Color purple takes on whole new meaning

Luckily for me these days the mere mention of the color purple doesn’t evoke an  image of the creepily friendly dinosaur named Barney. In Daughter B’s formative years, Barney was a constant guest in our home thanks to the good folks at PBS.

Now, I’m thinking the color purple will take on a new meaning: a good locally owned place to eat in a terrific setting.

The Purple Salamander on Main Street (Route 20)  in Morrisville  has been open a couple months or so, and Wife L and I finally had a chance to try it this weekend.

The place is terrific inside. A gorgeous mural lines one wall, complete with colorfully painted salamanders sallying forth in a tropical setting of lush green trees and colorful mushrooms.  The leaves climb onto a section of the ceiling where even the light fixtures complement the motif.

Tables are in the center of the room and two are  tucked underneath rounded windows in front. Booths line one wall and a big comfy couch, perfect for sipping coffee or relaxing with a piece of pie, is in back, perched in front of a flat-screen TV and a fireplace.

Our breakfasts were very good. I had two big fluffy pancakes, topped with New York state syrup, and bacon. Wife L had eggs and corned beef hash. All good, all reasonably priced.

The diner/cafe also offers deli sandwiches,  wraps, paninis, and burgers. Homemade soups are on the menu, as are baskets filled with shrimp or chicken. Fresh-cut French fries are highlighted.

The Purple Salamander has coffee to go, and  ice cream and shakes for take-out. It is open every day from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., except Sundays when it closes at 3.

We’ll be stopping by again after 11:30 a.m. to try the other menu items. It is well worth the visit to this warm, comfortable, and perfectly appointed place.

Wondering what will be, a pub provides hope

Funny how far I was willing to drive to avoid going to a baby shower. No offense to our good friend who was being feted at said shower, but it’s not a place for a guy to go.

So I dropped off Wife L on Saturday at a nice home in a residential area south of Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica and was asked to return three hours later. No problem, says I, there are things to do and places to see.

I did guy things: I found a place along Oriskany Boulevard (Route 5A) in Whitesboro and got the oil changed in my Toyota, luckily not the newer Toyotas with the sticky gas pedals but my 1993 Toyota that moans and groans a bit but still starts on a dime. I went to Lowe’s and prowled aisles and dissuaded myself from spending money.

I ended up back in Utica and drove down Bleecker Street  in search of wonderful tomato pie sold at Napoli’s deli, right off Culver Avenue. Closed, unfortunately, as was Roma Sausage and Deli just a little farther down Bleecker. Both places have  that wonderful concoction of pizza dough topped with a top-rated sauce and just the slightest hint of parmesan cheese.  Very good stuff indeed, but not to be on this day.

Driving around Utica is a little like visiting your 80-year-old uncle, the man who was tough and OK looking in his younger years, who still has that occasional spark of mischief in his eyes, suggesting he’s not done yet, but who walks with a stoop and slow measured steps, who fights with his walker as much as he fights the cancer eating at his insides.

Like that uncle, the city still wants to have game, but what does it have left?

Downtown Utica in warmer weather. (Photo courtesy of the Utica Observer-Dispatch)

I saw some nice homes along Memorial Parkway as I drove by Val Balias Sports Center, where you can ski, snowboard, ice skate, sled, or cross country ski, right in the city.  Lots of pretty natural areas along that corridor, with Roscoe Conkling Park and Forest Hill Cemetery, where lots of famous Uticans are buried.

But I also drove through neighborhoods where the many simple  two-story homes, the once proud havens of middle-class families, have fallen into disrepair and are sliced into apartments owned by outsiders who care not for upkeep. Big warehouses that once provided jobs are shuttered, with “for sale” signs plastered along the chain-link fence, screaming out for a buyer to breathe new life into still-usable facilities.

Downtown Utica, not in February. (Photo courtesy of the Utica Observer-Dispatch)

I got my first look at Utica when I took a reporter’s  job at the Rome Daily Sentinel newspaper, back in 1983. I can’t say I fell in love with the city, I can’t say it did or does have any charm, but it does have a past, a working, vivid, once-thriving  past that is getting harder and harder to recall. 

Somehow, after my mindless driving through the city,  which left me somewhat morose, as you can tell by now, I ended up in Washington Mills,  just east of Route 8 (a roadway that I can never quite figure out where it goes or why).  And there, like a beacon in the overcast skies, I came across Packy’s Pub.

In need of solace and a reason to believe, I ventured inside to find a full bar in full-throttled support of a Syracuse Orange basketball team that was struggling mightily against a much lesser talented team in the DePaul Blue Devils.

Here, I thought, was one reason why people stick it out in CNY:  groups of friends were gathered at tables and the bar; the barmaid moved from one group to the next, knowing most patrons by name; a woman who had thrown her coat on a chair insisted I take the seat to catch the waning moments of the game. 

Granted, it’s probably not a great thing that a bar was busy at 3:30 on a Saturday afternoon, but the place was warm and chatty and felt good. I could only stay for a quick pint before collecting Wife L from the baby shower, but it was a nice boost to hear and see folks joined in a common cause, joined together as a community.

Here’s hoping that that sense of place, the connections with family and friends, is enough to keep Utica and its environs a palatable place to live as the city, like much of CNY, works on a vision for the future as it tries to revive bits and pieces of a storied past.

An off-season survey of Sylvan Beach

I’m an off-season kind of guy. I like people, for the most part, but not too many people in the same place at the same time. 

Places that thrive in summer, brimming with energy, take on a completely different personality in winter when a blanket of solitude and stillness wraps the place up tight. 

In CNY, we have our little amusement-park haven in Sylvan Beach, the village tucked tight against the east side of Oneida Lake. The amusement park recently underwent a bit of an overhaul, and there are longtime restaurants like Yesterday’s Royal and Eddie’s that draw big crowds when the sun is shining and families are looking to relax after having spent the day on the mini roller coaster or on the village beach or at Verona Beach State Park.

Picnic tables at ease along Oneida Lake

When Wife L and I took a ride to Sylvan Beach last weekend, the only folks around were fishing on the frozen Oneida Lake. It was sparse. It was a bit startling to see the washed-out landscape that is the lake when it’s covered in ice and the skies are overcast. Not much color can be found as you look out on this big body of water.

The village itself was closed up pretty tightly, with all the main restaurants closed for now.  Hungry, we went south of the village and were going to seek out Flo’s Diner on Route 31, which several Unchained Restaurant readers have suggested to me. But first we came across Johnnie’s Pier 31, and we popped in to give it a look.

This restaurant and marina has been family owned since 1954. Inside, the dining room is very clean though maybe a tad dated.

The mandatory fake swordfish filled most of one wall, and sea-evoking trinkets lined the window sills. A nice mini fireplace gave the room a nice burst of warmth.

We both ordered haddock sandwiches with steak fries. Both of us were glad we did. The fish was sweet and nicely breaded, some of the best we’ve had in a while. The side fries were the perfect accompaniment.

We enjoyed looking out on the lake from the big windows lining the dining room and the bar. Walking through the bar area I saw another couple enjoying what looked like a great plate of chicken wings, which the restaurant was promoting.

I admit to being distracted by the TV showing the Syracuse Orange hanging on in the final minutes of a Big East game against a very tough West Virginia squad.  Even Coach Boeheim seemed happy with the result.

Just like the coach, we were happy with our weekend game plan as we finished our meal and headed back home.

Oneida Lake

CNY’s bounty delivered to your door

We miss the terrific veggies that we get during summer from Common Thread, the  community supported farm we belong to that is  just north of the village of Hamilton. But there is a great option out there for folks who want to support local farmers all year-round: CNY Bounty.

This program has been running for a couple years now, under a different name, and it just unveiled a new website.  You can get meat, specialty products, apples, bread, milk, yogurt, and other items delivered to your home. Just go online, browse the offerings, and place your order.

Nearly 90  farmers and processors are involved in the program, the majority from Madison and Chenango counties, and there are more than 900 products offered during the year. If you place an order before noon Monday, you can get your order delivered on Wednesday or Thursday. There also are pick-up locations available.

Buddy up with some friends or neighbors and try some local products. You can check out the group’s website to learn more.

Bacon bits and the new year

I’ve been a slacker the first few days of 2010; my humble apologies.  I’m still coming down from the sugar rush  after consuming huge doses of Christmas cookies and other assorted holiday treats.

Some quick news nuggets:

– It is great to see a new diner opening in the village of Morrisville, The Purple Salamander. It is next to Dougherty’s Pharmacy in the downtown core on Route 12. The new eatery is open for breakfast and lunch, and its opening comes on the heels of the re-opening of the former Buzzy’s Diner, now called the Morrisville Diner,  just west of the village. 

–  In the who knew category, it seems that bacon has been labeled a trendy food for the coming year.

 The staple of many a fine diner breakfast, it is now apparently appearing in cocktails (made with bacon-infused liquor or the new Bakon Vodka)  and desserts, including bacon-and-egg ice cream and a bacon chocolate bar from Vosges Haut-Chocolat.

My inital reaction: Yuck. My secondary reaction: After five cocktails made with bacon infused liquor I might be tempted to try bacon-and-egg ice cream. But even then, in my bacon-infused loopy state, it would be a stretch.

What’s next? Sausage sundaes and hash brown strudel?

Making history, of a sort, in visit to Ithaca

History, it seems to me, is a science of interpretation. How one person sees an event, its origins and ultimate consequences, can differ greatly from the next person’s. We learn from history, but whose history are we learning, and is it the right interpretation of past events? 

I ponder this because I had a moment at the Angry Mom Records shop in Ithaca this past weekend. As Daughter B and I perused the vinyl records in the basement shop at the Ithaca Commons, she came across the “listening studio”: two turntables hooked up to headphones. 

She was amazed. She had to try it because she had never used a turntable, had never haltingly landed the needle at the right groove,  had never heard the occasional pop produced by that pesky piece of lint, had never flipped the record to get to the B side. Never.  

So she did. She had fun. I had fun watching her. I also wondered if her introduction to this important piece of my past was a sign of my advancing years or a symbol of the technological leaps we’ve made in the past few decades. How should I interpret this? How would you?

All that thinking, of course, made us hungry. So Wife L, Daughter B, and I wandered around downtown Ithaca  in search of a place ot eat.  You can’t ask for more choices; downtown is filled with eateries. Most, but not all, were open on Sunday as we walked along Aurora Street and through the Commons. 

Ragmann's Restaurant

We landed at Ragmann’s Restaurant. This narrow restaurant with a small bar was quiet when we sat down and started to fill up as we left. I enjoyed  a roast beef sandwich smothered with warm boursin cheese on a yummy french roll from the Ithaca Bakery. I loved it, the cheese giving the beef a zesty accompaniment.  Daughter B had a meatball parmesan on the same warm bread, and Wife L had a pastrami reuben. We all decided we could have eaten more; the sandwiches and side dishes were good, but not plentiful or overly generous.

The wonderful bread, though, did put us in mind of the Ithaca Bakery, and we stumbled across one of its five area shops, on Aurora Street,  and stopped in. 

What a cool place. Desserts and breads and bagels, all sorts of coffee drinks, and deli sandwiches (paninis  looked especially good).

We sampled the dessert section, with a wonderful chocolate donut, Rice Krispie treat, and some cookies. We wanted to buy some artisan bread, but wondered if it would keep fresh long enough because we had a few more stops to make in and around Ithaca.  

We drove up to Ithaca College to take a look. It seemed a bit too far removed from the vibrant downtown, though the views of Cayuga Lake were nice.

We spent more time on the Cornell campus, which is massive, soaking in the architecture of the Arts Quad and visiting the nearby Johnson Museum of Art.   

The museum, designed by I.M. Pei, is undergoing an expansion which will allow it to show many more pieces from its permanent collection. I got to see a Picasso and a Monet, and a small Georgia O’Keeffe.  I learned about Robert Henri and his influence on fellow painters in the so-called Ashcan School.  

Fields in the Month of June, 1874. Oil on canvas. (Courtesy of Johnson Museum of Art)

And  I came away wanting to learn more about Charles Francois Daubigny, whose Fields in the Month of June is on display. A huge painting, it is considered a pivotal transition piece to Impressionism and bold step away from the classic Salon style of painting, with its dominant expanses of sky and vivid bursts of color.  

The museum is free, and definitely worth a visit. We were there when students were away for break, making it easy to get around and park.

We stopped at SUNY at Cortland on the way home so Wife L could reminisce about her alma mater. She saw Cheney Hall, her dorm, and “Cheney Beach,” the patch of lawn she said was used by students to soak up the sun whenever possible.  The Dark Horse, her and her roommates’ tavern of choice, is still there, she was glad to see. 

It was a fun trip. We stopped for an early dinner in DeRuyter on the drive back, but more on that later!

Eating day and night in Morrisville

We recently had the chance to eat dinner and then breakfast in Morrisville, the Route 20 village that once served as home for Madison County government.

Copper Turret Restaurant

Friends R joined Wife L and I recently for a trip to the Copper Turret restaurant, which is owned and operated by Morrisville State College’s auxiliary corporation.  The college did an outstanding renovation of the building on Route 20, which dates back to 1814. It is a beautiful space, and a great way to integrate students learning the food services trade.

I’ve been to the Copper Turret a few times, for lunches, with a large group for a graduation dinner, and for dinners.  Most times I leave quite satisfied, though there has been the occasional slip that too often comes with one of our more expensive meals. 

This past dinner was an example. I ordered a delmonico steak special. The steak was cooked perfectly,  medium rare, but the side dish, garlic mashed potatoes, was overcooked. Frankly, I wasn’t sure what I was eating. Now, it’s up to me to ask the kitchen to redo that, and I didn’t. So shame on me. But when I’m spending more than $20 for an entrée, I expect things to be right all around.

Same issue with Wife L’s meal. She ordered her filet mignon medium rare, and it was medium well bordering on well done. Again, we should have sent it back. But when ordering a pricey entree you expect things to be done right the first time. 

Friends R each had the filet, as well, and their meals for the most part were done right, though again one filet spent too much time on the grill. For dessert we all shared  a tollhouse pie with almond ice cream, which is made on the premises,  that was very good and a nice finish to an “up and down” meal.

The Copper Turret has a great bar area that is comfortable and inviting. It is a required stop for us on our annual St. Patrick’s Day pilgrimage to Syracuse. And as far as my meals, I will be more particular about sending something back that is not done to my liking, but we’ll definitely go back.

Pretty  much everything was to our liking last weekend when we stopped at the Morrisville Diner for breakfast. It’s always great to see once-shuttered buildings given new life, which is the case for this eatery just west of the village on Route 20 that was once called Buzzy’s Diner.

Father-in-law D ventured out in the cold with Wife L and I, and we all enjoyed our breakfasts. Nothing too fancy here, but everything was done well and the price was right. The place has some new paint and new booths throughout, though the green turtle that adorned the outside awning has gone to turtle heaven.  It was doing a nice business on Saturday, so hopefully things go well for the establishment that has been open for about six weeks now.

Madison Hall

If you have breakfast on the brain, think about the diner if you’re near Morrisville and also think about visiting Madison Hall in the village for the indoor  farmers market  held Feb. 6, March 6, and April 3.

Madison Hall is a beautiful building that has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1978.  It was the county courthouse for years, and in a previous incarnation was burned to the ground by members of the notorious Loomis Gang, so the story goes, who wanted to burn records that might be used against one of its members who was on trial.

A dedicated group of volunteers saved the building and continues to raise funds for additional renovations.  It can be rented out for weddings and other events, and a dance class is held there weekdays.

This kind of building often serves as the heartbeat of communities up and down Route 20 and across upstate New York. It’s heartening to see such a success story, driven by local people wanting to preserve a piece of local history.  Stop in on Feb. 6 and see some of the amazing work that has been done and buy some local products at the same time.

A report from the field: Magee Country Diner

We are growing by leaps and bounds here at Unchained Restaurants.  (OK, maybe not. I tend to hyperbolize during the holidays.)

We do, though, have a contribution from our very first UR correspondent: Friend C.

Friend C was driving from western Massachusetts, where he was visiting family, through CNY, where he was visiting yours truly and family, on the way back to Indiana, where he lives with his family.

We applaud him for driving for as long as he could along our scenic byway, Route 20, before having to swing onto the Evil Empire of highways, the New York State Thruway.

Before making the jump to the most expensive toll road on the planet (again, the hyperbole) he made a stop at the Magee Country Diner, outside Waterloo and just seconds from the Thruway entrance.

He reports: “Only had a breakfast sandwich to go, but the place was packed with locals.”

Hmmm … Not sure I can keep him on the correspondent payroll with such a lackluster  description, but he was faced with 12 hours of solo driving back to Indiana, so I’ll have to cut him a break.

If you’ve been to Magees and have anything to report, please leave a comment and I can continue this fact-finding mission.  But it sounds like a good option if you’re forced to drive the Thruway but don’t want to eat at a chain restaurant at one of the travel plazas.

Please continue to think “local, local, local” during the holidays.  Nine out of 10 dentists, and others, recommend it!

‘Tis the season to share suggestions

‘Tis the season to share more suggestions from Unchained Restaurant readers: 

From Terry: 

I love your blog. I agree, most of the time locally owned and operated is better than a chain. 

I have a suggestion. I actually took my wife there (from Syracuse) just for the trip. The place is Papa’s Family Diner, 196 Delaware St., Walton. 

The best drive would be to take Route 12 to Greene and take a left onto Route 206 thru Bainbridge and Masonville to Walton. Bear left at the “Y” by the Kraft plant. Papa’s is just down the street on the right. 

Two other suggestions: 

For dinner, worth the trip: Memories Restaurant  in Lowville. And it’s been a while since I’ve been there but I remember Lloyd’s of Lowville, across from the Kraft plant on Route 12, being pretty decent. 

Thanks, Terry, for the compliment and the unchained tips!

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From Teresa, of Middleburgh:

I stumbled across your blog, thank you, it’s fun.  You bring back good memories for me as I have been to most of the places you mention. 

Travel for me is mostly “off the beaten path.”  I love food and have for years also made a point to stop in every little eating establishment across the state. 

I’ts a beautiful state and it’s a beautiful life. 

Have you been to the Plainville Turkey Farm in Cicero???  What a hoot – all turkey, all day!!! 

Thanks again for the interesting reading. 

It is a beautiful state and a beautiful life. Thanks, Teresa, for writing in. 

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From Douglas:

The State Street Cafe  at 73 State St., Phoenix, NY, Oswego County, is a find. 

Located on the canal of the Oswego River, (just look out the rear door) it is housed in the former and famous “Wood’s Bologna”, Wood’s Meat Market. 

Owner Tammy Lynch has a select menu of breakfast items, luncheon choices freshly made with her own flair. Her coffee selections vary from fresh brewed to iced coffee and beyond. The decor is old style with photos of prior years gone by. 

I need to head up that way. This is one of  several good suggestions from Oswego and the North Country.

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From Laura in Liverpool:

I’d like to tell you about Flo’s Diner. It’s on Route 31 on the way to Sylvan Beach. It does take about 30 minutes to an hour to get there, but its worth it. Flo’s still offers .10 cups of coffee! There are regulars and truckers that stop by there. Its been there a LONG time. I’m 25 years old and its been there all my life. We used to stop in and eat whenever we went to visit my grandmother at Sylvan Beach. Meals are not expensive at all and it has a cozy atmosphere. I’ve always noticed that senior citizens enjoy the place quite a bit. They offer dinners that seem homemade; like shredded roast beef  and gravy with mashed potatoes, and even spaghetti. If it weren’t for the fact that I live in Liverpool, I’d go there more often. Please check it out, you’ll love it.  

It’s on the list, Laura. Thanks for stopping by the blog.

Dominick’s does it right in Syracuse

I love Thanksgiving. To me, it’s one of the least stressful holidays. No gift-buying. No last-minute party invitations. Just food, and family, and bad football.  It’s not a fake holiday, like Valentine’s Day, and it doesn’t require a whole lot of work on my part. I’m strictly clean-up and (this is subjective) entertainment. What more can you want? 

Well, what you can want is a place to eat after the turkey is toast and you still have family in town looking to remove themselves from the couch.

Clinton Square Ice Skating Rink

 

So with Brother M’s family in tow, we headed to Syracuse and did a few spins around the downtown ice skating rink at Clinton Square. We’ve done this now for two years in a row, and we all enjoy it. The huge Christmas tree looks great with its blanket of lights, the historic buildings in the area look spectacular, and it’s an inexpensive way to keep the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes from collecting where you might not want them to collect. 

After we all did our best Eric Heiden impressions, we headed down Burnet Avenue to Dominick’s Restaurant.  It was around 6 p.m. on Saturday and we had to wait for about 40 minutes. It was well worth it. 

The restaurant was busy, a bit loud, and a lot of fun. The staff know what they are doing, and once we were seated our pro of a waitress took perfect care of us. The food was delicious, and plentiful. I had a wonderful veal francaise that was incredibly tender and topped with a butter-lemon sauce that was just right. A side dish of angel hair pasta highlighted the tomato sauce, which also was a winner. 

Another winning entree was the prime rib special for $12.95. Daughter B called it an unqualified success and one of the best she’s tasted. It was cooked a perfect medium rare, with an herb crust. Sister-in-law B enjoyed her eggplant parmigiana, while Brother B raved about his veal parmigiana and Niece K attacked the wonderful bread, baked at the restaurant, she had with her spaghetti. 

Don’t go to Dominick’s for a quiet, intimate dinner with your significant other. But definitely go with family or friends and enjoy a longtime ‘Cuse tradition. 

Afterward, it was a quick jaunt up Route 81 to see the Lights on the Lake, which are at Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool.  We all oohed and aahed as we drove by the elaborate displays, choosing our favorites along the way. My vote goes to the golfing Santa or the yellow brick road leading to the Emerald Castle.  I’ve declared them winners by declaration, hanging chads be damned. 

Lights on the Lake