Review: Cosmos Pizza & Grill

Name: Cosmos Pizza & Grill
Address: 143 Marshall St, Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 472-6766
Neighborhood: University Hill (Marshall Street)
Website: www.cosmospizzagrill.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Diner Food, Traditional American, Pizza
Restaurant Hours: 7 AM to 1 AM Monday-Wednesday, 7 AM to 2 AM Thursday-Friday, 8 AM to 2 AM Saturday, 8 AM to 1 AM Sunday
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: Yes

Operated out of the same tiny location on Marshall Street since it opened in 1959, Cosmos has been providing late night eats and classic quick-to-order American cuisine to SU student, alumni, and Syracuse locals for decades. For lack of a better description, it's a diner on the inside complete with an open kitchen, small booths, a long counter, jukeboxes at the tables, and quirky colored walls.

The smell of homefries, onions, burgers, and pancakes on the grill is enough to get your stomach growling while you look over the huge list of options on the menu. Offerings at Cosmos include burgers, sandwiches, chicken wings (which can be ordered up to 100), salads, pastas, pizzas, subs, and breakfast options served anytime.

The order...

Vanilla Milkshake: $3.69
6 Hot Chicken Wings: $3.99
Small Mozzarella Pizza: $4.59
Total money spent with tax & tip: $15.50

Though advertised as so, the milkshake was neither "thick" nor "creamy". It did have a subtle sweet flavor, but it wasn't really mixed well and was very much on the watery side.

Pictured here are hot wings served with celery and blue cheese. And yes, I really need a real camera.

These certainly had that nice, classic hot sauce flavor, but the actual wings were meh. They were served extremely hot (temperature-wise) but the chicken tasted a bit old and dry. For what it's worth, the blue cheese was a little off-putting, bland, and had a similar consistency to ranch dressing. A little disappointing dunking a wing into not so great blue cheese and having nothing stick to it. I probably wouldn't get wings again.

Pictured below is Cosmos authentic New York style pizza prepared from fresh dough, special recipe sauce, and topped with 100% whole milk mozzarella and imported Romano cheeses.

The bite marks are mine. I was starving.

There was a lot of sauce and it could have used some more cheese, but I thought this was ok overall. I really enjoyed the thin, flat, and crunchy, almost slightly-charred crust (which is baked on bricks for that uniqueness) and the tangy tomato sauce, but the cheese was pretty bland. I'd get pizza again here, but would try out some other toppings.

Overall, it's a cool place that keeps it simple and has that unique throwback charm. And I'm sure that if I were an SU student, I'd love going there for late night eats. Good menu, value, and portions. Despite the mediocre food experience, I'd go back for breakfast or to try out some other things on the menu. I've heard great things about their Toasted Honey Buns (or THB as they're known - served with a dollop of butter or scoop of ice cream) and am kind of kicking myself for not ordering them, so if do end up going back, I'm most definitely trying them out.

My rating of Cosmos Pizza & Grill:

Review: AppeThaizing

Name: AppeThaizing
Address: 727 S Crouse Ave Suite 4, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: University Hill
Website: www.appethaizing.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Thai
Alcohol: Wine and Beer
Hours: Monday to Friday 11 AM - 9 PM, Saturday 4 PM - 9 PM
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: Yes

In a similar location to Funk 'N Waffles, AppeThaizing is located in the Campus Plaza alley off of South Crouse Ave, behind Marshall Street. It's the only Thai place near the SU campus and predominantly focuses on take out and delivery when school is in session.

The atmosphere in here is nice - warm and inviting and leans a little bit more to the casual side than elegant. Good color scheme and decor too. Though, I thought it felt a bit more like an upscale chain restaurant, than of a place that I'd recommend for a date. Near the front is a small counter area with stools that have a view of the open kitchen, a small waiting area for take out, and roughly 10 or 15 tables in the back area for seating. At the entrance is a flat screen TV cycling through various dishes on the menu. A little strange, but it was nice to have a visual picture of what some of the dishes looked like.

Overall, the menu is good and most likely has something to entice you if you like shrimp, chicken, beef, fish, or tofu. It's a small beverage selection with a few wines (mostly Australia and California) and beers, and very few other drink options.

The order...

Thai Iced Tea: $2.49
AppeThaizing Rolls: $5.99
Kow Soi: $12.99
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $26.19

Above is the Thai Iced Tea.

Sweet and creamy, but a bit too syrupy for my liking.

Pictured here are the AppeThaizing Rolls: Marinated Pork, Shrimp, Glass Noodle, Carrots, Bean Sprouts and Green Onions wrapped in thin, fried Rice Paper and served with AppeThaizing Carrot Sauce.

The fried rolls were very good: crunchy, thin, and delicious. I loved the ingredients and the carrot sauce (with peanuts) was sweet and tasty. Usually, I'm not big on fried rolls, but these were actually pretty good. I didn't see the point in the salad garnish though.

Pictured above is the Kow Soi: Red and Yellow Curry, with Napa Cabbage, Tamarind, Rice Noodles, and Shrimp.

Presentation-wise, I thought that this was a really interesting dish and even fun. I'll admit that it was a little intimidating at first to have a pile high of dry noodles up to my face, but once they sat in the sauce, they became settled and were a lot easier to eat. Further, the texture between the dry noodles and wet noodles was a really nice surprise. Taste-wise, was a different story. The curry sauce was very spicy and I liked the big pieces of tender shrimp, but the whole dish was very one-note. It was moderately flavorful at first, but nothing lingering during the aftertaste, which kind of made the whole thing taste very bland. And then when you mix a bunch of soggy noodles, it became semi-un-appethaizing. Thumbs down.

Some other notes...

- Service was friendly, but the waitress didn't give back any one dollar bills when change was asked for - which was quite arrogant.

- The floors and menus were dirty. I visited during the Taste of Syracuse weekend (when school is out) and was one of only 4 people in here, so I didn't see the reason for all the uncleanliness.

- AppeThaizing also offers catering, check the website for details.

All and all, I wouldn't rule it out for a visit back. I'd like to try out some other dishes - maybe the Pad Thai or something. Most reviews that I can find online rate this place as perfect or near perfect, but I find that kind of hard to believe. I mean, I'd like to be wrong, but there was nothing there in the main entree that implied that this place was exceptional. I guess I'm not quite a fan yet, but I'd go back and be open to changing that opinion if there was a dish or two that I liked.

My rating of AppeThaizing:

Review: Funk 'N Waffles

Name: Funk N' Waffles
Address: 727 S Crouse Ave Suite 8, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: University Hill
Website: www.funknwaffles.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Waffles, Sandwiches, Smoothies, Coffee
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 9 AM to 9 PM, Sunday 9 AM to 4 PM
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Delivery: Yes (available through TakeOut Xpress)

Opened in January of 2007, Funk 'N Waffles has been serving up coffee, smoothies, sandwiches, and most importantly great waffles to the Syracuse University crowd for two years now.

But hold your horses. Before you head over for waffles, you may need some directions first. Funk 'N Waffles is located in the Campus Plaza alley off of South Crouse Ave and behind Marshall Square Mall. Or better yet, walk north on Crouse Ave at Marshall Street, take a right after Bruegger's, walk to the end of the alley, go to the last building on the left and walk down the set of dangerous stairs underneath Chuck's Cafe.

The interior is set up a bit more like a funky, thrift store-esque cafe than a restaurant, with old tables, chairs, and a few couches with SU students lounging around in. It's a perfect spot to unwind, enjoy some free wi-fi, and listen to live music - with local bands and touring artists performing just about every night of the week.

For a small cafe, the menu is excellent with sandwich and panini options, made-to-order smoothies, Purity Ice cream direct from Ithaca, NY, and fresh tea and coffee (more info on their coffee is available here). But let's not forget the waffles. Creative combinations of savory and sweet waffles include the Pulled Pork Waffle (with pulled pork and Dinosaur Bar-B-Que sauce), the Brownie Waffle Sunday (brownie topped with two scoops of fresh whip cream), and for the vegans, the Aunt Miriam's Vegan Waffle (a secret family recipe and free of any animal products). And if you can't make up your mind about which type of waffle to get, just create your own. A few of the waffle topping options include strawberries, spinach, feta, walnuts, ice cream, fried chicken, and Nutella.

The order...

Pineapple Smoothie: $5
Buttermilk Waffle with Bananas and Blueberries: $5.50br> Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $10.50

Just a really great smoothie. Real fruit, no sugar, and the pineapple tasted incredibly fresh. I honestly do not order smoothies that often, but this was really tasty.

If that couldn't be topped, the waffle was amazing. A perfectly cooked buttermilk waffle. Nice and crispy on the outer edges and topped with powdered sugar. And even though I didn't ask for them, the blueberries on the inside of the waffle were a really nice surprise. I also couldn't get over how fresh the bananas and blueberries tasted. So flavorful. These were the best blueberries that I can ever remember having in winter. Fresh ingredients, especially fruits, are so critical if you want to put out good food and it's refreshing that Funk 'N Waffles knows this.

The table syrup was good too. Word on the street is that the syrup here is "vegan friendly". I'm not really sure what that entails exactly, but it was really good none the less. If this wasn't real maple syrup, then you could have fooled me because this is about as close as you can get to it without being the real thing. Though it didn't have that overly distinctive maple flavor, it had a really nice, light nutty flavor. And yes, I coated most of my waffle with it.

However, looking around I couldn't get past the incredibly poor and obvious interior design flaws: inadequate lighting, exposed wires, the cheap painting job, dingy tables and chairs, uncoordinated and chipped plates...

It begs the question: does it really matter if restaurant decor is incoherent? Hypothetically, the best Vietnamese food that you've ever had could be located in some dank, hole-in-the-wall. Wouldn't that great meal still warrant a 5-star rating despite its shoddy interior? Then again, you almost expect and prepare yourself for a rough aesthetic experience if you're eating a rustic cuisine - not when consuming smoothies and waffles. I think that I'm going to go with my gut on this one and dock Funk 'N Waffles a half a star because of chairs and tables that look like they were brought over from the local Salvation Army. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, the place was not clean. Dirty floors and syrupy tables. If that kind of stuff doesn't bother you then take it with a grain of salt. For me, the uncleanliness combined with the shanty feel of the surroundings made it a little confusing and maybe even disappointing - mainly because it's really cool in there (great location, great food, great vibe), but they could easily make it a flawless place instead of what looks like a poorly managed, run-down cafe. Though, my nitpicking didn't distract me from having a really great meal. I'll be going back again - maybe even to check out some live music too. All they really have to do is fix the interior up a bit.

So close, Funk 'N Waffles. So close.

My rating of Funk 'N Waffles:

Review: Faegan's Cafe & Pub

Name: Faegan's Cafe & Pub
Address: 734 S Crouse Ave, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: University Hill
Website: www.myspace.com/faegans
Cuisine: Traditional bar food, burgers, salads, soups & wraps
Alcohol: Full Bar
Parking: Street
Accepts credit cards: Yes

Judging by the comments on restaurant review sites across the Internet and by word of mouth alone, I had a feeling Faegan's was a better college bar than an eatery. I've been to Faegan's a few times over the years, though not for food and not when Syracuse University classes are in session (when it is notoriously packed with college students). I've always liked the pub-esque feel to it and the beer selection might be the best on The Hill. At any rate, I entered this place on a rainy, weekday afternoon for what would become my first meal here. The menu had relatively slim pickings, though whenever I'm in doubt, I'll stick to the basics. Although I don't remember the exact prices, here is the order...

Burger with grilled onions and a side of fries: $9
Pepsi (with 2 refills): $2

My burger was not really much to write home about. The grilled onions were really good but they become a little too overwhelming about halfway through eating my burger because there were so many. When making a great burger, I'm a strong believer that there needs to be a sensible balance to all of the ingredients (you can't have too much lettuce, for instance) and in this case, everything was out of whack - including there being way too much burger patty. My fries were pretty dry and, although warm, tasted like they hadn't really been cooked. The order was preceded by complimentary dark bread and butter. It was fine, but when I get bread and butter at a restaurant, I picture it served ahead of a meal that comes from a restaurant with a broader menu. I think Faegan's would be better off serving popcorn or something.

Some helpful tips...

There's some outdoor seating (weather permitting), but the atmosphere is much better inside.

Though I cannot vouch for it, watching a 'cuse game on one of the flat screens here or having a drink before an Orange game seems like something I'll have to try out sometime. And although it's quite the uphill walk, Faegan's is just a short walk away from the Carrier Dome.

Some things I was picky about...

My silverware was dirty and there were a few flies buzzing around the table. I'm probably reading into it too much, but if you have flies in your restaurant, chances are you have food lying around somewhere on the floor that hasn't been cleaned up in a few days.

Drink Specials...

Sunday is "Senior Sundays" with $2 Magic Hat drafts and $3 Long Island Iced Teas, Monday is $2 bottles, Tuesday is "World Beer Tour", Wednesday is "Flip Night" - Order a beer and the bartender will flip a quarter - call it correctly and your beer is free, Thursday is $2 on domestic bottles, drafts, and well mixers with $3 for imports and top shelf alcohol, Friday is Happy Hour with $1 off everything, and Saturday is $2 for bottles and well drinks.

So overall, I'd say that this place is excellent for a beer, but you can probably find better food with a short walk down Marshall St.

My rating of Faegan's Cafe & Pub: