Eat First

Leave the BBQing to Limp Lizard Roadside Cantina

Spice rubbed meat, slowly smoked and roasted outside: We're smelling it wafting through the air all over Central New York this Memorial Day weekend, as we work in our yards, walk our dogs, ride our bikes and take in parades. We're doing the barbecue thing ourselves today, and the thought of leaving the work to someone else is what lured us to the Limp Lizard Roadside Cantina and Catering Depot on Main Street (Route 11) in North Syracuse last night. The small restaurant is a suburban outpost of the popular Limp Lizard Lounge on Onondaga Boulevard, on the west side of Syracuse.
THE VIBE: Barbecue and bikers go together like leather and denim, and we wondered if we'd be the only diners not to arrive on a Harley and accessorize ourselves with tattoos. We found a mixed crowd: Twenty- and thirtysomethings, families, bikers and senior citizens, some dining inside and others sharing space and talking 'cue at picnic tables under umbrellas outside.
LIQUID ASSETS: You'll find about 10 beers on tap and wines by the glass. The locavore in us was drawn to the Limp Lizard Ale, brewed by Middle Ages Brewing Company in Syracuse. Refreshing! THE MENU: Besides stuff from the smoker and food with Tex-Mex (quesadillas) and Louisiana flavor (jambalaya), you'll find soups, salads, appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and wraps. There's also a selection of family takeout dinners with your choice of sides, designed to serve four people.
CHOWIN' DOWN: Robert settled on the "kick butt" Carolina pulled pork with coleslaw on the side. The meat was moist, tender and somewhat smoky in flavor and piled high on a soft white roll. He was happy with his choice of sides, collard greens (you don't see those on menus every day) and nicely browned and crisped French fries.

I had the southwestern chicken salad, which has a tortilla bowl as a base. It was filled with romaine, iceberg and spring greens, layered with pulled/shredded chicken, shredded cheese, diced tomatoes, red onion and sliced olives and topped with southwest ranch dressing, served on the side. The salad was dense and filling with all its layers and textures, and two people could easily share one, along with a shared appetizer or plate of cornbread. WHAT'S A VEGETARIAN GOING TO FIND?: Baked black bean soup served in a bread bowl; a house salad; bean tacos; fried mushrooms (an appetizer) and sides like slaw, roasted corn, macaroni salad and cornbread. You might be in carnivore heaven, but you'll find plenty to make a meal of. DESSERT: A selection of pies, cakes and other sugary things changes daily. The Big Dip, a popular spot for soft-serve ice cream is two doors down and was enjoying a steady stream of traffic on a nice night. We headed to Geddes Bakery, also on Main Street, and lined up for an Italian-style frozen treat: gelato. Dozens of flavors of it. THE DAMAGES: $26 for two meals and two beers (and $8 more for two small dishes of gelato). WOULD WE GO BACK? If we're in the neighborhood and in the mood for barbecue, you bet. DETAILS: The Limp Lizard Roadside Cantina and Catering Depot is at 224 N. Main St., North Syracuse. Phone: 315-299-5747.

 

Ontario Orchards: a new favorite place

I don't live in Oswego, but if I did I know where I would be getting my produce: Ontario Orchards.

What an awesome place! I had never been there before and have to give a shout-out to Suzanne, who introduced me to the place when we went to Rudy's on the lake for lunch a couple weeks ago.

I thought I was done making applesauce for the season until I saw these beautiful Cortlands.

Ontario Orchards is a family-owned and -operated farm market and nursery/garden center on Route 104, a couple miles outside the city of Oswego. They're known for their apples (close to 30 varieties) and fresh-pressed cider, but the store holds all kinds of goodies.

Such as? I'll show you.

Onions, potatoes, herbs and other locally grown produce, plus produce not grown here (like citrus fruit, berries, tomatoes, etc.).

Breads and pies, jumbo muffins, cookies and other baked goods, all made on the premises.

New York State cheeses, such as River Rat Cheddar, from the Thousand Islands, and Heluva Good, made in Sodus.

All kinds of beans and soup mixes.

 

Locally made food products, like the full line of  Dinosaur Bar-B-Que sauces, Canale's pasta sauce, from the landmark restaurant of the same name in Oswego, Buck's Seasonings, Grandma Brown's Baked Beans, etc.

The garden center has everything from asters to zinnias: Annuals, perennials, trees, shrubs, mulch and other supplies.

Sometimes, you just gotta stop and smell the you-know-whats.

Ontario Orchards is open seven-days a week, year-round. So grab your market basket, reusable shopping bags or what-have-you, pop a cooler in the car and check it out.

Rudy's: Hot fun even on a cold day

Rudy's doesn't usually look like this from the outside. Usually, people are jostling for seats at these picnic tables on some prime real estate overlooking Lake Ontario, in the town of Oswego.

But it was downright cold when we visited last week, with a whipping wind to boot. I like my food piping hot and so does my friend, so we grabbed a booth inside, conveniently close to a heater that was cranked up, and dove in to our red plate (haddock, $7.95) and pink plate (shrimp, $6.79) without shivering.

Rudy's  is a seasonal stand and a lakeside magnet attracting droves of diners for its classic summer stand menu. It's common for a line to snake out the door, and it's the type of place, like Heid's in Liverpool, where people chat with their neighbors in line while they wait.

Members of the Livesey family have operated Rudy's since 1946, making it not only a stand but a landmark, not only a landmark but an institution. Read the "guestbook'' at the Rudy's website and you'll see lots of entries from transplanted Oswegonians longing for a taste of Rudy's food and atmosphere.

A trip there is a rite of spring or summer, and on warm summer days they go through gallons of ice cream and hundreds of cones. Warning: Gulls are drawn to Rudy's, too, and they will drop in for any food morsels you might leave on those tables.

A Rudy's "red plate'': Haddock pieces with fries.

The place specializes in simple fare: hot dogs, hamburgers, fried haddock, clams, shrimp and other seafood; "guppy plates" for the little ones. Suzanne had the shrimp plate and I had the haddock, which is served in pieces rather than one big slab. Plates come with "chips" (fries) standard and your choice of a second side: macaroni salad, applesauce or coleslaw.

He wasn't able to join us Friday, but my "other,'' who used to live in Oswego and ride his bicycle to Rudy's, recommends their Texas Hots: hot dogs topped with Rudy's special hot sauce, made with ground beef, onions, tomato sauce and a special blend of spices and seasonings. The spice mix is sold by the packet, so you can make Texas, white (coney) and fish "hots" (people do it, I'm told) at home.

The next time I go to Rudy's, the temperature is going to be at least 70-something, and I'm going to time my visit for taking in a spectacular Oswego sunset -- or a return trip to Ontario Orchards Farm Market, down the road. Or both!

In season, Rudy's is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week. It's a couple miles outside of the city Oswego, just west of the college campus. From Route 104, turn on Fred Haynes Boulevard and follow to the end.

The gulls will show you the way there.

Comfort me with Kuchen (a k a crumb cake)

The first thing I remember learning how to make/bake is the recipe for hot fudge pudding in "Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls."

The second thing I remember learning how to bake is Kuchen, also known as crumb cake.

The faded recipe in my file is in "Mother's'' handwriting ("Mother" is what we called my Grandmother Heenan), though my mother says the recipe actually came from her good friend Marian Hayes (an excellent baker, now departed). I came across it recently, and it seemed like just the thing to make for Mother's Day brunch.

It seemed like we had this dessert a lot growing up, probably because it doesn't call for fancy ingredients, it's a snap to make and feeds a crowd. The texture -- moist yellow cake on the bottom and buttery, crumbly top -- is wonderful. Leftovers, if there are any, are excellent with coffee for breakfast.

The original recipe calls for a pound of margarine. I use two sticks of butter and two sticks of margarine, and some freshly grated nutmeg as well as cinnamon in the topping.

Kuchen (Crumb Cake)

Crumb topping:

2 sticks butter and 2 sticks margarine for baking (like Imperial), melted and cooled

4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste

Blend sugar, salt and cinnamon with melted margarine and butter. Add flour and mix well. Let stand for an hour or so, stirring to re-blend on occasion.

The topping is very dense and buttery. 

Cake:

1 and a half cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon margarine, melted

1 large egg, beaten

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine flour, sugar and baking powder then blend in melted margarine, egg, milk and vanilla. Stir well.

Spread cake batter in a well greased half-sheet pan or other rimmed baking sheet (13 by 18 inches). Put crumb mixture on top, using your hands and crumbling into small pieces.

Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until topping looks set and edges are brown and pulled slightly away from pan.

I cut the Kuchen with a silicone pastry scraper to protect the pan.

Cool cake completely then cut into squares.

The recipe makes about 36 servings. So don't feel so guilty about all that butter!

A sign of spring in Central New York

 

Some people brake for garage and yard sales. I brake for fresh, local produce.

So when I saw this sign on Route 264 in Palermo, Oswego County, I had to follow the arrow.

Maryinuk Farm, on Besaw Road, is a small organic farm. The owners used to cart their produce to the Regional Market in Syracuse, but these days, they stick with the farmers market in Oswego and their own self-serve farm stand with an honor box.

Tonight, we'll dine on purple asparagus (it turns green when you cook it) and new potatoes. I hope there's some butter in the house!

That will tide us over until Thursday hours resume this week at the Regional Market on Park Street. I hope to get there, too. And if I do, I hope to see some rhubarb.