Continuing the Journey

After the excitement of 500 the night before there was still 5 more places in the Syracuse area to try.  I headed out from the hotel back to the Armory Square area of downtown Syracuse.  My plans for the day were to try two places in that area and then later in the day go to dinner with my niece Rebekah and her boyfriend Moon.  I arrived and parked in the same spot I had the night before.  "Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub" is directly across the street from Pastabilities and is truly an authentic Irish Pub and restaurant.  The bar area is a replication of a Dublin style pub and the dining area I was seated in was in the style of an Irish cottage manner. 

Kitty Hoynes Irish Pub in Syracuse, NY

Inside the Irish Cottage Dining Room

I looked over the menu and noticed that they had icons by the menu items that were cooked n their Triple D episode.  Before I was even greeted by server one of the  managers came up to me and said, "So this is you 501st!"  I was really taken aback, apparently the video of my 500th the night before had been uploaded on Syracuse.com and he told me he had seen it was looking forward to my visit.  I asked him to sign my book and he told me that one of the owners David Hoynes was in and he would do the honors.  My server came and took my order.  I chose two of their appetizers, both sounded great!  The apps arrived and they were wonderful, the first was an item featured on the show, the Reuben Fritters, the other was the Pork Belly appetizer.  The fritters were ball shaped and deep friend.  The filling was made up of shredded Corned Beef with Swiss and cream cheese mixed in and came with a spicy honey mustard dressing.  The Pork Belly cubes were on skewers with a nice balsamic sauce and topped with shredded fried potatoes.  Both were awesome.  The sauce that came with the fritters was great but the fritters were so good they really didn't need it.  The pork belly was delicious and the sauce and potatoes just enhanced the whole dish. 

My Kitty Hoynes Pork Belly appetizer

Reuben Fritters, an Irish staple

Inside the fritter

As I was eating David came over and introduced himself and we talked for several minutes about his restaurant and their episode.  He said that he had lived in the DC area for many years and had worked at a number of the DC area Irish restaurants before moving to Syracuse to open Kitty Hoynes, which is named after a pub in his hometown in Ireland.  As we chatted about the room I was seated in he told me how his family had heed plan and decorate each room so they represented different areas in Ireland.  He then really surprised and presented me a huge gift box that included two wine glasses, a beer glass, some Irish coffee beans and other items.  I was taken aback, this was a great and friendly gesture and I was so honored to accept it! As I finished and headed out I said my good byes to very friendly and gracious staff.  Kitty Hoynes is a must on a visit to Syracuse and is a great lace to spend an evening!

Me and David Hoynes

My next stop was just around the corner and was the first time I had ever used the Google Maps app on my phone to find the place.  It is a pretty cool app and yes, I know, everyone has been using it for years, but sometimes I can be pretty old fashioned!

The "Empire Brewing Company" has a very unique look.  It is in the basement of it's building and as you walk down the stairs from the street it's almost like you are entering the a subway station in New York City.  The restaurant has several rooms for seating and I was seated at a table by the door.  It is a bit dark with brick walls, it does have a subway feel to it.  Beyond one of the walls is a huge room with the big vats where they make beer in their own pub room.

Down the stairs to the Empire Brewing Company

Inside the dining area

I decided to try a Shandy, which is  lemon drink mixed with the Lager style beer made in the room next to where I was seated and try the Pretzel appetizer.  The Shandy was good, I am not a big beer drinker but wanted to try it.  The Pretzel plate came with two large, warm pretzels and a bowl of mild beer cheese sauce.  The pretzels reminded me of the topping on the Buffalo Kummelweck roll.  Topped with salt and seeds, they were really good and the sauce was perfect. 

Empire Brewing Company's Lemon Shandy

My Empire Pretzel appetizer

Before I left the manager came over to sign my book and she had also seen the piece on Syracuse.com and told me that a show on Sirius radio that is hosted by a native of Syracuse was talking about me on his show, boy I would like to get a copy of that!

I headed out to relax for the afternoon but had to stop back at Pastabilites to thank Gabe, the day manager to thank him, he was my contact as I was planning the night but wasn't there the night before.  We talked for a few minutes recapping the night and about the show, I am just so thankful for all he did.  I also stopped at the Pasta's Bakery to get a couple of rolls for Rebekah and Moon. 

After a relaxing afternoon I headed back into the city to meet with Rebekah and Moon for dinner at a small Lebanese place called "Byblos Mediterranean Café".  We agreed to met at 515p, but they were no where to be found.  They had gone to the other location!  After a few minutes they arrived at the location where they filmed the episode.  It is a very small place with seats for maybe 15.  The other location is a larger dining room, but I was glad to be at the place where Guy went!  Outside the food truck was sitting that the restaurant uses on weekends and in big area events.

Byblos Mediterranean Café in Syracuse

Byblos Food Truck

Even the Food Truck has a Guy Sticker

As the tree of us looked over the menu I asked if they would want to try the sampler platter, which was large enough to feed all of us, included salad and dessert and was less expensive than each of us getting a platter.  Our Sampler platter included salad for each of us, an appetizer plate of stuffed grape leaves, kibbeh (almost like an empanada), baba ganuj, hummus, falafel and pita bread.  The appetizer plate arrived and we dug in!  The grape leaves were stuffed with meat and rice.  The hummus was really good with a bit of a spice kick and the kibbeh was delicious, it's sort of like a empanada and had a meat filling with a cinnamon taste.   The main dish plate included kabobs of Beef, Chicken and Kafka (ground beef) on rice pilaf with grilled vegetables.  All of the main dishes were delicious! The meal ended with a huge slice of Baklava, and you can't go wrong with Baklava!

Byblos Mediterranean Salad

Stuffed Grape Leaves

Kibbeh

Appetizer portion of Baba Ganuj, Hummus, Falafels and Salads

Basket of Pita Bread

Main Plate of Kibbeh, Beef and Chicken Kabobs with Rice and Grilled Vegetables

Dessert Baklava

 As we finished our meal the owner of Byblos came out to sign my book, we chatted a for a few moments.  Byblos is a family run lace and we had a really nice conversation with our server about the food and about the country of Lebanon.  Lebanon is a very interesting and beautiful country.  It has been wracked with fighting for many years between Israel and the rest of the Middle East, but at one time Beirut, Lebanon's capital city, was known as the Paris of the Middle East.

After a wonderful dinner I left for the night and made plans to meet with Rebekah for lunch before I would need to be back to the airport for my flight home.

I got up to make an early trip back into Syracuse for my next to last stop on the trip.  I drove onto the campus of Syracuse University to a very eclectic place that was extremely hard to find.  "Funk N Waffles" is in a kind of strip mall and is at the end of the alley with a very small sign on the road, it took me almost 20 minutes and 3 or 4 times around the area to find it.  It would be worth the search!

I walked down the alley and finally found it and it reminded me of the Empire Brewing Company that I visited the day before as it is in the basement of the building.  The place has a theme of rock music and waffles! 

Small sign on the road makes it tough to find!

Funk N Waffles in Syracuse NY; Rock and Waffles!

You enter at the bottom of the stairs and then go to the counter to order your meal.  I am very thankful that they provide a menu because the signs on the wall are pretty confusing.  I looked over the menu and decided to get a half waffle that was made with bacon infused and topped with fresh bananas and a small cup of smooth peanut butter.  I took a seat at a table next to the "Guy Ate Here" sign, I figured it just made the visit even better.  I was surprised how fast the service was.  the waffle was very tasty and I found the best way to eat it was to cut the waffle then take a bit of the peanut butter on the fork and top it with a banana, it was great!  After finishing up I got a few of the staff to sign my book.

Funk N Waffles sign at the top of the stairs to the restaurant

My table had the "Guy Ate Here" sign

My Funk N Waffles meal - Half waffle with bacon infused, topped with bananas and peanut butter on the side

I headed out and back to the hotel to meet up with Rebekah and pack up for the flight home.  Rebekah came by a little after noon and after checking out we headed to the airport to drop my rental car back and then on to the last Triple D stop of the trip.  We headed out of the airport to a place that was a few miles away in what looked like an older industrial area of Syracuse.  "Eva's European Sweets" is set in what appeared to be an older home and the outer walls are decorated with a very cool billboard of the restaurant.  We walked in and were told that we could take any table that we wanted.  We took a table on the back wall of the front room.  There are several rooms that make up the restaurant and it has a very nice and homey feel to it.  The place is decorated like a home with mementos and pictures adorning the walls and cabinets, it was more like a home than a restaurant.  In the front corner is a piano what has a bunch of family photos, photo albums and a collage of Eva and Guy during their show taping.  Eva's is a Polish restaurant and features a large selection of Polish and Eastern European Beers, Wines and Spirits. 

Cool Wall Art

Eva's European Sweets in Syracuse, NY

As we looked over the menu, Rebekah pointed out the Placki Hungarian Style, which was the meal that they made for Guy on their episode so I decided to try that.  Placki is potato pancakes topped with a spicy tomato and beef sauce with onions and peppers and a dollop of sour cream.  Rebekah chose the small Pierogi plate that came with a bowl of sauerkraut on the side.  While we waited we met Eva and she chatted with us for a few minutes and signed the book and we took a few photos, what a nice lady!  Everyone was great and they had also recognized me form the video piece, it's weird to have people know me, I must admit!

The food came and Rebekah enjoyed her meal, I tried one her Pierogi's and it was really good, that make everything from scratch at Eva's.  My meal was really good!  They puree the potatoes like apple sauce so the consistency of the pancake is really different, it is almost like a veal cutlet, it was one of the best potato pancakes I have ever had.  The sauce was good, a bit spicy, but the sour cream cut down the heat.

Rebekah's Pierogi plate

A ide of Sauerkraut

My Placki Hungarian Style meal at Eva's

This was a great ending to a wonderful trip where I got to try a lot of different ethnic meals.  I will always have wonderful memories of this trip, not only did I get to my 500th place but I got to visit with my niece and some old friends but I made some new friends!  My Triple D count is at 505!

500!!!

I was back in Syracuse and ready to make my 500th Triple D visit.  I had been planning this for a few weeks.  I always like to have my milestone visits at a place that Guy seemed to really enjoy!  My 100th was at Benny's Seafood in Miami, 200th at Grinder's in Kansas City, 300 at Norton's Pastrami in Santa Barbara, CA and 400th at Slainte in Baltimore.  I had chosen Syracuse because my niece lives there and wanted to not only visit her and her boyfriend but also try the 5 or 6 Triple D places in the city.

I contacted the restaurant I wanted to go to because I knew there might be a group coming along and I wanted to make sure that we would be able to be seated. I chose "Pastabilities" in the Armory Square area of downtown Syracuse and after a few emails with the manager we set the day and time and it was on!  One of the managers at work suggested that I should contact the Syracuse media to tell them about the visit and after doing that I was contacted by the daily paper called The Post Standard and the weekly paper called the Syracuse New Times.  Both papers did a small feature about me prior to my arrival and I must admit both did excellent jobs!

Just prior to leaving for the restaurant I got a call from Scott, a photo journalist for Syracuse.com, the electronic division of The Post Standard, he said he would meet my at Pastabiities and wanted to do a video journal of my 500th visit.  I arrived a little before the reservation time and met with my niece Rebekah, her boyfriend Moon, and my friend Rich and Melinda who had driven 2 hours from Scranton, PA.  We went in and were seated at a round table in the back dining area.  Pastabilities is a very popular place, it was already busy!  Our server came over and told us about the menu.  I knew there were several items I wanted to know more about from their Triple D episode.  She told us that everything is made in house, they even have their own bakery right across the street called Pasta's that makes all of their baked goods and breads. 

Pastabilities in Syracuse NY, Triple D #500!

Pasta's Bakery - Pastabilites bakery for breads and baked goods right across the street

On their Triple D episode two of the featured items were their Tomato Oil bread dip and their spicy Wicked Chicken Riggies.  I asked how spicy the sauce for the rigies was and she said it was pretty spicy and would bring us out a small sample.  After taking our drink orders they brought out the Tomato Oil and bread along with a sample of the Wicked Chicken Riggies sauce. 

The bread they have is awesome, crispy crust on the outside and soft on the inside.  The Tomato Oil is like a light sauce that has a kick.  The Riggies sauce is a cream tomato sauc and is powerfully spicy, a bit too spicy for me but if you like spice it's for you!

Tomato Oil and Bread

On Guy's visit they also made a Duck Bacon pizza and we decided to order it as an appetizer.  The pizza came and there was just enough for the table a perfect szed appetizer.  The pizza had a barbecue sauce base with mozzarella and a delicious duck bacon topping.  This was a great appetizer!

Duck Bacon Pizza Appetizer

The atmosphere is great and the place was packed, they even had a jazz trio playing which really added to the festive atmosphere.  Pastabilities makes everything from scratch and in-house.  Melinda and I decided to try the Cheese Ravioli with sausage, Rich tried the Meatball Lasagna and Rebekah and Moon shared a Pasta with Pesto dish.  While we waited for the meal, Scott took some video and photos of us and interviewed me about my travels.  After only a short wait the meals arrived and all of them looked awesome.  Rich's lasagna had a scoop of ricotta on top that made it look like a cake with whipped cream on top.  The Ravioli was excellent, really good ricotta filling and a spicy tomato oil and marinara sauce.  The sausage was great and also had a bit of a spice kick.  Melinda rally enjoyed her ravioli and Rebekah and Moon really liked their pasta and mixed some of the spicy riggie sauce on theirs, I guess they like things spicy! 

My Cheese Ravioli and Sausage meal

Rich's Meatball Lasagna with a scoop of ricotta

Moon and Rebekah's Pesto Pasta

The table fell a bit quiet as we were really enjoying our meals.  Melinda commented that she wished it wasn't a 2 hour drive from Scranton or they would be back often!  I was so happy that everyone was enjoying themselves.  As we were finishing I asked our server if Karyn, the owner was in to get her to sign my book and she said that she wasn't but her daughter was in as the manager for the night and would be happy to do it.  Our server then returned and said that Karyn had just arrived and would be coming to join us, just before that Karyn's daughter came over to introduce herself and then Karyn came over and I recognized her immediately!  Karyn sat with us and talked to all of us and told us about the restaurant and about Guy's visit.  It had been in August 2012 during the New York State Fair, so it was a very busy time.  She told me that they had been busy before the show came but there were some slower times but since their episode debuted they never have slow times! 

Karyn, Pastabilites owner and me

Karyn and me

 

Karyn, Rich and me

Karyn signed my book and was just such a gracious host to us.  As she left for a few minutes as Scott wanted to interview her about the restaurant and her Triple D episode Rich and Melinda ordered an after dinner drink and Rebekah, Moon and I decided to share the Raspberry Tiramisu.  It was traditional Tiramisu with a wo layers of raspberry sauce and fresh raspberry topping, it was wonderful! 

Raspberry Tiramisu

Karyn gave me a give box of two jars of the Tomato Oil, a tee shirt and some Post cards of the different items that Pastabilites features, it was a great surprise, I am so honored that she did that!

It was a wonderful evening and I couldn't have asked for a better time to celebrate my 500th visit to a place featured on "Diners Drive ins and Dives"  As we left Karyn came over to thank us for coming and I just had to thank her for being a gracious and perfect host!  I will always remember my 500th and be grateful for Karyn and her staff!

Our group (Left to Right) Melinda, Rebekah, Moon, Rich and me

On the road to 500

I get excited each time I get closer to a milestone Triple D visit.  Just a few more and I would be at 500.  I decided to take a trip to see my niece in Syracuse and use that trip to get to my 500th.  My plan was to fly into Syracuse and before going to visit Rebekah, drive to Buffalo and visit a few places prior to making my 500th visit with Rebekah in Syracuse.  I left Dulles on a rainy afternoon for the hour flight to Syracuse.  Prior to my trip I had been contacted by two newspapers in Syracuse about my travels, The Syracuse Post Standard, a daily paper, and the Syracuse New Times, which is a weekly paper.  After landing I saw a few stands of the New Times in the terminal with the edition that featured my story so I picked up a few copies, the reporter, Margaret McCormick wrote a very nice and complimentary article!  I got my car and headed out for the 2 and a half hour drive to Buffalo.

After the long but fast drive I arrived in the Buffalo area and my first stop.  "Blackthorn Restaurant and Pub" is in South Buffalo in a small older neighborhood.  You enter into the bar area and then the dining area is up a set of stairs.  It sort of reminded me of being in someone's home.  I took a seat at a high top table in the bar area and was warmly greeted by the bar tender.  The walls are adorned with Irish decorations. 

Blackthorn Restaurant and Pub in South Buffalo

I had looked at their website and checked out the menu before I made the trip and knew exactly what I wanted, the Triple D Platter.  Thus consisted of all the items that they made during Guy's visit in 2009.  The platter had a Beef on Weck slider, a cup of Beer Cheese Potato Soup, a Crab Cake and two Broccoli Cheese Fried Nuggets.  This was  the perfect meal for my visit.  All of the items were delicious.  Beef on Weck is a Buffalo must have sandwich, something that is unique to the Buffalo area.  It's a roast beef sandwich on a Kummleweck Roll.  The roll has a baked topping of salt and Kummleweck seeds and is delicious.  The one item I was very weary of was the Crab Cake.  I remember on the show that they called it a Baltimore style cake.  I was skeptical because the filler was not like any I had ever had in Baltimore, but I was pleasantly stunned as this was a really good Crab Cake with a lot of crab meat.

Blackthorn's Triple D Platter

Beer Cheese Soup

Loaded with Potato chunks

Buffalo's Iconic Beef on Weck slider

Blackthorn's Crab Cake

Loaded with Crabby goodness!

It was a wonderful start to the trip.  The bar tender took my book back to the kitchen and had the chef sign it.  I headed out to the next stop just a few miles away in the town of Lackawanna to meet my friends Jim and Lisa along with their daughter, boyfriend and Lisa's dad.  "Mulberry Italian Ristorante" is at the end of what seems like an older quiet neighborhood, this is the home of the softball sized meatballs!.  I arrived early and just as I was getting out of the car Jim and Lisa arrived.  We went in and because we were so early out table was not ready so we sat at the bar. 

Mulberry Italian Ristorante in Lackawanna, NY

Jim and I outside the restaurant

We told the hostess about my travels and that I would like to get my book signed before we left.  She told us that the owner and chef was in and that he was going to be leaving soon so if she could get the book and take it back and have him sign it.  She came back with it and said he wanted to come out and meet us and sign it then which was perfect!  Joe came out signed the book and spent about 10 minuted talking with us about the restaurant, the food and the show, he is a great guy.  As we waited Joe decided to send out some appetizers on him!  They brought us about 4 different items; 3 or 4 of their famous meatballs, Cheese stuffed prosciutto, Fried Mozzarella, and Pork and Ricotta meat balls.  They were all awesome and so generous of Joe to let us try them!

Joe, Mulberry's Chef and owner signing my book

Mulberry's famous softball sized Meatball

Cheese filled Prosciutto appetizer

Fried Mozzarella

Pork and Ricotta Meatballs

After all that, none of us were sure we'd have room for dinner!  We were seated at a large table in the back dining room area and had a wonderful time!  I ordered the house made ravioli and it was great.  Jim ordered the Lasagna, which is the signature dish, the only reason I didn't try that was because I remembered on their episode the portion was huge!  It looked awesome and the reviews of all of at the table could only be described as rave!

Mulberry' specialty the Lasagna!

It was a great night of food and friends and that's what this journey is all about!  Seeing old friends and making new ones! 

Our table at Mulberry!  Great friends and wonderful food!

We said our good byes and I headed to my hotel for the night.

The next morning my plan was to go to a few more places in the Buffalo area before heading back to Syracuse to get to my 500th Triple D place!  My first stop was a small but very friendly place on the eastern side of the city.  "Sophia's Restaurant" looks like a house built in an industrial area of the city.  Surrounded by garages and small businesses it looks a bit out of place. 

Sophia's Restaurant in Buffalo

I entered and was warmly greeted by several members of the staff and told to find any seat I wanted.  I chose a table near the door and adjacent to the colorful specials board.  I looked over the menu and decided to try a short stack of Banana Walnut Cinnamon Pancakes.  As I waited I told my server about my journeys and asked to get someone to sign my book and she went and got Sophia, the namesake of the restaurant! 

Sophia's Specials Board

Sophia came by and recalled to me Guy's visit to her restaurant.  She ran the place in the past but has since made her son the owner of the restaurant so when Guy came to film back in 2009 she was not aware of it and sort of ran into Guy by accident.  She really had a lot of nice tings to say about Guy and hopes that he will one day return to the restaurant.   My meal came and the short stack didn't seem to short!  The pancakes were delicious, even though there was a bottle of syrup on the table they didn't need any syrup at all, now that's the sign of a good pancake! 

Inside Sophia's

My Banana Walnut Cinnamon Short? Stack

Sophia was surprised when I asked her to sign the book so we decided that anyone on the staff that wanted to sign would and about 10 members of the staff did, it was great!  This was a wonderful visit and Sophia's has a real family feel, not only with the staff but with the patrons!  Sophia's is a must for breakfast if you are in the Buffalo area.

I headed out to my next stop on the east side of the city.  This place is named after the winter phenomenon that has made Buffalo so famous.  "Lake Effect Diner" is a classic silver style diner and has a lot of cool neon. 

Lake Effect Diner in East Buffalo, NY

Very True!

I took a seat at the counter and decided to try the Potato Pancakes.  As I waited I saw and admired all the stainless steel throughout the restaurant.  The "Guy Ate Here" painting was painting behind the counter on the stainless wall. 

Lake Effect's "Guy Ate Here" painting behind the counter on the stainless wall

The pancakes came out and they were the most unusual potato pancake I had ever had.  I could really taste the bold flavors of the onions and spices but what was so unusual was the shredding of the potatoes, they were shredded thin almost like a julienne cut.  The cakes were not as heavy as most potato cakes are.  Sour Cream and Apple Sauce accompanied the meal.

Lake Effect Diner's Potato Pancakes

y server who was featured in their Triple D episode signed my book before I left.  I had just one more Buffalo place to try before heading back to Syracuse.

My last stop was the old hunting lodge of President Grover Cleveland, in the town of East Amherst, NY.  "Grover's Bar and Grill" is a very cool log building with a lot of eclectic wall decorations.  I arrived shortly after they opened and I knew exactly what I wanted.

Grover's Bar and Grill in East Amherst, NY

Grover's bar area

On the show Guy had Grover's house made Cheeseburger Soup and he raved about it, I knew this is what I wanted to try.  The cup of soup is a thick cheese based soup with chunks of ground beef and tomatoes, basically this is liquid cheeseburger!  I met the owner and she signed the book and really made me feel at home. 

I headed out for the two and a half hour drive back to Syracuse.  I had gotten to all of the places I had wanted to try and happy that my Triple D count was now at 499, just one more to the milestone 500!