185932 Fri Oct 06 15:28:54 -0700 2000 19 16 Mid-Atlantic 0 996283 Just catching up on my message-boarding and read the two-year old posts on eateries in Ithaca and vicinity. It needs some updating: Dano's on Cayuga, downtown Ithaca, just around the corner from the Commons, is the best high falutin' restaurant for a couple of parsecs. And not really that high falutin. The alleged style is ersatz viennese, but Dano is just a damn good cook no matter what. Well thought out and reasonably priced winelist. You will definitely need reservations when it's parents weekend at Cornell. Dano also operates a less formal spot during the warmer weather (I believe it closed for the 2000 season Sept. 30) at the Standing Stone Vineyards on the east shore of Seneca Lake, about 30-40 minutes northwest of Ithaca. Here, he does Heuriger (Viennese word for new wine, and place where it is served), featuring picnic-type fare. A few weeks ago three of us made a perfect lunch of three or four salads and a veal sausage, downed with the light viennese wine served in a mug. For more info on Dano's here are the URLs: http://www.fingerlakes.net/danos/ http://www.standingstonewines.com/danos/danos.html I agree with a previous writer that Tapas is certainly worth a visit. And they even have decent fino sherry! Best in the warm weather when you can eat in the backyard patio. The tapas may not be the real thing, but it's close enough. For more down and dirty Chowhound style food, try Glenwood Pines, a classic Dew Drop Inn kinda joint just up the road overlooking Cayuga Lake from high atop the east bank. Basic burgers and beer, a smoky bar and a pool table. But a dining room overlooking the lake. Used to have homemade onion rings, but they've switched the frozen drek, I hear. Still, a fun place. I used to enjoy Rene's, but two friends tell me this fancy American has gone downhill a bit, with poorer service, to boot. A better bet would be Pangea for a World Beat meal. The restaurant is the pits, but the pizza from Napoli is aces. Bring it home or get it delivered. Can't endorse Coyote Loco. Sugary, watery margaritas. So-so Mexican food (I'm guessing lotsa frozen entrees, but I could be wrong.) Still, not much choice if Mexica is what you crave. Collegetown Bagels (multiple locations) has NY quality bagels. Lox is pre-sliced -- unless you go to the Ithaca Bakery (I believe it's the same ownership), where they'll slice not just nova, but belly lox to order. My wife's biggest complaint: No Dunkin Donuts in town. She's got to go all the way to Binghamton for her fix. About Moosewood: Unless you are a religious vegetarian, not worth the trip. Not bad, just not great. Very variable, though the soups always seem to be on target. Joe's: I agree with the basic comments. So-so (but certainly palatable) Italian food, but worth it for the ambiance. Best hamburger and pie joint (if it's still there): The Triangle Diner, 1526 State Route 90, N. King Ferry, about 30-35 minutes north of Ithaca. It's been about a year since I visited, and it had a "For Sale" sign on it back then. But if it's still in business, worth a detour. Excellent hamburgers and even better home made fruit pies. The "lady" comes in to bake them weekly (and put them in the freezer for off-season serving). Fri Oct 06 15:28:54 -0700 2000 0 Bob Libkind 1 996284 Is Giovanni's (right on the mall) still open in Ithaca? I had a really great dinner there a couple of years ago -- I still remember a deeply satisfying sour cherry & chestnut soup and amazing feather-light gnocchi. Fri Oct 06 15:49:25 -0700 2000 996283 0 MU 2 996285 It's still there. I've been meaning to try it, since I've heard good things about it. Fri Oct 06 15:58:19 -0700 2000 996284 0 Bob Libkind 1 996288 Just returned from a weekend visiting a friend in Ithaca, my first trip there. Of course, I had to try out Moosewood, and I must say that I was sorely disappointed. The service was slipshod but friendly, with servers offering the wrong food to people about five times within our view while we were there. The food was slightly updated 70's era vegetarian. Not quite steamed veggies with brown rice, but not a giant step up from there. I always wondered why the things I cooked from the Moosewood Cookbook never came out that great--now I know why. The food's not that good! The lentil soup was somewhat bland, but the creamy potato was pretty tasty. We tried the gado gado and the moussaka. The gado gado was so uninspired: chopped peppers, lettuce and tofu smeared with gobs of peanut-y sauce. The moussaka noodles were overcooked and the overall dish was just ok. Boring. However, a meal at Just a Taste was the total opposite. It bills itself as a tapas bar, so even though there were some pasta dishes and stuff on the menu, that's what we stuck to. We had sauteed greens with stilton (yummy), foccacia with roasted garlic, organic roasted fingerling potatoes, tuna tartare, and a shrimp dish that I can't remember the details of. Everything was good to great. Along with the meal we had a local Riesling that was pretty nice. We stopped in Ithaca Bakery after visiting the country's third largest booksale next door. We didn't get to sample too many things, so I can't give a total recommendation, but the croissant sandwiches we got were pretty good. I would strongly recommend against the Six Mile Creek Vineyard on Rt 79 east outside Ithaca. The only wine that was bearable was a white with a name I can't remember, something like Vilenos. They were having a tasting that day, and people were buying cases like no tomorrow. I can't explain it. On the way out of town, we stopped in a coop store and picked up some organic tofu that is made in Ithaca. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll keep you posted. Based on some recommendations, we unfortunately stopped at Roscoe's Diner on Rt 17 on the way back to the city. Most likely this place was good at one time (or maybe not), but it's definitely out of its heyday now. Among other things, when they didn't know what malteds were, I asked for an ice cream soda. When the waiter put it down, he said, "I hope you like it, it's my first one." Scary. It turned out to be seltzer with a scoop of vanilla. Uggh. They nicely replaced it with something else, however. Wed Oct 11 18:05:34 -0700 2000 996283 0 Peter Cuce 2 996289 The Roscoe Diner, as of about a year ago, was as you reported EXCEPT for phenominal rice pudding. They are also able (apparently if you get the right server) of making a very fine vanilla milkshake. Wed Oct 11 20:49:32 -0700 2000 996288 0 Tara 1 996298 Thanks for your good summary of restaurants in the Ithaca area. I think you left one out -- the Thai place on Rte. 13 across from Wegmans -- can't remember the name. Although I get up to Ithaca only once a year or so, I always make sure to eat there once or twice. I think the food is better than any Thai I've had in NYC. Moosewood is a whole lot of hype with really quite awful, overpriced food. Last time I peered in, I saw that they were selling mugs and T-shirts (oh, please) and that the night's special was rice and beans for $10. That's not my idea of "special." For several years I was a professional cook, and my passion for cooking was fostered by the recipes in their cookbook (25 years ago). I also remember eatting in the original Moosewood when I was in high school, when it was located in the basement of the Clinton House. At one time the food was much better, but it was never great. I know a few people in the cooperative, and I suspect they are tired and bored after doing this for 20 plus years, and the food reflects that. By the way, the original Moosewood Cookbook, as written by Molly Katzen, is really the "Molly Katzen Cookbook." There was quite a ruckus about this when it came out, because she received most or all of the royalities after pilfering the members' recipes. Tue Oct 17 08:02:19 -0700 2000 996283 0 Pat 2 998702 Have to agree with you about Moosewood. I've had one good meal there, back in 1974. I've been back there many times since then, and it's sucked every time. I grew up in Ithaca. Molly Katzen was one of my babysitters when I was a kid in Ithaca. I have all of her cookbooks. They're pretty useless to me. Wish I could visit there more often - I've never heard of any of these restaurants, except for Thai Cuisine, which I visited many years ago. Fri Jul 18 00:09:41 -0700 2003 996298 0 Steve Drake 1 996300 when my brother graduated from cornell my whole family stayed at a motel outside ithaca and somewhere between that motel and ithaca was the rustic realities restaurant. we went there for breakfast one morning and were the only people in the dining room. someone ordered strawberry pancakes, and the most incredible pancakes i've had before or since arrived. we went back there every day after that. that was about fifteen years ago but those are still the best pancakes i've ever had. i have no idea where the rustic realities restaurant is, but i would love to head up there some time and try to find it. Wed Oct 18 11:19:03 -0700 2000 996283 0 emily 1 996314 In the original go-round updating Ithaca restaurants, I noted that the Triangle Restaurant was a good pick, butr that I hadn't been there for a year and a "for sale" sign was posted on it. Also, one of the response messages wondered about Giovanmni's.I've since been back to both, and have positive news to report:Triangle Restaurant, about 35 minutes north of Ithaca in Kings Ferry, remains in business with the same tasty home-cooked food -- especially the pies! Nothing fancy at this roadside joint (which seemed to be populated on a Saturday evening in mid-October by the Finger Lakes equivalent of Norweigian bachelor farmers). Just good solid food and very reasonable prices. I had a pork steak with pototoes, coleslaw and veggies for $6.95. The only entree plate that went in to double digits (and just barely) was the steak. Enjoy the apple pie with a slab of sharp cheddar.Giovanni's: Located at the corner of Aurora and Seneca in downtown Ithaca, just a half block from the Commons. This is a "fancy" Italian restaurant, but entrees range from $15 to $20; pastas a lit6tle bit less; appetizers $4 to $8. This being Ithaca, its menu has a slight tendency to be politically correct, i.e., no veal. So, the saltimbocca is made with Bambi (oops, farm-raised venison) instead of Little Cow. I like venison, but in this dish, I'd rather have the veal. Why they don't use humanly-raised red veal instead, I don't know. Political correctness aside, this is a fine place to enjoy a meal, just be prepared for rather rich dishes, apart for one or two pasta items. For starters we shared a pumpkin-amaretti ravioli dish, topped with a goat cheese-sage sauce and toasted pumpkin seeds. Quite luscious! And better shared; the rich sauce is a sure artery-clogger. My dining companion chose the saltinbocca and enjoyed it (like I said, I'd rather have it with veal), and my pork fillet with grilled polenta,accompanied by julienned carrots and woodsy herbs was pleasantly seasonal, if not inpiring. Next time I'll try the farm-raised boar stew. The wine list seemed fairly price, and was strictly Italian or Italian-style California. Although desserts seemed interesting, they appeared exceedingly rich. So, we went home and had a little bit of Bassetts' pumpkin imported from Philadelphia (hardly a dietician's dream, either).PS: The Bassetts pumpkin actually tasted like pumpkin, not merely pumpkin pie spice. No more is left in the warehouse, but as of last Friday, the Reading Terminal Market outlet still had two 10-gallon containers left to dig portions out of. If you want it, you better get it now, or else you'll have to wait until the fall of 2001. Sun Nov 12 11:45:16 -0800 2000 996283 0 Bob Libkind 1 996329 I'm an organic farmer and sell vegetables to restaurants in the Ithaca area. I've eaten at a bunch of the restaurants and seen the kitchen's (and walk-ins of a whole slew of them) and here's my pick's for the best. I'll put an asterisk to some of the restaurant's I sell to. cheap and hearty: Doug's fish fry in cortland and skaneateles...the food is actually fried with fresh ingredients... ShortSTop deli is open 24/7 and you can get just about anything on your sandwich there. Beach's is really cheap diner food for breakfast and lunch (under $3) out in Alpine on 224? I think...(take a left at alpine junction) it's only open till 2:00 pm. the food's so-so but what do you want for $3? and the atmosphere's great! Napoli is the best pizza place around they actually put enough sauce on the pizza. Mid-priced Four Seasons in college town is decent korean food esp. for the price...they don't serve alcohol there but you're free to bring your own... Spike's Barbeque* on rt 96 out to trumansburg is really good barbeque in a southern style for this far up the mason dixon line. I like there ribs a lot... Viva Tacqueria's* snot bad, I really like there chorizo appetizer...I can't remember what it's called but its plain tortillas with a fondue like sauce (with chorizo in it) They also have good salads... I also like the Glenwood pines a lot too! it's got great fish fry and burgers... Also a vietnameses restaurant on collegetown on dryden is pretty good too. I think Chef Peking up in the mall is the best chinese place in Ithaca, but that's not saying too much...it's decent enough (use quality ingredients) but nothing extra-special Fancy-Schmancy: Maxie's*: a bit trendy but the food is pretty good and well arranged on the plate...the crab soup is great! Just a Taste* is a good Tapas especially around upstate ny. The dishes change daily but some of there old standbys: braised greens with some kind of cheese, fried russett potatoes with aeoili sauce are really yummy. I think Pangea* is the best fancy restaurant--they really have unique stuff going on there... Thai Cuisine is the thai place across the street from wegmans...the quality has dropped in the last couple of years...and so I've stopped going. John Thomas* on 96B is great steakhouse. I've never eaten at the restaurant but have sneaked away with some of the tastiest tidbits from the kitchen when I've delivered veggies there. I don't know what their menu's like "on the floor", though. Mon Dec 04 01:08:25 -0800 2000 996283 0 chaw 1 996594 It was one of the best I have ever had. On very rare instances, you can spot GiGi by the window around 7pm or so. BC Wed Aug 01 08:25:25 -0700 2001 996283 0 Brad Clemens 1 996889 Just to supplement the last posting. I've lived in ithaca for 22 years and used to do restaurant reviews for a local newspaper. On the upper end : Danos is an excellent choice as stated. Don't miss speaking with Dano as he circulates the dining room, he's not only an excellent chef but also a personality and a cool guy. Rene's has closed recently. Madeleines on the commons is another possibility. Beautiful bar and definetely the place to sit even if you're having a full dinner. Fusion food; owned by Lex who is Thai which makes for some interesting dishes. The desserts are not to be missed. Lex is also the FORMER owner of Thai Cuisine and Just a Taste. Just A Taste on aurora st. is always a good choice, especially in the summer on their nice patio.Eclectic creative dishes and one of the few top restaurants open for lunch. Heights Cafe in community corners shopping center is another favorite. Recently expanded and upscaled, the seafood is excellent. No need to order an appetizer. They serve a complimentary starter plus good bread on the table and include a salad with dinner. Definetely order coffee or decaf after your meal. The accompaniments; choc. chips, whipped cream. crystallized sugar sticks etc. show their attention to detail. For Thai, feel free to skip Thai Cuisine (which is very popular) and try the new thai restaurant on the commons just across from Madelaines. Fabulous food, nice people. I second the idea of skipping ithacas most famous restaurant Moosewood. Nothing special, basically unfriendly service and the food is ordinary at best and no value. Cabbagetown Cafe(vegetarian) was the real thing but is no longer open. Julie Jordan Cabbagetowns owner now consults for Wegmans and fans can get a Wings of Life salad at the grand supermarket. In Collegetown, try Alladins for vegetarian fare(they also have meat dishes). Excellent soups and salads, fresh pasta and middle eastern specialties.I love the lentil soup topped with strips of grilled chicken. I agree that Coyote Loco is well past it's prime. For Mexican go to Viva on aurora st. right off the commons. Best value in town for food which is mostly good but basic except the Chicken mole enchiladas which is exceptional and on another level than the other offerings.(even the staff agrees). If you're solo it's cool to sit at the bar (smoke free) have a GOOD margarita (try the house and not the basic, sauza hornitos instead of cheap tequilla and only $1 more, and make the scene. Some local is bound to join you and the bartenders are generally friendly. My secret weapon for "experiences" is Thanh The a vietnamese/chinese hole in the wall on west state st.The owner Lieu is the friendliest restaurateur i know. She's also the cook and waitress along with her daughters. Introduce yourself, she'll make anything you like. You'll leave feeling like a friend, not a customer. For people watching i'd try the Dewitt Cafe in Dewitt Mall a converted grammer school for lunch . Everybody walks by. OR a drink (i don't recommend the food, ok, but there's much better) at Simeons on the commons when you can sit outside. Real Tompkins county , hippie, great place is The Rongo in Trumansburg. Best bar , has live music many nights. From the 70's til now it's still wonderful and reflects ithacas alternative scene. In a similar genre try brunch at ABC cafe on stewart ave. Great guacamole cheddar omelettes. Cafes- try the coffee at Gimme on cayuga st. has a huge following for a strange location. I love the coffee at the new Strand cafe off the commons on state st. Don't miss Mayors for a newspaper , magazine or smokes. Junas on the commons with a nice upstairs has good coffee and pastries and you can pass lots of time with no one bothering you. For good ithaca fast food go to center ithaca on the commons. it's all good. Theres Shri Lanken food. Indian, Middle Eastern, Vegetarian. 5 or 6 different booths under one roof. It's hard to spend more than $5. for a good meal. Fast food note: Ithaca is the only town i know where a Mcdonalds, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut all went out of business in the center of town. Try the bar at Maxies especially on Sunday night when they have free music. The cajun food is good, lots of seafood, but i don't like the dining room. One of the in bars to hang. The Nines in collegetown is a longstanding tradition for beer and pizza. Also has live music; famous for Blue Monday their weekly blues jam with their house band and any guests who want to sit in. For 24 hour greek diner food the State St diner is the classic with Manos a close second(not as much personality). Finally Purity Ice Cream on Rt. 13 is a local institution. Try the Mocha Chip their most popular flavor. There's more but this can get you started. Mon Jan 07 19:25:31 -0800 2002 996283 0 Steven Freidmutter 2 998149 As background: I spent 5 years in Ithaca while going to Cornell. I go back about every 3 months since I graduated in '00. I love eating out, and consider myself to be a "foodie." I've been to many of the "best" places in Ithaca at least a handful of times. Ithaca is a great dining town in that the ethnic diversity has really led to a culinary explosion of sorts -- especially considering that the town is in upstate new york. This being said, there are maybe only a handful of really good restaurants in Ithaca. Additionally, things tend to change quickly in ithaca, and you may soon find your favorite restaurant out of business or in rapid demise. My recommendation is to go to particular restaurants just for certain meals, and don't expect too much of any restaurants overall menu. Below are what i consider the best meals in ithaca or the best values. Values: 1) Sangham - decent, cheap, Indian lunch buffet. $5.95. They typically have excellent tandoori chicken. Other stuff is a little spotty. 2) Sakura - early bird special between 5 and 6 pm. Dishes are drastically reduced in price. Easy to get seating at this time. Quality can be sub-par at times. 3) Benchwarmers - Sports bar in commons. Their "sweet and spicy" wings are one of my favorite things to eat in ithaca. Especially convenient on wing night, when the wings are 20 cents a piece. This is a great, cheap meal. 4) Little Thai House - Stuff can sometimes be sitting there for a while. If you time it right, (i.e. when busy), or know what dishes to get, you can have a very satisfying lunch or dinner for not much money. 5) Pizza Aroma - Great little pizza joint in commons. Almost a mexican style of pizza, with cornmeal on bottom of crust. On the whole though, it's pretty good. I usually enjoy chicken combo pizza's -- i.e. chicken and broccoli pizza. 6) Hai Hong - Chinese downtown. Lunch buffet is fantastic deal. Only problem is you need to drive there. Great way to sample ithaca's highest quality chinese. 7) Hope's Way - In triphammer mall. Have a fantastic array of salads (at least a dozen choices - many of which are meat based salads) and sandwiches. I usually get the "salad plate" where you get a heaping portion of two salads (i.e. chicken salad), along with a hunk of french bread, and some fancy greens. Great value. 8) Vietnam Restaurant - Get the number 23. Enough said. Don't get soups or so called "pork roll". That stuff is just bizarre. Can't go wrong with 23, which is rice noodle vermicelli with marinated/spiced roast beef on top, as well as with meatroll on top, which is kind of like an incredibly tasty eggroll (much better than an eggroll). it's relatively healthy, filling, and cheap. one of my favorites. Favorite Meals: 1) Madeleine's - Only for dessert. Regular dinner cuisine is good, but too pricey for what you get. The restaurant tries too hard to be trendy and implements some interesting fusion techniques. But again, not worth it. Desserts are another story -- they are all wonderful. 2) Benchwarmers - Wings. See above. 3) Vietname Restaurant - Number 23. See above. 4) John Thomas - Steak is fantastic, usually. Went there once and it was subpar. Recommend to get wild mushroom demi-glas sauce instead of standard john thomas sauce. 5) Thai Cuisine - This use to be one of my favorites. Has gone downhill a bit. They typically have fantastic massaman curry beef. 6) Hope's Way - For a take out lunch of the "salad plate." See above. 7) Hai Hong - Anything on the specials menu (the little blue menu) is usually fantastic. Especially beef with peppers and onions, or mayo shrimp. Overall, a great chinese place, and unlike the buffets or collegetown joints. 8) Maxie's - very good food in general. unbeatable if you go for "happy hour" when they have 1/2 price raw bar. Recommend to go there, get dozen oysters, and a nice large hefe-weizen type beer (i.e. hoegaarden). 9) Hot Truck - Almost any combination is fantastic. If you stick to basic ingredients such as cheese, sauce, meatball, lettuce, mayo. -- you can't go wrong. For more daring, try bbq chips. Surprisingly tasty. Overall fantastic taste and value, even more so when drunk. Has gone downhill since Bob's departure. 10) Little Thai House - I almost always get the pad thai w/ sweet and sour chicken. I tend to like thai dishes on the sweeter side, and these definitely satisfy. Great bang for the buck. Sun Mar 16 14:41:51 -0800 2003 996889 0 Rob B 3 998150 sorry. one addition to favorite meals... 10) Glenwood Pines Restaurant - The pines burger with thousand island dressing is truly fantastic. Maybe the best burger i've ever had. Definitely the finest in ithaca. Sun Mar 16 14:43:54 -0800 2003 998149 0 rob b 4 998151 Update to my previous posts: Giovanni's out of business for the past 1 year+. Dano's closed recently. Dano is taking a year off pending opening a Viennese-style Heuriger country spot on Seneca Lake next year, I am told. Sun Mar 16 21:09:50 -0800 2003 998150 0 Bob Libkind 5 998281 I have to report that over the past few months Coyote Loco has undergons some major improvements (new management, maybe?) In any case, I highly recommend it as the best place in Ithaca for good, fresh mexican and the best margaritas in town (once again!) I especially recommend the tamales. Wed Apr 23 17:56:00 -0700 2003 998151 0 Weber 6 998391 Went to Coyote Loco tonight, and tamales are no longer on the menu. Must have just came off, because one of the three menus handed to our table still had them listed -- they forgot to replace that page. Server said they weren't selling, although they are considering bringing them back. I told them to get the lard out and get them back. Fri May 16 21:23:45 -0700 2003 998281 0 Bob Libkind 6 999026 I just heard this past week that Coyote Loco is closing. Valentine Cafe has also closed but two new restaurants are around: Za Za's, which is the same one owned by the guy who owns Madeline's in the Commons, and Renee's, which is actually a return of the old Renee's down on Fall Creek Cinema. I like Pangea although the seating is awkward. Za Za's is horrible, and apparently they have already replaced the head chef twice, but the space, is GORGEOUS. Renee's, I've been once, and it was great, food, just wow, but there's no wine list yet so that's an annoyance, but the Maitre'd said it would be coming soon. Still, I think it's the best meal I've had in Ithaca, and I've been to them all, from Thai Cuisine and John Thomas down to all the hole in the wall places. My boyfriend was very impressed too and that's rare. Mon Sep 22 20:28:51 -0700 2003 998281 0 Thi 3 998218 I too spent several years in Ithaca while I was at Cornell. Below are some comments in response to the restaurants that Rob B mentioned, as well as a few others. 1) Sangham -- Definitely a great lunch value. Dinners, however, can get quite pricey, and portions are rather small. "Spotty" is a fair assessment -- the word on the street is that they have had several health dept violations. Approach with caution. 2) KAYUGA is the name of this restaurant with early bird special -- Rob B must have been away for too long! Generally, good meals and good value. 3) Benchwarmers -- great wings. 'Nuff said. 4) Little Thai house -- see Rob B's comments. 5) Pizza Aroma -- great pizza, open late for the after-bar hours 6) Hai Hong -- best chinese in Ithaca. Unique food -- try the dim sum chicken feet and marinated tripe 7) Hope's Way -- see Rob B's comments. Excellent, extremely fresh food. 8) Vietnam restaurant -- Excellent value. #23 is hands down best item on menu. Thanks to Rob B for introducing me to this great meal. 9) Madelines -- Generally, an excellent meal. Inventive, international cuisine, however the quality can sometimes be a little hit-or-miss for that price range. Desserts are by far the best reason to go there. Excellent bar as well. 10) John Thomas -- i have actually never been here. From what I hear, its your average, high-end steak house. Excellent food -- a good place to celebrate a special event or to take a special person. 11) Thai cuisine -- Best and most authentic Thai meal in Ithaca. Food is generally very good, but beware the spicy dishes. Expect double the heat of other thai food. 12) Maxie's -- One of my favorite Ithaca restaurants. Fun atmosphere, great food and wine, fresh oyster bar -- what else can you ask for?? Strongly suggest going for halloween, mardis gras, or other holiday -- they really know how to have a good time. They just added a separate dining establishment to their building. I havent been there yet. 13) Hot Truck -- was once the best option for late-night dining. Since bob has gone, the food is not quite the same, although I believe the same recipes. I guess its just missing Bob's special touch. (a moment of silence, please) Some other reviews: 1) Boatyard Grill -- Think Red Lobster. Think chain. Unlike virtually every other restaurant in ithaca, Boatyard Grill has not the slightest trace of crunchiness that is like a epidemic in Ithaca restaurants. This is good, but if youre looking for a place with character, youve come to the wrong place. Food is generally good, although with the exception of the "unfashionable wedge" salad, there is very little originality in the menu. 2) Plumtree Japanese -- your run-of the mill Japanese restaurant. The quality is slightly higher than that of Kayuga, however the prices are as well. Good for Saki-bombing. 3) The Pines -- a bit removed from the downtown area, but definitely worh the drive. Excellent burgers, served on big French bread buns. Good place to bring a few buddies and hang out over beer and a burger. 4) Zaza's Cucina -- the newest venture from the same guy who brough you Thai cuisine, Madelines, and Just a Taste (see below) By far the best italian fare in ithaca. But this is not your grandma's Italian -- we're talking comtemporary italian cuisine. Excellent wine list. Excellent service. The dining room is very unique, with very dramatic decor. Definitely a great place to check out. 5) Just a Taste -- Tapas-style food. Food is generally very delicious, but quality can vary slightly from dish to dish. Great wine bar -- try a flight or five. 6) Viva Cantina/Tacqueria -- the best (and only) Mexican concept in Ithaca (with the sole exception of Taco Bell). Great food. I highly suggest the beef and chicken filling, however they also have great vegetarian options. not the most authentic Mexican cuisine, but then again, what is authentic mexican cuisine??? The taqueria is great for to go orders or fast lunches; try the cantina to be served alcohol beverages (great margaritas and tequila selection). Thu Apr 03 02:29:20 -0800 2003 998149 0 Josh R 1 997829 Joe's is closed. Apparently, one of the partners bled it dry. For carnivores, you can't beat John Thomas Steak House. Dry aged beef that's huge and perfect. Upscale but worth it. The lamb and salmon is also worth the trip. Best pizza is now at Lakebreeze, in Lansing on Rt. 34. Those guys understand the importance of sauce with flavor and decadent sloppiness. No atmosphere, great chow. Mon Dec 02 22:02:41 -0800 2002 996283 0 Jim Evans