The Cheat Sheet
Chez Wa
928 College St., Little Italy
Chinese-inspired wine bar
Price: $$
Best for: sake, low-intervention bottles, and small plates

“We want to showcase that Chinese flavours can be paired harmoniously with wine and sake,” Kevin Guo says.

Chez Wa is the permanent expression of that idea: a brand-new 25-seat Chinese-inspired wine bar in Little Italy, opened by Guo and Tia Zhang, with a tight menu, fun bottles, and a playful approach to what a wine bar can be.

“We’re creating a new take on Chinese food,” Guo says. “We [aim to] make it more delicate with small plates people can drink with.”

Guo sees Chez Wa as a shift away from the larger-format style of many traditional Chinese restaurants. “When you go to a dim sum restaurant or a traditional Chinese restaurant, it’s usually big plates, big portions,” he says. “People share three or four plates, and that’s it. They’re full.”

At Chez Wa, the idea is smaller and more drink-led. “We [aim to] make it more delicate with small plates people can drink with,” Guo says.

Perhaps the most visually striking dish is the Hongsuantang mackerel that’s served with a fermented tomato and chili sauce, a sharp pairing that cuts through the richness of the fish. Next is a black tiger shrimp dish that’s a play on drunken shrimp, lightly cooked and marinated with Shaoxing wine and sherry, then served with pickled cherry tomatoes.

The beef tartare is the closest thing to a classic wine-bar dish, but Chez Wa pulls it in a different direction. Porcini mushrooms add depth and umami, burnt green chili brings smoke and heat, and egg yolk gel adds richness. It is served with baguette from Bakery Pompette down the street.

Campanelle might be the clearest expression of the restaurant’s point of view. Guo says they originally tested the dish with udon and Chinese noodles before landing on campanelle, whose shape reminded them of a regional Chinese noodle sometimes called “cat’s ears.” Inspired by mapo tofu, the dish uses silken tofu for creaminess, then tops it with stir-fried ground beef, Sichuan pepper, and green onions.

During the day, Chez Wa also functions as a bottle shop, with a list that leans toward smaller producers, low-intervention wines, and sake. During the soft opening, Guo says the restaurant quickly moved from friends-and-family nights to a proper waitlist, with wait times exceeding one hour.

For Zhang, the goal is simple. Chez Wa is “a place where you can chill, and enjoy food and wine.”

Gabriel’s Gate

145 Allen St, Buffalo, NY, 14201

His first answer was Gabriel’s Gate.

“It’s kind of my favourite for the most classic kind of plain wing,” Meredith says. “No additions, just Frank’s [hot sauce] and butter basically. It’s super simple and they’re amazing.”

For Meredith, Gabriel’s Gate is the reference point. Not trying to reinvent the format. Just a classic Buffalo wing done properly.

Bar-Bill

185 Main Street, East Aurora, NY 14052.

The second spot on Meredith’s list is Bar-Bill, located about 20 minutes south of the city.

Compared to Gabriel’s Gate, Meredith describes Bar-Bill’s wings as a slightly more amped-up version of the classic Buffalo wing.

“They’re a little bit sweeter, a little extra spices in there, but they’re still really, really good,” he says.

Nine-Eleven Tavern

9-11 Bloomfield Ave Buffalo, NY 14220.

His third pick was Nine-Eleven Tavern.

The name sounds like a bit, but Meredith explains that the tavern was established in 1981 and happens to sit at 9–11 Bloomfield Avenue.

For him, those wings represent a dirtier, heavier style, the kind that helped inspire the South Buffalo wings served at The Elmwood.

“Those are big, dirty wings,” Meredith says. “They’re a little fattier tasting and just a little funkier, a little more umami.”

The List

According to someone who has spent ten years studying Buffalo wings, the list is as follows.

Gabriel’s Gate
Bar-Bill
Nine Eleven Tavern

What he once envisioned no longer felt quite right—he found himself drawn instead to creating something more personal, something he could truly call his own.

What followed was a complete pivot: letting go of the path he thought he wanted in order to pursue something entirely different.

Mozy’s is a fast-casual charcoal chicken spot in Liberty Village, and a sharp departure from the world Soudi came from. But for him, it’s also been the most rewarding. Where fine dining feeds through experience and precision, Mozy’s operates on something more routine and personal—people dropping in multiple times a week.

“We are becoming a part of their table at home, and that’s what drives us.”

The space reflects that same intention. It’s casual and built for takeout, but there’s a quiet accuracy behind everything—an energy that feels closer to a fine dining kitchen than a neighbourhood chicken shop. You catch the smell of charcoal right away, and there’s a steady rhythm of newfound regulars moving through, picking up food that feels both simple and carefully considered.

The menu is deliberately small, with every item designed to be accessible and shareable. Nearly everything touches the charcoal grill at least once, creating a consistent through-line of smoke and depth.

Even the salad avoids shortcuts. “There’s no romaine, there’s no iceberg, there’s no filler,” Soudi says. Instead, it’s built with bitter greens, herbs, and feta—treated with the same level of care as any composed dish.

For two people, the move is the full chicken meal—a format that captures the restaurant in one order. It comes with a whole charcoal chicken, two sides, a dip, two sauces, bread, and tahini miso cookies to finish. The structure is simple, but it’s designed for mixing and matching: tearing into the chicken, dragging it through the sauces, and building bites with whatever combination lands best.

At the centre of it all is the chicken. It’s brined and dried with no spices or marinades, a decision that leans fully into the flavour of the grill. “We’re purists about the chicken,” he explains.

The restraint there makes room for the sides to carry more expressive flavours—rice, chicken salt fries, or the herb-heavy salad—along with dips like smoked labneh and eggplant that echo familiar forms like tzatziki or babaganoush. “Everything is playful,” he adds, “and nothing is meant to be taken too seriously.”

Mozy’s is also part of a growing pocket in Liberty Village. Shaped as much by community as it is by food, Soudi credits his neighbour, Burger Drops owner Gregory Bourolias, with helping him secure the space.

It was an early show of support that turned into a shared vision for the street. Together, they’re part of an intentional push to build Atlantic Avenue into a destination, the kind of area people seek out the way they do on Ossington.

Barbode Soudi brings the same intensity he’s carried through every kitchen he’s worked in, but here it’s pointed somewhere different. This time, it’s personal. “Mozy’s is a fast-casual restaurant operating with the mindset of three Michelin stars,” he says.