Eat First

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.

Maggies Trackside Diner, Liverpool

I was happy to see recently that the little diner near the railroad tracks and Heid's, in the village of Liverpool, is open again -- and called Maggies (sic) Trackside Diner.

For a long time, this was the home of the American Diner, which served up Conservative politics along with eggs and bacon and earned a reputation as "maybe the most politically incorrect diner in the Empire State -- and possibly the nation'' (Fox News). 

 

The American Diner closed in July and its replacement, Maggies, debuted in late August. I stopped in on a recent Sunday, newspaper in hand, and took a seat at the horseshoe-shaped counter. The new proprietor, Maggie (Giacovelli Voultsios), wiped the counter, greeted guests and poured coffee. A gentleman seated next to me remarked that the place has been cleaned, painted and "spruced up.'' It's now decorated in a railroad motif, with train art and graphics. In addition to the counter seats, there are about 12 tables.

 

The menu is short and sweet, with the usual diner line-up: eggs every way, pancakes, waffles, omelets, etc. If you're super hungry, you'll also find things like a mashed potato omelet, biscuit and gravy bowl and giambrotte -- which the menu describes as a "Utica favorite,'' with eggs, hot and sweet peppers, home fries, Italian sausage, cheese and Italian toast. On another visit, I bet I can convince my usual diner mate to try it.

 

I ordered what has become my diner breakfast go-to: two eggs sunny side up, meat, hash browns/homefries and toast ($6.95), with coffee. In this case, the meat was Gianelli Italian sausage and the potatoes were hash browns, nicely crisped. The place was pretty packed, but it didn't take long for my food to arrive -- I was still working on the front section of the newspaper. Everything was cooked to order and hot.

 

I love diners and the diner tradition in America -- there's something quaint and comforting and Norman Rockwell-esque about them, with people from all walks of life bonding over breakfast out, prepared by someone else. I drive through Liverpool often and will definitely stop in again for my "usual'' -- and some conversation at the counter, hold the politics.

 

Maggies Trackside Diner is at 214 Oswego St., Liverpool. Hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., seven days a week. Breakfast is served all day, and lunch specials feature comfort foods like meatloaf and macaroni and cheese, with rice pudding for dessert. Information: (315) 802-6696, Facebook