Archive: Around Town

“It was a dark and stormy night”……….

OOPs, I think that one has already been used, but Oct.22 WAS a very dark and stormy night and the trip to Syracuse on Rt. 81 was pretty dicey in spots after a long day at work. We had been summoned to a surprise birthday dinner for our much loved daughter by marriage, Eileen. While that is reason enough, the fact that Jim is Irish and the pub was “Kitty Hoyne’s” at 301 Fayette St. in downtown Syracuse made it a must, even on a rainy Thursday.

Parking and travel through Syracuse right now can be a challenge as they try to get the road work finished before winter, so we went armed with a basic GPS locator. We said our thanks to the “Parking Fairy” in advance as we drove into town in hopes that she would provide us a spot within walking distance of our bad knees. AMAZING! We arrived at 6:55 p.m. in spite of the detours and there, right in front of the restaurant, was a space, newly vacated, just right for our little car; always a good sign.

The pub was very lively when we came but we were greeted and gently ushered to the table on the quiet dining side that our son, Page, had reserved that evening. Jim began with a “sip” of Tullamore Dew, a traditional Irish whiskey first distilled 1829 in County Offaly for the toast. By the way, in the early days of fighting in Ireland Jameson’s whiskey was taboo for Protestant Irishmen and Bushmill’s was not served to Catholics. Tullamore Dew, a “newcomer” was accepted by both sides. Eileen is second generation pure Irish so her choice was Guinness dark which they have on tap at the proper temperature there. Mary and Page are usually the designated drivers so they both had high test coffee, which was also good and generously refilled several times.

Now we know that corned beef and cabbage isn’t really traditional in Ireland, but 6 decades of eating it on St. Patrick’s Day have left their mark on Jim, so if he’s in an “Irish Pub” and it is on the menu, he has to see if it stacks up to his mother’s. The fact that it seemed to have evaporated and he complimented the waiter was proof it was quite good. Page had the more traditional Fish and Chips (his favorite with extra tartar sauce; the proper thing for that dish, not chipotle or some other strange inland concoction). Mary and Eileen both had the steak tips (rare thank-you) marinated in Guinness which they serve with vegetable and real mashed potato. Yummy!!  The servings are ample to generous and nice, sweet, bread comes with the meal, so dessert was not going to be an option as far as Eileen was concerned.

 Here is where a good waiter or waitress has a chance to shine: this one topped off a flawless evening by taking the deft and almost imperceptible nod by Page as his queue to quietly present Eileen with the ample slice of dark chocolate cake with a light chocolate butter cream fill accompanied by whipped cream and four forks! The cake was intensely chocolate but not overly sweet and a piece to share among the four of us was just right. The waiter is actually Irish and he was making an effort to down play his accent rather than fake it for atmosphere. He was not only well trained but sensitive to the fact that Page had asked for the cake to be brought without a candle and quietly as a surprise rather than the usual restaurant fanfare that Eileen finds embarrassing. It is a pleasure to find that level of attention to detail and elegance in a casual, comfortable, and yet, reasonably priced, restaurant.

The pub was still very lively when we left almost 2 hours later, relaxed and unhurried, for the long wet ride home.

We’re looking forward to Halloween weekend with the noon parade at Ithaca Farmer’s Market. Maybe Jim will wear his new Wizard of Wine outfit  and we’ll visit Bellwether Cider for some of their “Black Magic”, a sparkling hard cider with black currant juice added that we actually named a few years ago when they first put it on the market. If you haven’t tried it yet, this is the season. Check it out at their booth or visit the cidery on Rt.89 in costume during the day.

We hope to go to the after hours event at Americana Winery as well Saturday night for their adult costume party. This is always a great time, but call ahead for tickets and be sure to have a designated driver. Be safe, and watch for kids of all ages as you’re ‘Out and About in the Finger Lakes’.

----
v5i43