Acqua in Buffalo
Waterfront restaurants are a pleasure any time of the year: light- dappled water, soaring sea birds, bobbing boats and, in the winter, magical drifts of ice. Acqua, on the Niagara River in Buffalo, certainly fills the bill. Formerly known as Harry’s Harbour Place Grille, it has undergone a transformation with new owners, but maintained its magnificent view of the water … and with breathtaking sunsets, to boot.
The menu changed significantly, becoming much more sophisticated. We arrive on a lovely sunny day for lunch. The staff is attentive, and with a new interior bar and water views in every direction, it’s the perfect spot for a relaxing meal.
We begin with duck lettuce wraps as a starter ($11), which are quite good and beautifully presented. You assemble the wraps yourself, tucking shredded duck meat and julienned vegetables into bibb lettuce, then dipping into your choice of several sauces. They were as fun to eat as they were to look at.
I order an Asian pork burger ($11). It sounds terrific, topped with house-made peanut slaw, and the burger is cooked perfectly, but the ensemble was on the bland side. The margarita pizzetta ($10 for an individually sized pizza) is much better, with fresh tomato, mozzarella and asiago, and a light sprinkling of basil.
Like the view, the menu changes with the seasons at Acqua. Last autumn, the dinner menu had some delicious-sounding and sophisticated choices, like lobster pot pie ($32); yellow fin tuna (with icebox kimchee, sweet seaweed salad and honey wasabi); or a cider-brined pork tenderloin with white bean and corn succotash and local cherry compote ($26). Salads and some sides were available separately, such as truffle and pommes frites, and the rather ubiquitous lobster mac and cheese. During the winter, entrees were heartier, such as a 36-ounce tomahawk rib eye, with espresso-dusted Lyonnaise potatoes and Swiss chard ($48) or surf and turf of an 8-ounce filet and a 1.5-pound lobster, with sautéed broccoli, and mashed potatoes ($68).
This spring, with newly appointed chef Pierre Carriere, the menu is taking on a pronounced Italian slant. It is also much homier — quite literally. How about tripe with homemade marinara, parmesan and crostini; or homemade gnocchi, or pizza with a house-made crust? The 10-ounce filet mignon with port wine may not sound Italian, until you consider the gorgonzola sauce that accompanies it. (Prices for these new menu items were not finalized before publication.)
It is perhaps surprising that a chef with such a French name would focus on Italian cuisine. Pierre Carriere began his career at the tender age of 11, working in the kitchen of his father’s restaurant — Buffalo’s Sonoma Grille. His “Pops,” Vincent Carriere, taught Pierre knife work and instilled a love of the business. High school was spent in a special program in which Carriere learned conventional academic subjects in the mornings, while afternoons were spent pursuing an understanding of the fundamentals of professional food preparation and management. Carriere then trained, formatively, under an Italian chef, Joe Venezia. (Interestingly, both Carriere pere and Venezia had worked under Wolfgang Puck.) Prior to Acqua, Pierre Carriere could be found in the kitchens of Root Five, the 31 Club and Mackenzie’s, all in the Buffalo area.
Carriere’s summer menu at Acqua promises to be just as down to earth as it is this spring, with an emphasis on seafood, provided by the famed Connolly’s of Boston. One offering will be a boil of mussels and clams with a slightly spicy sausage broth.
Acqua also will offer locally sourced produce from Tower Farm in nearby Lewiston, N.Y., which has been growing fruits and vegetables in the area for generations. We can expect to enjoy salads of heirloom tomatoes (perhaps Tower Farm’s signature heirloom variety of cherry tomato “Rose of Niagara,” which is as sweet as jam), arugula and other locally grown greens.
Carriere promises to continue offering daily specials, depending on what looks best from his suppliers, and what his customers seem to enjoy most. In addition to the restaurant itself, there also is a large second-floor banquet room with floor-to-ceiling windows. A wide variety of menus have been developed specifically for special events such as wedding receptions and other celebrations on the upper level — see them on the Acqua website.
Best of all is the large outdoor patio, and the weekday happy hour, which features tasty tidbits like Buffalo wings, Kobe beef sliders, the aforementioned duck lettuce wraps, crab cakes and pork dumplings. Imagine a warm summer evening, a drink, a terrific appetizer — and an even better view. That’s Acqua.