14850zine

Category: Food

  • Bar Argos Opens its Doors

    Bar Argos Opens its Doors

    It is always fun to report on the opening of a new bar or restaurant in town…especially if the menu involves a drink titled “The Bagpipe Mariachi.” With a delightfully curious line-up of cocktail creations, Bar Argos opened its beautiful newly renovated doors this week. Wednesday was the official opening night and this Friday, January 17th Bar Argos will celebrate with an Opening Gala, open to the public. The gala will feature an evening of food, live music by the Djangoners, art, tours of the historic inn, and of course, cocktails. I hear there will also be some entertaining surprises throughout the night as well. The soiree starts at 6 p.m. tomorrow night.

    Set on the first floor of the beautifully restored Argos Inn, the Bar is a lovely watering hole for after-work drinks. The shadowy lighting, 19th-century architecture, and historic-meets-modern details such as glass-domed terrariums and chandeliers make for a warm and intimate atmosphere. Built in 1831 the building purportedly served as a past mayoral residence and later as the birthplace of the Duncan Hines company, before opening its doors as Argos Inn and Bar Argos.

    Beyond the Opening Gala, Bar Argos will host weekly ‘Stark Nights’ with a rotating line-up of musicians and artists. Named after Michael Stark – a local musician doing an artist-in-residency program at Argos Inn – Stark Nights will take place 8 – 11 p.m. on Thursdays.

    So maybe next time when you are hankering for, say, something specifically Scottish-Mexican, head to Bar Argos for a Bagpipe Mariachi and let me know how you like it. Bar Argos / Argos Inn is located at 404 E. State Street. Phone number: 607.319.4437

  • Bon appétit!

    Bon appétit!

    By now, a few days post-Thanksgiving, you may be getting a tad tired of leftover turkey and gravy reincarnations (another turkey-cranberry sandwich, anyone?). No need to despair, put the rubbermaid back in the fridge and head out for a special prefix supper for Ithaca Restaurant Week.

    Long the preserve of larger metropolises, Restaurant Week has made it to Ithaca! From Nov. 30 – Dec. 8 a number of participating Ithaca restaurants are offering special plates, prefix dinners, and free appetizers, desserts, or drinks with an entree. This is a tasty opportunity to try a new restaurant or to enjoy a three-course dinner special at a favored spot. At some locations chefs will highlight their signature dish. There is a line-up of special events with tastings, music, and entertainment happening every night of the week at various restaurants. Around 25 Ithaca restaurants are participating this year. Specials are to be found for dinner, lunch, and brunch.

    You may have heard the often-repeated stat that Ithaca has more restaurants per capita than New York City. That’s exciting, but only if you take advantage of this fact. So get out and treat yourself to a dinner on the town. Bon appétit!

  • Learn to Cook with Kuzu*

    Learn to Cook with Kuzu*

    For today’s post I am excited to talk about the many wonderful classes offered by GreenStar Coop. For several years I’ve attended many of GreenStar’s evening classes and workshops and have always found them informative, inspiring, and personal. With class topics ranging from “Backyard Medicinals and Wild Edibles,” to “Gut and Psychology Syndrome,” to “Raw Food Desserts” the emphasis is on health, wellness, natural care, cooking, and alternative and homeopathic healing modalities.

    Earlier this week I attended the “Fall Harvest Desserts” class led by Theresa Joseph and assisted by Anita Devine,two familiar faces who lead several of the popular macrobiotic cooking classes throughout the year. (The pair is featured above in the photo). This class was noteworthy, (not only because I got to sample loads of delicious – and relatively healthy – desserts made by Theresa), but because this was the inaugural class to be held in GreenStar’s newly opened classroom space. Simply christened “The Classrooms at GreenStar,” this space sits just across the street from the Buffalo St. GreenStar store and holds three classrooms dedicated to continuing and expanding their educational endeavors. Additional plans are in the works to further renovations of this new space to include a functional teaching kitchen, (you know, one with those nifty ceiling mirrors above the countertop workspace for the audience).

    The class series is organized and run by Education Coordinator, Pam Wooster. Pam has been with GreenStar for 21 years and started these classes back in 1995. With the task of setting up the class calendar, selecting topics, and soliciting guest practitioners specializing in a range of topics, I think she has one of the most interesting jobs in town and I told her that if she is ever in need of an assistant that yours truly would no doubt make an awesome assistant.  🙂

    In any case, with or without an assistant, Pam does a great job of running this program, balancing topics, and selecting engaging practitioners. As a general rule, practitioners in the realm of health and wellness who have a degree, certification, or training in their area of specialty are invited to teach a class or workshop. (Though I hear plans are in the works for a possible more informal ‘home-based’ series where the teachers do not necessarily need to be professionally trained, but could be self-taught and have years of experience).

    Classes range from lecture-style seminars, to more informal discussion sessions, to hands-on workshops and can address both physiological and psychological needs. One of my favorite hands-on workshops that I’ve attended (besides ones in which I get to sample tasty treats), has been an aromatherapy workshop led by Kash Iraggi of Balance Aromatherapy. Students had the chance to mix their own blends of essential oil spritzers from dozens of heavenly pure oils. I made a enlivening concoction from citrus, clove, and eucalyptus oils. Many of the cooking classes that I’ve attended have been invigorating and refreshing, challenging me to be more creative in my cooking methods and introducing me to new ingredients I had never tried.

    Pam draws upon local resources, listings in local media, and a network of practitioners to find instructors for the classes and develop new class subjects. Attendees to every class add suggestions for new class topics that would interest them, and practitioners themselves are welcome to contact Pam at pam [at] greenstar.coop if they feel they have something unique in the realm of health and wellness to share with the community. Over the years some of the more popular classes have been Pricilla Timberlake’s annual Thanksgiving cooking class and Anita Devine’s macrobiotic cooking classes. This past summer “Beer 101” drew a large attendance with the Ithaca Beer Co. leading a class on beer history and brewing.

    All classes and workshops are one-time events, and you simply sign up per class ahead of time by calling the GreenStar at 607-273-9392. Classes are held at their main store at 701 W. Buffalo Street. Many of the classes are free, but the more materials-intensive classes (such as the cooking classes), usually cost $8 for GreenStar members and $10 for non-members. Visit GreenStar’s Event’s page to see the calendar listing each month’s class offerings.

  • Hollenbeck's Cider Mill

    Hollenbeck's Cider Mill

    Though I am slightly breaking the rules by covering something just outside the Tompkins County line, I thought a mention of Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill too good to pass up. A longtime tradition of my husband’s family, and now mine, an October visit to this charming cider mill just outside Cortland is a festive and tasty way to indulge in the fall season.

    An apple orchard, country store, farm stand, and cider mill, Hollenbeck’s feature attraction is the antique cider press that is still in use. On weekend days they do several open apple pressings for the public and onlookers are treated to just-off-the-press cups of the golden cider as it pours from the spout. The cider is cool, crisp, and sweet, and if your in the mood, you can pair it with an old-fashioned doughnut that they roll out hot on the spot from their doughnut maker.

    Mr. Hollenbeck, who was been in the apple and cider business for decades, skillfully operates the giant wood and iron press. You can watch as a cascade of apples bounce and tumble into a chopper, then the resulting juicy pulp is carefully sandwiched into layers of burlap between wood planks as the press is prepared. The fun starts when the press jumps into gear and squeezes the heap of apple pulp and a waterfall of cool cider pours down into the cider spout.

    After you’ve had your fill of cider and doughnuts, you can pick up bushels of fresh apples (there are dozens of varieties to choose from), pumpkins and other fall harvest goods, as well as homemade fruit and berry pies from the adjoining bakery and sundries such as maple candies, nut and chocolate fudges, cheeses, and honey products from the store. The store also has an unusually impressive offering of tasty-looking canned goods – everything from onion jams to pickled hot peppers to fruit marmalades.

    Hollenbeck’s Cider Mill is located at 1265 New York 392. Be sure to call ahead at 607-835-6455 to ascertain whether they are doing a pressing later that day.

  • How'd You Like Them Apples

    How'd You Like Them Apples

    This time of year you can spend each weekend at a different u-pick apple orchard, but if you are serious about your apples then stop by the Cornell Apple Orchards for a tasting of unique Cornell-bred apples. Though the orchards are off limits for picking, their roadside store offers an abundance of fruits and cider as well as a selection of honey products, maple candies, Cornell Dairy treats, and locally-made cheeses. The Cornell Orchards is a collection of orchards, vineyards, and fruit farms managed by the Department of Horticulture. While the orchards are split into a variety of locations and their research facility is in Geneva, the Cornell Orchard shop site includes the storage and packing facilities, a cider press, and a research lab, and is surrounded by 37 acres of fruit plantings.

    Upon entering the shop you are overwhelmed by a deliciously sweet and crisp fragrance of apples. Baskets of apples are laid out inviting visitors to sample all the varieties. Don’t be shy – try one of each! Bags of apples and other fall produce – corn, plums, pears, gourds, and pumpkins – line the shop shelves. At the back of the store workers sort bins of apples that cascade from a conveyor belt emerging from the back storage area.

    The opening of the Cornell Apple Orchards is always a welcome fall treat, and I stopped in this past weekend. I was delighted to sample, among others, “Autumn Crisp,” a Cornell variety which is a cross between a Golden Delicious and a Monroe. Developed by Cornell (at the Geneva research station), it is the 63rd apple released from their breeding research station. It is juicy, crisp, and sweet, but not cloying. I loved it and bought a bag to take home.

    There is also cider to sample and sometimes pears to taste. Upon asking one of the store clerks/researchers I was treated to a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the back storage room. Crisp, cool, and fragrant with an even more intense sent of fresh apples, the store room was stacked floor to ceiling with giant crates of apple in all varieties.

    The Cornell Apple Orchards shop is open from mid-August through April. Hours change, so check the website. The shop (in Ithaca) is located at 709 Dryden Rd. (across from the Cornell Vet School).

  • A Foodie Delight

    A Foodie Delight

    Several years ago I wrote a review (for another outlet) about what I describe as ‘one food wonders,’ or ‘OFW’ for short. These are the food joints that sell only type of edible…only rice pudding, or only mac n’ cheese, or only cupcakes. Period. Like skinny jeans and fedoras, OFWs seem to cluster in the East Village of New York City or other such hip urban nuclei. They are popular, and yes, usually quite excellent at whatever delicacy they specialize in. So I am happy to report that little Ithaca too can now boast a speciality OFW shop or two. The latest one that has caught my attention is F. Oliver’s Oils and Vinegars, on the Commons.

    Okay, yes, they sell oil and vinegar, but a specialty shop to be sure. I stopped in the other day and was happy to discover a palette of delicious and unusual flavors of oils and vinegars, which can be generously sampled. Overwhelmed with the exotic choices, the woman behind the counter took me on a tour of the aisles lined with stainless steel casks filled with the infusions.

    From Tunisian Harissa infused olive oil to vanilla bean dark balsamic vinegar, I begin thinking about the creative recipes that might take advantage of such interesting flavors. To help one’s culinary adventures, the F. Oliver website even has some sample recipes to try with specific oils and vinegars. The shop offers both flavor-infused oils as well as single varietal extra virgin olive oils, which are each made from one type of olive by small-batch producers. When the woman explained the unique characters and subtle differences in taste between the single varietal olive oils I began to feel like I was in a high-end wine shop. The balsamic vinegars are flavor-infused and/or aged, and come in either dark or light varieties.

    I sampled two olive oils: Fresh Pressed Blood Orange and Heady Garlic, and three balsamic vinegars: F. Oliver’s 18-year-old Special Reserve (their most popular, I am told), Blushing Peach, and Farmstand Strawberry. All were delicious and rich in flavor, especially the balsamic vinegars. At some point I will have to treat myself to a bottle of the Blushing Peach light balsamic vinegar (my favorite that I sampled), as it would be delightful on a salad.

    The shop even hosts private tasting parties after hours. F. Oliver’s is located on the Commons and is open on weekdays from 11am to 7pm, Saturdays from 11am to 6pm, and Sundays from 12pm to 6pm.

  • Life's So Sweet

    Life's So Sweet

    While sadly, I cannot attend, I wanted to share what looks to be a very delicious event: Tomorrow, Life’s So Sweet, the chocolate shop downtown, will host an evening of chocolate tasting! The event, “Chocolate After Hours,” will feature unlimited samples, and chocolate and soda fountain demonstrations. My hope is that this turns out to be a tasty evening, and that it is well attended and this becomes an annual event (this is their first such event). As an experienced chocolate taster myself, I would recommend going not on a full stomach (strategy, strategy).
    I should mention that the truffles at Life’s So Sweet are not only DELICIOUS, but they have an assortment of unusually creative flavors…cardamom, root beer, Chai tea, honeypot milk, and dark balsamic vinegar, to name but a few. So even if you don’t make it this Saturday for the tasting, do stop by at some point later to satisfy your sweet tooth.

    “Chocolate After Hours” takes place on Saturday, Sept. 7th, 2013. There are two sessions: Session 1: 6:30-8:00 p.m., and Session 2: 8:30-10:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at LifesSoSweet.com or by calling 607-882-9842. They are $20 in advance, or $25 at the door. VIP tickets are $35, which include reserve seating and a take-home goodie bag. Life’s So Sweet is located at 116 W. Green Street, just off the Commons.

  • Soup Kitchen

    Soup Kitchen

    For my inaugural post (with actual content), I am excited to report on one of my favorite places for lunch: Temple of Zeus. This small cafe, tucked in the basement of Goldwin Smith Hall on the Arts Quad of Cornell University offers some of the freshest and tastiest soups I’ve tried. Each day Choklay, the chef, cooks up two delicious soups – ranging from heart-warming creamy parsnip to a more unusual delight such as spicy groundnut soup. All soups are vegetarian, and most days both a cream or milk-based soup and a non-milk (vegan) soup are offered. They are always freshly made, tasting homemade, wholesome, and scrumptious. To be sure, I have my favorites, but none will disappoint.

    The soups have developed somewhat of a devoted following, and you may notice some of the same faithful soup lovers on most days queuing up with their bowls in hand. The lines during the lunch hours are guaranteed to be long (and I hesitated to blog about Ithaca’s best soups…for fear the line with lengthen), but, dear reader, I would not be a good reporter if I failed to mention Temple of Zeus’ soups.

    The kitchen opens for serving at 11:00 am, and anyone in the know is savvy to the fact that you must be in the soup line before 12:45 pm if you have any realistic hopes of tasting that day’s soup. Another tip: bring your own bowl…you’ll get a little more. They also serve up sandwiches, coffee, baked goods, and other sundries. Check out Temple of Zeus’ website for their weekly soup menu, the recipes, and for cafe hours.

  • Welcome to 14850zine

    Welcome to 14850zine

    Welcome to 14850zine! Well, at least welcome to the approximately four people who are reading this initial post (hi mom, dad, husband, and, if lucky, at least one of my sisters!) My hope is that a readership of plus four will soon exist. After much time spent dreaming, planning, designing, and building, I am excited to launch 14850zine. Named after the main Ithaca zip code, 14850zine will cover all things Ithaca and surrounding area – with reviews on restaurants, free events, exploring hidden nooks and crannies in the gorges, classes, and much more. While 14850zine does not claim to be an exhaustive listing of events and things-to-do (see other great blogs, such as IthacaEvents.com or VisitIthaca.com, for up-to-date listings), this blog aims to cover interesting finds – both old and new, and celebrate the small jewels and quirkiness this area has to offer.

    It has been a long time coming, but I am happy that the launch of this blog will catch at least the tail end of summer. Though there are more than enough stories to cover  in every season, summer is especially abundant with exciting events: The ever-popular Farmer’s Market, the Scottish Festival, outdoor movies at the Straight, Shakespeare in the Park, Taughannock Falls concerts, salsa nights at the Big Red Barn, 4th of July festivities and fireworks, the Ithaca Festival, and of course the opportunity to explore the many surrounding trails and gorges.

    Thank you for visiting 14850zine. Please check back regularly for more posts as we go forward and get in touch with us if you have ideas to share.