Roots in Pittsford 

"Organic." "Local." "Sustainable." There are certain buzz words that pop up for pretty much every restaurant that opens these days — which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Hopefully we are getting to the point where those elements are a given. And with the recent opening of Root 31 Café and Eatery (3349 Monroe Avenue) in Pittsford Plaza, we are getting that much closer to the goal.

Owner Roland Perrin started his career in France where he was in the business of importing dairy products from all over Europe. The job started his passion for developing relationships with local farmers and the importance of using fresh product. "It's necessary to support people," Perrin says. "Without economic sustainability for farmers, it's impossible to have good security for the product."

Perrin moved to Rochester with his wife, who is from the area, and purchased the Colie's Café business. He renamed the café Root 31 Café and Eatery and officially opened for business on June 26.

The menu offers an assortment of sandwiches, salads, and pizza, and is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. All of the menu items are under $15. The Beets and Sweets salad ($7.25) is made with roasted beets, sweet potato, feta cheese, quinoa salad, spinach, craisins, and almonds, and tossed with a lemon vinaigrette. Six different specialty pizzas are available, along with the ability to create your own. The Joe's Style White Pizza ($7.25 for petite, $8.75 for personal, and $13.80 for grande) starts with a white sauce and is layered with mozzarella, garlic herb butter, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, bacon, capers, onions, and arugula.

Root 31 is one of the only no-waste restaurants in Rochester — all waste is either recycled or composted. Perrin says he firmly believes in giving back to the earth that creates the product that we consume.

Root 31 Café and Eatery is located in Pittsford Plaza (3349 Monroe Avenue). And is open Monday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Catering is also available. 383-5660. For more information, visit root31.com.

Quick bites

Black Button Distilling (85 Railroad Street) will release its anticipated signature product, the Four Grain Bourbon, on Friday, September 25. The distillery will host a launch party from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The "complex bourbon with a hint of spice" is made with 100 percent New York State grown grain. More information can be found at blackbuttondistilling.com.

Amore Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar (1750 East Avenue) will host the next installment of "The Chef & The Doctor" dinner series on Monday, September 14. Two seatings will be offered, one beginning at 5:30 p.m. and one at 7:30 p.m. The dinner pairs Chef Cesare Casella from New York City's Salumeria Rosi with Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research at Massachusetts General Hospital. The menu will be entirely gluten-free and celebrate the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Reservations are $85 per person and can be made by calling Amore at 452-8780.

The next Food Truck Rodeo (Rochester Public Market, 280 North Union Street) will take place on Wednesday, September 30, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Music will be provided by Donnibrooke (listed as "country, rock, and everything in between").

The South Wedge Bar Olympics will take place on Saturday, September 19, at 2 p.m. The event celebrates the release of the Swiftwater/Stoneyard Double IPA. The event kicks off with the official launch of the Double IPA at Swiftwater Brewing Company (378 Mt. Hope Avenue) and continues to local South Wedge bars: Lux Lounge, Butapub, and Tap and Mallet. More information can be found on Facebook by searching "South Wedge Bar Olympics."

Openings

Fiorella (5 Public Market), a casual Italian eatery, has opened for breakfast and lunch on market days (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner service will start in mid-September. Visit restaurantfiorella.com for more information.

The owners of Tavern 58 at Gibbs and Tavern at Clover have opened Tavern 135 (135 West Commercial Street) in East Rochester.

Closings

Gyromania (1205 Bay Road) has closed.

Chow Hound is a food and restaurant news column. Do you have a tip? Send it to [email protected].