Eat First

In Aurora, you can bet on Bet the Farm

Nancy Tisch makes her wine at Damiani Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake. But she sells it at Bet the Farm Winery and Gourmet Market, an adorable little storefront on Main Street in the village of Aurora. It’s next door to the post office and a couple doors down from the Aurora Inn.

Bet the Farm is a small winery: Tisch makes about 1,200 cases a year of Pinot Gris, Village White, Cabernet Franc and other varieties, and usually sells out. At her store, she shares shelf space with with Damiani, Shalestone, Sheldrake Point and others, plus neighbor wineries on Cayuga Lake’s East Shore, like Long Point, King Ferry and Heart & Hands.

To go with your wine, the refrigerator case holds a nice selection of artisanal cheeses (Muranda Cheese Company, Finger Lakes Dexter Creamery, Lively Run Goat Dairy, etc.) as well as Croghan bologna from Croghan Meat Market in the North Country village of the same name.

You’ll also find crackers, flatbreads, dips, dressings, sauces, granola, pancake mixes and other products from small-scale food producers in New York State.

I picked up a package of Cayuga Pure Organics polenta (a hostess gift for a friend), a bottle of chocolate-Cabernet Sauvignon wine sauce from Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery (a birthday gift for another friend) and a bottle of Stony Brook squash oil, a local – and very flavorful – alternative to olive oil.

More on the squash oil soon. 

In the meantime, grab your corkscrew, cooler and picnic blanket and take a leisurely drive to Aurora. Pick up a bottle of wine and some nibbles from Bet the Farm and have an al fresco lakeside feast.

Bet the Farm is at 381 Main St., Aurora. Shop hours 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday to Wednesday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday to Saturday. Information: 315-294-5643.

 

Have a picnic on the patio at Blue Danube Gourmet

The first time I visited Blue Danube Gourmet to Go, in Skaneateles, this was the scene outside.

Now it's summer, and just in time, owners Erica Derrick and Lorand Ernyey have added cafe tables on the front patio, with seating for 10.

That means you can enjoy your biscotti and coffee or premium deli sandwich on a crusty little baguette right on site. No need to carry a couple blocks to a park bench overlooking Skaneateles Lake, though you can do that, too.

What else is new at Blue Danube? Funny you should ask.

In addition to a nice selection of imported and cheeses, the shop now carries bagels from New York City (with a variety of homemade cream cheese spreads, like sun-dried tomato/garlic and cinnamon walnut raisin), 10 varieties of artisan pasta from Flour City Pasta, in Fairport  and a growing selection of salami, prosciutto and other meats for sandwiches or sliced as you wish.

Genoa salami and provolone cheese, on an excellent baguette.

The shop is also featuring healthy specials that change weekly, prepared by natural foods enthusiast Abigail Henson, a jewelry designer and photographer whose works are featured at Skaneateles Artisans.

On the day I visited, "Abigail's Choice'' was Quinoa Corn Soup. I did not try it, but it smelled delicious, and several women who ordered it to go confirmed that it was.

Blue Danube is at 33 Jordan St., in the village. The shop is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesdays).

Kashmir Groceries: An enlightening place to shop

Your travels around Syracuse have no doubt taken you by Kashmir Groceries and Imports many times. It's perched above Erie Boulevard, on Seeley Road, behind the McDonald's that anchors one corner of that busy intersection. But have you ever been in there to have a look around? If you like Indian food -- or even if you don't like Indian food, but make regular use of spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, cumin, coriander, chiles and curry in your cooking -- Kashmir is a great place to have on your list of local food shopping destinations.
The store has fresh produce, including such Indian essentials as garlic, ginger and karela, also known as bitter gourd, shown at the top of this post.

There's a vast selection of basmati and other rices, herbs, spices and seeds, flours, lentils, chutneys and other condiments, prepared/convenience foods, yogurts, Halal meats and more.
And the shelves are jam-packed with Bollywood titles, in case you need some entertainment besides cooking.
I went to Kashmir for two necessary ingredients for chai, black loose leaf tea and green cardamom pods, and left an hour later with the tea and cardamom plus a tea strainer, a couple of limes and a big gnarly knot of fresh ginger. The young man behind the cash register was friendly, attentive, informative and a good salesman. Kashmir is at 118 Seeley Road, in Syracuse. It's open 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Reach them at 251-2571.