Author Archives: Charlie Fashana

Be a Good Neighbor

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A letter to our neighbors:

Within the past month our beautiful corner of the city was ravished by two devastating fires – one on Lovering Ave and the other on Saranac Ave.

Today, a drive by either of these houses will leave you in tears. Putting a moment of thought into “what would I do if this was my house?” will probably leave you feeling helpless and hopeless.

Well, we can’t speak for either of the families that fell victim to these fires, but we’d assume that’s how they’re feeling. So as residents of the City of Good Neighbors, now is our time to step forward, like we always do, and help our fellow citizens.

Separate efforts are underway to help these families get back on their feet.

For Ms. Flynn of Lovering Ave, City of Good Neighbors tee-shirts are being sold with full proceeds going to her and her family. The website asks that you do your part by buying a tee and then sharing the link. “Kind of like the ALS Ice Bucket challenge but helping out a Buffalo neighbor in need!”

For the Siwirski Family of Saranac Ave, a donation site has been set up through gofundme.com. Incredbily, but not surpisingly, over $5,500 in donations have been received in less than 24 hours.

Please visit both sites to learn more and help out. And if nothing else, spread the word to your neighbors. Our thoughts and prayers go out to both families in this time of need. God Bless.

Sincerely,

Charlie, Karen and Ray Fashana

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ICYMI: Delaware Park is Sweet

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You’ve (hopefully) read a number of posts here about things to do at Delaware Park. (Reference: “Doubles at Delaware”, “In the Meadow”, “BuffaLOVE Fest”).

I’m about 40 blogs short of really covering Delaware Park, but it should be clear to all that I think the Park is the real deal.

Well, now, so does the American Planning Association. Recently, the APA named Delaware Park one of the 2014 Ten Great Public Spaces in America!

Boom. Chalk up another accolade for Buffalo.

If you take a look at the characteristics needed to earn such a distinction (and there are A LOT), it’s clear that this was no fluke.

Be sure to read the full write-up…I bet there’s a lot you probably didn’t know about this backyard gem of ours.

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MEAT.

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In Buffalo, the crisp air can roll in without much notice and the glorious summer can abruptly feel like fall. Yesterday it was 87. Today it’s 63.

I’m ok with that though. It usually means football season has begun, fall beers are on the shelves, and our weekly food habits begin to shift. In our house we’re already starting our regular fall routine of making homemade sauce, chilis and stews. You know, the hearty foods to help bulk us up for the winter.

It also means our weekly quota of chuck roast and ground beef will increase exponentially. Cue Johnny’s Meats – quite possibly my favorite place out of them all on Hertel Ave.

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Maybe its because they’ve been around for 60 years, or that my family has been customers for nearly as many. Maybe it’s the specialty italian sausage. It could be the old school look and feel of the meat market or the culinary knowledge of its butchers. It’s probably a little bit of everything that makes this place the best for meats in all of Buffalo, not just North Buffalo.

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So stop in. Get the meat that will give your sauce the flavor you’re looking for. Ask them for some recommendations. Try something new. Like any great butcher shop, these guys know their meat, know what to use, when, how and why.

I can smell the sauce already. Enjoy! And of course, go Bills.

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In The Meadow…

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We can build a snowman in December. By my calendar it’s still summer, I’m talking about the Meadow Cafe in Delaware Park.

Meadow Cafe

It’s a healthy lunch and juice joint, a people watching paradise and an oasis for the park’s devoted exercisers. You may remember it as the Juicery.

They really did a great job recreating the once popular spot, with tons of tables and chairs nestled both in the sun and the shade, great food and juice drinks, water bowls for the dogs, and flower lined views of Buffalo’s greatest park.

View from Meadow

AdirondackI had a spectacular morning posted up on an Adirondack chair with my son watching the walkers, runners and cyclists. My friend Ben jogged passed us three times, each offering a funny smile and an increasingly tired expression. I chatted with my friend Rachel and met her year and a half old puppy, Penny. Some other folks gave some thoughts about having kids and another kind person offered musical babysitting services.

Just another Buffalo Sunday in the Park.

But possibly the most fun I had was piecing together the fragments of conversations overheard as people whiz by and trying to make a story out of them. Based on what I heard from four different groups of folks, here’s some advice:

If you want that kind of person in your life..to..build you a boathouse..then the ..burr under your saddle..is..you’re going to have deal with New York State.

So that’s how I passed the time today. Hope you’re having as much fun as I am!

Meadow Cafe Sign

Starting Point: Hertel and Parkside

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Friend, fellow blogger, and ad community all-star, Katie Krawczyk, recently started a series focusing on various Buffalo neighborhoods.

To my great delight, Hertel was one of the first!

Check it out at 43North’s website. And if you don’t know about 43North, be sure to surf around their site as well. Some pretty great stuff going on over there…

Cheers,

Charlie