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Food Lovers in Finger Lakes

05/01/2009

Source: Lyn Dobrin, AAA

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The nation is finally catching up with the Finger Lakes when it comes to local, sustainable and organic agriculture and cuisine. I spent a week up and down the lakes-hardly enough time to experience the bounty of the region but enough to whet my appetite and know I'd come back for more.

A good starting place is the New York Wine & Culinary Center (www.nywcc.com) at the northern tip of Lake Canandaigua. The center's dining room showcases New York ingredients and wine. At their hands-on kitchen, where various classes are offered, I enjoyed a "cooking with fresh herbs" class where I got to meet others and eat the delicious food we all prepared.

At the southern tip of this lake in Naples is Monica's Pies, where pies are made with Concord grapes. In addition to fresh pies, you can buy ready-to-mix piecrust and the filling in a jar to bring home. Each year at the Naples Grape Festival (this year, September 26-27; www.naplesgrapefest.org), Monica's sells around 2,000 fresh pies. Others make grape pies, but Monica's are the only ones available year-round.

Mountain Rise Granola is another area food business that started in a home. Glenn and Marcia Litwiller have been making their special chunky organic granola in Naples for 11 years. The Litwillers prepare their own wheatberries and hand-make the granola.

On Route 20, from Canandaigua to Geneva, is the family-owned Red Jacket Orchards, which marked its 50th anniversary last year. Red Jacket's fruits and juices have won accolades from their customers, with Zagat reviewers calling the juices the "best on the planet." Red Jacket is the largest grower in the east of apricots, all of which are worthy of a still-life painting: Bright red a d orange and barely resembling their pale, less heartycousins from warmer climes.

A word about wine. There are vineyards everywhere-they've been growing grapes there since the 1800s. Wherever you stop, you'll have the opportunity to sample the bounty of the region, which is particularly renowned for its Rieslings, and speak with knowledgeable winemakers who are passionate about their craft. There are over 100 wineries (it's the third largest wine-producing area in the country). Following the various wine trails makes for a lovely afternoon. If you're looking for great beer, try Ithaca Beer. The brew from this 10-year-old company was judged best in New York by Tap New York, a beer festival held each April. When you get to Syracuse, try the craft beers at Middle Ages Brewing Co.

At the southern end of Cayuga Lake is Ithaca, the home of one of the most influential restaurants in America-Moosewood. The primarily vegetarian café was opened in 1973, at a time, says one of the original owners, Susan Harville, "when people couldn't pronounce ‘quiche' and yoghurt was promoted as a weird food eaten by Russian peasants." Moosewood has helped to make vegetarianism mainstream with their good food and plethora of popular cookbooks.

Those looking for an interesting beverage are delighted with the "farmers'- market cocktails" of Felicia's Atomic Lounge, also in Ithaca. There, local produce is combined with a simple syrup and alcohol, thus creating refreshing drinks like sage with Riesling, mint mohito and gin and vodka with cucumber. Speaking of farmers' markets, Ithaca has one that is well worth visiting. At the water's edge, this covered market features the goods of numerous local vendors. You can eat all day long from the likes of The Daily Soup, Macro Mama, Curry in a Hurry and Dennis Homemade Ice Cream. There's lots of Asian food in Ithaca, perhaps having to do with the fact that the city is one of the designated cities of sanctuary for Tibetans.

The lovely village of Skaneateles is on a lake of the same name, with much to see, do and eat. Lunch outdoors at Doug's Fish Fry filled me up with an abundance of flaky fish, great fries and smooth cole slaw, but I still had room for an elegant dinner at Joelle's French Bistro, a topnotch restaurant. Before leaving town I stopped at the Chocolate Pizza Company to pick up one of their delicious dark chocolate "pizzas" and some Paul DeLima coffee at the Patisserie, just behind the historic 200-year-old Sherwood Inn. Later I stopped at the DeLima Factory in Cicero for a tour of the coffee-brewing process.

My ultimate eating pig-out was in the Syracuse area. Heid's of Liverpool, established in 1917, is justifiably appreciated for their hotdogs and baked beans. And then there's Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, started in 1983 by three bikers. Eating Well magazine recently gave top awards to their Sensuous Slathering Sauce.

I was even given a bit of Syracuse to take home with me-a bag of small white potatoes with a package of salt, picked up at the area's regional market. Salt potatoes emerged from the area's long history as a site of salt production in Onondaga Lake's salt springs. I was told to boil the potatoes and salt together in water and then serve with lots of melted butter. I did.