Safe Travels: 6 small Upstate New York towns with big restaurant scenes

Editor’s Be aware: That is a part of an ongoing sequence that options issues to do in Upstate New York whereas we nonetheless expertise the Covid-19 pandemic. Earlier than venturing out, please take correct precautions and test for any modified enterprise hours or availability. Protected travels!

Inhabitants facilities have their very own dynamics that create buzz about them and what they provide. However, in a spot as huge as Upstate New York there are numerous deserving small cities and cities that normally are lucky to only wind up on an inventory of “hidden gems.” That is one such, a have a look at small Upstate cities with huge restaurant scenes.

Listed below are six wonderful examples in six totally different counties unfold all through this large swath of geography operating from the mid-Hudson Valley to far Western New York. They attest to the variability accessible to guests, particularly these anxious to start exploring once more after a 12 months largely spent indoors.

Talking of that, please keep in mind that because the Covid-19 pandemic rolls on, restaurant hours could also be erratic, some venues nonetheless are restricted to takeout and supply, indoor seating might be at a premium, and all have guidelines about buyer and employees habits and procedures. Finest to name forward.

Jamestown (Chautauqua County)

In New York’s westernmost county, “sparse” hardly describes the inhabitants. Its county seat, Mayville, has a headcount of barely 1,700 and Jamestown, its largest neighborhood, is barely within the excessive 20,000 vary. However, it has a culinary scene that usually goes past the zeitgeist one would count on in an space dominated by the mellow lakeside way of life (there isn’t some extent within the county greater than 20 minutes from open water, together with Chautauqua, Erie, Findley, Bear, and Cassadega lakes).

Landmark Restaurant on West 4th Road has a white tablecloth eating room providing a big menu divided into such classes as “boneyard” (veal chop, beef Wellington, rack of lamb), “bowls” (steak, rooster Florentine, veggie, tuna sushi), and “seafood” (crab-stuffed haddock or salmon, sea bass, crab truffles, combo dishes). The Chop House On Main — truly it’s on East 2nd Road — is one other white tablecloth spot, a steakhouse with a basic menu reflecting the style. Downmarket, there may be the Labyrinth Press Company, positioned within the historic Thurston Block on East 4th, that has advanced over the course of 14 years from being an espresso and reside music bar to full-restaurant standing, serving scratch-made vegetarian and vegan fare. It additionally operates the Brazil Craft Beer & Wine Lounge, with 18 rotating craft beer traces, upstairs. And, Lisciandro’s Restaurant on North Major Road is a well-liked breakfast and lunch spot that places twists on acquainted dishes — sausage and eggs with stuffed scorching peppers; pepperoni and provolone or meatloaf omelets; creamed potato and ham soup.

Kingston (Ulster County)

The state’s first capital (1777) is positioned roughly 60 miles south of Albany and 90 miles north of New York Metropolis, a great location to mix cosmopolitan culinary sensibilities with a extra relaxed vibe in a spot of barely 23,000 souls.

Any self-respecting Upstate city has its share of excellent Italian eating places and Kingston is not any exception. (Frank Guido’s Little Italy, Savona’s Trattoria, Stella’s, LaFlorentina, and so forth.) However, it has a lot extra. Take Le Canard Enchaine, for instance. It oozes French cafe ambiance to the Nth diploma — basic posters, twinkling lights, tight eating areas tucked into cozy corners, a good-sized bar, deft but unpretentious service. And, better of all, fantastic French nation dishes from proprietor/government chef Jean Jacques Carquillat, 52, a second-generation chef from Chamonix, France. He guarantees “Beef bourguignon and cassoulet all the time accessible,” however don’t miss his fricassé of escargot in a deeply flavorful mushroom and cognac broth flambé; definitely worth the drive from wherever. Situated Uptown within the Stockade District reverse the historic Outdated Dutch Church at 276 Truthful Road.

Another choices within the metropolis: The stylish Lola debuted on Truthful Road final 12 months, with a contemporary Italian menu (potato croquettes with a lemon-oil-garlic Sicilian sauce, quick rib ragu over pasta, smoked brisket pizza) and imaginative cocktail record; the historic, stone-walled Hoffman House Tavern, not too long ago bought by its longtime chef Francisco Diaz, has antecedents within the 1670s and angle within the Seventies (bacon-wrapped scallops, clams on line casino, London broil, steak au poivre, rooster francaise); chef-owner Albert Bartley acquired a James Beard Awards semifinalist nod final 12 months within the non-Massive Apple “Finest Chef: New York” class for his work at Top Taste, a basic Jamaica eatery on Hasbrouck Avenue (escovitch type — fried then doused with pickling sauce — snapper or kingfish, brown stew rooster, ackee and saltfish, cowfoot and purple beans or butter beans); Mariner’s Harbor, on the west financial institution of the Hudson River on the foot of Broadway in a former newspaper constructing, affords a complete seafood menu plus its personal brand-new in-house ice cream store.

Watertown (Jefferson County)

The inhabitants quickly thins out as you drive north from Syracuse (inhabitants 143,000) to Watertown (inhabitants 25,000), about 70 miles away. However, there may be loads of transitional exercise from vacationers heading to spots within the close by Thousand Islands and alongside the Black River about 5 miles east of its mouth at Lake Ontario — and, after all, there may be the sprawling Fort Drum navy reservation and its 10,000-14,000 rotating inhabitants. All of which supplies a stable buyer base to assist a culinary scene anchored by some long-running venues.

Coming into the town’s oldest eatery, the Crystal Restaurant on Public Sq., is like strolling into a stunning architectural time capsule (tiled flooring, tin ceilings, darkish wooden cubicles and bar — basically a sophisticated model of what it was when it opened its doorways in 1925 however with a menu paying homage to the Nineteen Nineties (finger meals apps, a dozen salads and chilly plates, primary burgers, commonplace sandwiches … though the pies are a bit extra imaginative, together with strawberry rhubarb and raspberry). The fourth era of the Sboro restaurant household operates a pair of long-run eateries — Art’s Jug on Huntington Road that opened in 1933, and Sboro’s Restaurant & Chop House on Coffeen Road that opened in 1992. Each provide pizzas and different Italian dishes, together with such grace notes as ribeyes, rack of lamb, and roast duck. Much less venerable however nonetheless common: Spokes Craft Beer & Tapas, an atmospheric Public Sq. tavern providing simply what its title advertises; the Bad Apple Saloon on Arsenal Road with a “vittles” menu that ought to be the envy of each consuming institution wherever (fried inexperienced tomatoes, bacon bleu cheese chips, battered banana pepper rings, duck bacon wontons, smothered flatiron steak, chargrilled St. Louis ribs, Rueben scorching canines, and so forth.); Coleman’s Corner on Lawrence Road seems extra like an upscale rustic nation inn than the Irish pub it’s, however it has the tongue-in-cheek angle of the style (the menu affords the likes of a “4 Course Irish Dinner: 3 draft beers and an order of fries”).

Cohoes (Albany County)

A 12 months in the past, I wrote a narrative headlined “Taking a ride on the Cohoes culinary express,” chronicling the continued restaurant enlargement on this small Hudson River metropolis (barely 16,000 inhabitants) tucked into the northeast nook of the county that retains drawing consideration regardless of being geographically squeezed by common eating scenes in Albany to its south and Troy to its east. Since then, the growth has solely gained momentum, notably on bustling Remsen and Ontario streets.

Throughout such development, one would possibly count on duplication, however that isn’t the case. The newcomers vary all over. A couple of examples: The Tiny Diney a shiny new model of a 400-square-foot greasy spoon that has been round for a century below varied names; the Bye-i Brewing Craft Beer & Taproom that gives its personal brews plus meals introduced in from neighboring eating places; Cafe con Mel, a daytime cafe that’s an outgrowth of the caterer D&L Hospitality, with a wildly international evolving menu — Filipino turo-turo buffet, Korean cream cheese rolls, Puerto Rican dishes, locally-made bagels; Teta Marie’s Lebanese, a conventional spot whose regionally born-and-raised chef/co-owner, Brenda Hage, realized the recipes of her Lebanese mother-in-law and seems the likes of beef kofta and shawarma, rooster shish tawook, meat and spinach hand pies, and pizzas topped with za’atar, awaki cheese.

Trumansburg (Tompkins County)

This tiny, picturesque city southwest of Cayuga Lake has a year-round inhabitants of barely 2,000, however it has loads of vacationer visitors — folks shifting by means of the Finger Lakes, traversing the Cayuga Wine Path, attending one in every of a number of annual main music festivals in non-pandemic occasions, visiting Taughannock Falls State Park (house to one of many tallest free-falling waterfalls east of the Mississippi River) — that helps assist a wholesome restaurant scene.

The upscale Inn at Taughannock Restaurant on Gorge Street boasts 180-degree views of Cayuga Lake from its ethereal eating room and affords an American-Mediterranean fusion menu, and it even has a meals truck known as The Black Diamond Specific, named for the flagship passenger practice of the outdated Lehigh Valley Railroad that carried passengers to Trumansburg by way of its Buffalo-New York Metropolis run from 1896 to 1959. Conversely, Atlas on West Major Road is the city’s model of the rising recognition of “exercise eateries” and vegan-friendly venues present in most of our main cities. Guests can bowl on seven renovated ’60s-era lanes and dine from a menu that ranges from burgers, grilled shrimp or salmon, shepherd’s pie, steaks, to a variety of vegan- or vegetarian-sensitive dishes. In between these two polar opposites are such spots as Hazelnut Kitchen on East Major, a farm-to-table venue that includes native wines; Brews & Brats at Autumn View, a German restaurant on Route 96 providing regionally sourced meals, beers, wines, and ciders; and, the aptly-named Creekside Cafe breakfast and lunch spot sitting alongside Trumansburg Creek on West Major, providing quite a few touches from different cultures resembling a kimchi-gruyere panini, a Cubano sandwich on home focaccia, a shitake-black bean cheeseburger, and breakfast tacos and burritos.

Owego (Tioga County)

This Southern Tier county seat village is on the western fringes of the Binghamton Metropolitan Statistical Space (inhabitants 240,000), however it’s a tiny a part of that inhabitants middle with a headcount of solely about 3,500. Nonetheless, its bucolic setting simply off the Southern Tier Expressway (Route 17) makes it a handy pause-point for motorists heading to or from the Finger Lakes or the various schools in Central and Western New York.

The Owego Kitchen on Lake Road is a relatively current addition (November 2015) to the native meals scene, however the constructing has been round since 1872 as a saloon, gaslight firm, photograph studio, grocery, and extra. It’s a breakfast/lunch/catering operation with an imaginative sandwich record (rosemary rooster, Jamaican tuna, jalapeño popper turkey BLT, and so forth.). The Cellar Restaurant & Bar On the River overlooks the Susquehanna from its Entrance Road perch. Menu highlights embrace quite a lot of smoked meat dishes, basic preparation types for filet mignons and New York strips, and old-style surf-and-turf. MJ’s Bar and Restaurant, one other waterside venue on Fifth Avenue, is a multi-cultural informal spot with a menu that includes things like Greek saganaki, Mexican road meals, Vietnamese pho, Jamaican jerk dishes, and so forth. The River Rock Diner on Route 17C slings commonplace diner fare together with Mediterranean dishes. Carol’s Coffee And Art Bar on Entrance Road has a plethora of authentic art work displayed on naked brick partitions, setting an inviting temper for its menu that options sandwiches all named for traditional artists.

William M. Dowd, a longtime journalist, is the creator and writer of Notes On Napkins, a food-and-drink weblog masking the Better Capital Area and western New England, with seven zoned Fb editions.

READ MORE

Safe Travels: 20 waterside dining gems to visit in Upstate New York

Safe Travels: 26 Upstate New York day trip ideas, from A to Z

Western NY doughnut shop named one of the best in the state by national magazine

Graceful dining: Eat at these 10 mansions in Upstate NY

Iconic restaurants in Upstate New York: 13 quintessential places to dine