Road Trips: Part I

Over the past month or so, I've had occasion to go to Buffalo and Cleveland, and as on virtually every road trip I take, I tried some local pizza.  

In early May, my wife and I went to Buffalo for an event at the Hyatt Regency, where I'd booked a room for the night. The event was to include dinner, so at that point pizza was the furthest thing from my mind. (Well actually pizza is never too far from my mind, but I wasn't expecting to have any that night.)

We got to the hotel, checked in, I put on my suit, my wife donned her evening wear, and we headed down to the where the event was taking place, only to discover that they did not have our names on the list. 

Surely there must be some mistake, I thought. I remember ordering the tickets!

But slowly another though crept into my mind. Wait a minute. Did I?

I couldn't find a confirmation email, and neither my credit card nor bank statement reflected a charge for the tickets. I reluctantly came to the realization that although I had indeed booked a room at the hotel, I overlooked the detail of actually purchasing tickets to the event, which at that point was completely sold out.

So all dressed up with nowhere to go, I began a quick search for a nearby restaurant, and came up with a place not too far away, Coco Bar & Bistro.

Initial impressions were good. Soft lighting, exposed brick walls, and high ceilings that gave it a relaxing atmosphere and provided me a chance to stop berating myself for not at that moment sitting at the Hyatt Regency. After ordering drinks we perused the wide-ranging menu. As one might expect in a self-described bistro, the menu is French-inspired, but with a lot of other cuisines in the mix, including Cajun/Creole (shrimp étouffée), Thai (mussels with coconut and red curry), Portuguese (mussels with chorizo and spices), German (sort of) ("Schnitzel de Porc Niçoise"), Swedish (Swedish meatballs, which from what I've read originated in Turkey), and Italian. Including pizza.

Any number of those dishes sounded appealing to me, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to try the pizza. I went with a simple red sauce and cheese pizza. 

That choice is described on the menu as a Margherita, which is a misnomer. A Margherita should include tomatoes in some form, cheese (usually fresh mozzarella), and basil, preferably fresh. But to paraphrase Shakespeare, a cheese pizza by any other name would taste as good. If it's good, that is.

This one was, I'm afraid, a disappointment. It didn't look bad, but upon biting into it, the crust reminded me of a frozen pizza. It was dry and flavorless and was no more than a base for the toppings. Which weren't bad; the sauce was flavorful and there was plenty of cheese, although it was a tad more browned than I prefer, but I couldn't help thinking that I could've found something of similar quality in the frozen section of my local supermarket. 

I don't want to bash Coco, but my wife ended up sending back her lamb Bolognese. Bolognese sauce can include various spices, including nutmeg and cinnamon, but in this case the chef seemed to have a heavy hand with the spice jar. The flavor was reminiscent of Rochester "hot sauce" that you can get on hot dogs. The server was kind enough to take it off the bill and told us that some customers love it, some don't like it at all. I can't say it was badly made, but it might be advisable for them to let customers know in advance that it is a well-spiced sauce.

Afterwards we went out for dessert and coffee, and ended up at Romeo & Juliet's on Hertel Avenue. They offer a range of desserts, but upon arriving we discovered that they also serve pizza. My wife was still hungry, and although I can't say I was hungry I wasn't too full for more pizza, so we ordered another Margherita.

This one did include a smattering of of shredded basil, and overall it wasn't bad, but it was only marginally better than what we got at Coco. The crust was clearly made from fresh dough and it had some flavor but it was rather flabby and lifeless. Its deficiencies, however, were partially offset by the toppings, which were pretty tasty. The basil was barely noticeable, but the sauce and cheese were well balanced and combined for a nice salty/sweet/tangy flavor. I ended up eating more than I probably should have, so that speaks in its favor. 

We also ordered some tiramisu to go, which was excellent. I don't have the biggest sweet tooth, but I do love a good tiramisu, and this was good. Perfect blend of flavors, moist and so light you can easily imagine that it's not high in calories. 

So not the best day for trying some Buffalo pizza, and I know there are waaay more out there, but this was all improvised at the last minute. Next time I'm out that way I will try to plan ahead better.

Coco Bistro & Bar

888 Main St
Buffalo, NY 14202

(716) 885-1885

Sunday
    4:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Monday — Thursday
    11:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Friday
    11:30 AM – 11:00 PM
Saturday
    4:00 PM – 11:00 PM

Romeo & Juliet's

1292 Hertel Ave.
Buffalo, NY 14216
tel:716-873-5730

Hours of Operation:
Tuesday - Thursday 11 AM - 8 PM
Friday and Saturday 11 AM - 9PM
CLOSED SUNDAY AND MONDAY