After opening in 1970's, King David's on Marshal Street looks like it will definitely be moving in order to make way for Chipotle Mexican Grill.
It's a little overdue, but Columbus Bakery Co has a recipe for hoagie dip on their facebook page, which sounds like a great idea for tailgating or a party.
I love when restaurants put recipes online. I plan on making green enchiladas from Casa Romero very soon. But I especially love how when I first started this blog (early 2008?), I could hardly find any information online about a very well-known yet small, local place like Columbus Bakery. And now with more and more restaurants moving onto Facebook, we can get neat things like this straight from the owners as well as pictures and any other information or helpful updates. It makes that interaction between customer and store seem that much closer.
Two Downtown restaurants are expanding hours: Darwin will be open on Saturdays beginning November 27th and Nikos Pasta Pizza & Deli in Hanover Square will be open Wednesday to Saturday nights within the next week or so. Both would make a great stop before or after Ice Skating at Clinton Square.
Tacolicious, a new taco restaurant located at 308 S Warren Street, held their red carpet event on Thursday, November 18th. Menu link is available here.
Prime Steak House, Hanover Square's newest restaurant, will be opening tonight, Friday, November 19th. At least just the bar section. Haven't heard anything about the actual restaurant section yet, but I'd assume it's very soon.
And finally, Nathan Mattise of Diners Without Frosted Tips has some pictures of what Doc's Little Gem Diner is looking like lately (along with a nice slide show of abandoned diners along NY-17 heading towards NYC).
I make that drive a few times a year on my way to New Jersey and it's easy to notice the old rest stops and boarded up diners along the way (the Red Apple Rest comes to mind). Albeit coming to a close, it's a nice drive to make in the fall and you can beat the views of the foliage.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Helping Those In Need
While most of the readership at Pulled Into Syracuse and myself included may have ability to dine at many great restaurants in and around Syracuse, it never hurts to consider those less fortunate who may struggle to put food on the table for their families, especially during more difficult times this Thanksgiving and Holiday Season. Please donate if you have the ability and buy locally whenever possible so your donations and food are not only going to a good place, but your money is as well.
There are plenty of food pantries around Central New York. For some suggestions on donations, you can contact the Interreligious Food Consortium of CNY at 474-8855 or by visiting their website or contact the Food Bank of Central New York at 437-1899 or by visiting their website.
There are plenty of food pantries around Central New York. For some suggestions on donations, you can contact the Interreligious Food Consortium of CNY at 474-8855 or by visiting their website or contact the Food Bank of Central New York at 437-1899 or by visiting their website.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Review: NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza
Name: NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza
Address: 1428 Burnet Ave Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 425-7770
Neighborhood: Eastwood
Website: www.nygiannispizza.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Pizza, Italian
Restaurant Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 AM - 9 PM, Friday to Saturday 11 AM - 10 PM, and via their Facebook page, now open Sundays 12 PM to 8 PM
Parking: On-Street, Private Lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Delivery: Yes (with a $10 minimum)
It's not too often Upstate New York gets to legitimately contend with something from our NYC neighbors. We know the story. They have better restaurants, better bagels, and even better pizz.... Wait. Could it be that Syracuse can now lay claim to great pizza in comparison to its New York City brethren?
Classic New York style pizza, as we've all known, originated and will always dredge up images of New York City pizzerias. There's a distinct look, style, and taste to the pizza that some even claim is in the water. Whatever the difference is, NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza, has now ushered in great, New York style pizza right here in Syracuse all the way from the borough of the Bronx.
With a location that's less than a block east of Shifty's, parking is available on-street or in the lot that's easily accessible from the entrance on Burnet Ave. When you've pulled into the parking lot with a sign that reads "Liberty Bakery / Gianni's Pizza", you've reached the right place.
Pizza is the main focus here as your toppings include traditional ones as well as spinach, broccoli, hot peppers, eggplant, and roasted red peppers. Their specialty pizzas all have clever Bronx-style nicknames like the "Grand Concourse" (the meat lovers), "Morris Park" (thick crust grandma), " White Plains" (white pizza), and "Botanical Garden" (veggie deluxe) among others. Aside from pizza, Gianni's also offers calzones, rolls, lunas, subs, wings (and dart wings), salads, and appetizers like garlic bread, jalapeno poppers, garlic knots, and breaded mushrooms. Visit the actual restaurant and you'll find a few desserts in the display case like cookies and half moons.
Inside is quite tiny with a few small, adequate tables to enjoy a slice or two. However, I opted for take-out on this occasion.
The order...
Medium Pepperoni Pizza: $13.22
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $15
With a quarter of it missing because I got hungry.
Temperature: perfectly hot.
Style: it's thin crust, but not insanely thin. Enough to provide some give in the dough and partnered with a little bit of crunch on the bottom. The texture was great.
Cheese: perfectly layerd and while a bit greasy for some (I prefer a slightly greasy pizza anyway), the cheese had that classic gooey and stringy texture.
Topping: I love pepperoni and it was perfectly cooked here, but I'd think I'd opt for something else next time. Combined with the cheese, it encouraged a somewhat greasy pizza.
Pizza crust: get this - perfect. It's a bold statement coming from yours truly. For anyone that knows me personally, they know I've never been a fan of the outside ring of a pizza. It's not uncommon to see a plate of mine lined with the aftermath of several scattered crusts after downing a few slices. I usually don't enjoy crust because more often then not it tastes like cardboard and is a mere depressing shadow of its former glory. However, at Gianni's, even the crusts were consumed. The crust is that good. It's chewy on the inside, slightly charred and crunchy (but not overly crunchy) on the outside, and didn't dry out at all near the ends.
Sauce: absolutely amazing. Spicy, garlicy, and sweet. And while every other attribute of the pizza is good or above average, the sauce is pretty much the stand-out here.
Overall pizza reaction: outstanding.
My confession is that after visiting this place over the last several months, I have yet to order pizza from anywhere else inside Syracuse.
My second confession is that their tomato pie, although served warm, is awesome and would go out on a limb and say that it may rival anything in Utica, mainly because the sauce is that good.
What else can I say that The Pizza Geek, Chus On Chow, and Wandering Through Syracuse haven't already said? I'm hooked. I'm on the Gianni's bandwagon and can't get off. I have to give this 5 stars. Even more impressive is that it's served with very friendly service. I have no complaints whatsoever and their pizza is awesome. Probably some of the best I've ever had. I look forward to trying out some other things on the menu very, very soon.
And yes, taste the flava!
My rating of NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza:
Your rating of NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza:
Address: 1428 Burnet Ave Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 425-7770
Neighborhood: Eastwood
Website: www.nygiannispizza.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Pizza, Italian
Restaurant Hours: Monday to Thursday 11 AM - 9 PM, Friday to Saturday 11 AM - 10 PM, and via their Facebook page, now open Sundays 12 PM to 8 PM
Parking: On-Street, Private Lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Wi-Fi: Yes
Delivery: Yes (with a $10 minimum)
It's not too often Upstate New York gets to legitimately contend with something from our NYC neighbors. We know the story. They have better restaurants, better bagels, and even better pizz.... Wait. Could it be that Syracuse can now lay claim to great pizza in comparison to its New York City brethren?
Classic New York style pizza, as we've all known, originated and will always dredge up images of New York City pizzerias. There's a distinct look, style, and taste to the pizza that some even claim is in the water. Whatever the difference is, NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza, has now ushered in great, New York style pizza right here in Syracuse all the way from the borough of the Bronx.
With a location that's less than a block east of Shifty's, parking is available on-street or in the lot that's easily accessible from the entrance on Burnet Ave. When you've pulled into the parking lot with a sign that reads "Liberty Bakery / Gianni's Pizza", you've reached the right place.
Pizza is the main focus here as your toppings include traditional ones as well as spinach, broccoli, hot peppers, eggplant, and roasted red peppers. Their specialty pizzas all have clever Bronx-style nicknames like the "Grand Concourse" (the meat lovers), "Morris Park" (thick crust grandma), " White Plains" (white pizza), and "Botanical Garden" (veggie deluxe) among others. Aside from pizza, Gianni's also offers calzones, rolls, lunas, subs, wings (and dart wings), salads, and appetizers like garlic bread, jalapeno poppers, garlic knots, and breaded mushrooms. Visit the actual restaurant and you'll find a few desserts in the display case like cookies and half moons.
Inside is quite tiny with a few small, adequate tables to enjoy a slice or two. However, I opted for take-out on this occasion.
The order...
Medium Pepperoni Pizza: $13.22
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $15
Temperature: perfectly hot.
Style: it's thin crust, but not insanely thin. Enough to provide some give in the dough and partnered with a little bit of crunch on the bottom. The texture was great.
Cheese: perfectly layerd and while a bit greasy for some (I prefer a slightly greasy pizza anyway), the cheese had that classic gooey and stringy texture.
Topping: I love pepperoni and it was perfectly cooked here, but I'd think I'd opt for something else next time. Combined with the cheese, it encouraged a somewhat greasy pizza.
Pizza crust: get this - perfect. It's a bold statement coming from yours truly. For anyone that knows me personally, they know I've never been a fan of the outside ring of a pizza. It's not uncommon to see a plate of mine lined with the aftermath of several scattered crusts after downing a few slices. I usually don't enjoy crust because more often then not it tastes like cardboard and is a mere depressing shadow of its former glory. However, at Gianni's, even the crusts were consumed. The crust is that good. It's chewy on the inside, slightly charred and crunchy (but not overly crunchy) on the outside, and didn't dry out at all near the ends.
Sauce: absolutely amazing. Spicy, garlicy, and sweet. And while every other attribute of the pizza is good or above average, the sauce is pretty much the stand-out here.
Overall pizza reaction: outstanding.
My confession is that after visiting this place over the last several months, I have yet to order pizza from anywhere else inside Syracuse.
My second confession is that their tomato pie, although served warm, is awesome and would go out on a limb and say that it may rival anything in Utica, mainly because the sauce is that good.
What else can I say that The Pizza Geek, Chus On Chow, and Wandering Through Syracuse haven't already said? I'm hooked. I'm on the Gianni's bandwagon and can't get off. I have to give this 5 stars. Even more impressive is that it's served with very friendly service. I have no complaints whatsoever and their pizza is awesome. Probably some of the best I've ever had. I look forward to trying out some other things on the menu very, very soon.
And yes, taste the flava!
My rating of NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza:
Your rating of NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza:
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Initial Thoughts: Bittersweet Wine Bar & Desserts
I went to Bittersweet's opening night this past Saturday and I was impressed by the place. It's a classy atmosphere with a nice selection of wine on hand and offers plenty of mouth watering desserts. The location is at 121 W Fayette Street right next to Clinton Street Pub - right on the outskirts of Armory Square.
Among the dessert samples that I tried on Saturday were the NY Style Cheesecake, the Carmel Brownie Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, Death By Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Dream, and a few others which the names escape me. Every one of them was delicious (the Carmel Brownie Cheesecake was amazing and dare I say, perfect. I thought the NY Style may have been the weakest, but still very good none the less).
Aside from deserts and the 40 or so wine selections, Bittersweet also has milkshakes, ice cream floats, fondue, sandwiches, salads, coffees, and a small beer selection. Hours are 11 AM to 12 AM Mondays through Wednesdays, 11 AM to 2 AM Thursdays to Fridays, and 4 PM to 2 AM on Saturdays.
It should be a great addition to Downtown (assuming they can maintain a steady stream of business during the week, and not just on weekend nights). And really, my only two very, very small issues is that if they're aiming for a much more intimate vibe, I think the lighting should be much dimmer - it was a bit bright and the office-like ceiling panels stick out like sore thumbs, but maybe the lighting was higher for opening night - and I also kind of wish they had offered a few more NY State wines than what was on the wine menu (I only counted a handful), but it's not too big of a deal.
All and all: It's a great place and I really enjoyed it. It should be a welcomed addition to the local restaurant scene. Seems like an excellent spot to hit up after a great meal at any Downtown restaurant.
Among the dessert samples that I tried on Saturday were the NY Style Cheesecake, the Carmel Brownie Cheesecake, Carrot Cake, Death By Chocolate Cake, Peanut Butter Dream, and a few others which the names escape me. Every one of them was delicious (the Carmel Brownie Cheesecake was amazing and dare I say, perfect. I thought the NY Style may have been the weakest, but still very good none the less).
Aside from deserts and the 40 or so wine selections, Bittersweet also has milkshakes, ice cream floats, fondue, sandwiches, salads, coffees, and a small beer selection. Hours are 11 AM to 12 AM Mondays through Wednesdays, 11 AM to 2 AM Thursdays to Fridays, and 4 PM to 2 AM on Saturdays.
It should be a great addition to Downtown (assuming they can maintain a steady stream of business during the week, and not just on weekend nights). And really, my only two very, very small issues is that if they're aiming for a much more intimate vibe, I think the lighting should be much dimmer - it was a bit bright and the office-like ceiling panels stick out like sore thumbs, but maybe the lighting was higher for opening night - and I also kind of wish they had offered a few more NY State wines than what was on the wine menu (I only counted a handful), but it's not too big of a deal.
All and all: It's a great place and I really enjoyed it. It should be a welcomed addition to the local restaurant scene. Seems like an excellent spot to hit up after a great meal at any Downtown restaurant.
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