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!