Life's short. Eat dessert first?
Woo-hoo! Another weekend is upon us. But we’re still savoring the soul-satisfying day trip and leisurely lunch we had last weekend in the Finger Lakes.
For Christmas, we received a gift certificate to the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua. As happens with gift certificates sometimes, its expiration date was nearing.
We visited the website and considered signing up for a culinary class or kitchen skills workshop. There are plenty of them, including pie making, bread baking and farm-to-table outing and meal prep in the center’s state-of-the-art kitchen.
In the end, we decided to make a reservation at the Taste of New York restaurant. The restaurant had just introduced its early fall menu, which still features many summer flavors.
Among the things we enjoyed:
Wine flight ($12; choose three) with Anthony Road dry Riesling, Long Point Ciera (semi-dry rose) and Dr. Frank Old Vine Pinot Noir. I would be happy to have a bottle of each of these wines in our cellar. Robert’s beer flight ($8; choose four) featured a couple pale ales and an interesting fruit ale (blueberry) from Long Island.
Cold smoked salmon with capers, red onion, radishes and arugula salad ($11).
White pizza with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, caramelized onion, pepper Flakes and garlic oil ($11).
Chilled gazpacho with basil, cilantro, avocado and heirloom tomato, swirled with spiced sour cream ($8).
Butternut squash ‘flan’ on a thin layer of spice cake, garnished with what appeared to be browned bits of candied ginger. A dessert made to match the changing seasons.
Canandaigua is a great walking town on a nice day (don’t miss the historic boat houses at the city pier), and we intentionally parked a distance from the NYWCC, in the shopping distance on South Main Street, knowing a walk after lunch would be in order.
It wasn’t our first trip to the New York Wine and Culinary Center, and it definitely won’t be our last. Thank you, Eileen and Dave, for a great day!
The New York Wine and Culinary Center is at 800 S. Main St., Canandaigua, overlooking the pier. Information: 585-394-7070.
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