Crawfish

I had crawfish for the first time last weekend at the Crawfish Fest in Clinton Square. They've always kind of freaked me out because it basically looks like people are eating really large red insects, but I figured it was about time to give them a shot for real ("Shot for real" meaning NOT at a Chinese buffet).

Overall, I was surprised at how good they were. Fairly spicy and flavorful. They don't necessarily taste like catfish, but they're within that same kind of realm. And yes, I went so far as to suck the heads out. It looks gross as all hell in there and I'll refrain from posting a picture online, but there was actually a ton of flavor inside.

Crawdads aren't something I'd normally seek out - even after trying them now. It strikes me as more of a novelty thing when they're by themselves. It was a nice little appetizer though (split 3-ways between a few of my buddies). The corn and potato were fine, but the boiled garlic was awesome and nice to pick at after the meal was over.

I'd get them again, but have no problem waiting until next year to do so. 'Til then, sign me up as a shrimp lover and a crawfish liker.

Pasta's Daily Bread

If you've never had it, you should probably go now. Pasta's stretch bread along with their spicy hot tomato oil is without a doubt one of my favorite foods to eat in Syracuse. My typically reaction after my first bite is usually not of how amazing it is (and it is amazing), but why on Earth I had to wait so long between my this and my last visit. You can find these two delectable things, as well as other goodies like raisin pecan bread, foccacias, cheeses, homemade pastas and sauces at Pasta's Daily Bread in Armory Square, located across the street from Pastabilities. Bonus: I've got chunks of day-old stretch bread in the freezer stored for the next time I want to make croutons. Double Bonus: I've also found that their spicy tomato oil is an excellent addition for pizza sauce. More info on hours, location, and menu can be found on their website at www.pastabilities.com/bakery.htm.

Review: Byblos Mediterranean Cafe

Name: Byblos Mediterranean Cafe
Address: 233 N Clinton St Syracuse, NY
Phone: 315-378-3333
Neighborhood: Downtown
Website: www.byblossyr.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Lebanese, Mediterranean
Restaurant Hours: Tuesday to Friday 10 AM - 3 PM, 4:30 PM - 9 PM, Saturday 11:30 AM - 9 PM
Parking: On-street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Takes Reservations: No
Take-Out: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes (for dine-in)
Outdoor Seating: Yes (weather permitting)
Delivery: Yes ($2 delivery charge, $25 minimum)

Welcome to Byblos Mediterranean Cafe, Syracuse's 1st Lebanese restaurant. A fairly new addition to Downtown's growing and diverse dining scene, Byblos is a family owned and operated business that proudly serves authentic and homemade Lebanese and Mediterranean specialties.

Since opening in the Spring of 2010, Byblos unique-to-the-region food has been a popular spot for take-out with the Downtown lunch crowd and has been featured at the Taste of Syracuse as well as 9 WSYR's program, Bridge Street.

The restaurant sits along North Clinton Street next to Darwin and across the street from the Post Standard building. The owners have done a wonderful job in refurbishing the building (before and after pics) and it's spruced up the stretch of buildings and quaintness of the street quite a bit.

What's inside? A clean and tiny little cafe where you can find a large variety of homemade and authentic delicacies like baba ghanuj, hummus, falafel, spanakopita, kibbeh, kabobs, and fattoush, as well as Turkish coffee, herbal teas, and yogurt drinks. There's also some lesser traditional but just as delectable offerings on the menu like Mediterranean-style pizzas, soups, salads, and pita wraps.

Beyond that, they do made-to-order food here too (kibbeh nayyeh, for example), so if you are familiar with Lebanese cuisine and don't see it on the menu, Byblos may still have what you're looking for.

Mind you, it's tiny inside. Maybe 3 small tables consisting of about 8 seats total, so it's best to call if you have a large or even medium sized group. If you're one of a few people there, as I was on this occasion, it's fairly cozy and homey, but I could imagine it being a different story if the room was busy or even half full. Take-out is a little more common, but dine-in is also an option (there's table service if you go that route). Bottom line: plan ahead if you go during typical dinning hours. If the weather is warm (which if this past "Winter" was any indication, should be quite often), a few tables are available outside along the street too.

The order...

Gyro entree w/ grape leaves, tabbouleh, and baklava: $16.99
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $20

Their dining week menu roped me in.

Clockwise from the bottom: Kronos gyro meat served over rice pilaf with a side of tzatziki sauce, grape leaves, tabbouleh, baklava, and pita triangles.

Not necessarily a traditional gyro (which is on the menu - I've had that here before and it was awesome), the gyro entree is more of a build-your-own style gyro. I loved it. Especially the customization. Layering thin strips of juicy meat with extra-soft rice on top of pita pieces and topping it all off with creamy tzatziki sauce was an excellent and even fun entree. Hidden in the picture, but not to go unnoticed was their rice pilaf which was outstanding: buttery, fluffy, and contained tiny bits of peach colored vermicelli noodles. Delicious even on its own.

Homemade grape leaves were a new try for me. I opted for the "meatless" over the ground lamb. It had a nice flavor and spiciness with rice and chopped herbs snugly rolled inside warm, steamed grape leaves. For anyone who's been following this blog, you know that I can be overly picky sometimes. That being said, I suppose I couldn't get around the texture of these. A little too wet and leafy for me. Good flavor, but I don't know if they're my thing. Several reviewers online have raved about them, so take my first impression with a tiny grain of salt.

Their tabbouleh was outstanding and really brightened up the meal - both visually and flavor-wise. It's a minced salad of sorts containing parsley, cracked wheat, tomatoes, onions, and mint in an extra-virgin olive oil and lemon juice dressing. I thought it may have been a tad overly lemony for my liking, but none the less, it was incredibly fresh, very delicious, and a great side salad for the meal.

Lastly, if that wasn't enough, the baklava stole the show. Easily one of the best desserts I've had in a while. Flaky layers of phyllo dough stuffed with crunchy walnuts and drizzled with a sweet honey-based syrup. It was phenomenal. Dare I say, despite everything else in the order being very good, I could just go back for their baklava over and over again and be totally happy.

Additional notes...

- Free Wi-Fi

- Their current special, Shawarma, a Levantine Arab mean preparation, is available in wraps and as an entree. More info here.

- The restaurant gets a lot of ingredients from Samir's Imported Foods on E Genesee St as well as from family gardens during the summer.

- For catering details, click here.

- I did spy a hookah, but if you're curious about it, you may want to inquire within.

For a tiny sliver of Downtown that contains Darwin, Lao Village, Dinosaur, and Byblos, you get an outstanding range of cuisines with great food all within a few feet from one another. It's definitely an area that Syracusans should be proud of and Byblos only enriches that.

Everything tasted fresh, homemade, and most importantly: healthy. Your taste buds will notice it within the first bite. There's plenty of the menu to enjoy if you new or are experienced with Lebanese cuisine. And if you're a vegetarian, I'd rank it fairly high as one of the better vegetarian-friendly places in Syracuse.

Again, it may be a small place, but who's going to worry when you have such fresh, authentic, and delicious food in front of you.

My rating of Byblos Mediterranean Cafe:

Review: OC's Fat Boy BBQ

Name: OC's Fat Boy BBQ
Address: 317 N Salina St Syracuse, NY
Phone: (315) 435-2453
Neighborhood: Near Northeast
Website: www.ocssportsbar.com
Menu: View menu
Cuisine: Barbecue, Pizza, Calzones, Standard Bar-Fare
Kitchen Hours: Monday to Saturday 11 AM - 12 AM
Bar Hours: Monday to Saturday 11 AM to close
Parking: On-street, Private Lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Takes Reservations: No
Take-Out: Yes
Delivery: Yes

Yes, there is barbecue joint just north of Clinton Square. And no, I am not at Dinosaur Bar-B-Que. It's OC's Fat Boy BBQ.

I was finally able to check this place out recently. It's been on my "to go to" list for a few years now and figured during an SU game was as good as any time to stop in for some food and a beer.

OC's is situated on North Salina Street just a few blocks away from Vinomania and Columbus Baking Co and across the street from Thanos Imported Grocery and Barbieri's Italian Diner.

While the outside of this old, 4-story brick building could probably use a facelift, the inside was awesome. It's a classic dive bar: old wooden flooring, neon signs in the window, tin ceilings, tables and cocktail tables in the back room near the kitchen and ordering station, framed pictures all over the walls, SU memorabilia hanging up, and about 8 or so TVs scattered around the place. It's an excellent dive. And judging by the fact that I've heard literally nothing about this place since living in 'cuse for about 6 years, I'd say it's a very underrated one, at that. Especially for catching a game on TV.

There's an ordering station near the kitchen with a big chalkboard overhead displaying everything on the menu. The menu is huge (really huge), so I'll have to summarize. Ready?

Specialty pizzas, calzones, wings, pastas (stuffed shells, chicken riggies, baked ziti, lasagna...), desserts (deep fried oreos, frosted M&M brownies...), fish diner on Fridays, salads, 1/2 pound burgers, wraps, hot and cold subs, appetizers (burritos, garlic knots, nachos, loaded fries...), barbecue dishes (NY strip steak, pulled pork, bbq chicken...), and entree sides (mac and cheese, tomato and cucumber salad, roasted potatoes, chili...). Give their menu a gander for a whole list.

Plenty of things looked intriguing, but I was there to get a taste of their barbecue.

The order...

Blue Moon: $4.50
BBQ Lovers Fiesta: $13.95
Total amount with tax and tip: $22

Before the meal, the waitress brought over a few plastic squirt bottles of their house-made sauces. There was their original (classic barbecue style, but a tad ketchupy for my liking), the Louisiana (sweet and spicy), the Chipotle (spicy and smoky), and Blazzing (peppery, oniony, and very spicy with a hint of cilantro). The Blazzing was probably my favorite as it had the most flavor, followed by the Louisiana.

Pictured above is the BBQ Lovers Fiesta: pulled pork, beef brisket, 1/4 rack of ribs, coleslaw, baked beans, and cornbread.

The standout for me were the ribs. I'm normally not a rib guy, but these were very good. They weren't fall-off-the-bone style, but they were a bit more tough and meaty. Some of the house sauces made an excellent (and pleasantly messy) combo when drizzled on top.

Also good was the pulled pork, which was sweet and had some nice flavor in there with all the excess fat.

The thinly sliced brisket was different. I'm used to a dry and smoked brisket and this was more like braised beef with a thick barbecue sauce. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I was expecting. I didn't shy away from it, as it was juicy and flavorful, but I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it brisket in the traditional sense.

The sides were so-so. The cornbread was moist and dense and had a nice texture, but was served a bit on the cold side. Coleslaw was fresh and crunchy, but kind of overly dressed for my liking (I prefer a lower ratio of mayo to cabbage, but it was still tasty, none the less). And I'm fairly certain that the baked beans were of the canned variety with a hefty squirting of their original BBQ sauce in the middle of it. Normally I'd find this strange, but it tasted just like the brand I usually get at the grocery store and one that I'm kind of partial to, so I suppose I can't criticize too much.

Other notes...

- "League night" for darts seemed a little intense on this night. There's about 2 or 3 boards here. If you like darts, I'd recommend it (it's electronic though).

- No free water. Bottled water only.

- Beer selection was good. About 15 drafts, if I recall correctly. Mostly standard stuff you'd find in upstate NY bars.

- The bartenders had nice ta tas were very friendly and helpful with the menu and any questions. This guy had no complains in being called "babe" and "sweetie". It's the little things that count sometimes.

- OC's does catering and also delivers.

- Parking is on-street, but there's also a private lot for OC's customers across the street next to Thanos.

Overall, I liked their sauces and the dive bar atmosphere the best. As of right now, I'd opt for a beer over food, but there's plenty on the menu to test out, so I'll be back again to give some other stuff a try for next time. And as you can tell, there's a lot there to think about ordering for the next visit.

If you're looking for a change of scenery, are into dive bars, or looking for a good place to catch a game, I'd say give OC's a shot.

My rating of OC's Fat Boy BBQ:

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:

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: