Black Rock is a relatively small section of North Buffalo, NY, but yet for losing the battle with the then small town of Buffalo for the terminus of the Erie Canal in the early 19th century, Black Rock could have been the big city of Western New York with Buffalo as a southern suburb. French explorers Cavelier and La Salle likely built boats here to continue their discovery and exploration of the upper Great Lakes, as there was no way to bring the original boats from the lower Niagara River to the upper. Black Rock continued to be a ship building location and was one of the leading suppliers of ships to the fledgling U.S. Navy which would win one of their most famous battles, The Battle of Lake Erie, with the U.S. Navy, under Commander Oliver Hazard Perry defeating the British during the War of 1812. The brig Caledonia, captured from the British, was retrofitted in Black Rock and became a U.S. brig, and played a major role in the battle.
Today locals cruise past Black Rock on the I-190, oblivious to the village and its history. Venturing into Black Rock, however, reveals some hidden gems that are well worth visiting.
RAHA Coffee House
The Niagara Region has no shortage of excellent coffee shops. RAHA Coffee House might well be the best of them all. Billing itself a purveyor of authentic Yemeni coffee, RAHA offers both excellent coffee drinks and unique and delicious baked goods. RAHA offers its own unique coffee and espresso drinks, as well as coffee house favorites. The Pistachio Latte was so good we almost made a return trip later in the day to get another one. It was hard to choose from their desert offerings and what we settled on was unique and delicious.
Our next stop in Black Rock was at nearby Chandler Street, an old industrial street with 3 brick factories still standing that were built in the first decade of the 1900’s. These have all been reconditioned and now house several incubator businesses. Among the businesses are a very cool Kombucha shop called Barrel & Brine. Across the lawn from Barrel & Brine is Buffalo Cider Hall. Further west on Chandler in another old factory Buffalo Cake Pops and Logan’s Bagels are must stops. The most famous location in this building is Waxlight Bar a Vin, a restaurant with excellent food and an incredible bar. Waxlight is currently a Semifinalist for the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards 2024.
Our lunch plan for this day was to try a highly rated Thai restaurant called Tiny Thai.
Restaurant is a bit of an overstatement. Originally this was a prep kitchen for their popular Tiny Thai Food Truck. The kitchen was then opened up for pick up orders, and if you’re lucky, enough seating for about 8 to 10 people, with two tables and chairs sitting at the front of the kitchen. When we arrived both tables were available, and within 10 minutes there were no seats available. A steady stream of customers walked in to claim their pick up orders. Based on the activity of workers in the kitchen, this place was super busy. For starters we had the Chorizo Muang Thai Dumplings and a Fresh Roll with Peanut Sauce. Both were delicious. The Fresh Roll was a crunchy wrap of all fresh vegetable wrapped in a lettuce leaf and the peanut sauce was a spicy perfect compliment. The Fresh Roll was so good that I can’t wait to have another one. The Dumplings were an unusual purple color but were among the best I’ve ever had. They were slightly sweet and very savory.
We finished our food selection with some Drunken Mama Noodles, Tiny Thai’s most popular dish. We got an order of Tofu and an order of Pork Drunken Mama Noodles. Amazing flavor in both. The Tofu dish was a vegetarian offer. The Pork dish was served with a very meaty pork rib. Both dishes were absolutely delicious. You can see in pictures posted here a picture of the menu with prices. Not only was the food incredibly good, but the prices were low. Great food and great value. This is one of those dining experiences you keep thinking about, and look forward to the next trip in the near future.
We had parked behind the building housing Tiny Thai and exited, turning left on Grote Street, and driving to the end of Grote street came to our final destination of the day, Pressure Drop Brewery, on the corner of Grote and Elmwood. Having 4 stouts on the menu was the first positive. After a couple of samples, we chose a Chocolate Milk Stout that was excellent. We also ordered some french fries with jalapeño pepper cheese sauce. The fries were great, seemingly with a light breading on them. As we sat at the bar enjoying our beer and fries, the plates and bowls of food that were carried to other patrons looked amazing. We purchased a 4 pack of a Pressure Drop Stout, and appreciating the great beer and food selection, and the friendly and helpful customer service, added Pressure Drop Brewery to our list of places to return to in the near future.
On this particular day we visited 3 absolutely 5 star businesses in the somewhat obscure town of Black Rock. We’ll return soon.
