Taste of Syracuse: savoring the memories*

The tents are broken down and packed away, the towering ice cream cones deflated and you might not see the familiar purple fried dough stand again until state fair time: Taste of Syracuse, the delicious kickoff of the summer festival season in downtown Syracuse, has come and gone.

Here's a recap of six stands/samples that stood out at the Taste and are worth seeking out in their regular homes, followed by *a complaint about the event. But first, the good stuff: 

1. Fresh, organic carrot juice from Speedy Greens. Their hand-lettered ORGANIC FOOD sign might have been a Taste of Syracuse first, and their "shooter" of fresh carrot juice was by far the healthiest $1 sample.

The juice and more vegetarian-vegan-gluten free food can be had at Speedy Greens, a restaurant, store and holistic health center in Cicero.

 2. Jamaican jerk chicken sample from Caribbean King. Not for  those with timid taste buds, the chicken was rubbed with a blend of chiles and other seasonings, including garlic, and then grilled. I've had curry chicken for lunch at Caribbean King (109 E. Seneca Turnpike, corner of South Salina Street) and plan to stop in soon for seconds -- a meal-size portion -- of their jerk chicken.

3. Hot dog sample from Liehs & Steigerwald. No baloney! Hofmann hot dogs are the hometown favorite, there's no doubt about it, but the franks made at Liehs & Steigerwald, a family-owned butcher shop on Grant Boulevard, near Butternut Circle (and on Route 31, in Clay), are deserving of a wider following. Hopefully the Taste won the Liehs & Steigerwald dogs some new fans, who will seek them out (they're not sold in grocery stores) and also try Liehs & Steigerwald's signature sausages, bacon, etc.

4. Salad sample from DG's Family Restaurant in Brewerton. DG's shredded salad was tossed with house-made Italian dressing and stuffed inside a small cone, along with a small bread stick. It was one of several salads on menus at this year's Taste, along with a baby bleu salad sample from Diamond Catering and antipasto salad sample from Asti Caffe.

5. Wine sample trio from Americana Vineyards. Three petite pours of wine ($1) from the winery in Interlaken, on the Cayuga Wine Trail, introduced me to three nice, dry wines, two white and one red: Gewurztraminer, Chardonnay and Baco Noir. I would have left with a bottle of at least one of them, probably the Gewurztraminer, but bottles to-go can't be sold at the Taste. I see a trip to the winery and its restaurant, the Crystal Lake Cafe, in my future.

6. Baklava sample from the Turkish Cultural Center. Baklava, a multi-layered pastry made with phyllo dough, nuts and honey, is a sweet, sticky treat. The baklava served at the Turkish Cultural Center stand was made with pistachios instead of the usual walnuts, and seemed less honey-soaked than some versions. Besides that, who knew there's a Turkish Cultural Center in Syracuse? I didn't. The center offers cooking classes and Turkish coffee nights, among other events and activities.

*Complaint department: The number of chain restaurants at the Taste seems to be growing, with Arby's, Applebee's, Bonefish Grill, Jreck Subs, Panera, Pizza Hut and others in attendance this year.

I realize that chains are a fact of life and popular with a large segment of the dining public -- witness the long lines for a sample of Bonefish's bang-bang shrimp. Meanwhile, I enjoyed a zesty bite of shrimp with roasted red chile sauce from AppeThaizing, an independent restaurant on the Syracuse University hill.

Sorry to single out Arby's, but what place does a chain with thousands of outlets all over have in a festival with a focus on local restaurants and local flavor? Around the corner, my partner savored a bourbon beef sandwich from Diamond Catering, which he was still raving about on Saturday.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I hope the Taste doesn't lose the thing that makes it stand out from other festivals: its distinct Central New York accent.

What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment and let me know.

Comments

[Margaret]

Thanks for visiting and sharing your thoughts, Mary!

[Mary]

I absolutely agree. The event is "Taste of SYRACUSE," not "Taste of Anywhere." If we want to help the local economy, we should be showcasing (and supporting!) locally-owned, locally-operated places, not the chains that send profits to some corporate headquarters far from Central New York. (Anyway, does anyone really need to be introduced to Arby's, Pizza Hut, and the like?)

[Margaret]

Hi, Jill -- It did seem like there were fewer food vendors and more commercial vendors, like BathFitter, etc. We also felt the same way about the specialty beer and wine being too separate. Sounds like you had a good time, anyway!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment.

[Jill_hw]

One other place that was new to me and awesome was Kalzonies. Great calzones (bacon chicken ranch!!) and everything was a buck!

Totally agree on Caribbean King and Arby's.

We were there Saturday afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised that we could move through the crowd easily. I wonder if the unpleasant massive crowd last year plus the talk of rain kept people away? And it also seemed like there were fewer food vendors.

Do wish that the specialty beer tent and wine tents were more centrally located.

[Margaret]

Thanks, Linda... I agree.
Pat: Thanks for your comments. I'm not sure how to reach Kiki's but if you go to www.tasteofsyracuse.com and drop the fest planners an e-mail or give them a call I'm sure they can give you contact info.

[Linda / Metro Home Style]

I understand the chain restaurants place in the community, but I really think Taste of Syracuse should be focused totally on independent, locally owned restaurants.

[Pat Steer (Gaelen)]

Just a question - any idea how to contact Kiki's Greek specialties? I also considered their Koftedi sample with tzatziki one of the best tastes of the festival.

[Pat Steer (Gaelen)]

Margaret, you've asked (complained) the same question I was asking in my out-loud voice. No doubt about it, the line for Bonefish's bang bang shrimp (which is good, but...) was the longest line on Friday evening after the line for beer tickets. And there were hometown restaurants who've been at taste in the past and weren't there this year. I want to know why.

[Margaret]

Thanks for stopping by, Patti! Nutella Crepes... I would've tried them as a sample, but not a full course. Kalzonies had run out of Cheesecake Calzones when I stopped by (early!) on Friday... sometimes I think things really DO happen for a reason. BTW, did you see this 9WSYR story on all the new restaurants in downtown Syracuse? Here's a link: http://bit.ly/aK0Jtr

[Patti Smith]

We attended the Taste of Syracuse on Saturday and completely agree about the chain booths. Our favorites were:
1. Las Delicias and their variety of empanadas.
2. Kiki's Keftedes
3. Eva's Gulasz
4. Kalzonie's Cheesecake Calzone

I was really looking forward to the Nutella Crepes samples at the Asti booth, but they decided to replace the sample with antipasto. They had full sized Crepes for sale, but that would have filled me up and kept me from sampling more items. As it was, my stomach screamed "Uncle" before I did.

[Margaret]

Exactly, Claire... thanks for reading, and for leaving a comment. I don't understand why someone would eat a slice from Pizza Hut over a slice from Twin Trees or Cam's, but I seem to be in the minority.

[Claire Brennan Dunn]

I'm with you on the chain restaurants, Margaret. National chains benefit from marketing done on the corporate level. It's difficult for a local restaurant to get its name out to the dining public. The only available path seems to be serving terrific food and hoping for word-of-mouth publicity. I know local people work at and sometimes own franchises of national chains and I wish them only the best. But if Taste of Syracuse loses its local flavor it will be just like the food court at any mall in the country.