Photo by Joanne Beck
Liliana Perl and her family drove to Batavia just to try out a signature Everybody Eats dish at City Centre on Saturday evening. After all, the Elba resident had heard about the new takeout restaurant and wanted to give it a try, she said.
She and the family filled the tables and seats that were just outside the kitchen and enjoyed their meal even though most dishes were to-go orders. They had the Western New York Plate: a derivative of the garbage plate, but with a chef Zeke Lynn touch of pan-fried hash browns, macaroni salad, a hotdog, meat sauce, mustard and ketchup.
Was it worth the drive?
“That was amazing,” Perl said. “It was very, very good, the best in town. We are garbage plate fiends. We love a good garbage plate.”
Lynn first announced in August that he would be moving into the space at 29 Batavia City Centre after cleaning up the space and setting up the kitchen.
Now, with a new stove and griddle installed, he had a couple of test days earlier this week selling sandwiches and a minestrone soup, despite the very unseasonably hot temperature (that became the joke about serving hot soup in 86-degree weather).
The restaurant had a soft opening on Saturday, featuring bolognese, a dish of homemade beef and pork ragu that’s slow simmered and served over fettuccine pasta, and his WNY Plate loaded with potatoes, mac salad, meat sauce and a choice of hotdog, burger or cheeseburger.
They will be there again from 4 to 10 p.m. Sunday, with the pickup entrance opposite Wendy’s. To order, call or text (585) 813-7969.
Lynn and his partner, Sam Lang, have worked in restaurants “our whole lives,” and look forward to catering to the appetites of their local customers, Lang said.
“Every week, we’ll focus on specials and then bring in some new stuff. We really feed off of feedback, good or bad. We really want to know what people want,” he said. “We’ll have a steak night coming up soon. The hardest part is we don’t really want to lock down one thing. And we’ll be offering cooking classes; they’ll be coming in the future.”
He and Lynn felt that the Bolognese and WNY Plate are two of their best dishes, so that’s what they began with. They will be adding other menu items as they go along, according to customer requests and input.
They plan to serve lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and add a dinner menu from Thursdays through the weekend.
To find out the weekly menu, go to Everybody Eats.
Photo by Joanne Beck
