Review: Swallow's

Name: Swallow's
Address: 1914 South Ave, Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 478-9292
Neighborhood: Elmwood
Website: n/a
Menu: n/a
Cuisine: Standard Bar-Fare, Wings, Burgers
Bar Hours: Monday to Saturday 8 AM - 2 AM, Sunday Noon - 2 AM
Kitchen Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 AM - 2 PM, 6 PM - 2 AM, Friday to Saturday 11 AM - 2 AM, Sunday Noon to Close
Parking: On-street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Takes Reservations: No
Take-Out: Yes
Waiter Service: No
Delivery: No

Swallow's has remained a cornerstone neighborhood pub since opening up in 1935 near the intersection of South Ave and Glenwood Ave. Regarded by some as the crossroads of the Strathmore, North Valley, and Brighton neighborhoods, it lays home in the city's Elmwood neighborhood; essentially located on Syracuse's south side. The area has seen better decades than the one it's in now, as you can tell by looking at the surrounding blocks that have graffiti gracing a few nearby, boarded-up storefronts. The immediate area is very much downtrodden, but that doesn't mean that a successful bar with a friendly atmosphere and delicious food can't exist there.

The vibe inside is old-school and pretty much a standard dive with help from the wood panelling along the walls, black and white checkered flooring, and several 50's-style cocktail tables spread throughout the dining area. There's darts (electronic), a popcorn machine, and a long bar that tends to host the locals chatting away. Mix in about 5 flat screens and some SU athletics memorabilia along the walls (and a surprisingly high amount of Red Sox memorabilia) and you've got a place that emits a cozy, small-town sports bar.

Shameless self-promotion: Swallow's also has a big laminated poster hanging up near the kitchen displaying the Final Four results from my wing tournament I did last year. It's amazing. Kudos, guys! *tips cap*

The menu reads like a typical pub menu (with a few added surprises): burgers, chicken sandwiches, fried appetizers, corned beef, cheesesteaks, wings (hot, medium, mild, hot bbq, and salt and pepper), and fried haddock.

Orders are placed at the bar. Large orders can be placed near the kitchen in the back.

The order... (prices aren't exact...)

12 hot wings: $6
Cheeseburger deluxe: $3.75
Fries: $1.50
Total Amount with tax and tip: $14

In case you're wondering, my friends and I typically designate January to March of each year as "Wing Season", which usually entails eating mass amounts of chicken wings, ordering pitchers of cheap beer, and watching SU Basketball games at sports bars.

This was actually my first order of wings for the blog since finishing the wing tourney last summer. Yes, my buddies rag on me all the time for crowning barbecue wings the "best wings in Syracuse" and yes, I also had my wing playoff idea totally ripped-off by a shall-not-be-named local newspaper a few months ago. Those sonsabitches! It comes with the territory, I suppose. On to the wings. Which as you can see, we ordered a ton of (multiply that first picture by 3).





These babies got 2nd place in the tournament last year, so my taste buds were amped up even before walking into the place.

Overall... I wasn't crazy about the wings this time around. I found them to be quite different from my previous visit. Slightly spongy on the outside with minimal amount of sauce or spiciness and really no hints of chili or garlic like there was before. The meat was still excellent (the wings are bought locally and are never frozen, apparently), but the texture, flavoring, and sauce was lacking. At least from what I was expecting. Even so, I thought they were slightly above average. I'd say 3 out of 5.



Here it is. The best burger in Syracuse. Yup. At least that I've been able to find so far. A thick and juicy patty topped with melted American cheese and fresh veggies and tucked between a soft and buttery bun that was slightly grilled for the perfect amount of crunchiness, juiciness, and greasiness. It was probably the most perfectly tasting burger that I've had in quite some time. And $3.75 is a steal of a value. This is going to come off as blasphemous, but I think it might be better than the Blarney Burger (and only ~$.50 more in price).

Fresh-cut fries were a welcomed surprise, but they could've benefited from maybe a minute or two longer in the frier. Still, they were fresh and starchy with a little bit of the skins on them.

Other notes...

- 25 cent wings on Mondays

It was a solid meal for a fairly classic Upstate New York bar food experience. And I'm willing to cut Swallow's some slack in the wings department due my first visit, which I thought were some of the best and most original wings I've ever had. It's an excellent neighborhood bar with great bar food and a really good place to catch a game, especially if you're willing to distance yourself from the rowdy SU student crowd. The neighborhood itself has seen some better days, but once you step inside Swallow's, you feel like you're home.

My rating of Swallow's:


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Winterfest & Dining Week(s) start today!

There might not be as much snow on the ground as usual, but the 27th annual Syracuse Winterfest will kick off this year and runs today, February 15th, to the 26th. Plenty of events going on in and around Syracuse including team trivia, a wing walk, a Bloody Mary mix-off, a margarita mix-off, a chowder cook-off, a chili cook-off, a sandwich stroll, happy hours, ice carving, and even fireworks at the Inner Harbor. There's a lot to choose from for people of all ages, so check out a full listing of all the events at syracusewinterfest.com.

Also starting today is the AmeriCU Dining Week(s), which runs until Wednesday, February 29th. Restaurant goers can enjoy 3 course meals for $25 or less at a number of excellent Downtown restaurants. For more information and a listing of participating restaurants, visit downtownsyracuse.com.

Side Hill Farmers

If you're looking to stock-up on some local meat and produce, Side Hill Farmers, a Madison County cooperative of farmers, has just launched a local delivery service that services parts of CNY including Downtown Syracuse.

Plenty of products to pick from: grass-fed beef, local eggs and butter, pork, ground beef, roast cuts, and steaks. Everything contains no antibiotics, no hormones, and no animal byproduct feeds. Best of all, it's made by people who know and care about what they're doing.

There's 4-month plans and they also offer a 1-month trial plan if you're a first-time buyer and want to test it out. Essentially, you place your order online, they'll contact you about a pick-up, you pick it up and then unpack it into your freezer (each order is vacuum-sealed and blast frozen, a process that eliminates freezer burn and ensures quality).

For the city, pick-up is at Empire Brewing Co in Armory Square.

For more information, visit the Side Hill Farmers website at www.sidehillfarmers.com

Review: Brooklyn Pickle (Far West-Side)

Name: Brooklyn Pickle (Far West-Side location)
Address: 1600 W Genesee St, Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 487-8000
Neighborhood: Far West-Side
Website: www.brooklynpickle.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Sandwiches, Soups
Restaurant Hours: Monday to Saturday 9 AM - 7:30 PM.
Parking: Private lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Outdoor Seating: No (Yes after Spring '12)
Delivery: No

The Brooklyn Pickle franchise is one of the longest running deli operations in Syracuse and has been serving up hearty sandwiches since appearing on the deli scene in 1975. Opened two years after its predecessor in Eastwood, the Westside location first opened at the current Byrne Dairy building along W Genesee St only to move kitty-corner to its present location a couple years later where it's sat since 1984.

Perhaps more so in its heyday than now, "Brooklyn Pickle" is typically mentioned within the same sentences as "Dinosaur", "Heid's", and "The State Fair" whenever the topic of local food is brought up around out-of-towners. Still, the local chain has rolled through the decades and continues to be a popular sandwich destination for Syracuse lunch and dinner goers.

The Westside location is general small inside. Roughly 10 booths or so round out the seating. Orders are placed and picked-up at the counter.

I'm partial to the atmosphere of the Burnet Ave location to this one, but that's not to say it's bad. It's small and cozy enough for a quick meal alone or with the family. They're also expanding very soon, with a large patio deck out front facing W Genesee St which will be nice for the warmer months (I believe a sign on door said ready by Spring 2012, unless I'm mistaken).

On the menu: salads, homemade salads, coleslaw, baked beans, pickles, knish, soups, cookies, puddings, cookies, chips, and plenty of sandwich and sub choices like roast pork, pastrami, capocollo, seafood salad, liverwurst, and meatballs, as well as all of your traditional delicatessen meats.

The order...

Neptune Stew (cup): $2.80
Sour Pickle: $1.35
Brooklyn Pickle Special (half): $4.35
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $9.18

From the looks of the handwritten sign below the menu, Neptune Stew appeared to be one of their specialties. It contains shrimp, clams, onions, mushrooms, green peppers, and tomatoes*. So, as an avid seafood lover, you can't go wrong, right? ...Right?



Quite the rich color for a busy soup (or stew), but I found the whole thing to be fairly unappetizing and essentially a giant mess. The stew had a slightly peppery flavor and was mixed with flavorless veggies, scraps and shreds of leftover pasta noodles, a few tiny shrimp that were saturated, rubbery, and lacked any seafood taste, and a tomato broth that was very close to concentrated tomato juice rounding everything out.

*Also not listed on the menu is that it contains carrots and pasta.

I mean, I know we're in upstate New York here and really good seafood-style soups may be hard to come by, but would it be so much to ask for a bold, maybe spicy tomato broth, with fresh onions and peppers, a couple plump shrimp, littlenecks (maybe a few still in the shell), and maybe some chopped celery? (in other words, fresh, minimalist, and nix the carrots, pasta, and mushrooms?).

It's very possible I got it on an off day, but at least judging from this experience, I wouldn't order it again.

The sour pickle, pictured to the right of the soup, was indeed sour but I found the brine to be a little unpleasant and even a bit metallic in some hints. Fresh and colorful from the outside, but not much snap, crunch, or good flavor to it.

On the other hand...



Pictured above is the Brooklyn Pickle Special, garnished with pickle slices and along side a sour pickle.

I picked the Brooklyn Pickle Special blindly, not knowing exactly what it was. I could've asked, but figured if it's a house special and at the top of the menu, it's worth a shot in the dark. Tomatoes, lettuce, and onions were added upon request.

I'll be the messenger here since I wasn't able to find information about this sandwich online. Essentially, it's corned beef and Swiss with a Miracle Whip style dressing. Which leads me to something that I can't believe I've never mentioned on this blog before...

I LOVE MIRACLE WHIP.

Ahem. Yes, it's true. This may not have been the exact brand, but it was a slightly tangier and vinegary version of mayo perfectly dressed on white bread (I think I asked for this too, but in hindsight, probably should've ordered it on rye) with Swiss cheese and plenty of delicious corned beef stacked in the middle. The lettuce, tomato, and onions were nice additions (especially the onions), but this could hold its own without them, I think. Definitely the best sandwich I've had at Brooklyn Pickle and something that I'd return for.

As for the little additional pickles on top, presentation-wise, they look good and even the novelty of getting a few free pickle slices with your order at a place that has "pickle" in its name is fun, but I just wasn't hooked on them like I wanted to be. Very lightly brined for the most part, but taste-wise, they were flavorless and kind of detracted from the sandwich.

A bad review is tough here because I remember loving Brooklyn Pickle when I was a kid. I even have a T-shirt from one of my first visits. I know my taste buds weren't lying to me then (I loved the food at Dinosaur too). I think the franchise could use an overhaul of their menu, try to simplify things, and focus on what tastes best. Sandwiches seem to be AOK for the most part and who's going to complain about getting a pretty hefty one for about $4, but I think quality, which is a major factor, really isn't hitting the mark like it used to.

Return for sandwiches: Probably.
Return for anything else: ...that's a tough call.

My rating of Brooklyn Pickle:


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Downtown Dining Week

The AmeriCU Credit Union Dining Week(s) runs this year from Wednesday, February 15th through Wednesday, February 29th in Downtown Syracuse.

Participating restaurants offer 3 course meals at $25 or less (beverages, tax, and gratuity are additional). You can check out the list of restaurants and view dining week menus at downtownsyracuse.com.

It's a great event for Downtown and it's does get busy, so some places may require a reservation.

Also, if you're up for ice skating afterwards, you can show your dining week receipt and get half-price admission to the Clinton Square ice rink.

Slow Food CNY Speaker & Film Series

Slow Food CNY will be hosting their third and final Speaker & Film series tonight at the Redhouse Arts Center (201 S West St). Heather Hawkins will speak at 7 PM followed by the documentary, No One Ever Went Hungry. There will also be local food producers giving out samples and selling their goods beginning at 5 PM. The event is sponsored by Wellness from Within.

It should be a great event. I went to the previous speaker and film series last month and it's a lot of fun. At the very least, it's nice to mingle, educate yourself, and support the local food community. The event is free and open to the public.

More info can be found on the event's Facebook page, at the Small Potatoes Sales & Marketing blog, as well as Slow Food CNY.