Cookin' in the 'Cuse

Montage: Cafe and Bar--An Oasis of Cool Downtown

Not just as in a place to escape the heat--but "cool" as in, you want to hang out here all day.  Montage offers not just a clean aesthetic (with stools covered in beautiful Japanese imported textiles) but delicious coffee by West Roast. Located in the Red House Arts Center complex, just across the street from the SU Warehouse on Fayette and West Street, I suddenly have a place to get my coffee on as I walk to campus.  Need more reasons to check it out?  Can you say--baked goods by The Sweet Praxis and a commitment to sourcing local ingredients?  All brought to you by Christian VanLuven and Tomomi Yoshida--the couple behind Roji Tea Lounge. 

Get there.

Montage:  Cafe and Bar, 219 West Street (at Fayette)

Thank you Gary, Steve, Josephine and the Syracuse Community!

The Grace Church Spanish Soiree was an incredible success.  It is hard to find adequate words to express my gratitude to Gary Decker of Vinomania wine shop, Steve Kern of the Everson Museum, and his wife Josephine Nieuwenhuis for their above and beyond giving of time and resources to make sure we had some of the best wine and tapas to found anywhere.  It took nearly cast of hundreds to pull these off and so many other community members gave of their time, talent, and resources to help us including donors to the silent auction--Thank You.  Special thanks to the Fish Cove, Green Hills Market, the beautiful music of LuBossa, and all who attended or bought tickets.  Your generosity helps us to continue our work of feeding the hungry, helping the needy, and working for justice. 

Here are some photos--we'll do it again next year!

Gary Decker of Vinomania

Ah...the cheeses...

 

The amazing Josephine takes a break from the kitchen.

 

Luba Lesser of LuBossa goes through a sound check with Pete Clouser.

The tortillas are a Steve Kern specialty

It was a good place to bring your appetite--just delicious!

How I like to Start my Day

Recently I read somewhere that breakfast is the one meal where most folks don't deviate very much.  I can testify to that.  I'm happy eating pretty much the same breakfast for years at a time--seriously.  Right now I have two primary breakfast meals in rotation.  Breakfast one is a bowl of Mu Mu Muesli, fresh fruit, soy or cow's milk, and if I'm feeling really "crazy" I'll throw in a small scoop of Mountain Rise granola or some from Tierra Farms.  This is my power breakfast and several times a week I'll get up at 4:30am in order to get this meal in before a long bicycle ride or a race. 

Breakfast two is sunflower seed butter on toast with sliced bananas.  If I've had a particularly hard workout or race I'll eat breakfast one pre-race and breakfast two post-race.  And maybe half of a walnut cranberry scone from Rock Hill Bakehouse for a treat.

What never really changes, until recently, is my coffee.  If I'm in a rush, it's a cup of French press.  If I have more time, I'll pull some shots for a latte.  These are the drinks that start my day (along with two glasses of water).  But now that I've fallen in love with Forty Weight Coffee Roasters out of Brooktondale, my morning has been filled with ever-changing variety.

Founder Andrew Ballard moved to the Finger Lakes area after some time in Seattle.  After years of wanting to enter the world of coffee roasting he finally created Forty Weight.  If you're tired of the same old, same old super standardization of espresso, then Andrew is your guy.  Fair-trade, check.  Small batch roasted--yup.  Full-on flavor--absolutely.

Most Saturdays I get to the CNY Regional Market and look for Forty Weight--often in C shed--and ask to taste one of the many roasts that Andrew and his crew is pouring that day--Guatemalan, Ethiopian, Sumatran, Costa Rican--and a few more are usually on offer.  He's got a full set up--multiple grinders, press pots, and drip situation going.  You can taste most everything he's got if he hasn't run out.  If you don't have a grinder at home, he'll grind his freshly roasted beans for you. 

Then comes the inevitable question--what's in the espresso blend this week?  I've had maybe six or seven of Andrew's espresso blends and they are never the same.  This is not by accident.  Andrew seems to enjoy playing with all the possible blends for espresso and each time I fall in love with one, I have to be almost Zen-like in being willing to love it and let it go.  Because it isn't coming back.  And that's okay because when you have a roaster who is as dedicated as Andrew, you learn to trust the roaster.  Each time I pick up a bag for my espresso I learn something and treasure it even more. 

And that's perhaps Andrew's greatest gift--he and his crew set up at the market and teach us to love coffee in all of its complexity, nuance, and creativity.  The blends can change at Andrew's whim as long as the quality remains high and what ends up in my cup is delicious--because I really drink coffee for the taste--and it had better be good.

Check out Forty Weight Coffee Roasters at the CNY Regional Market on Saturdays and at their website here.

Delicious Karma

I like good karma as much as anyone but what I'm all about these days is the delicious karma!  Behold my latest obsession:  Karma Bakery's chocolate chunk walnut cookie.  You can meditate on it or you can get yourself one of their cookies and experience true bliss.

Karma Bakery, out of Auburn, is a small operation run by Karmen Canestaro.  With a mission that is all about good health, local and organic ingredients, and putting out real, delicious food, Karma Bakery is quickly becoming the darling of the CNY Regional Market.

I've not had one of the beautiful multi-grain loaves they sell but I'm all over the cookies.  I love the banana nut and peanut butter versions but the chocolate chunk walnut cookie is so good, it has me at the market before 7:00 am to pick up or reserve my stash before they sell out.  There is something about the slightly nutty taste of spelt flour, ground oats, walnuts and slabs of dark chocolate chunks that takes me to a happy place.  There are other healthy ingredients in there like flax meal and maple syrup (no refined sugar or agave--check out their website to read why). I can serve them to my vegan friends without worry and to my non-vegan friends without apology.

All I know is that after a busy day of work, a long run or other training session, and the other things life throws my way, sitting down to a cup of tea and a bite of one of these cookies is the best karma there is.

You can buy Karma Bakery's cookies and breads at the Regional Market on Saturdays from 7am-1pm and beginning this week you should also be able to find them at the Syracuse Real Food Co-op.

This is what's blowing my mind these days...

First up:  Jennifer Ward's by lines on the Atlantic Monthly Food Channel website.  You know Jen--Fresh Cracked Pepper Jen.  Well, her piece on Coffee in Haiti after the earthquake is getting tweeted all over the blogosphere.  That's our girl! 

I'm finally pulling some decent looking--and great tasting--espresso shots.  But when I'm getting my latte's on the run--the shots pulled at Funk 'N Waffles is blowing my mind.  I checked them out after a commenter sent me there (you see, your comments really do help me out)  Their shots of Gimme!'s Leftist were so spot on, I could taste the nuance of the flavor profile through the steamed milk--genius! 

Local cooking oil!  Have you had some of this butternut squash seed oil--it is fantastic!  It has a smooth and nutty taste that is just perfect for roasting up all of those root vegetables that are still left in the larder.  And there's something about roasting butternut squash in its own oil seems just so right.

I picked up this bottle at Max Market in Pittsford but check out the Syracuse Real Food Co-op to get some closer to home.  Update:  I guess I posted too soon.  The Co-op doesn't carry it but I put a note in the suggestion box so perhaps they will soon.

Based in Geneva, NY and Boston, Stony Brook is all about the deliciousness--you may have also come across their cookies.  Trust me, if you see them, don't pass them up. 

 A cafe destination for your country drive.  Red and White Cafe is in DeRuyter and I plan a more extended post on them because there's lot's to tell.  But for now, let me just say--this place rocks!  This is the real deal--authentic to its community, delicious house-baked breads, doughnuts, and other treats, good coffee, fantastic people--you have got to get there.  More on them soon....  Thanks to Neil Miller for introducing them to me.  Speaking of Neil--have you checked out his blog lately?  Check out his post on our lunch at Circa and dessert at Red and White.

So how about you?  What's blowing YOUR mind these days?

What? Really? Thanksgiving is next week?

Seriously?  Next week?  Are you getting the picture that this has snuck up on me?  I've got beets, carrots, squashes, local sausage, root vegetables of all kinds, and some ideas about wine but still need to pull this meal together.   What are YOU contemplating for your Thanksgiving feast?

I came, I ate, I had a Ball!

This was item number one on my still unpublished autumnal foodie bucket list--hitting the annual Testicle Festival at Rileys.  I finally made it yesterday for lunch and I have to say, I don't know whether it was the balls or the good company but after dancing on the edge of the flu this weekend I'm feeling MUCH better!  This is the last week for you to go nuts at Rileys so if you haven't checked out this neighborhood gem in a while--now is the time.  Their entire menu (which changes fairly often) is also great so you can go and have a great salad or salmon, or burger.  But for the record--the balls were delicious!  

Rileys  312 Park Street, Syracuse, NY 13203-1532
(315) 471-7111

NYC Eats

Okay, consider this a photo deluge of some great food to be found in New York City--it is by no means comprehensive--just deliciously memorable.  Actually, for all the great food the Big Apple has to offer, it can be awfully difficult to figure out where to eat--especially if you want to eat fresh food in season without breaking the bank.  So if you're considering a trip downstate this summer, check out these eats. 

Get Fresh Table and Market, Brooklyn

The New York Times is one of my guides to good food and that's how I got the tip about the fairly new Get Fresh in Park Slope, Brooklyn.  This brightly painted, homey restaurant does the locally-sourced, seasonal menu and contains a pantry shop at front to take some tasty vittles back home.  I took my Mom there for lunch back in May and enjoyed a simple pasta dish loaded with cauliflower, black-eyed peas and house-made cheese while my Mom went the breakfast sandwich route--both were great. 

Cabrito, Greenwich Village, Manhattan

Now this is the kind of fresh Mex I'm talking about.  Just over a year old, Cabrito in the West Village brings the heat.  Michael Welch and his wife Zoe Becker--the team behind Edible Finger Lakes--turned me on to this place.  Michael had met the chef the week before and we were drawn there by the prospect of eating Finger Lakes-sourced pork.  Alas, we were too busy chowing down on Lengua y Tomatillo Tacos (that's braised cow tongue), short ribs and house-made chorizo and missed the local pork.  Butif you go, do like we did--order up a bunch of food, share liberally, and then walk to the corner and grab some gelato--hmm, hmm, hmm!

House-made Chorizo Taco

Lengua y Tomatillo Taco (braised tongue)

Shrimp and Tamarind Ceviche

More food and EFL Publisher Michael Welch in action after the jump...

The Savvy Wine Cellar--Guess Where?

There are wine shops that I love to frequent.  They are staffed with knowledgeable and passionate salespeople, the vibe is like a party with your newest best friends, and the aesthetics are both welcoming and sophisticated.  Usually, getting to these favorite shops entails a drive down to Soho, Greenwich Village or a flight to Berkeley. 

This shop, however, is just 15 minutes from downtown...in Camillus.  Don't let the suburban location fool you--The Savvy Wine Cellar is smart and urbane.  How like Central New York, to put a wine shop like this in a location you'd least expect.  But after only about seven weeks of business, their twice-weekly wine tastings have drawn repeat customers who are welcomed by name.  Good luck finding a spot at the tasting counter--you might have to browse the shelves for a few minutes waiting your turn--as if that were a bad thing.

I was only there for a brief visit today--long enough to taste some intriguing new (to me) wines and snap some photos.  I'll have to return to take a better look at what's on hand.  But here are a few things to note:

• Love the dedicated row of New York wines--a nice selection they hope to expand. 
• The atmosphere is festive and open.  This isn't the place to go to be intimidated and overwhelmed.
• Wine Tastings take place Thursdays from 5:00 to 8:00 PM and Saturdays from 1:00 to 5:00 PM.
• Check out their website for specials as Riesling Month draws to a close.
• Staffer Neil Miller blogs on Finger Lakes wines at Stressing the Vine.

The Savvy Wine Cellar
5316 W. Genesee Street, Camillus NY 13031 (just past Dunkin Donuts when coming from Syracuse)
Phone: (315) 399-5133

Getting Fresco on Cinco de Mayo?

Well, not so much.

If there is any day when a new tortilla place might want to pull out the stops it would be today.  I thought this might be a fine day to try out the new quickie  Mexican place I spied in Armory Square a couple of weeks ago.  Fresco Tortilla Grill, on Walton Street (where Movino Pizza used to be) was to be my ticket--I needed lunch, I hadn't much time, and I wanted to try something new.

Call me naive--I thought this was going to be like the Cali-Mex burrito places I used to frequent in California.  They can turn out the freshest, flavorful burritos with all the fixin's like nobody's business.  I'm afraid Fresco Tortillas Grill disappointed me.  Even though it was a chain (most of it's storefronts are in NYC) I thought I'd give it a chance. 

Let me say this--the food wasn't bad.  It just wasn't great.  Friends of mine compared the chicken to the same recipe used at some of the establishments serving chicken in the food court at Carousel Mall.  I ordered a chicken burrito but it didn't have me celebrating.  The tortilla was stuffed with chicken, white rice, black beans, and large shreds of iceberg lettuce.  There was a hint of cheese of some type.  It came with a spicy salsa that added a necessary kick.  These basic ingredients aren't bad in and of themselves, indeed, in the right hands, they are all you need for an outstanding burrito.  This rendition, however, was just pedestrian.  I had hoped that the dining room would have put me in a Cinco de Mayo mood but it was eerily quiet and when I asked about Cinco de Mayo at the counter, the staff didn't know what I talking about.

Que lastima--It is too bad because I think this end of downtown could really use a good taqueria.  To add insult to injury, a friend told me later this evening how rocking Boom Boom Mex Mex was.  I must get there soon--my craving for good Mexican food is stronger than ever.

Fresco Tortillas Grill, 214 Walton Street, Syracuse, NY 13202 (315) 472-8226