Christa might not be a household name, but in our opinion she really should be. I first found out about her from her years with Buffalo Rising as their main food writer. Ahe recently stated working with Buffalo Spree as their online/food editor. That alone would more then qualify her to be a Buffalo Foodie, but it doesn’t stop there with Christa. With her company Feed Your Soul, Christa has started up several events that have showcased some of the best food available in Buffalo. Maybe you’ve heard of Nickel City Chef (Buffalo’s own version of Iron Chef), Nickel City Cake Challenge, Food to Farm Tours or some of their other special foodie events.
I recently met Christa this spring at Local Restaurant Week’s Preview Night and have really enjoyed talking to her about new restaurants coming to Buffalo, and just food in general. Alli and I are pretty proud of how many restaurants we’ve tried in the area, but Christa seems to have the scoop on everything. Here’s what she had to say about the food she grew up with, what she’s loving in Buffalo right now and more…
Right now, where are some of your favorite places to eat in Buffalo?
Christa: Do you have any idea how much trouble this question is going to get me in? I have a bunch of places that I visit regularly because they fit the casual everyday dining needs of my family. Fast Food 99, The Delaware, and Mythos are at the top of that list. As far as places I really enjoy with other adults? That’s a pretty long list actually, and can be divided into several sub-categories. But I’ll save your readers my drawn out explanations and say that when uber foodies and food writers come to town, the places I am most happy to send them are: Bistro Europa, Sea Bar, Tempo, Sample, Shango, Bacchus, Carmelo’s in Lewiston, and Trattoria Aroma (Bryant St location). Each of them offer very different experiences, but I rely on these restaurants because I feel confident that my guests will have both a good meal and good service (which is equally important to me) regardless of the day of the week, time of day, or size of their party.
Where do you like to grab a drink and hang out with friends?
Christa: I am obsessed with the really fresh tasting mojitos at Sample and I like to drink beer at Blue Monk. But truth be told, if I have the rare opportunity to score any kind of down time with my friends, I’m not very picky about the location or offerings.
If you had a friend visiting from out of town, where would you go to show them a good “Buffalo” time?
Christa: Old Buffalo? Ted’s, Parkside Candies, The Old Pink, maybe Ulrich’s or Founding Fathers New Buffalo? Torches, Curly’s, Bistro Europa or Sea Bar.
What are some food memories you have from your childhood?
Christa: I had a very modest upbringing. My mother could stretch a dollar like no one I’ve ever seen. We grew up with a lot of good, simple homemade foods (like whole wheat bread, soups, and stews), but because of the era, there was also a lot of wretched Campbell’s soup-based casseroles in her repertoire. We rarely ate any meat outside of ground beef, and when times were tough, she’d make something called Poor Man’s Cake which required only a handful of stock pantry ingredients. Seasonings weren’t really her strong suit; I never saw a fresh clove of garlic until I was well into high school.
As I became older and my own interest in food emerged, I began experimenting. In 5th or 6th grade I was determined to replicate Jeff Smith’s recipe for lamb en papillote. I was required to make a number of substitutions based on what we had in our somewhat grim pantry, but it emerged from the oven edible, so I considered it a triumph. In 7th grade I used the first of my babysitting earnings to buy a Japanese-style garnishing kit that came with tools and an instruction manual which described how to fashion watermelons into swans and summer squash into dolphins, but the lack of expendable fresh produce at home meant I didn’t spend much time practicing.
It wasn’t until I had the opportunity to dine in the homes of my high school friends that I first began to taste food that used seasonings and other “exotic” ingredients (like the very elusive concoction known as pesto!). Food and cooking have always been of interest to me, and in the last five years or so, I’ve found an additional aspect of food that I feel very passionate about, and that is agriculture and WNY’s local food movement.
What types of food would you like to see more of in Buffalo?
Christa: Where do we begin?!
- More classical French cuisine, damnit! Bistros, bakeries, and the like.
- Spanish food
- Moroccan food
- Six months ago I would have said Mexican, and I do think we need more Mexican, but I love Lloyd and look forward to Mike A’s new place at Allen and Elmwood. Now I’d like to see fine dining Mexican.
- More fresh fast food options Legislation allowing more year round street food options on streets that have good foot traffic (other than Main Street)
- More existing restaurants offering sustainable seafood options
- Better dining in the suburbs
- Improved options for people looking to host large parties. It is hard to find a local banquet facility with anything but terrible food.
- And while we’re wishing, I’d also like to have access to a specialty butcher and high quality fish monger.
Great interview. I love Christa – she is an excellent writer!