The 292 Castro St. restaurant is all-things fusion, with a mixture of Asian and California fare as well as higher and lower-brow food.
Appetizers include small plates like shishito peppers with lemon-citrus aioli ($6); wings with ginger, garlic, soy and chilies ($9) and edamame hummus served with pita chips ($6.50). There's two salads (Caesar for $7 and fuji for $8) as well as fries, which come with a few dipping sauces and can be served with just sea salt ($3), furikake (garlic, nori and toasted sesame) or garlic/parsley (both $4).
Entrees take the form of baos (Asian steamed or baked bun sandwiches with a range of meat and vegetable fillings), sliders and wagyu beef burgers. Baos range from $4 to $5 and all have an Asian tilt (pork belly, duck confit, grilled eggplant, chicken karaage). Siders are also in the $4 to $5 range and represent both Asian and American cuisines, from a classic (arugula, roma tomato and cheddar) to the "220" (caramelized onions, jalapeno, applewood bacon, fried quail egg, cheddar cheese and a "house special" aioli).
The burgers are in the same vein but all made with more expensive Japanese wagyu beef.
"I figured I would try to take as much of what I learned in culinary school, kind of nicer dining techniques and downplay (them) into a little more casual comfort food," said chef-owner Brandon Poon, who studied at The Art Institute of California in Sunnyvale.
Poon said Buffalo's beer selection will be "as local as possible," featuring only California breweries (on tap) plus bottles. Soft opening options included a hefeweizen from Santa Cruz Ale Works, Healdsburg-based Bear Republic Brewing Company's Racer 5 IPA, and others from breweries in Berkeley, Novato and Buellton.
Poon is a Bay Area native who grew up within the restaurant business, his family behind local Chinese fast food joints, including Express 7 in Mountain View and the Mr. Chau's chain. After receiving his culinary degree, he had a short stint at Madera in Menlo Park, interned at the Cheesecake Factory in Santa Clara and also cooked at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
Photo courtesy of Buffalo.
For details on the story behind the restaurant's name, head to Buffalo's website.
Buffalo
292 Castro St., Mountain View
650-282-5096
Hours: Sunday-Wednesday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Thursday-Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
