Eating alert

There’s a new chef at Thirsty Buffalo, 555 Elmwood Ave. Chris Machols comes to the casual restaurant, located on the site of the late Jimmy Mac’s, from a stint as sous chef at the 31 Club, and he’s instituted a new “gastropub” menu.

A gastropub — the term has become especially popular in Great Britain in recent years — has been defined as an eating place that manages to bridge the gap between a simple booze joint and an upscale restaurant. Machols says he’s “exceeding the bar food persona” that Thirsty once had by adding items like stuffed banana peppers, shepherd’s pie and bison meatloaf to go along with the 18 tap lines the place is so proud of.

To see the new menu, go to

www.thirstybuffalo.com

. More on the farm

The locavore group Feed Your Soul has just announced two tours to acquaint urbanites with the outstanding agricultural bounty in this area. Foodie- to-Farm excursion “for everyday people” is scheduled for Sept. 13 and will feature TMeadow Farm where heritage hogs are raised on pasture; Arrowhead Spring Vineyards where organic wines are made; lunch at Old Fort Niagara prepared by the proficient Carmelo Raimondi of Carmelo’s in Lewiston and a trip to Tom Towers Farm for a walk through the fields with the well-known owner who supplies many local restaurants.

The Chef-to-Farm Tour, with perhaps a more professional viewpoint, will take place Sept. 14 and features many of the same stops.

The excursions cost $55 per person and run from 9 a. m. to 5 p. m, rain or shine. For more information and to register, visit visit

www.feedyoursoulbufffalo.com

. Send local restaurant news to

janiceokun@yahoo.com

— Janice Okun