Tag Archives: Penfield

Mecate Mexican Restaurant opening soon

5 Nov
Abby, Omar and Fabricio with their mascots, Eva and Bruno

There’s a new Mexican restaurant in town, opening up any day now near BayTowne Plaza. And if the words “Mexican restaurant” aren’t enough to get you over there to check it out, perhaps these words will:

Tequila flights.

Tequila flights will be just one of the brand new drink menu items featured when the new Mecate Mexican Restaurant opens at 1998 Empire Blvd., in the former Fire Crust Pizza location along the Brandt Point Dr. entrance road to BayTowne Plaza.

This is the third Mecate location for co-owners Omar Garcia, Abby Ramirez and Fabricio Palma. They opened their first location in Henrietta in October of 2022, and their second in Macedon only three months later. Soon after that they decided they wanted to expand again, and jumped on the chance to come to Webster/Penfield when the old Fire Crust Pizza location became available.

Transforming the space from a pizza joint to a full-service restaurant hasn’t been too difficult.

“It was a good thing it was an existing restaurant,” Omar said. “We had to do some mostly non-structural finishes, and put in a lot of our touches to make it look a little classy,” like moving in their signature furniture, painting, and adding some distinctly Mexican features like tile work and Aztec calendars. The heaviest lift was expanding the seating area at the back of the restaurant into what used to be a big office, and building a bar. The restaurant is now spacious enough to comfortably seat 150 patrons at the tables, booths, bar and the seasonal outdoor patio.

If you’re already familiar with either of the two other Mecate locations, you’ll be pleased to know you’ll find all of your Mexican meal favorites here as well — fajitas, tacos, burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas, desserts and more. But opening a new location has provided an opportunity to try some new things, especially on the drink menu.

Like the tequila flights. And mezcal flights. And a new spicy Margarita made with ghost tequila and rimmed with black salt. “It’s got a little bit of a kick to it,” Omar said, “but at the same time it’s got the kick where you want more.”

And what exactly does “Mecate” mean? It’s a question asked so often, they printed the answer right on the front of their menu: “Mecate is a rope made of hair or maguey fibre commonly used for tying horses.” They chose it in a brainstorming session one night before opening their first location, landing on it because it’s pretty simple and easy to say. Even if no one knows what it means.

Omar, Abby and Fabricio all live in the Canandaigua/Macedon area, where they’ve become well known in their communities. And even though this is their third location in just over two years, “We don’t consider ourselves a chain,” Omar said. “We run our own locations, we’re still involved.” And as they continue to grow, they hope to become more involved in the Webster/Penfield community as well, supporting fundraisers and local businesses.

Because they know what it’s like to start from scratch.

“We came from nothing,” Omar said. “We’re immigrants that came to this country with nothing and are just building our way.”

Mecate Mexican Restaurant is opening this week or next (TBA) at 1998 Empire Blvd., adjacent to BayTowne Plaza. More information to come, but in the meantime, click here for the Henrietta/Macedon stores’ website and here for the Facebook page.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

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(posted 11/5/2024)

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New Donutchew bakery offers an Asian twist on donuts

24 Feb

There’s a new donut in town. It’s called a “mochi donut,” and you gotta try one. But beware … once you’ve had one, you might never go back to your old donut shop.

Mochi donuts are one of several Asian-inspired menu items available at Donutchew, a new bakery located in Baytowne Plaza. Michael Blair, a Chinese-American, opened the shop about three weeks ago, bringing to the Webster/Penfield area some sweet treats that our area has never really seen before.

That’s not to say that mochi flour and mochi-based desserts are anything new. The confections have been wildly popular in Japan and Hawaii for years, and that popularity has been slowly spreading across the U.S.

How is a mochi donut different from your standard American donut? I asked Michael to explain, and he struggled a bit with the answer.

“You have to taste it to know,” he began. “The flour is a lot lighter and the texture is chewier. It might taste like a lighter fried dough.” While most American donut products are heavier and denser, he continued, “with these, you can probably eat three or four and you feel OK about it.”

But what really sets Donutchew’s mochi donuts apart from the rest are the wide variety of unique toppings and flavorings. Don’t expect to find glazed, cinnamon, powdered, or chocolate-iced donuts here. DO expect toppings like Oreo cream cheese, mango, Earl Gray and s’mores, and Asian-inspired flavors like black sesame, imported straight from Japan. There are even some kid-friendly options, like Cookie Monster and Fruity Pebble.

“It’s a fun thing,” Michael said. “That’s what brings people in, the fun flavors on the top and the different texture when they bite into it.”

Aside from their taste, what I find most intriguing is the donuts’ unusual design. It’s kind of like a beaded bracelet, perfect for bite-sized snacking (a theory I tested on my drive home with delicious results).

Donutchew’s mochi donuts lead a menu of several other Asian-inspired sweet treats that are hard to find on the east side, like Korean corn dogs, boba teas (with tea sourced from the family’s tea farm in China), croffles, and tanghulu.

Never heard of tanghulu? This traditional Chinese snack is fruit on a skewer — strawberries, grapes, pineapple — wrapped into rock candy, giving it a crunchy outer layer. Michael’s grandmother would make the snack when he was growing up, and she’s the one in the Donutchew kitchen making it every day now. Ask a young person about it, because it’s huge on TikTok.

Opening his first bakery in the Webster/Penfield area was not Michael’s first choice. “To be honest,” he said, “coming to Webster was kind of a gamble for us.”

In my opinion there’s not much diversity here. If you compare to Henrietta, Brighton, you see a lot more Asian Americans who live out that way, which is good and bad. The good thing is, there’s a greater variety of Asian restaurants, bubble tea places in the area. But the people in Webster who enjoy that type of cuisine have to drive all the way to Henrietta or Brighton. So we thought if we could create a successful location here, that would save a lot of time for the east-side community.

So far, that gamble has paid off. They’ve already started to develop a steady clientele, and customers are telling them how much they appreciate having a boba tea shop nearby.

“The feedback has been super positive,” Michael said. “People are beginning to learn who we are. Once they learn what it is and who we are, they’re coming back.”

Donutchew is located on the south side of Baytowne Plaza, 1900 Empire Blvd., Webster, in the former Royal Dynasty Restaurant. They’re open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Find out more about them on their website, Facebook page, and Instagram (@donutchew_rochester).

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Subscribe” link on the right side of this page (or all the way at the bottom of the page if you’re on your phone).

(posted 2/24/2024)

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Casino night will raise money to fight rare cancers

21 Jan

 

beunitimidated_logo21 (1)

A Penfield-based non-profit organization called Be uninTIMidated has a fundraiser coming up in a few weeks which I want to tell you all about, because the organization and the people who run it are top-notch.

First, some background.

In April 2012, Penfield resident Tim Wesley was diagnosed with an advanced stage of a very rare form of appendix cancer. He was told that he would not be a surgical candidate, and was given only 12 to 18 months to live.

That was a prognosis he and his wife Denise simply would not accept, so they went on the offensive to see what they could do.

Through hundreds of hours of research, they found their way to visit three different cancer surgeons in Baltimore, Pittsburgh and Buffalo who specialize in appendix cancer. They discovered that Tim was in fact a surgical candidate and that the surgery could save his life — or at the very least give him more time.

They had come so far and learned so much, as soon as the surgery was done, they decided they wanted to help educate, advocate and financially help people travel to see specialists. They created Be uninTIMidated.

In the last six years, the organization has shed light on appendix cancer and other rare cancers like it, helping more patients get diagnosed. The funds they raise through their special events go directly to support research and to help families pay for travel expenses as they seek medical options and treatment.

Here’s how you can help:

The 5th Annual Be uninTIMidated Casino Night will be held on Saturday, January 27 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Kodak Center at Eastman Business Park, 200 West Ridge Road.

The event will feature casino games, beverage tasting, appetizers, a cash bar, and lots more fun.

Tickets are $60 in advance and $65 at the door. Click here to purchase tickets online or send a check made payable to: BE uninTIMidated, 20 Thomlinson Circle, Penfield, NY 14526.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

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A new, not-so-little free library

6 Jul

I’m working on an Our Towns East Extra column for publication in the next few weeks, but this is such a cute Webster-local story, I thought I’d like to give everyone a preview.

Brynn

Last summer, little Brynn Anderson, who lives not far from me in north Penfield, decided she wanted to put up a Little Free Library, inspired by something she saw on TV. After researching how much it would actually cost to build one (especially from the pre-designed kits) and register it, her father Zach and mother Jamie helped Brynn come up with a more creative solution.

So Brynn packed a Little Tykes doll carriage with books, and every day wheeled it out and parked it by the tree along the roadway in front of their house. It worked out pretty well; it held as many as 30 picture books at one time. Only problem was, they tended to get a little wet if it rained.

Thanks in part to the success of that “little wheeled library,” and especially because Zach’s friend and Spry Middle School colleague Jason Jugovic offered to build a more permanent structure, Brynn’s original library has grown.

A lot.

This summer, Brynn unveiled her “Medium Free Library.” It’s kind of hard to miss as you drive down Galante Circle in Penfield. While traditional Little Free Libraries are typically about 28 inches tall by a foot deep, Brynn’s library measures a whopping 4 x 6 feet. It’s so big that when it was being built, people thought it might be a chicken coop.

Brynn says the new library is getting a lot of traffic, and several family members and friends are helping keep it stocked with books. Like the baby stroller, this one is on wheels as well … but a little more protected from the elements.

Watch for more photos and more of the story in the column in a few weeks.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Twitter and Instagram

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

 

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