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: Bill's Inn Fish Fry

Name: Bill's Inn Fish Fry
Address: 401 W Seneca Turnpike, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: South Valley
Website: www.billsinn.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: Seafood, Traditional American, Deli
Restaurant Hours: Monday to Thursday 10:30 AM - 9 PM, Friday 10:30 AM - 10 PM, Saturday 11:30 AM - 8 PM
Parking: Private Lot
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Take-out: Yes

Since its old location on Salina Street to its current location on West Seneca Turnpike, Bill's Inn Fish Fry has been providing fried fish to Syracusans since 1927. Located in the South Valley, Bill's is the city's first and oldest fish fry and has been in operation for over 80 years.

The building itself is right on the corner of Seneca Turnpike and Valley Drive at the Turnpike Center shopping plaza. There's parking spots out front and some tables set up outside which makes it easy for carry-out or enjoying a meal outdoors. For the most part, it's a family-friendly environment - especially with Gannon's Isle right around the corner. It seems like a great spot to grab dinner and then head over for ice cream afterwards.

The interior is decent - cramped, but not uncomfortable. It's pretty much what you would expect from a fish fry: a few tables, random neighborhood happenings and pictures adorning the walls, a giant menu over the counter, and the deep fryers in plain sight.

The menu at Bill's is completely mouth-watering and includes items like shrimp cocktail, calamari, chili, loaded fries, fried oysters, scallops, lobster tail, homemade desserts, and their self-proclaimed 1/2 pound burger. As much as I wanted to try everything on the menu, I had to go with something traditional...

The order...

Chocolate Milk: $1.50
Haddock Sandwich w/ Fries: $6.25
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $10

The Haddock sandwich was pretty good. The fish wasn't as tender as I would have liked it, but the breading was light and crunchy (they fry their seafood here in peanut oil which I think gave it that light taste - it was a nice change from the ordinary). The bun was slightly grilled and airy. Overall, it was a good sandwich. It didn't taste greasy or heavy which was a nice surprise. The fresh cut fries were tasty, but I thought they were a tad over-cooked as they had a little bit too much crunch. And it ain't fish and chips if you don't put malt vinegar on there. Bravo for Bill's having this available.

Overall, the fish dinner was good - a large portion and generally inexpensive. For the purposes of nostalgia, it was a really nice dining experience. I was here with my dad who grew up in the neighborhood in the early 50's, so I think it was nice for him to take a trip down memory lane with his youngest son. I'd go back to Bill's again and try some other food if I happen to be in the neighborhood. A lot of it sounded tasty on the menu. However, there's some other fish places in the city that I'd like to try out before returning here for one.

My rating of Bill's Inn Fish Fry:

Review: Ambrosia

Name: Ambrosia
Address: 201 Walton St, Syracuse, NY
Neighborhood: Downtown (Armory Square)
Website: www.ambrosia201.com
Menu: View Menu
Cuisine: New American, Asian Fusion, Sushi
Alcohol: Full Bar
Restaurant Hours: Monday to Saturday 5 PM - 10 PM
Bar Hours: Friday to Saturday 5 PM - 2 AM
Parking: On-Street
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes (available through TakeOut Xpress)

I arrived at Ambrosia on a humid evening around 6 PM. Parking was easy as I found rock star parking less than a block away on S Franklin Street. Amrosia has an absolutely superb location: directly on the corner of Franklin and Walton Streets overlooking the busiest intersection in Armory Square. There's some tables outside as you walk to the doors, but this was way too hot of a day to be eating outside. There's two entrances upon entering: one for the restaurant, bar, sushi lounge, and banquet area, and the other entrance for the nightclub. The sushi lounge can seat 40 and hold 70 for cocktails and oeuvres and the banquet room can seat 120 or hold 300 for parties and receptions. As for the restaurant interior, it's very nice: hip decor, subtle lighting, old hardwood floors, and a very sleek looking bar area. And with its big windows lining the exterior, you really get an outstanding view of Armory Square. Overall, I really liked the interior of the place. It borders on the trendy and pretentious side, but it's a nice change of pace from other Syracuse restaurants.

Other observations and notes...

- It seems like it would be a great place to host a business meeting or lunch

- Sushi is half-price on Thursdays.

- Happy hour is Fridays from 5 PM to 8 PM.

- The place was generally very clean, with the exception of my soy sauce bottle being extremely dusty.

As for the menus, the drinks menu looked really great. A lot of creative cocktails and twists on martinis. Though, there were no prices listed next to them (which is a pet peeve of mine).

The menu itself is predominantly modern American cuisine with a wide range of sushi varieties. The sushi portion was a little overwhelming. A lot of creative pieces, but I think the amount of offerings could be widdled down quite a bit. When you start labelling things as "#85" and "#127", I think the numbering system ends up doing your place more harm than good. And the appetizer and entree menu portion looked good. A decent selection of main entrees like pan roasted duck breast, grilled swordfish, and steaks, Though I think they could cut down on the sushi offerings and offer more than just nine appetizer options. Some of them even seemed a bit unorthodox (grilled cheese, fried mozzarella...). At any rate...

The order...

Mojito: $7
Lobster & Goat Cheese Rangoons: $14
Maki Mono Godzilla Roll: $15
Total Money Spent with Tax & Tip: $42

Pictured above on the upper left is the Mojito (lime, mint, sugar, citrus rum, and club soda)

Not only was this drink not strong, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this it wasn't properly mixed as well. It didn't taste muddled (it was missing those little pieces of mint that float around). It was sweet and all, which I'm sure was the "citrus rum", but it was missing that mojito-flavor. And you can tell a good mojito once it hits your lips - especially when it's 90 degrees outside. I can appreciate it for its creativity, but I was really hoping that this would be a bit more refreshing than what it was.

Also above is the Lobster & Goat Cheese Rangoons, served with sweet chili glaze.

This sounded delicious on the menu, but it really wasn't. They tasted like they were fried, left out for some time, and then fried again (they were extremely crunchy and dark-colored which leads me to believe that they were refried right before serving. You can tell by the picture that they are all dark save for the one on the end). The cheese was bland and didn't have that punch that goat cheese has and the chili glaze was relatively uninspiring and tasted like duck sauce from out of the packets of a Chinese restaurant. The lobster meat itself was the only thing it had going for it: plump and juicy pieces that tasted like the sea.

Pictured here is the Godzilla Roll: Yellowtail, scallions, kani kama, avocado, panko encrusted and flash fried, rolled with wasabi tobikko and sesame seeds.

There were a lot of ingredients here, but I thought they all blended together nicely and it looked very colorful on the plate. It was a decent piece of sushi, but it was way too large of a portion size. (It looks fairly deceiving on the plate). I could barely pick a piece up with chopsticks, let alone fit it in my mouth. The ingredients were good, but it all tasted a little dry.

All and all, Ambrosia's food was relatively mediocre. The portions and plating were both great, but the food didn't give me that "wow" feeling that I was expecting. It was all generally bland.

Some other notes...

- The music that was playing felt more like 9 o'clock music instead of 6 o'clock music. Something a little more toned down would have been more appropriate rather than drum and bass.

- There is a dress code. I've read that the policy is "no jeans and no hoodies" though I could be mistaken. I also have no idea at what hour the code goes into effect. There was no bouncer at the door when I visited, so I was fine with a black tee and shorts. But it's just a heads up if you plan on eating there later in the evening that it might be wise to stay within the dress code.

- Service was slow. It may have been a fluke thing, but it took forever to order, get drinks, and get the check.

- If you're drinking at the bar, you have to spend more than $15 on drinks in order to get your card back.

I've read a bunch of reviews online that deal with a snotty waitress staff, rude bouncers, and a strictly and unfairly enforced dress-code. Although my visit was only for the restaurant and not the nightclub, I didn't encounter any of these problems. However, this was during the evening, so perhaps the rules change once the sun goes down and the bridge and tunnel kids start showing up. I'm sure the dress requirements get stricter and the wait staff gets a shorter and shorter fuse as the hours go on. They probably don't want to have a bunch of drunk 20-somethings wandering around inside the restaurant while people are eating.

Some improvements that I would consider incorporating: more refined Asian appetizers (like a few elegant, Asian-style soups for instance), quicker service, more appropriate mood music during earlier dining hours, separate entrances for the club and for the restaurant, and an organized and easier to read sushi menu.

For the quality of food, I thought it was overpriced. It's too expensive to warrant another trip back anytime soon. However, despite its faults, Amrbosia did have good things going for it: a hip atmosphere, an interesting sushi menu, creative drinks, good sized portions, and it's located at the quintessential spot in Syracuse's most desirable neighborhood. They have their niche: trendy, Asian-style dining in the heart of Amory Square. I don't know when I'll be going back again. If I do, it would more than likely be for cocktails and half-priced sushi on Thursday evenings.

My rating of Ambrosia: