Eat First

No wonder Oneonta crows about Brooks’ chicken

Why would you drive 85 miles for a chicken dinner? You might ask yourself that question on a misty Sunday afternoon, meandering along Route 20 east and in the countryside between Cooperstown and Oneonta, stomach growling.

But then you see the smoke billowing across state Route 7, catch your first whiff of barbecue chicken in the air, glimpse the retro, blinking neon sign and note the parking lot packed with cars – and the question becomes a moot point.

Welcome to Brooks' House of BBQ. The Brooks name is a household one in Oneonta, in the Southern Tier, where generations of Oneontans have grown up on Brooks’ signature chicken and crave that hometown flavor when they move away.

Brooks’ opened in 1961, on a much smaller scale, and now boasts the largest enclosed barbecue pit east of the Mississippi. The place can seat several hundred and has grown into a roadside attraction. There’s a gift shop selling ice cream, souvenirs and many flavors of Brooks products, including sauces, seasonings, rubs and marinades, all made and packaged on site.

But back to the chicken: That’s what brought us to Brooks’, after all.

The chicken served at Brooks’ is basted with a simple sauce made with oil, vinegar, egg, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper. It’s grilled low and slow, and turned frequently, yielding chicken that’s slightly dark on the outside, moist and tender inside, and slightly smoky in flavor.

It’s a close relative of the “Cornell chicken’’ developed by the late Dr. Robert C. Baker, professor of poultry science and food science at Cornell University, who came up with an egg wash/baste recipe to help sell more chickens. It’s ubiquitous in Upstate New York: If you’ve been to a roadside or church barbecue around here, you’ve had this style of chicken.

We sampled the chicken in a half-chicken dinner and a chicken and rib combo dinner, and found it to be delicious. A half-chicken dinner sounds enormous, but when the chicken is that good, the temptation is to keep on picking at it, even after you’ve become full.

The ribs, meanwhile, were fall-off-the bone tender and glistening with a thick, somewhat sweet glaze. Meals come with your choice of potato and a trip to the salad bar – big bowls of iceberg lettuce and the usual toppings and dressings.

Supper left no room to spare for dessert, but we did tuck a slice of house-made coconut pie in the cooler, along with chicken dinner leftovers.

Had it been a nicer day, we would have eaten outside at a picnic table. A line of diners waiting to be seated snaked through the restaurant, but we eliminated wait time by requesting seats at the S-shaped counter.

Brooks is a well-run operation – no frills, no alcohol, the type of place that Jane and Michael Stern, of “Roadfood’’ fame, might seek out in their travels – and the type of place worth going out of your way for.

Why would you drive 85 miles for a chicken dinner? Because it tastes really good. 

Brooks House of Bar-B-Q is at 5560 State Route 7, Oneonta, about 85 miles from Syracuse. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Sunday. On Monday holidays (like Memorial Day and Labor Day) the restaurant is open, then closed on Tuesday. Information: (607) 432-1782. 

Get ‘em before they’re gone!

I was going to give you the scoop on making David Leibowitz’ Strawberry-Basil Ice Cream. Or tell you about the deliciousness of roasting rhubarb and strawberries, a la Food52.

So far this season, we’ve been enjoying strawberries in their natural state or almost-natural state: on top of yogurt, tossed with sugar to bring out their juices and served over frozen yogurt, etc. 

I haven’t pulled out the canning jars to make jam. Haven’t even whipped up a Strawberry Mojito!

A mild winter followed by a cold spell in May resulted in an earlier than usual – and smaller than usual – strawberry crop this year. Still, berries were in abundant supply Saturday at the Central New York Regional Market, ranging in price from $3.50 to $4.50 a quart.

I brought home two quarts of beauties and decided to freeze them for later smoothies and batches of ice cream.

Freezing berries couldn’t be easier. Or more rewarding down the road.

First, fill a big bowl with water. Add berries to the water and swirl them around. Lift the berries out with your hands to a colander (leaving sediment behind in the water). Air dry the berries or dry them gently in paper toweling.

Remove the green tops of the berries. Place berries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Freeze until firm, about an hour, then remove berries to zip-top freezer bags to store.

Any smooshed berries that are too soft to freeze? You know what to do with those. Pop ‘em right in your mouth!

 

In Syracuse (and DeWitt): Street food with gourmet flair

Food trucks are everywhere in cities like New York, serving up everything from pretzels to pad Thai. In Syracuse, they aren’t as commonplace.

So a shiny new red truck, parked on the West Side of Syracuse or along Widewaters Parkway in DeWitt, really stands out.

So does the food. It’s definitely more high-end than the usual hotdogs and burgers, though one or both of those are offered most days.

Welcome to Street Eats, a mobile restaurant owned and operated by chef Steve LeClair, a seasoned pro who has worked at area restaurants for more than 20 years, including Antonio’s, Grimaldi’s Chop House and Francesca’s Cucina.

He opened the food truck, according to the Street Eats page at Yelp.com, so he could offer food with culinary flair at reasonable prices and better connect with his customers.

It’s working, so far. Even in a steady rain on a recent weekday, lunchtime diners drove up to or walked to LeClair’s food truck, previously set up outside Pulse, a fitness studio on West Fayette Street. It has now moved to a parking lot at The Gear Factory, at the corner of West Fayette and Geddes Streets.

LeClair offers about six weekly specials ($7 to $9), like Adobo Chicken Tacos (Adobo braised chicken, shredded and served on grilled flour tortillas with salsa fresca, Monterey Jack cheese and smoky chipotle lemon crema). Don’t eat meat? You can substitute portabello mushrooms for the chicken.

I ordered the El Loco sandwich ($8), a sloppy but delicious heap of Mojo braised pulled pork shoulder, piled on a grilled roll and topped with a tasty, crunchy and slightly sweet jicama-Bosc pear slaw. I ate the loaded sandwich with plastic knife and fork, out of the rain, in my car. As it was Friday, LeClair was doing brisk business with his seafood offerings: a clam boat and fried haddock.

On the side, LeClair offers hand-cut French fries with his special seasoning, red potato salad and Mexican black bean and yellow rice salad ($2).

For dessert, you’ll find cupcakes ($2.50), usually one or two flavors a day. Delicious sounding flavors like Limoncello, Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing and Chocolate with Peanut Butter Frosting.

The Street Eats truck can be found at two locations a couple times a week: at the corner of West Fayette and Geddes Streets (Gear Factory parking lot) and at 5786 Widewaters Parkway, in DeWitt. Hours at both locations are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call 315-729-6468.

For daily menus, calendar and updates: Log on and “like” the Street Eats Facebook page.