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Hometown Dining Favorites Abound in New York’s Finger Lakes
Although New York’s Finger Lakes has come to be known for its higher-end culinary experiences, there is also a remarkable number of hometown, family-owned diners and restaurants throughout the region. Visitors won’t find them in Zagat guides, but Finger Lakes locals are well aware of these beloved dining landmarks.
For many, the homemade comfort food is reason enough to love diners. However, their laid-back, friendly atmospheres are another motivation to stop by. Connie’s Diner in Waterloo is a shining example of this. The diner, which was handed down to brothers Carmen and Paul Caratozzolo from their mom Connie, is a local hot spot for good food and great conversation. Although Connie retired in 1998, she still visits frequently. “She still walks from table to table talking to everyone whether they’re from town or not,” says Carmen. “She makes everyone feel at home.”
In Cortland, the conversations at Frank & Mary’s Diner provide a similar draw for locals and visitors from out of town. “I just love coming to work here, to see all the people,” says owner Tom Hartnett. “You’ll see businessmen in suits, chatting with farmers in overalls.”
To encourage more travelers to get off the beaten path and experience the Finger Lakes dining sensations that the local residents know and love, Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance has put together a suggested itinerary of some of the area’s best diners and restaurants along an easy-to-follow path. The itinerary features the following local icons:
• Curly’s Family Restaurant. Curly’s has been serving Montour Falls since 1955. Still family-owned, the restaurant specializes in steak and seafood. In keeping with family tradition, all food is made from scratch.
• Seneca Farms. Located near Keuka Lake in Penn Yan, Seneca Farms has everything from their locally famous fried chicken and delicious corn fritters to homemade ice cream. The walls are covered in antique Coca Cola advertisements.
• Connie’s Diner. This Waterloo icon is sure to catch any passerby’s eye with its friendly orange and aqua-blue sign. Homemade soups, gravies, sauces, pie shells, hash and even whipped cream are just some of the treats the owners make from scratch.
• The Hollywood Restaurant. In the historic village of Auburn, this little restaurant has a history all its own, specifically in the form of three generations of family ownership. The Hollywood Restaurant was opened in 1933, and has been in the family ever since. It has been voted the area’s best Italian restaurant several times.
• Frank & Mary’s Diner. Travelers to the Cortland region are encouraged to check out Frank & Mary’s Diner where there will be no sign of “wraps” or “garden fresh salads.” Instead, homemade favorites like meatloaf sandwiches and “early bird specials” dominate the menu. The food is diner fare taken a step further, including a “garbage omelet,” a twist on nearby Rochester’s famous garbage plates.
• State Diner. Visitors can finish their diner tour of the Finger Lakes with a stop in our quintessential college town, Ithaca. State Diner has been an Ithaca staple for over 70 years with its extensive menu of classic American foods as well as Italian and Greek favorites. As one would expect in a town full of college students pulling all-nighters, it is open 24 hours to satisfy cravings whenever hunger strikes.
For more information on down-home, delectable dining in the Finger Lakes call the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance at 800-530-7488 or visit their website at FingerLakes.org.
9th Annual Taste of Tioga Features Beer Tasting
Taste of Tioga, scheduled for September 17 from 5:30 to 8 p.m., is the premiere buy-local culinary festival and fundraiser hosted by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County. The event is at the Owego Treadway Inn and showcases the high quality foods grown and prepared right in your own backyard.
Sample gourmet style dishes including soups, salads, main courses and desserts. Over 10 local restaurants provide a tantalizing selection of foods. Shake hands with your local farmer and get to know the people who grow the great food you’re enjoying.
This year for the first time beer tasting will be available from local brewery Ithaca Beer Company, in addition to the great wine-tasting selection provided by Cherry Knoll Farm from Marathon, and Six Mile Creek in Ithaca. Take home a complimentary Taste of Tioga wine glass with your $5 wine/beer-tasting ticket.
While you’re enjoying the good food, relax to the musical stylings of Evergreen, a local traditional and Celtic music group. Be sure to enter the 50/50 and gift-basket raffle filled with goodies from local businesses.
For more information or to see the list of participating restaurants and farms visit tasteoftioga.com or call Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tioga County at (607) 687-4020.
Champagne Toast at Bristol Mountain Sky Ride
A champagne toast will be presented at the top of Bristol Mountain for any happy couple that becomes engaged on the sky ride this year. The person proposing should call Frank Riccio at 585-374-1180 to make arrangements for the complimentary mountaintop champagne toast (48 hours notice). Bristol Mountain will offer a 10-percent discount for a wedding reception to anyone who takes advantage of the sky ride proposal opportunity.
2010 Sky Ride Dates (Saturday and Sundays from 12 to 4 p.m.)
• September 25-26
• October 2-3
• October 9-11 Bristol Mountain Fall Festival on October 10th
• October 16-17
• October 23-24
• October 30-31
Senecawhitedeer.org Designs New Website
Seneca White Deer Inc. is working to preserve the unique wildlife and military history of the former Seneca Army Depot in Romulus through conservation, ecotourism and economic development. The organization’s updated website seeks to help fulfill that mission statement by presenting information in an easy-to-navigate and visually pleasing manner.
SWD proposes an ecotourism center at the former depot that would feature not only the white deer, but also the fascinating military history of the site and the other wildlife “beyond the fence.” A key part of the concept entails creating a center in which the environment, the local community and the visitors all benefit. Ecotourists learn about and observe the environment in a way that protects the environment, while providing substantial economic benefits to the community.
Combining the unique military significance of the Depot and its artifacts with the outdoor recreation and wildlife preservation potential of ecotourism would only add to the region’s huge tourism industry. Although the white deer serve as a focal point, the full range of resources at the former depot present valuable opportunities as a world-class ecotourism center. The construction, cost, development and economic impact of creating an ecotourism and military history center in Seneca County would be far less than what would be needed for most industrial or commercial development.
Seneca White Deer needs your help. Visit www.senecawhitedeer.org for more information.
Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association Comments on EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Research Study
In August, the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association (SLPWA) sent input to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), supporting the use of case studies involving hydraulic fracturing. The EPA is using the case studies as a research tool in understanding the hazards posed by hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale and drinking water supplies in wells and generally in the Seneca Lake watershed.
Presently there is a moratorium on drilling and hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale in New York State. However, four major energy companies hold multiple leases in the Seneca Lake watershed for such drilling in the future. EPA case studies of such drilling, should it occur, could provide a controlled and monitored process by which the hazards presented by these drilling technologies could be understood in the geology that surrounds the Finger Lakes.
SLPWA previously provided input to the EPA study of hydraulic fracturing shortly after the two-year study was announced in March 2010, and again in June 2010, before the research plan was approved by the Scientific Advisory Board of the EPA. The association has been active in supporting environmentally and fiscally responsible drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale of New York State by working with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Region 2 Office of the EPA.
While the EPA study focuses specifically on the impact of hydro-fracking on drinking water sources, the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association (SLPWA) is more broadly concerned with Seneca Lake and its watershed, not only as a drinking water source, which it is for some 100,000 people, but also as a region whose water supply supports a thriving economy based on industrial, agricultural, viticulture, tourism and recreational activities. For example, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail is one of the largest designated (U.S. Treasury Department) appellations (American Viticultural Area) in the eastern United States with over 11,000 acres of production vineyards. Drinking water and its consumption by humans, animals and livestock is a key survival element for those who depend on Seneca Lake for their livelihood and, indeed, their very existence.
SLPWA is an organization of over 300 property owners/residents in the Seneca Lake watershed. The association was formed in 1991 to promote the understanding, preservation and improvement of the water quality, natural habitat and general environmental conditions of Seneca Lake and its watershed. The association’s website at www.senecalake.org has current information regarding its activities and includes this set of minimum requirements for protection of the Seneca Lake watershed.
Geneva Theatre Guild Holds Auditions for The Laramie Project
How do we respond to senseless acts of violence and bigotry within our community? That is among the questions to be explored when Geneva Theatre Guild (GTG) teams up with The Theatre Program at Hobart and William Smith Colleges for a joint production of “The Laramie Project” this fall. Auditions will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday, September 7th and 8th, in The Barn on St. Claire Street at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. The play, which will be directed by Pat Collins, will be performed at the black box theatre in The Geneva Community Center on the first two weekends of November (November 5 through 7 and 11 through13).
“The Laramie Project” is an ensemble piece with parts for eight women and eight men who will portray over 70 characters. As a joint production between the Geneva Theatre Guild and Hobart and William Smith Colleges, approximately half of the cast (four men and four women) will be community members and the other half of the cast will be Hobart and William Smith students. All members of the local community 18 years of age and older are welcome to audition. No previous experience is necessary. Auditioners should dress comfortably, come prepared to move and to do cold readings of monologues from the play. They should bring a detailed list of possible scheduling conflicts. Copies of “The Laramie Project” are on reserve at the Geneva Free Library or may be purchased at The College Store on the campus of Hobart and William Smith.
“The Laramie Project” is a compelling docudrama, originally created by Moises Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theatre Project, based on interviews with the residents of Laramie, Wyoming, in the aftermath of the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a young gay student at the University of Wyoming. The play chronicles the ways in which the residents of Laramie struggled to come to terms with Shepard’s murder. In broad terms the play explores a community, not unlike Geneva (small college town in a relatively rural setting), dealing with some very real tensions within the community: discrimination, intolerance, homophobia, hate crimes and bullying. Ultimately “The Laramie Project” forces us to think about our own response to bigotry within our own community and it challenges us to consider how we might prevent similar acts of violence in the future.
In addition to actors, community members who would like to work on other aspects of “The Laramie Project” (community outreach, publicity, ticket sales, costumes, stage crew, etc) are invited to participate. For further information contact either Pat Collins (pcollins@hws.edu) or production manager Eleanor Stearns (ebstearns@rochester.rr.com).
Dig This! at the New York State Fair
The Paleontological Research Institution (PRI) and its Museum of the Earth will be bringing its popular Fossil Dig Pit to the New York State Fair in Syracuse through September 6. Visitors to the Youth Building will have the chance to hunt for fossils by digging through 380-million-year-old shale from the Ithaca area.
Central New York is filled with fossils from the Devonian period (about 350 to 400 million years ago), and it’s quite common to find them at parks or in your own backyard. The fossils can tell us a great deal about what life was like millions of years ago, and about the geology of our landscape.
“Geology is a local subject,” stated Rob Ross, associate director of outreach at the Paleontological Research Institution and its Museum of the Earth. “No two places share exactly the same sequence of geological events that led to the way they are today. In this sense, geology is a subject to be explored in one’s own neighborhood, examining the detailed sequence of rocks for the history that has gone on under our feet, and finding clues to what life was like as the earth evolved over the last four billion years.”
If you can’t make it to the fair, you can dig for fossils every day at the museum located in Ithaca. For further information or to learn about PRI and its Museum of the Earth, visit www.museumoftheearth.org.
Finger Lakes Museum Launches Founders’ Campaign
The Finger Lakes Museum has launched its first fundraising effort, which is being called the “History in the Making Founders’ Campaign.” Since Keuka Lake State Park near Branchport was selected as the preferred site to build the museum, raising funds has become the top priority of project organizers, according to Board of Trustees President and Executive Director John Adamski.
Donors can become a Founder at levels ranging from $100 to $1,000 or more, and will receive a Founder’s Certificate, a decal, and have their names permanently inscribed on a Founders’ Wall in the lobby of the museum’s main building.
The objective of the Founders’ Campaign is to raise $1 million to hire staff, purchase computers and office equipment, and furnish the museum’s new offices at the Branchport School. The school building, which has been vacant for two years, was purchased by the Finger Lakes Visitors Association for the museum’s use during the startup of operations. Funds from this effort will also pay consultants that will design and develop exhibits and museum programs at the state park campus.
A second fundraising campaign to raise the capital that will pay for the actual construction and operation of the museum project will also begin soon. The goal for that drive will be to raise $40 million.
The Finger Lakes Museum is an initiative to create a world-class educational institution to showcase the cultural heritage and ecological evolution of the 9,000-square-mile Finger Lakes Region of New York State. Doors are scheduled to open in 2014 if the capital fundraising goal is successful.
A Founders’ Campaign donation card can be found as in insert in this issue, or contributions can be made online at www.fingerlakesmuseum.org. Life in the Finger Lakes magazine became the Finger Lakes Museum’s very first partner when the project was first proposed in the Spring 2008 issue.
The British Are Back and Coming to the 2010 Mendon Station Festival
The village of Mendon is putting on another festival this year, and the British are the guests of honor. Visitors can see a British Colonial Village with re-enactments and play 18th-century children’s games. Demonstrations by the 64th Regiment of Foot Horses can also be seen. Horses will be everywhere, with exhibitions and riding demonstrations.
The festival will be held on September 11 from noon to 7 p.m. and on September 12 from noon to 5 p.m. at Mendon Station Park in the Hamlet of Mendon, Routes 64 and 251. Music, artists and the Honeoye Falls-Lima School Scholastic Art Show highlight this year’s annual festival. There will also be pony rides, miniature train rides, horse drawn wagon rides, and the popular music of the Bob Squad, the Pittsford Fireman’s Band, the Black Diamond Express and a special Jazz performance along with other musical entertainment. Visit www.mendonfoundation.com for information.
The Erie Canal as Seen Through Artists’ Eyes
Lovers of canals and new fans won’t want to miss “Re-Inspired, An Artistic Navigation of the Erie Canal,” a travelling art and history exhibition opening at the World Canals Conference at The Rochester Plaza in Rochester, from Sunday, September 19 to Thursday, September 24, 2010.
“Re-Inspired” connects the imagination of the visual arts to the creativity of the engineers who created the Erie Canal, lifting New York and the nation’s economic prospects in the 19th and 20th centuries. Curator Douglas Lazarus carefully chose regional and international artists with a knowledge and flair for color, drama and light. Along with the paintings celebrating the canal is a sculpture by Dennis Sparling dedicated to Leonardo da Vinci, who in the 15th century invented the canal lock as we know it today. Many immigrants helped build the canal so it is fitting that Cormac O’Leary of Ireland and Vincent Crotty were among the artists invited to show. Eminent historian and author Gerard Koeppel (Bond of Union) contributes texts for illustrated panels that guide us through the development of the canal.
I.D. Booth Celebrates 135 Years
Only 2 percent of all businesses survive 100 years or more, and I.D. Booth, a local wholesaler of plumbing, heating, industrial, steel and electrical supplies, is among them. Founded in 1875 by Irving Denman Booth (1843-1914), the Elmira-based company continues to prosper after 135 years, thanks to the capable leadership of five generations of Booths and the hard work and dedication of their loyal employees. Special recognition goes to Dan Murphy who has been with the company through four generations of Booths.
A celebration marking this milestone was held on August 18 at its home facility on William Street in Elmira. The fun-filled event featured a pig roast, live entertainment and vendors.
I.D. Booth supplies contractors and retailers throughout central New York and the northern tier of Pennsylvania. For more information, visit www.idbooth.com.
Hammondsport’s Seaplane Homecoming Celebrates Anniversary
On September 17, 18 and 19, seaplanes from all over the Northeast and beyond will fly into Hammondsport on Keuka Lake to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the first solo flight of Blanche Stuart Scott, the first American woman to learn to fly an airplane.
Sponsored by the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum of Early Aviation, the event reflects the love of flight and history that has been part of the museum since its inception in 1961.
Scott was the only woman that Curtiss, considered “the Father of Naval Aviation,” taught to fly. At the time, he was not convinced that women should be aviators and was reluctant to teach her. His business would be at risk if anything should go wrong. But much to Curtiss’s surprise, Scott left the ground after only a few lessons, climbed to about 40 feet and then made a perfect landing. She became known as the “Tomboy of the Air.”
Scott’s firsts didn’t end there. She was the first woman pilot in the United States, the first woman test pilot in the U.S. and the first woman to fly in commercial aviation exhibits. She was famous for her "death dive."
On Saturday, the seaplanes will be in full operation and giving people rides. At 1 p.m. the traditional “Parade of Seaplanes” will proceed down the lake and back around over Pleasant Valley Cemetery and Curtiss’s burial site.
For more information contact the museum at 607-569-2160 or visit glennhcurtissmuseum.org.
Guided Tours Answer Questions About the Erie Canal
Have you ever wondered about the locks on the Erie Canal and aqueducts visible throughout the area? Maybe you’ve wondered about the growth and decline of the canal, and how and why the first superhighway of the era opened the door to western civilization.
A three-canal village tour on Saturday, August 14, will help to answer those questions. Following the Flow: A Tale of Two Erie Canals, sponsored by the historical societies of Weedsport, Port Byron and Montezuma, will cover the remains of three Erie Canal eras between 1817 and 1918. There will be stops at five sites along 12 miles across Cayuga County. They’ll explore the canal’s unusual water flow from west to east, and will include unique stories of these three villages connected along the route.
Volunteer guides will be available at all five stops throughout the day. Free guided tours – one in Port Byron that includes the Erie House Complex, and another at the Richmond Aqueduct site at Montezuma, will be narrated by Canal Historian Mike Riley. Registration is required.
The Old Brutus Historical Society in Weedsport will have free handouts, and guidebooks for the Port Byron and Montezuma tours will be available for purchase. Coupons will be given for special discounts at area eateries.
For more information about the tour location and stops, including GPS coordinates and a schedule, visit the tour’s blog at www.canalsplash.blogspot.com, or call 315-776-3070 or 315-834-9836.
Free Field Guide Reveals Ithaca’s “Gorges” Waterfalls
The Ithaca Visitors Bureau has produced a pocketsize field guide of the city’s famous gorges and waterfalls.
The 24-page booklet includes color photos, trail info and driving directions for 19 public-access waterfalls near downtown Ithaca. They range from 215-foot Taughannock Falls, a major attraction in a popular state park, to 25-foot Potters Falls, a “local secret” in a hidden wildflower preserve. The guidebook covers the most accessible and dramatic of the 100-plus waterfalls within 10 miles of downtown Ithaca.
For a free copy of “Waterfalls In and Around Ithaca, NY,” contact the Ithaca Visitors Bureau at (800) 284-8422 or Info@VisitIthaca.com.
Award-Winning Winery Marks Anniversary
Keuka Spring Vineyards on Keuka Lake will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a party on August 15, from 12 to 4 p.m. The event will feature a pig roast, games on the front lawn of the winery overlooking the lake, live music and wine tasting. The party is open to the public, but reservations are requested.
Keuka Spring Vineyards was founded in 1981 by Len and Judy Wiltberger who continue to run the winery today. An 1800s-era gambrel barn adjacent to the vineyards served as their tasting room from 1985 to 2004 when a new facility overlooking Keuka Lake was constructed. It accommodates greater tasting-room traffic and increased wine production.
The winery is known for its wide selection of premium wines; its red and white wines have received special recognition. In 1999, Keuka Spring Vineyards was awarded the Governor’s Cup for its Cabernet Franc. More recently, its Gewurztraminer was selected as the Best White Wine Sweepstakes Winner in the San Francisco Chronicle Competition. The winery has also received Best of Class Awards, Double Gold Medals, and writeups in Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine & Spirits. It serves over 35,000 tasting room visitors each year.
Keuka Spring Vineyards is located at 243 State Route 54, East Lake Road, just outside of Penn Yan. For more information about the anniversary party and other events at the winery, visit www.keukaspringwinery.com or call 315-536-3147.
Seneca White Deer Group Holds Award Luncheon
The public is invited to the First Annual Environmental Stewardship Award Luncheon October 6 at the German House Restaurant in Rochester. Sponsored by Seneca White Deer Inc. (SWD), the luncheon will honor Jim Howe, executive director of the Central and Western New York Chapter of the Nature Conservancy; and Leo Roth, an award-winning sports writer and columnist for the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.
SWD considers Howe and Roth two of the region’s top conservation spokespersons “that personify the core values of Seneca White Deer: preservation of valuable open space, protection of habitat and outdoor recreational opportunities. Their interests are clearly consistent with SWD’s objective of protecting the extraordinary wildlife and history of the former depot,” said Dennis Money, SWD president.
Money said the organization is currently exploring the possibilities that lay “Beyond the Fence” that encloses the 10,000-acre former Seneca Army Depot. “We are primarily concerned with the several thousand acres comprising the ‘Conservation Area’ and its existing infrastructure at the depot, which, we feel, offers unique possibilities for preserving a multitude of wildlife, valuable habitat and decades of fascinating military history. This is an area few people have seen, but offers tremendous promise as a world-class tourist attraction,” he said.
Money said he expects a large turnout for the luncheon, which besides a buffet, will include a raffle, silent auction and Seneca White Deer merchandise for sale.
Obtain a luncheon order form by contacting Dennis Money at 585-394-1287 or e-mail him at whitebuck47@yahoo.com. Or, print the form from the SWD website at www.senecawhitedeer.org, or write and request the form: 4780 Deuel Road, Canandaigua, NY 14424, attn: Dennis Money.
The deadline to register for individual tickets is September 27. For table registration, September 3. The doors open on October 6 at 11 a.m., and serving begins at 11:45.
The German House is located at 315 Gregory St. in Rochester.
Map Club Wants to Borrow Your Map(s)
The Wayne County Historical Society Map Club is looking for Sanborn Insurance Maps and the Wayne County Topographic maps from 1911. They would like to borrow these maps from town offices, insurance companies or private parties for the purpose of having them scanned. Call the Museum of Wayne County History at 315-946-4943 or the office of the County Historian Peter Evans at 315-946-5470.
The club is also interested in scanning other pertinent Wayne County maps. All maps should be received at the Museum of Wayne County History by the end of August.
Anyone interested in learning more about the club may attend the next meeting on Wednesday, September 15. Visit the website, www.waynehistory.org. The Museum is located at 21 Butternut Street, Lyons. |
