Places Visited:
1. Maxie’s Supper Club
2. Hot Truck @ Shortstop Deli
3. Doug’s Fish Fry
4. Purity Ice Cream
5. Hazelnut Kitchen
Having lived in Ithaca for 4+ years while serving time at Cornell, I always enjoy making the trek upstate to get a breath of fresh country air and relive foggy memories of yesteryear. While we originally planned to go wine touring, all the great food stops along the way kept us plenty occupied… and our bellies full. Here are a few of the highlights.
1. Maxie’s Supper Club
635 W State St
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 272-4136
This is a pretty new spot in Ithaca that opened up a few years ago, and offers real smoked BBQ and a raw bar, both of which are pretty rare for Ithaca. The BBQ was pretty decent, the cheese grits were super saucy, and the andouille sausage was mighty zesty. Raw clams and oysters were half price during happy hour, and it was great to wash them down with some good local brews on tap. All in all, a great find.
2. Shortstop Deli
204 W Seneca St
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 273-1030
Had to stop by the 24-7 Shortstop Deli down on Seneca for a late night grub session, since now they’ve got the famous Hot Truck subs, a Cornell tradition. “TMBC” – six meatballs with sauce and mozz on a half loaf of toasted french bread. And they even have totally sustainable, eco-friendly cutlery and glassware too. Ithaca is becoming quite a progressive town for others to take note.
Doug’s Fish Fry
3638 West Rd
Cortland, NY 13045
(607) 753-9184
Doug’s Fish Fry in Cortland is a personal tradition that I always highly recommend to any fried seafood lover. Their East Coast-style fried fish recipe truly takes the cake, in my book. Lightly battered cod in crispy breadcrumbs, using generous chunks of fish caught fresh and shipped in from Boston, served with a zingy slaw and chunky fried taters with skin on. They also fry up scallops and clams on certain days of the week. Mmmmm mmm. Totally worth the trip.
Purity Ice Cream
700 Cascadilla St
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607) 272-1545
Purity Ice Cream is like a blast from the past. Super creamy, buttery, thick, rich, old-fashioned churned ice cream where you can taste all the flavors without any of them overpowering each other. Watch out for the “Goose Tracks” though! (Inquire within.) Good stuff in any weather.
Hazelnut Kitchen
53 E Main St
Trumansburg, NY 14886
(607) 387-4433
Our final stop on the dining expedition was a cozy little joint with a quaint rustic feel in Trumansburg by the Seneca Lake wineries, owned and operated by a super nice husband and wife couple. The food is fairly upscale but with a great local upstate flavor and vibe, using only fresh readily available local ingredients. Chef Jonah switches up the menu seasonally. Our vegetable pot pie dish had fresh parsnips and celeriac, and the huge Conan-portioned pork chop was locally raised and rubbed with fine coffee from an Ithaca beanery called GimmeCoffee, which now has a cafe down in Soho. Talk about keeping it local. Definitely call ahead, as the whole town seems to be coming to this spot on the weekends, probably with good reason.
Needless to say, we ate a good time in Ithaca. We’ll be back to eat some more soon.
Filed under: American, BBQ, Date Places, Dessert, Food Destinations, New York State, Not Cheap, Organic, Seafood, Sit Down | Tagged: BBQ, Raw Bar, Ithaca, Ithaca dining, Ithaca restaurants, upstate NY, upstate NY restaurants, trumansburg, cortland, doug's fish fry, maxie's, purity ice cream, hot truck cornell, shortstop ithaca, deli, cornell, getaways, weekend vacations, Food Destinations, travel
