Top 5 Mobile Apps for Syracuse Dining

The following are a list of free food and restaurant apps that are helpful for Syracuse dining. I tend to use these apps a few times a week depending on which one. It's amazing to me how fast this technology has taken off. About a year before this blog, I was one of a handful of people reviewing on Yelp.com. Now their mobile site generates new local reviews daily, which goes to show how fast things can change nowadays. So as a fair warning, this post may become out-dated very soon. Until then, here's my Top 5 Mobile Apps for Syracuse Dining...

1) Yelp
I tend to prefer the actual website over the mobile version, but Yelp is an extremely helpful restaurant app that lets users rate each place on a scale of 1 to 5 stars and allows other users vote on whether that review was "helpful", "funny", or "cool". Users can also announce "check-ins" (albeit pointless, in my opinion), give short and helpful tips, as well as send compliments and responses to other reviewers. It's widely used and a great resource for finding new restaurants in Syracuse and whatever other city you may happen to be in. There are some extremely useful reviews that in some cases, come loaded with information and in-the-know tips. However, it does come with its fair share of things you have to watch out for: owners, workers, and their friends shamelessly inflating their own restaurant ratings. Helpful tips? Be cautious of users with only 1 review under their belt, reviews that have 1 or 2 sentences, and words like "great", "amazing", and "best ever". Though to their credit, Yelp does a decent job of filtering these kinds of reviews and puts questionable ones onto a separate password-entry page.
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2) Urbanspoon
Urbanspoon is essentially part magic 8 ball and part slot machine. Enter your location (or lock-in your area, cuisine, and/or price range) and it reveals a nearby restaurant for you to try under the guidelines you specified in the style of a casino slot machine. It's a nice little feature if only for fun, curiosity, and going somewhere on a whim. You can also sort through pictures, make friends, browse what's nearby, and read mostly short, yet informative reviews of local restaurants. The Syracuse section could use some work as some restaurants are quite barren in the review department, but overall, it's a good restaurant app that seems to get better and better as more reviews and pictures come in.
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3) Food Spotting
This one has limited local representation due to Syracuse's small size, but it's still a great source for discovering new food. It's essentially a non-review, photo-style app that allows members to snap and upload their pictures. The thing I love about it is that it allows you to sift through and find pictures from nearby restaurants and sort them by proximity, date, or viewer rating. So instead of reading reviews, you can just scroll through the best pics of food that are practically within walking distance. I haven't done any uploading myself, but it's a cool little app and fun to uncover different kinds of menu items from around the city.
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4) Living Social
While there seems to be half a dozen coupon apps now, Living Social is great because it tends to feature very good deals going on in and around Syracuse. The gist is that you buy a voucher and receive anywhere from up to 90%-off. Additionally, if 3 of your friends each buy the same deal that day, you get yours for free (which in some cases can be a free $50 depending on the deal). I've seen a few local spots on here including Columbus Bakery and Smith's Restaurant Supply (which I bought a really nice cast-iron skillet with), so it's definitely worth checking out. Mind you, the deals change daily and do expire, so you almost have to remind yourself to keep checking in everyday.
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5) Seafood Watch
Seafood Watch is the ultimate seafood app complete with regional guides, updates on seafood and sushi quality, what the "best choice" is, what to "avoid", and information on how each variety is captured, raised, and shipped. It's definitely a very easy to use "green" app and worth checking out if you're concerned at all with treatment and health risks associated with any kind of seafood.
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Honorable Mention
Farmshed
This CNY-based app is great for finding local produce in and around Syracuse. Browse through directories of regional farms, CSAs, farmers markets, natural food stores, and locavore restaurants. Also, learn where to purchase the freshest produce like grass-fed beef (mmmm), free-range eggs, organic and sustainably grown fruits and vegetables, and locally produced wines, to name just a few products. Definitely a worthy addition to your iPhone if you live in Central New York, especially with summer right around the corner.
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Updates and Flickr

Hang in there. I'll try to get some new reviews up here soon. I've been having semi-serious sinus issues (say that 5 times fast) over the last couple of weeks, which has moderately affected both my sense of smell and taste. Kind of crucial when you run a food blog. Until then, I'll be putting up a few different non-review posts over the next week or so. I'll get some new restaurant reviews up soon after.

Vegetarian flatbread at Kitty Hoynes

Grilled steak tacos with salsa and guacamole at Tacolicious

Spinach and roasted red pepper pizza from NY Gianni's Bronx Style Pizza

To see more pictures of various Syracuse restaurants, view Pulled Into Syracuse's photostream on Flickr. As always, you can follow Pulled Into Syracuse on Facebook and on Twitter at @pulledintocuse.

Wing Tournament Highlights and The Eagle

The tourney was a lot of fun and I really hope people enjoyed it. I may do something similar next year or later this year with some other food. For now, I'm quite winged out and may have to take a break from their deliciousness for a bit. Here's some additional, final notes from the wing tournament...

Best meat: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que
Biggest wings: Nibsy's Pub
Best skin: Blarney Stone
Best Buffalo sauce: Nibsy's Pub
Best original sauce: (push) Dinosaur Bar-B-Que and Swallow's
Hottest wings: (push) Rosie's and Swallow's
Best celery and blue cheese: Dorian's Gourmet Pizza & Deli
Biggest surprise: Swallow's
Biggest let-down: Patsy's Pizza
Best neighborhood score: Tipperary Hill

Also, don't forget that you can read Pulled Into Syracuse in alternating issues of The Eagle newspaper as well as online at eaglenewsonline.com

2011 Wing Tournament: Final Four & Championship

We've come a long way in picking out the best chicken wings here at Pulled Into Syracuse. On my estimation, 180 wings have been consumed in an 8 week span. Needless to say, I'm winged out for the time being. There were some surprises along the way, along with a few disappointments, but 'cuse should be proud of its chicken wing notoriety. More than half of the places seeded in the tournament scored above average in the tallied scores and I've even found a few establishments that I'm looking forward to going back to and getting my face and fingers messy again.

Without further ado, here's how the rest of the 2011 City Wing Tournament shook out...

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2011 Final Four: Downtown Winner vs. Northside / Eastwood Winner

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's "Wango Tango" wings
vs.
Change of Pace's "Hot / Extra Crispy" wings<

The Downtown vs. the Northside/Eastwood match-up pitted Dinosaur's Wango Tango wings against Change of Pace's hot and extra crispy wings. Change of Pace's wings are very good and despite not being outstanding or noteworthy of being extra crispy on this occasion, come coated in a very hot, tasty, and classic Buffalo sauce. It's no match for Dino's Wango Tango though. Dinosaur boasts the most tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken meat of all the contestants with deliciously crispy wings that come slathered in a sweet, sassy, and garlicy sauce that has the perfect mouth-tingling kick. No one likes to see such a lop-sided score in the Final Four, but the wings at Dinosaur give you no choice.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's "Wango Tango" wings: 6
Change of Pace's "Hot / Extra Crispy" wings: 0

Winner: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

***

2011 Final Four: Tipperary Hill Winner vs. Southside / SU Hill Winner

Swallow's "Hot" wings
vs.
Nibsy's Pub's "Hot" wings

Another tough battle for Nibsy's and the first real test for Swallow's in a match-up that could've gone either way. There were four categories in which both contestants were evenly matched and near perfect: meat, flavor, heat, balance, and even celery and blue cheese. There were even a few toss-ups that could've gone either way making this by far the most difficult match-up to find a clear-cut winner. Both are winners in my mind and it's a shame to have to cut one. In the end, Nibsy's did have that classic taste that you want from chicken wings and the pool of delicious Buffalo sauce lying in the bottom of the bowl was beyond appetizing for dipping, but Swallow's took the battle with perfect wings covered in a mouth watering yet unorthodox sauce highlighted by some of the hottest wings in the tournament. Technically, it may not be a Buffalo sauce, but it's spicy, garlicy, and finger-licking delicious. Congrats, Swallow's. You've certainly earned your spot in the championship.

Swallow's "Hot" wings: 2
Nibsy's Pub's "Hot" wings: 1

Winner: Swallow's

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2011 Wing Tournament: Championship Game

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's "Wango Tango" wings
vs.
Swallow's "Hot" wings

The first ever 2011 City Wing Tournament Championship was a good battle for sure. Dino was given a run for its money by Swallow's, who along with their tasty and original hot sauce, had wings that were of good size and coated nicely. However, Dinosaur's Wango Tango wings were flawless and had a perfect score in every category in the tournament. Give credit where credit is due to Swallow's. They were the only seed all along to give Dinosaur a real fight. But it wasn't enough to surpass Dino's smokey hot sauce and chicken wings that were of the best quality in the tournament. If you're a purist in your wing beliefs, crown Nibsy's. If you're a slight purist looking for something a little different, crown Swallow's. But if you're looking for the best chicken wings in Syracuse, look no further than the Wango Tango wings at Dinosaur-Bar-B-Que.

Dinosaur Bar-B-Que's "Wango Tango" wings: 3
Swallow's "Hot" wings: 2

Winner: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que

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Congratulations, to Dinosaur Bar-B-Que with their outstanding Wango Tango Wings and earns the title of the first ever City Wing Champion here at Pulled Into Syracuse. Thanks to all the contestants for putting out great wings!

Downtown bracket results
Northside / Eastwood bracket results
Tipperary Hill bracket results
Southside / SU Hill bracket results

2011 City Wing Tournament Bracket

2011 Wing Tournament: Southside / SU Hill Results

The fourth and final regional bracket of the tournament encompassing the Southside, Univeristy Hill, and Westcott neighborhoods pits Swallow's against Dorian's Gourmet Pizza & Deli and Varsity Pizza against Chuck's Cafe. For a list of qualifying teams, how the bracket looks, and tournament rules, click here.

Southside / SU Hill Opening Round: Game 1
(1) Swallow's "Hot" wings: 5
(4) Dorian's Gourmet Pizza & Deli's "Hot" wings: 1

This match-up featured two much anticipated wings joints going head-to-head. Swallow's (pictured left), which is a small tavern on South Ave that many people including myself may have heard of but have never ventured to before, brought some serious competition to the tournament with their hot wings. The standout, without a doubt, is their signature hot sauce which blends a bit of peppery spice, garlic, classic Buffalo sauce, and even a hint of an Asian chili sauce mixed in. Not only were they substantially hot, but it's a sauce I had never tasted before and was certainly a welcomed surprise. Dorian's, on the other hand (pictured right), were a slight let-down. Although the meaty wings were a good size and packed a punch in the heat department, its classic hot sauce flavor lacked depth, and more critically, their extremely soggy skins made them unappetizing after about half a dozen. While their tangy and chunky blue cheese and crispy celery was some of the best in the tournament, the wings themselves were no match for Swallow's. My mouth may have remained on fire and the sauce may not be classified as Buffalo despite looking like it was, but Swallow's easily took the match-up with tender wings, perfectly crispy skins, and a surprisingly bold and original flavor.

Winner: Swallow's

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Southside / SU Hill Opening Round: Game 2
(2) Varsity Pizza's "Hot" wings: 4
(3) Chuck's Cafe's "Hot" wings: 3

Next up is Varsity Pizza (pictured left) taking on Chuck's Cafe (pictured right) in what would turn out to be a less than exhilarating match-up. Chuck's hot wings didn't have much going for them: a thin skin with no crunch, no heat (some of the mildest in the tournament), and a flavor that seemed nonexistent. While its one redeeming quality was its jumbo-style wings, Varsity's wings were able to pick up points where Chuck's could not with good chicken meat and a medium heat. Despite Varsity winning 4-3, I wasn't too keen on the flavor of the sauce, which was a bit thicker than usual Buffalo sauce, and they also suffered the same fate as Dorian's with a slight sponginess to them. While both Varsity and Chuck's may have been underwhelming, Varsity was able to move forward and take on Swallow's in the Southside / SU Hill Championship Game.

Winner: Varsity Pizza

***

Southside / SU Hill Championship Game
(1) Swallow's "Hot" wings: 5
(2) Varsity Pizza's "Hot" wings: 0

Even though Swallow's wings were under-matched, it wouldn't take much for them to pull out a win in this match-up. Varsity's meat and wing size were above average and on par with Swallow's, but suffered a shutout in every other category. It's hard to fault Swallow's in any aspect with a great amount of uniquely flavorful sauce, peppery garlic wings that were some of the hottest in the tournament, excellent crispness, and an separate bin filled with chunky blue cheese and big pieces of fresh celery. No battle in this one. Swallow's wins hands down with completely original, spicy, and superior all-around wings and easily deserve the title of best wings in this bracket.

Winner and champion of the Southside / SU Hill bracket: Swallow's

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That leaves four places remaining: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que taking on Change of Pace and Nibsy's Pub taking on Swallow's with the winners advancing to the championship game. It should be a tight race. I'll put an actual bracket up this week on the blog with updated brackets and results. Make sure to check for the Final Four results and Pulled Into Syracuse's 2011 City Wing Tournament Champion which will be crowned this Friday.

Wing Tournament Update

Apparently, the Ponchito's location in The Valley does not serve wings (though I did satisfy my hunger with a tasty chicken burrito on my visit instead). I was really looking forward to having their Dr. Pepper BBQ wings in the 2011 Wing Tournament, but it looks like I'll have to try them separately at the Lyncourt location some other time. I'll be substituting Dorian's Gourmet Pizza & Deli's wings in their place instead and they'll be taking on Swallow's in the Southside / University Hill bracket.

For Final Four winners of the three brackets, click here: Downtown, Northside / Eastwood, and Tipperary Hill