In a world awash with signals telling you to buy meat, Jack Porcari takes the easier path for the planet, sticking to vegetables, cheese and eggs. He details his finds for readers in Kind Cuisine, posted every Thursday.
Prepare to experience a whole new dimension of Chinese takeout at Home Taste in Buffalo. The restaurant, which prides itself in cooking Northern-Chinese cuisine, offers a variety of authentic dishes made by hand.
In a Buffalo Spree article, owner Youngxin Fu says, “It’s for people to come—UB is near here—and there’s a lot of Chinese people who come every single year. The name is ‘Home Taste,’ so we want them to feel like they’re home, and to taste and eat the food that their mother or parents used to make.” With well over 10 meatless meals, Home Taste offers a variety of greens for any vegetarian or eaters looking to increase their vegetable intake.
The celery and dried tofu ($4.50) is a vegan delight packed with flavor. One bite and I knew that it was marinated in a long, luxurious bath of soy sauce, sesame oil and more. Crispy yet juicy celery slices were the main star of the meal — something rarely seen in Western cooking. As the bearer of flavor, the celery did a remarkable job of delivering bite-sized portions of a homemade seasoning with each crunchy bite. Simplistic, yet effective, this delectable dish is worth gracing your tastebuds.
The shredded potatoes with garlic and chili sauce ($5) ignited a flame that kept me coming back for more. With an appearance similar to a pile of bean sprouts, this preparation will become more enjoyable with each bite as you become more accustomed to the heat and begin to taste the garlic undertones within it. You can expect these potatoes to be cold and crisp with a punch that lingers. As a sincere lover of starch and spice, this dish will hit you with heat unlike anything Flamin’ Hot Cheetos or Utz Hot Chips could ever match.
The thousand-year egg, tofu and cucumber salad ($6) is perfect if you are looking for a balanced and refreshing meal. Considered to be a Chinese delicacy, the thousand-year egg is delicately made through a preservation process involving a mixture of clay, ash, quicklime and rice hulls. Preserving the egg for days or weeks causes a chemical reaction to occur, making the flavorless egg white rich with flavor compounds. The thousand-year egg and tofu create an enjoyable savory taste to contrast the herbaceous side of the salad, ensuring that every bite will be different.
The selection of meatless eats at Home Taste surprised me, because too often “Chinese food” is General Tso’s tofu or sweet and sour chicken. In fact, these items aren’t even on the menu. Unlike most Chinese takeout, Home Taste takes you back to the roots of Chinese cuisine.
Home Taste
Hours: Monday – closed, Tuesday-Sunday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Address: 3106 Delaware Avenue, Buffalo, NY 14217
Phone: 716-322-0088
Online: homeaste88.com
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Orders: Takeout and delivery
Questions or recommendations? Email: jackporc@buffalo.edu
Jack Porcari is a senior news/features editor at The Spectrum. He is a political science major with a minor in journalism. Aside from writing and editing, he enjoys playing piano, flow arts, reptiles and activism.
