Eat First

Destination: Airy Acres Vineyard, Interlaken

Award-winning wines from Airy Acres Vineyard, Interlaken (Facebook photo)

I’ve cruised up and down Route 89, the main thoroughfare on the west side of Cayuga Lake, many times but don’t often venture off that road. There are plenty of places to stop and sample wine – Knapp Winery, Thirsty Owl Wine Company, Buttonwood Grove Winery and Hosmer Winery (one of our favorites), to name just a few.

On a recent visit, I drove past a slew of these old guard wineries to visit a new-to-me and up-and-coming winery, Airy Acres Vineyard. Airy Acres – doesn’t that sound like the perfect place to visit on a summer weekend?

Airy Acres is a family-run enterprise: Fred and Pam Bassette are the owners and four of their adult children are actively involved in the business. Son Noah is the tasting room manager and sales/marketing director. He’s often joined in the tasting room by his sister Adele, whose husband serves as vineyard manager. Their children like to help out at harvest time. Son Dan is a computer consultant and designed the website – you get the picture.

Fred Bassette grew up on the farm (his father raised chickens and crops there) and inherited it from his mother in 2014. A year later, he and Pam started planting grapes, beginning with three acres of Riesling and Gewurztraminer. Over time, the vineyard has grown to 21 acres. It now includes Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Lemberger, Saperavi and Rkatsiteli. Saperavi, a red grape, and Rkatsiteli, a pale-skinned grape used in white wine, are native to Georgia, an eastern European country sometimes referred to as the “birthplace of wine.’’ Both grapes do well in cold climates, including the Finger Lakes. Airy Acres is just the second winery in the region to produce Rkatsiteli (pronounced r-KAT-sih-telly). The pioneering Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery is the first.

Spend some time at Airy Acres and you learn these things. Tell Noah you like the Airy Acres logo and he’ll tell you why it features a cluster of brightly colored grapes topped by a propeller: “Airy” refers to an airstrip on the property, built by Fred Bassette’s father in 1957, that’s still in use today.

Things are coming full circle at Airy Acres. The farmhouse that Fred grew up in is in the final stages of renovation and will soon house the vineyard tasting room and wine storage facility. A deck off the back overlooks the vineyards and Cayuga Lake.

When I visited, a small tasting bar was set up in the barn and Noah poured samples (five for $10). I missed the 2023 Rkatsiteli by about a week but headed home with a bottle of semi-dry Glide (carbonated) Gewurztraminer and two bottles of Glide (bubbly) Rose, a combination of Cabernet Franc and Lemberger.

I’m not a wine expert, but I do know that bubbles aren’t just for special occasions. They’re perfect for summer sipping. So is Riesling and dry Rosé.

I’ll be back to visit the new tasting facility at Airy Acres. If you get there first, let me know what you think.

Airy Acres Vineyard is at 8011 Footes Corners Road, near Interlaken. The winery is open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday to Sunday (and by appointment other days).

Locally grown flowers in Central New York

Photo courtesy of Post St. Farm, Franklin Springs

You’ve heard of the farm-to-table movement. But are you familiar with the farm-to-vase movement?

An estimated 80% of the flowers sold in the United States are imported. But a small but growing number of farmers are pursuing their passion for flowers – growing them, selling them at markets, offering flower CSA shares, creating custom arrangements for life’s special moments and inviting customers to pick-your-own parties and “bloom bars,’’ where you can purchase flowers by the stem and build your own bouquets.

Flower farms are popping up all over Central New York. Since spring is here and summer is coming, I thought it would be nice to spotlight some of them. Most of the growers are women and all focus on flowers you’re not going to find at the grocery store, like snapdragons, ranunculus, peonies, foxglove, delphinium, dahlias, celosia, zinnias and heirloom mums. 

Flowers have the power to lift moods and make people happy – whether we’re giving them, receiving them or treating ourselves to a bouquet. This season, why not support local growers and get your flower fix right here, where we’re planted? Mother’s Day is coming up – it’s one of the biggest flower days of the year and “like Super Bowl Weekend for flower farmers,’’ in the words of one local grower. So act soon.

Follow these farms/farmers on social media to learn more about what they do and grow and stay informed about special events. 

Catalpa Flower Farm, Homer: On less than an acre of land near Homer, in Cortland County, Lindsey McDonnell grows a wide variety of perennial flowers for seasonal CSA shares (sort of like a weekly flower club membership you pay for in advance). But that’s not all: She also offers edible flowers for restaurants and has her hand in flowers and floral design services for weddings and other special events. Look for her every other Saturday at the Homer Regional Farmers Market starting in June. And keep an eye on social media for details on Catalpa’s roadside flower stand at the farmette, also starting in June. More information: Instagram, Facebook, website 

Ranunculus photo courtesy of Catalpa Flower Farm, Homer

Post St. Farm, Franklin Springs: This small-scale produce and flower farm near Clinton (Oneida County) is a regular presence at the Hamilton Farmers Market and the Clinton Farmers Market, in season. In addition to specialty produce and blooms (beginning with an early season tulip subscription, plus other options), co-owner Allie Healy Howard pops up at events here and there with make-your-own-bouquet bars. She recently left the world of local journalism to farm full-time with her husband. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website

Forest Ridge Farmstead, Warners: Owner Tabitha Sebastino is in flower mode year-round, starting with spring tulips, then summer stems and fall flowers. Christmas flowers, Valentine’s Day flowers and Easter flowers? She does them, too, bringing in American-grown blooms for customers. Check out her social media and website for information on CSA shares and to find out when her flowers are available at local retail outlets and at her self-serve, honor system roadside farm stand. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website

Brainard Farmette, LaFayette: Brainard Farmette is a small custom flower farm and apiary. Owner Stephanie Brainard is drawn to growing and raising things, from flowers to bees to chickens. She raises more than 20 types of flowers and offers cut flower subscriptions for individuals and businesses, with several pick-up locations in Central New York. Find Brainard Farmette honey at Spill the Tea Cafe, Minoa, and other locations. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website 

Withy Hollow Flower Farm, Erieville: The owners of this sustainably-grown flower farm in Madison County want people to celebrate the special moments of their lives in a flowery fashion: birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, engagements – and, well, just because. Visit the Fayetteville Farmers Market in the summer (noon to 6 p.m. Thursdays) to check out their floral flair. And visit the farm’s website and social media for information on on-farm events and opportunities to visit and pick your own blooms. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website

Catalpa Flower Farm zinnia bouquets at the Homer Farmers Market

The Meadow, Manlius (formerly Bell Creek Farm, Phoenix): The Meadow is a small farm with a focus on specialty cut flowers and vegetables. Owners Kyle Wilson and Ginnie Hsu offer a variety of flower subscriptions, including spring tulips, dahlia bouquets and summer arrangements. Wedding floristry is part of the business and several options are available, from DIY buckets of blooms to full-service packages. The farm is in the process of transitioning from its original location in Oswego County to Manlius. More info: Instagram, website

Farmstead 1868, Cazenovia: Farmstead 1868 is a working lavender farm (and dairy) offering U-pick lavender and premium lavender products (soaps, candles, lotions, bath bombs, etc. ) made with ingredients grown on the farm. If you're a fan of the fragrant purple flowering plant, mark your calendar for this year's Lavender Festival (July 6; pre-sale tickets only). More info: Instagram Facebook website

Wake Robin Farm and Bakery, Jordan: Flowers and flours. Meg and Bruce Schader must hear that all the time. Visit the farm during growing season and you’ll see fields of colorful blooms, like sunflowers, zinnias and larkspur – and fields of wheat and other grains. Flowers are Meg's "love language.'' She turns them into market bouquets sold at the farm on Fridays (3 to 6 p.m.) and on Saturdays at the Central New York Regional Market. The grains are milled into flour, which Bruce uses to make about a dozen varieties of bread sold at the farm and the market. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website 

Cut flowers photo courtesy of Wake Robin Farm, Jordan

Petals in Bloom Flower Farm, Williamstown: Petals in Bloom is a family-owned dahlia farm in Oswego County. Owners Katherine and Miles Lewis grow hundreds of varieties of the striking flowers. They offer a seasonal dahlia bouquet club subscription (blooms are ready in late August, or when Mother Nature says) and U-pick flowers at their farm. They also sell dahlia tubers for home gardeners and hold a Dahlia Fest in the fall. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website

Brushaber Blooms, Pulaski: Brushaber Blooms is a "micro farm" specializing in dahlias. But first come tulips, zinnias and other flowers. Follow Brushaber Blooms on social media for information on its self-serve roadside flower stand. Owner Jill Brushaber gets the word out when paper-wrapped bouquets are available -- and when she has sold out. More info: Instagram, Facebook

Barn Blooms, Wolcott: Suddenly, I feel like taking a drive to Wayne County to visit Barn Blooms Flower Farm. Owner Carrie Wafler offers tulip and summer flower subscriptions and friends say it’s worth the drive to Wolcott to visit her flower stand and pick up a bouquet. Barn Bloom flowers are also featured at Sweets by Sarah Bakery in Fair Haven. In the off season, Wafler makes wreaths, porch pots and holiday centerpieces, which are sold at the stand. More info: Instagram, Facebook, website

 

Nothin’ But Noods Pasta Company (ghost kitchen)

I don’t do Grubhub and I don’t do DoorDash and I don’t do Uber Eats. But I do order takeout food sometimes and I did order dinner from a local ghost kitchen, so don’t say I don’t keep up with the times.

What is a ghost kitchen? It’s a sort of virtual restaurant/food hub that offers pick-up or delivery only: no dining room, no bar, no reservations, no walk-ins. Orders are placed online, usually, or by phone. Delivery is sometimes available, but not always.

After following the Nothin’ But Noods account on Instagram and seeing the weekly menus, I was curious about this new food option. The pasta-to-go business is owned and operated by John D’Amore, a chef who has worked at a long list of Syracuse-area restaurants, including the former Genesee Grande Hotel and more recently Strada Mia. He’s gone solo and shares kitchen space on Brewerton Road in Mattydale with the owners of Phokouttahere (Vietnamese food and food truck) and Fat Brother, which specializes in Laotian and southeast Asian cuisine. 

Each week, D’Amore posts a build-your-own pasta menu on Instagram and Facebook, which is also where he takes orders. Choose your style of pasta (from Rochester’s Flour City Pasta; everything from traditional linguine to squid ink linguine) then choose your homemade sauce (marinara, vodka sauce, puttanesca, pesto, creamy pesto, etc.) and any extras, like meatballs, garlic broccoli and brown butter mushrooms. D’Amore also offers an entree special each week.

I sent the chef a direct message on Instagram to ask him which sauce he would recommend with the garlic chive pappardelle (creamy pesto, he replied) and placed an order for that and a side of garlic broccoli. I requested a 4 p.m. Saturday pickup, pulled into the parking lot and called the phone number provided with my order confirmation. Out came the chef with my food. He handed me a bag and I handed him money. 

In the bag was a plentiful serving of pasta in an aluminum container, a container of extra sauce, two slices of Italian bread, butter, and two small containers with Parmesan cheese and crushed red pepper flakes. A separate container held the garlic broccoli. The pasta was cooked to a perfect al dente and could have easily served two. I removed half of it from the container when I was ready to eat and drizzled it with some extra sauce before reheating it. It was delicious – and nice to not have to cook.

Will I go back? Absolutely. I love that D’Amore is using Flour City Pasta (whose owner is a fixture on Saturdays at the Central New York Regional Market) and I want to try his vodka sauce. Next time I’ll probably skip the broccoli, which was too crisp for my taste.

The cost of this feast before tip was $18. That’s reasonable for a restaurant-quality meal-to-go.

Note: Nothin’ But Noods accepts cash only.

Eat like a local in Fulton and Oswego, NY

I recently spent a week dog sitting in Fulton (Oswego County, NY), about 25 miles from our home in Syracuse. What did I do while I was there? I worked on three story assignments, binge-watched season two of “The Bear’’ (so good!), made scrambled eggs for and snuggled with two dogs, and ate like a local.

The local do-list got me out of the house to explore my temporary surroundings and interact with other humans. Some places I patronized during my stay:

Wade’s Diner, Oswego: The diner, open since 1937, suffered a fire several years back and it has been completely remodeled. I sat at the long counter, between two guys in town for Super DIRT Week, and we chatted about this and that and watched the two cooks behind the counter tend to a mountain of potatoes on the grill for home fries and navigate a growing stack of orders. 

Homemade roast beef hash is a house specialty at Wade’s. So is cinnamon raisin bread, which is baked in house several times a week. I ordered the cinnamon raisin bread French toast (above) and enjoyed the two thick slices of it. Bread this good deserves REAL maple syrup, not the flavorless, viscous glop commonly served at diners. I would have grabbed a loaf of bread to go but the shelves were bare. Another time.

Ontario Orchards, Oswego: This farm market a couple miles outside Oswego is a destination for fresh produce year-round: It’s open 365 days a year. Fall brings U-pick pumpkins and apples and apple cider, spring and summer bring annuals and perennials and late fall brings U-cut Christmas trees. In addition to produce, there’s baked goods (think pies and Half Moon cookies), beer and a wide selection of local pantry goods, like honey, maple products and the ever-popular Buck’s Seasonings. If I lived in Oswego County, I’d be an Ontario Orchards regular.

Mama Gina’s Ristorante and Pizzeria, Fulton: Pizza is inevitable when I dog sit/house sit and Mama Gina’s was recommended by my friend Janet Gramza, who used to work in Fulton and live in Oswego County. The restaurant offers pizza two ways: traditional parlor style and wood-fired artisan pizza, which is available Thursday-Sunday only. I ordered my usual parlor pizza: garlic pizza with broccoli (above). The crust was a little thicker than I like, but the broccoli on top was fresh, not frozen, so points for that. I like that Mama Gina’s offers personal-size pizzas (four slices). 

Dragon City Chinese Restaurant, Fulton: This place has been open nearly 30 years, so they must be doing something right. I phoned in an order of shrimp and broccoli (spicy, please) and an eggroll. Everything was ready in 10 minutes – and the place was humming when I got there. I spent $10.10, got two meals out of it and didn’t have to cook. Mission accomplished.

Paul’s Big M, Oswego: I could have gone to Price Chopper, Aldi or Save-A-Lot, but there’s something charming about a locally owned neighborhood grocery store in a converted New York Central Train Station. That’s Paul’s Big M in Oswego. All I needed was some fresh spinach and ginger root, but a quick stroll through the aisles revealed an in-house bakery, deli and extensive meat department.

 

Khepera Coffee: Oswego is a college town, so there’s no shortage of coffee shops for a cuppa. Khepera Coffee is one of the merchants in the Canal Commons on West First Street, along with a boutique featuring local art and jewelry, a barbershop and a bakery. Khepera features a frequently-changing selection of fair trade coffees from around the world and a menu with drip coffee, espresso drinks, cold brew and tea. There’s plenty of seating and outlets to plug in your laptop and get some work done.

I got a latte to go and wandered over to Chelle’s Bake Shop to see what might call out to me. The bakery case held cookies, cupcakes, scones and other treats. I selected a breakfast cookie: a mix of peanut butter, oats, dried cranberries and a sprinkling of dark chocolate chips. It had great flavor and a chewy texture. Cookies for breakfast could become habit-forming.

The River’s End Bookstore: You gotta love an independent, family-owned bookstore offering fiction, non-fiction, young adult literature, sections devoted to local authors and interests and a nice selection of cookbooks (I’m not in the market but always like to look). Like it or not the holidays are coming – and I kicked off my shopping here.

The scoop on ice cream in Central New York

We all scream for ice cream this time of year, but in my world, nobody screams ice cream more than my friend M.F. (Mary Frances) Piraino.

M.F., better known as Fran, is a freelance writer and social media manager who lives in Syracuse. We used to work together at The Post-Standard and have been “freelance friends’’ since we left the newspaper in 2009.

Fran is also a major league ice cream enthusiast. If you follow her on social media, a highlight is her posts using the hashtag #franniepicecreamtours. When the weather warms up in the spring and until the snow flies, you can count on Fran (with her husband, Bob) to hit as many local ice cream spots as possible – and share a taste online with her friends and followers. She has the scoop on local stands and their frozen assets, which isn’t surprising for a former newspaper reporter with a passion for frosty treats.

Fran says her affinity for ice cream can be traced to childhood, when her grandfather would take her and her sister out for a cone. “Going to an ice cream stand for a soft vanilla cone was a big deal to me and a special treat back in the day (and still is),’’ Fran says. “It’s one of summer’s simple pleasures.’’

Tag along with her virtually on #franniepicecreamtours and you pick up on certain patterns: She has a soft spot for vanilla, chocolate, coconut and lemon ice cream and is somewhat faithful to those flavors, in various forms. “I’m not overly adventurous when it comes to certain flavors,’’ she says. “Every once and a while I may try a new flavor or different sundae combo, but not too often. If I find something I like, I stick with it.

“Even when I travel, I always seek out a local place for a scoop or two,’’ she adds.

It's late August, but in the spirit of there still being plenty of summer left, here are five of Fran’s favorite ice cream spots:

•  Gannon’s Ice Cream: “The king of cones in Syracuse.’’ Favorite flavors: Strawberries and Cream (seasonal), Lemon Custard, Chocolate Pie.

•   Sno Top, Manlius: “An OG stand with a top-notch Vanilla Pepsi Float.’’

•  Emmi’s Antonio’s Ice Cream, Liverpool: “My go-to here is a Heath Chip Razzle (also known as a Flurry) with soft vanilla ice cream. Most stands only offer Heath Bar crumbles, I prefer the Heath Chips.’’

•  Arctic King, Central Square: “The Strawberry Shortcake Sundae is elite.”

•  Gabrielle Chocolates and Ice Cream, Manlius. “Lots of delicious homemade ice cream and custards to choose from.’’

Follow Fran on social media: Twitter Instagram Facebook

 

1886 Food and Wine Experience, Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery

For many wine-loving daytrippers and tourists, a trip to the Finger Lakes isn’t complete without a pilgrimage to Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery. And for good reason. The winery was founded in 1962 by Konstantin Frank, an immigrant from Ukraine who introduced the classic vinifera grapes of Europe – Chardonnay, Riesling and Pinot Noir – to his new cold-climate home. In doing so, he sparked a grape-growing and winemaking renaissance.

There are several ways to experience this pioneering winery on the west side of Keuka Lake. You can order wine by the glass, flight or bottle in Eugenia’s Garden, named for Konstantin’s wife. And you can enjoy a seated tasting ($15 per person) inside or on the deck overlooking the Y-shaped lake and some of the oldest vineyards in the region. 

Or you can take a deep dive into Frank family history and viticulture practices as part of the 1886 Food and Wine Experience. This intimate, next-level offering ($75 per person, reservations required) was named the best winery tour in the nation this year (and last year) by readers of USA Today. It takes about 20 guests into the vineyard and into the sparkling wine production and aging cellar at Chateau Frank, a stone structure a short distance from the main winery that dates to 1886. Guests then sit down to a flight of wines paired with seasonal small bites.

I’ve been wanting to experience the 1886 Food and Wine Experience since Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, now run by the fourth generation of Franks, started offering it in 2016, and two friends who live in the Hammondsport area were happy to come along. Mother Nature delivered a warm and sunny Saturday with a nice breeze, and our wine educator and tour guide, Lauren, greeted our group seated at individual tables and set the stage for a memorable two-hour visit.

Outside, Lauren shared details about Chateau Frank, a gorgeous stone house that’s on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure was built for Philip Argus, a German immigrant, and prior to Prohibition was the home of the Western New York Wine Company. Konstantin Frank’s son, Willy, wanted to make “methode champenoise’’ sparkling wine using vinifera grapes grown in the Finger Lakes – his father preferred to focus his attention on still wines, according to Lauren. Willy Frank’s dream came to fruition in 1985, when he released his first vintage of pioneering and award-winning sparkling wines.

In the vineyard, Lauren steered us down rows planted with traditional Champagne grapes (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), pointing out the thick, gnarly stems of old-growth vines and the pockmarked leaves of grapes damaged by this year’s devastating late-season frost. Fun fact: These sparkling wine grapes are harvested by hand.

In the controlled atmosphere of the wine cellar, Lauren explained the labor- and time-intensive methode champenoise process, which involves nearly three years of bottle fermentation and giving thousands of bottles a slight turn by hand each day. I get carpal tunnel syndrome just thinking about it – and now have a better understanding of why sparkling wines made using this traditional method cost $25 a bottle or more.

If you’ve read this far you probably want to know about the food part of the 1886 Food and Wine Experience. We arrived back at the tasting room to find our tables set with four pours of wine to be paired with four small bites of food prepared by Lake Life Catering of Hammondsport: julienned summer squash “Caesar’’ style with a 2012 Brut “library release,’’ salmon mousse Nicoise with 2021 dry Rose, chicken and waffles with a maple-chili glaze with 2022 dry Riesling, and a melange of wild mushrooms and blackberries matched with 2020 Cabernet Franc. Each dish was as creative and tasty as it was elegant – and gave us ideas for pairings at home. (Bubbles with Caesar-style summer squash? Or with Caesar salad? Who knew?)

Lauren sent us off with one last pairing, a piece of white chocolate garnished with orange peel (from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates of Rochester) served with one of Dr. Frank’s Port-style dessert wines, before we made our exit through the bottle shop and picked up some souvenirs.

The 1886 Food and Wine Experience lives up to the buzz and is worth the price of admission. It's offered May through October. Don’t forget to take a few minutes to drink in the beautiful views from Chateau Frank.

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery is at 9749 Middle Road, Hammondsport, about two hours from Syracuse. The winery is open daily for tastings. Reservations are highly recommended for seated tastings and are required for the 1886 Food and Wine Experience. Walk-ins are welcome at outdoor venue Eugenia’s Garden, which is open seasonally. Go to the website for complete visitor information.

Caz Tortilla Company, Syracuse

Have you ever tried a food that rocked your world? I'm talking just-brewed, locally roasted coffee. Squeaky cheese curds fresh from a dairy farm. Sourdough bread made by master bakers. It’s the little things.

One local food that recently rocked my world – and makes me want to eat a breakfast taco every day – is the tortillas made by Caz Tortilla Company.

Caz Tortilla is owned by the husband-and-wife team of Casey and Katie Masters. Despite its name, the company is based in Syracuse.

The Masters’ served in the U.S. Air Force and moved to Central New York from the White Sands area of New Mexico. They found they missed the tortilleria in their local grocery store, where they purchased tortillas that were “never more than an hour old,’’ according to Casey. They started making tortillas at home in Cazenovia, and before long they decided to turn their home project into a business. They hoped to find a production space in or near Cazenovia, Casey said, but instead set up shop in Syracuse. The small tortilla production facility is on Burnet Avenue, between Kilian Manufacturing and Visual Technologies.

Casey Masters and Operations Manager Drew Merkel weren’t making tortillas when I visited on a recent weekday, but gave me a quick tour of the place. It features a storage room for ingredients like masa, flour, baking powder and salt, a mixing room, and a production room with separate lines for pressing out and baking corn and flour tortillas. With a handful of employees, they produce thousands of five- and six-inch tortillas weekly.

To see the production process, watch this report by Emily Kenny, who covers food production and agriculture for Spectrum News.

If your only experience with tortillas is grocery store tortillas, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. The local tortillas taste fresh, contain no sugar or artificial ingredients and have more “heft” to them than flimsy (and tear-prone) mass-produced tortillas. I’ve mainly used them for breakfast tacos, heating one tortilla at a time over the slots of my toaster and filling them with pan-roasted pepper and onion, scrambled eggs, cheese and salsa for a weekend breakfast of champions. One of these days I’ll get more adventurous and use them in an enchilada casserole with roasted vegetables.

I purchased my tortillas (10 for $3) at the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse, and love knowing they were produced the day before a couple miles away. Check the Caz Tortilla Company Facebook or Instagram page to see if they’ll be at the market on a given Saturday.

Want to taste tortillas from Caz Tortilla Company? Restaurants that use them include Alto Cinco, Decir Algo, Steve’s Cantina and Mamacitas in Syracuse, Madison County Distillery in Cazenovia and Mad Taco in Nelson. Retail locations include The Curd Nerd, Syracuse Cooperative Market, Thanos Market and Green Hills Farms, Syracuse; Natur-Tyme, DeWitt; and 20/East and Heartstone Artisan Bakery, Cazenovia.

Last but not least, you can purchase tortillas directly at Caz Tortilla Company HQ, 1622 Burnet Ave., Syracuse. Hours (approximate) are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday. If you see the sandwich board out front, they’re open. The front entry has an honor box and a rack holding packages of tortillas. Bring cash.

Central New York local food gift guide 2022

Well, it happened again: The holiday season is here.

Where to shop is a no-brainer: Shop small and local Central New York businesses to find tasty gifts and stocking stuffers the food (and drink) lovers and cooks on your list will enjoy year-round. Following are 11 suggestions.

Hot Crispy Oil: This fiery and flavorful condiment, similar to chili crisp and other chili oils with crunch, is made in the Albany area by John Trimble, a former restaurant owner who created the oil in his home kitchen during the pandemic. The product is made with blended olive oil, fried garlic and shallots, and a “proprietary blend’’ of chili peppers. Try it on rice, noodles, eggs, pizza, tacos, stuffed peppers and everything else you can think of. Buy it at Chuck Hafner’s Farmers Market, Lombardi’s Imports, Vince’s Gourmet Imports, Thanos Imports and other locations. Price: About $10. MORE INFO

The Curd Nerd: Grab a gift box or basket and head over to The Curd Nerd in Syracuse to fill it up with cheesy goodness for the cheese lover on your list. This small shop in Syracuse’s Eastwood neighborhood carries a wide selection of local, New York State and regional cheeses, and you’ll also find cheeses that need a passport to get here, like Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy, orange-hued mimolette from France, and goat cheese from Spain. (All cheeses are not available all of the time.) The Curd Nerd offers gift cards and carries things that go with cheese, like crackers, honey, jams, pickles and boards. MORE INFO

Old Home Distillers minis: ‘Tis the season to imbibe a little, and what’s not to like about a sampler pack of small-batch bourbon, whiskey, rye, and gin from Old Home Distillers in Madison County? Put together a custom box with five of your favorite Old Home craft spirits or pick up an already-assembled assortment of five (50ml) bottles at the tasting room in Lebanon or a local farmers market (Old Home is at the Central New York Regional Market most Saturdays). They’ve got several maple- and spice-infused options that are a natural for this time of year. Price: Varies. MORE INFO

Cheffrey’s Pickles: Sweet treats like cookies and candy canes get all the attention during the holiday season. How about something briny and a bit salty? Fulton-based business Cheffrey’s Pickle Pub specializes in homemade, hand-cut pickles and pickled vegetables (think dilly beans). Varieties include bread and butter, dill, garlic dill, spicy dill – you get the picture. Look for them at 20/East, Cazenovia, Ontario Orchards, Oswego, Nelson Farms Country Store, Nelson, and other locations. Price: $8-$23. MORE INFO

Winosaurs: No, that’s not a typo. Winosaurs are gummy candy dinosaurs made with wine – hence their name. That makes them candy for the 21-and-over crowd. The candies were created by a couple who got married at a winery and were looking for a wine-themed wedding favor. Eureka. They decided to create their own favors and Winosaurs were born. The candies come in flavors like sangria, Moscato, peach Bellini and Rose. Look for Winosaurs at stores like Metro Home Style in Syracuse. Shipping is available to some states. Price: About $7. MORE INFO

Salt City Coffee special holiday blend: Local roaster Salt City Coffee makes it a mission to partner with the Rescue Mission each holiday season. The goal is to spread joy and make a difference in the lives of others. For every purchase of a 12-ounce bag of Salt City’s Holiday Traditions blend, $4 will be donated to the Rescue Mission. Pick up a bag for the coffee lover on your list and grab one for yourself, too – Salt City Coffee’s goal is to raise $1,200 for the Rescue Mission. Salt City Coffee has three locations in Syracuse and one in Fayetteville (formerly Soleil Cafe). MORE INFO

Flour City Pasta: John Stadt uses local and organic ingredients and his own two hands to make the distinctive artisanal pastas Flour City Pasta is known for. The business based in the Rochester area is a regular at the Central New York Regional Market. You’ll find flavors like chili pepper fettuccine, sweet potato pappardelle, spinach garlic linguine, and Cabernet Franc pappardelle – as well as traditional pastas like shells, rigatoni, linguine and fettuccine. Price: About $10/package. MORE INFO

Nav’s Popcorn: You might have visited the seasonal Nav’s Popcorn store in Alexandria Bay to satisfy your gourmet popcorn fix. Did you know they pop up regularly (see what I did there?) at the Central New York Regional Market and have a year-round store in Syracuse (Eastwood)? Nav’s is known for its flavored popcorn, from classics like kettle and cheddar to more unusual flavors, like salt and vinegar, pickle, garlic Parmesan, and Buffalo blend (Buffalo wing and ranch). Grab a bag to stuff a stocking and one for yourself. Price: $4 and up.  MORE INFO 

Beeswax food wraps: OLSEN+OLSEN beeswax wraps are a stylish way to keep food fresh and help reduce the use of plastic wraps and bags in the kitchen. To use, warm the wraps in your hands and mold them over bowls and casseroles, sealing with your fingers. You can also use the wraps directly on food, like half an apple or lemon. The wraps come three to a pack (small, medium and large). They’re washable, reusable and compostable. Price: $16. Available at BeeKind, Syracuse. MORE INFO  

Farm Girl Juicery juices: The struggle to eat healthy during the holiday season is real. Farm Girl Juicery to the rescue. The juice stand, open daily at Salt City Market in Syracuse (and in season at Chuck Hafner’s Farmers Market and Garden Center), features teas, tonics and multiple varieties of cold-pressed juices, which are rich in nutrients and also serve as an immunity boost. Options include green juices made with ingredients like cucumber and kale, and root juices made with things like apples, beets, carrots, oranges and sweet potatoes. My favorite is owner Abigail Henson's Tonic 42, made with alkaline water, lemon, maple syrup and cayenne. Price: About $8. MORE INFO 

Bayside Wood cutting boards: Cheese boards and charcuterie boards are all the rage these days, and a new board makes a great gift for someone who likes to cook and/or entertain – or for yourself. Bayside Wood Products produces cutting boards in a variety of styles and sizes. Their signature products include multi-color baker’s boards for rolling dough (and for cutting and serving) and Syracuse skyline boards. Look for Bayside at the Central New York Regional Market on Saturdays and check their website for pop-up events. Price: Varies. MORE INFO  

Photo credits:

Hot Crispy Oil photo courtesy of Hot Crispy Oil

Old Home Distillers sampler pack photo courtesy of Old Home Distillers

Winosaurs photo courtesy of Metro Home Style

Salt City Coffee photo courtesy of Salt City Coffee

Farm Girl Juicery photo courtesy of Farm Girl Juicery

Bayside Wood cutting board photo courtesy of Bayside Wood Products

All other photos © Margaret McCormick 2022

Kriemhild Kupboard, Hamilton

It’s not every day you visit a farm stand filled with butter and cheese instead of fruits and vegetables.

Kriemhild Kupboard is a self-serve stand on state Route 12B, three miles from the village of Hamilton. It’s owned and operated by Kriemhild Dairy Farms, which uses milk from its own grass-fed herd and other grass-fed milk suppliers in Central New York to produce its full-fat and cultured dairy products. The name is pronounced CREAM-hild, fittingly enough.

Kriemhild’s flagship product is meadow butter, which is made by slowly churning fresh sweet cream the old-fashioned way – in barrel churns. The end result is a rich, creamy, flavorful butter with a butterfat content of 85%, similar to high-end European butters like Kerrygold and President. (For comparison, supermarket butters are about 80% butterfat. Here’s a good guide to the world of butters.)

Several varieties of Kriemhild butter are available: meadow butter, cultured meadow butter and baker’s butter. All are available unsalted or salted, and the salt used comes from Seneca Lake. Kriemhild also produces creme fraiche, which is similar to sour cream but not as tangy, to my tastebuds, anyway.

If you’ve never tasted small-batch, grass-fed butter, you’re in for a treat. To know my other half is to know he loves butter, and he loves the Kriemhild salted meadow butter on toast, potatoes and other vegetables.

Looking ahead to the holidays and holiday baking, I splurged on a couple rolls of Kriemhild unsalted baker’s butter to use in cut-outs, sables and shortbread-style cookies. The more butter at the holidays, the merrier, right? I cut the one-pound rolls in halves or quarters and freeze them double-wrapped. It’s a premium product (about $10 per pound), but in baked goods where buttery flavor really stands out, I’m willing to make the investment. I might break some of that holiday butter out early and make a pound cake.

Kriemhild Kupboard also carries goods from other local producers, including bread from HeartStone Artisan Bakery, milk, cheeses and yogurt from Stoltzfus Family Dairy, sauerkraut and other fermented foods from Food and Ferments, dried mushrooms from Fruit of the Fungi, and gelato from Jones Family Farm, to name a few.

The Kupboard is open daily from dawn to dusk. It’s at 1093 state Route 12B, Hamilton, a couple miles south of Good Nature Farm Brewery. We made our trip double the fun by stopping at the brewery for a beer and a bite. The stand operates on the honor system. There’s pencil and paper to add up your purchases and a cash box to make change. There’s also a credit card reader, in case you go on a butter-buying binge.

Product photo courtesy of Kriemhild Dairy Farms, on Facebook.

All other photos © Margaret McCormick.

A visit to Old Home Distillers, Lebanon

Adam Carvell in the tasting room at Old Home Distillers

Sure, visiting a winery is fun. But have you ever visited a distillery? That’s fun, too. And educational.

We hadn’t been to Old Home Distillers, a family-owned spirits operation tucked away in the Madison County countryside, since around the time of its opening in 2015. We visited again with a couple friends in August and found that it has grown considerably, both physically and in terms of production and distribution. That was nice to hear and to see.

Old Home is a small-batch craft distillery. Brothers Aaron and Adam Carvell, who own the business with their parents, personally mash, ferment and distill everything they make. They specialize in clear, unaged spirits (corn whiskey and gin); flavored spirits, like spiced whiskey and maple whiskey (their bestseller); aged spirits, like bourbon whiskey and a single-malt whiskey made with 100% New York State-grown barley; and limited-release spirits, like an apple brandy aged in maple-soaked bourbon barrels, and their version of absinthe, called LABsinthe.

Green-hued absinthe, sometimes called “the Green Fairy,’’ was once illegal in the U.S. It was said to cause hallucinations. LABsinthe is made with grain-based spirits and a blend of aromatic botanicals. Old Home did several trial runs of it last year and decided to bottle and sell the research batches. They sold out. The spirit was released earlier this month, and I’m looking forward to trying it the traditional way, mixed with water and melted sugar. 

I hadn’t had gin since that night in 1982 when … Well, let’s not go there, but I’ve been enjoying Old Home Distillers gin in gin and tonics all summer long (photo below). It has a nice crisp flavor, and the botanicals, including juniper, cardamom, coriander and star anise, really pop, making for a refreshing drink. We also came home with a bottle of Peppershine, a corn whiskey infused with locally grown chili peppers, which gives Bloody Marys a different twist. Peppershine packs some heat and is more flavor-forward than vodka.

We visited Old Home Distillers on a Friday and asked in advance if we could tour the distillery. It’s not every day that you get to see a copper still and sip spirits that are made by hand. Adam Carvell was a great host, answering all of our questions about ingredients, equipment, processes, and products with knowledge, enthusiasm and humor. We appreciate the time he spent with us. 

Old Home Distillers is at 964 Campbell Road, Lebanon. The distillery is open noon to 4 p.m. Thursday and noon to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday. There is no charge for tastings. Adam Carvell told us that anyone who finds their way to the off-the-beaten-path location near the geographic center of New York State gets to sample for free. Consider a visit while the leaves are changing color. It’s a beautiful drive. 

You can also find Old Home Distillers at the Central New York Regional Market in Syracuse and at several other markets in Central New York. Visit the website or call 315-837-4123 for more information.

 

 

LABSinthe photo courtesy of Old Home Distillers, on Facebook

All others photos © Margaret McCormick

The Barn on the Farm Cafe at Navarino Orchard

It was lunchtime and I was hungry when I saw a sign on Route 20 between LaFayette and Marcellus for a cafe in a barn. You know I had to check it out. Burrell’s Navarino Orchard, a third-generation, family-owned U-pick farm noted for apples and strawberries (and a country store with pies, jams, jellies and other treats), now offers a dining option: The Barn on the Farm Cafe. It’s open for lunch and supper Thursday to Saturday and brunch and supper on Sundays. More hours are coming soon.

The menu is casual and includes starters, like hummus and charcuterie (with and without meat), sandwiches and wraps, burgers and salads, including several vegetarian/vegan options. The Sunday brunch menu features French toast made with breads from the orchard’s bakery, quiche, a breakfast sandwich, eggs Benedict, and brunch-y drinks, including bottomless mimosas and “loaded” Bloody Marys. The bar menu features the orchard’s own hard cider, along with local and regional beers and wines. New York State spirits are used in cocktails, like mules and martinis.

Bring some patience with you when you visit: The Barn on the Farm Cafe has only been open a few weeks and just two people were working when I visited on a Friday. They were busy but didn't miss a beat. The barn itself is a 200-year-old building with high ceilings, lots of natural light and strings of twinkly lights. It’s rustic, with plank floors and wooden tables in various seating configurations, plus about a dozen seats at the bar. The bartender presented food and drink menus and took my order, which he walked to a food truck outside. Everything is made to order, one order at a time.

As a newbie vegetarian, I was happy to see a roasted vegetable wrap and a vegan burger on the menu. I went with the burger ($14), a patty made with a mix of black beans, corn and other vegetables, served on a roll, with lettuce, tomato slice and red onion on the side. I’m not a vegan, so I ordered the veggie burger with American cheese. The pesto aioli mentioned on the menu was missing, but the veggie patty was hot off the grill and the French fries on the side were crisp and well browned -- fried potatoes, my favorite vegetable. Roasted vegetables and applesauce are also offered as sides. How nice is that? A glass of peach lemonade ($3) was refreshing on a warm day.

Navarino Orchard and The Barn on the Farm Cafe are sure to be buzzing with activity as apple season kicks into gear in Central New York. Since I visited in July, the owners have added a Friday fish fry that runs all day and they plan to offer brunch on Saturday as well as Sunday. For more information on the cafe, including menus, visit the Navarino Orchard Facebook page.

Navarino Orchard is at 3655 Cherry Valley Turnpike (Route 20), LaFayette. The Barn on the Farm Cafe is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. The owners plan to have the cafe open seven days a week starting in September. Information: 315-673-9181.

Interior photo of The Barn on the Farm Cafe, courtesy of Navarino Orchard on Facebook.

All other photos © Margaret McCormick.