Category Archives: Ithaca

We rarely went to the famous Moosewood Cafe when we were Cornell students: too far from campus and too pricey. But we all had the cookbook, of course. We had a lovely lunch there. I had a Peruvian Stew that was excellent.

We also had more luck at Sew Green downtown which resells gently used Eileen Fisher clothing. We hoped to get to two other places downtown — odyssey bookstore and Found, antiques —but ran out of time. Same with Food Lab, an interesting looking restaurant downtown.

Dinner was at the golf course up on a hill behind the now defunct Wells College in Aurora, with hearty home cooked meals by a chef named Cookie. Hence the name: Simply Cookie’s Kitchen. Excellent burgers, fries, brisket bowls and quiche.

Dirck and Mike enjoyed the Sims-Jennings Preserve at Cayuga Cliffs, near the cottage, which has an almost 2 mile trail through meadow, woods, waterfalls and gorges. Next trip! Our favorite place was the new porch at our friend’s new improved cottage on Cayuga Lake. A mesmerizing view before and even more so now.

This time there really was a shake shack in an unlikely spot – the I-90 rest stop in Angola, NY. About 20 years ago I thought I’d found a shake shack outside Kansas City. But when we got to Overland Park we found a snack shack. Oh well. (My family has teased me about this ever since.)

I’m sure the KC plaza has the real deal now! And so does the rest stop literally over the NY state thruway in Angola. The burgers were great, as always, but the small outdoor eating area could have used some shade or umbrellas or a little fake grass. Millie took shelter under the picnic table, while we sweltered in the summer sun.

We waited until we crossed the Ohio line to get gas and were rewarded with $2.96 per gallon gas and a shady (!) fenced in dog park. Thank you Love’s!

Our near-annual trip to Ithaca (thank you Myra and Mike) has produced a few discoveries to share:

The parking is free at state parks here for people age 62 and over. Alas I did not discover this until age 66 (now) and have dutifully shelled out $10 at parks including our favorite, Treman which has a gorgeous trail hugging a gorge.

A ranger also told us that when we use the pay machine (in lieu of a ranger) we can scan our license with our birthdate to get free parking.

Tuesdays at Taughanock is a summer music series on the patio of the charming inn at Taughanock falls, which I first went to for dinner with my parents as a kid. (When it was as the Taughanock farms inn.) It sits high above Cayuga waters (not as high as Cornell to the east). $20 gets you a large burger, chips and a beer or glass of wine, plus the music, in this case a low-key performance by singer Annie Burns, of Burns sisters fame (a popular local group we last saw maybe 20 years ago.)

I love a good gorge and this part of the world (the Finger Lakes) is full of them. In and around Ithaca, my favorite is to walk from upper to lower Treman, much of it along stone paths, steps and bridges along the gorge, with water crashing down on mossy-stones, through the sun-dappled forest.

The light, sun, breeze, sound is dazzling and reminds me of my parents who love/loved these gorges too. Fall Creek Gorge is also a stunner, especially as seen while crossing over the suspension bridge high above, but the views are obscured by the metal netting, a sad necessity to discourage suicidal jumpers.

Our final gorge of the trip was the big Kahuna — Taughannock Falls, which is the highest in the area and, word has it, taller than Niagara (albeit with much less volume.)

For old time’s sake, we ate nearby on the west shore of Cayuga Lake at Glenwood Pines, in a knotty pine-walled dining room with big windows looking out at the occasional white sailboat gliding through the blue water and the wooded sloping shore beyond, on Cayuga’s east shore. Excellent “pines burger” but sadly the Ithaca Times restaurant review I wrote in 1980 was no longer tacked up on the wall. It was still there about 25 years ago when we last visited., to my amusement. The kids were impressed as I recall.

Next time, we’ll try to spend more time at Ithaca Falls on Lake Street below Fall Creek gorge on campus. — and hike the Risley Trail (behind Risley Hall on North Campus) to the bottom of Fall Creek.

This trip, we also missed Flat Rock, the rushing water over, yes, flat rocks, in the tiny hamlet of Forest Home, and The spectacular Watkins Glenn.

Gorgeous weather, perfect for a Finger Lakes food and drink crawl, starting with Apples and Moore which was as miserly as I remembered, with no samples to determine if you wanted to buy a huge bag of apples – the only option available in the shop. (Also, dog-unfriendly. Theyallowed out of the car despite the ample grounds.)

But we learned that if we picked our own, we could sample a few varieties. Our favorites weren’t readily available. (It’s too early for the fabulous snapdragon apple I discovered two years ago. It’s available in late September.) We did enjoy some delicous apple cider donuts and the glorious view of orchards dotted with red apples and the lake valley in the distance.

Next stop: Two Goats Brewery, on the east side Seneca Lake, which has a phenomenal view of the lake and valley beyond. We had roast beef sandwiches with mayo and horseradish on a chewy roll, and Golden Crush hazy IPA. then onto my favorite spot – Finger Lakes Cider House which is between the two lakes in another gorgeous spot, with a cut flower operation, a good gift shop, excellent food, friendly and dog-welcoming staff. We had a house flight cider, with our favs: honeyoye and fruit of the bloom.And a cheese board of Lively Run Cheeses, also local (and a place we’ve visited on the crawl in the past.)

Last stop, Trumansburg, a quick stop at our favorite shop Sundrees and then on to the Wednesday night farmers market, which is refreshingly low-key and counter culture.(Word has it the Ithaca Farmers Market has become too popular, leading to weekend traffic jams.) In T-burg, a bluegrass band played inside a red-topped wooden gazebo, while a food truck sold mean-looking fried chicken, and other vendors sold exotic garlic varieties, fancy slices of cake, excellent focaccia, late season tomatoes and basil.