptly delivered.
We decided to sample a cup of tortilla soup while awaiting our antipasti and sandwiches. Out came a cup of finely minced salsa vegetables with a good spicy flavor finished with fresh cilantro, some melted cheese and crispy tortilla strips. We all agreed it was very good, but because we were sharing we wished we had more of the tortilla chips.
The next items to arrive were the pan-fried potatoes and the cheese board. The potatoes were freshly cut fries with a dollop of dill dip in the center and seasoned with a nice touch of garlic. These were buttery and full of flavor—just great. And the cheese board was a nice selection of imported cheeses like Roquefort, asiago, and goat cheese along with grapes, sliced apples and pears. We were enjoying ourselves and taking our time so we waited before ordering entrees. When our next course arrived, the Antipasti du jour, we each ordered a panini for our main course.
The Antipasti was just what I had hoped for—not a salad heaped with cold cuts but a beautiful assortment of items including marinated asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, roasted hot peppers, olives, hummus with fresh veggies for dipping, and lightly toasted slices of bread—excellent.
Each panini we ordered came served in thirds, just right for sharing. The flank steak was sliced thin with sautéed greens and a little garlic, and was delicious. Also delicious were the Italian sausage with spinach and provolone cheese, and the portobello mushroom with goat cheese and hot peppers.
This was a long, leisurely evening and we were in no hurry, so we managed to save time and room for some homemade desserts. Our server, Lori, suggested an assortment platter. This was a delicious sampling of chocolate chip cookies, sweet coconut/cherry squares, and an apple bar—all served with a large dollop of fresh whipped cream. Everything was excellent. The entire evening was a pleasure.
Prices at the Allen Street Hardware Café range from $4 for a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich or a wine poached pear with mascarpone to $10 for the Antipasti du jour. The restaurant is open seven days, currently opening its doors at 3pm. Plans are underway to open for lunch and to offer a patio for the summer as well.
There is also a small gallery/studio next door—Storehouse TwentyTwo. This is actually the other half of the original hardware store and is now being used by artists Molly Rich and Erin Harris to display and sell their artwork, decorative household items and refurbished antiques. A set of French doors opens from inside the Café to the shop to encourage a little crossover from shoppers and diners.
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