July 28, 2007
Cazenovia Restaurants
[Updated 7/28/2007; Nirchi's Italian Grill is now open to the public; they are still awaiting their liquor license. The Brewster Inn has a fish market .]
I got to thinking the other day about the dining choices we have here in Cazenovia. I have occasionally fantasized about opening a restaurant, but I know nothing about the business and I can't cook. I just know what I like - which I guess makes me better suited to be a critic. So I wrote down quick thoughts and a rating for all of the places we have to get a bite to eat.
I am very interested in your opinions, too - where do you agree, where do you disagree, and what did I miss? If you find this kind of thing interesting, I also reviewed the Syracuse beer scene for MaltBlog.
Read on:
Kimberly's Ice Cream Factory. 
Serves ice cream and chocolates in a very cool little shop. The ice cream is made right there (you can even watch). An excellent product and a beautiful shop, succeeding in a very tough location. In a very short time the product and the friendly staff have made Kimberly's a community destination. 5/5.
Circa is the name of the newest (open since 1/31/2006) restaurant in Cazenovia. It's located at 76 Albany Street at the corner of Mill Street. Circa features fresh, local ingredients in American dishes, from hamburger to lamb stew to fish. Everything about my recent experience there was first rate. My wife and I were greeted promptly, seated immediately, and waited on by a small, efficient team of knowledgeable and friendly staff. The food was fresh and comprised of selections not usually found in Cazenovia - lentil and carrot samosas, freshly made spinach pasta with roasted squash and a rosemary sauce, excellent halibut with an olive tapenade over a mild tomato, onion, and butternut gnocchi mixture. It was all very good, accompanied by a nice wine and beer selection, and topped with excellent desserts from a local baker. We had the sweet potato pound cake and it was phenomenal. The chef/owner even came out to check on our satisfaction, a nice touch. So far this restaurant is a real winner and a welcome addition to the Cazenovia scene. Update 2/12/2007: Circa continues to serve winning food in creative ways. Service can be up and down; this is especially true since the owner had a baby in December and is adjusting the business to accommodate that part of her life. A second chef was hired and Circa now serves lighter, less expensive fare for lunch every day. 4.5/5
Seven Stone Steps. 
Ambitious and interesting menu of casual, relatively inexpensive lunches and pub grub. Their salads are really great - I've had a sliced duck salad and a grilled swordfish salad over mesclun greens that were among the best I've ever had. Some of their more familiar dishes have a twist to them - for example, the nachos are served with wheat chips instead of corn tortillas, and they serve homemade chips instead of fries. The service is usually good but sometimes it's slow or seemingly understaffed. Good bar selections (beer, wine, cocktails, liquors). The only place in Cazenovia to get a good draft brew - they always have Brooklyn IPA and Cooperstown Benchwarmer on tap [9/16/2005: a recent visit reveals they are also pouring Coopertown's Old Slugger pale ale]. Great that you can order off of the Lincklaen House menu. Prices are good. I like that they do fruit salad as a side for most lighter dishes. Bisque is top-notch, signature popovers are great. 4/5.
Lincklaen House. 
Excellent quality and above average service, reasonably priced for what it is. The dinner menu is limited but the selections are all very good. The multiple dining rooms are a cool way to get a different experience each time you go, and the "grand hotel" atmosphere feels special. 4.5/5
Stone's Throw. 
Very ambitious for Caz, priced right for what it is. I'm impressed that they can continue to have good sushi and sashimi (which I love) with so little turnover. Great classy bistro atmosphere (except for the filthy windows [9/16/2005: Windows are much improved, at least now that it's summer. Hopefully they'll stay clean!] and car lights shining in at night). Very limited wine list. Service could be faster for dinner; it's usually quick at lunch. Weird hours. 4/5
The Brewster Inn. 
We don't get here much now that we have a child, but when we have gone the food and service have almost always been excellent, and you can't beat the atmosphere and the grill. I have noticed that some things are a little weird (lobster ravioli with gruyere cheese? Hmmmm) but overall this is the most consistently ambitious and excellent high-end place we have. The pub menu and the salads are great for the lunch or quick dinner crowd, the wine list is terrific. The beer selection has improved, too. The Brewster also features a fish market now from Tuesday through Saturday that's open to the public; you can also buy their sauces, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil directly from this market. Rating revised on 7/28 up to 5/5 for the improved beer selection, even-better-than-before menu, lakefront setting, and the fact that this is consistently the best and most reliable experience in Cazenovia.
Brae Loch Inn. 
As an aficionado of things Scottish, I love the setting. I love their outdoor seating, live music, good people, and just the presence of the place. The bar is disappointing considering the way the place is put together - a good scotch selection but I would expect more draft beer and a bigger bar counter. But the evening buffet and camaraderie is great. For dinner it's very hit and miss. I have had great meals there leaving me satisfied and ready to sing BL's praises from the rooftops, then I'll go back and have an absolutely terrible meal - poorly cooked, poorly presented, bad service, sometimes even bad-tasting food. I've had similar experiences with the brunch, but overall the brunch is a fine way to get used to the BL. One thing that will never cease to amaze me - this place has the absolute worst coffee I have ever had. It's not a fluke - every time I go I have a TERRIBLE cup of coffee. 3.5/5. [Atmosphere gets 5/5 from me, food and bar 3/5, coffee 0/5]
Golden Pheasant. A step above basic, extensive if not imaginative menu, good beer/wine selection for the kind of place it is. Lots of chicken and pasta dishes, hearty soups, good lunch selection. Service is usually top-notch for a casual restaurant, sometimes it's surprisingly weak. Downstairs bathrooms are a minus but I don't know what else they can do about it. 3.5/5.
Albert's. For the basic, cheap, fast, hot meal, Albert's is a Cazenovia institution. (Even more so for cold beer) No nonsense at all, from the staff or the menu. We usually end up at GP instead of here, but you always get what you expect from Albert's. 3.5/5.
Cazenovia's Country Kitchen. Reliable, diner-esque food at good prices. My daughter really likes it there and has been counting the days until spring when she can go back again. I am never terribly impressed - there's a lot of homemade items but a lot of Sysco basics, too. The plates on the wall are cool though! 3.5/5
Nirchi's Italian Grill. Casual atmosphere with a solid, basic Italian food menu that also includes salads, sandwiches, and pizza. Menu choices include penne alla vodka, veal with peppers, chicken marsala, lasagna, chicken Parmesan, and much more. For a full review, see this post from July 27. Rating 3.5/5 for great coffee, very good pizza, OK food and OK service.
Cazenovia Grill. [6/25/2007: Restaurant closed permanently in April 2007; location to be taken over by Nirchi's Italian Grill.]
Common Grounds. Certainly the best coffee in Cazenovia and the only place to get real coffee drinks. Decent tea selection. They have light meals including sandwiches and soups, ordered at a counter; there is no table service. Rating 3.5/5. That rating has nothing to do with Project Cafe (which is a great organization) or with the space inside Common Grounds for meeting, watching a band, or just hanging out -- all of that is superb and great for Cazenovia as a whole.
Emma's Cafe on Main. Excellent, homemade food and interesting specials. Great, friendly service. Intentionally limited menu. A "real" diner. Really great prices. Only open for breakfast and lunch. 5/5 because I like a no-nonsense diner.
Great Wall. For a tiny Chinese place in a small town, they do a very good job. Their General Tso's chicken (which I no longer order for health reasons) is comparable to the best take-out I've had. The atmosphere is dingy, which I guess I expect for all of the open cooking done in that small location, but this place would get a better rating if it felt cleaner. It would get the maximum rating if they would only just deliver! 3.5/5.
Caz Pizza. Good pizza, solid ordering system (computerized and effective), attractive interior for a pizza shop. Would be even better if they had a regular delivery schedule and slightly longer hours. 4/5
Nicolena's. [1/29/2006: This restaurant closed in winter 2005.]
Pepi's Pizza. [6/25/2007: Restaurant permanently closed in May 2007].
Subway. I like the way they handled the design, though I don't particularly love the neon signs and food posters on the main drag. I have not eaten there but based on my experience with other Subways I'd give it 3/5.
Angel's. Expensive but very good quality sandwiches. Friendly staff, clean and inviting store, good soups and salads. 4.5/5.
Little Red Coffee Express. I haven't tried this yet but a couple of friends have. It's a converted RV that parks between the Atwell Mill and Harris Cleaners on Albany Street each morning. They serve hot coffee and other breakfast drinks as well as muffins, biscotti, and the like - all to go, of course. You can drive up or walk up; they're open weekdays from 7 AM - 1 PM.
McDonald's. I try to avoid it and I can't really rate something this generic! It's as clean and the people are as friendly as any McDonald's I've been to.
P&C. The roast chicken is really good - I like that markets are doing that now. Their salads are OK. Their fried foods (chicken wings/"fingers", fried chickens) are greasy and gross. Subs are OK, a better selection of bread would be nice. 3/5 for what it is.
Xtra Mart. I get the occasional sandwich here. It's what you would expect from a gas station sandwich - actually a little better than that!
Red Apple. They used to have more prepared foods but now it's mostly microwaveable stuff. The staff are really friendly and fun.
DiPaulo's Pizza. [9/16/2005: This restaurant closed in summer 2005.]
Marshall's Diner. [9/16/2005: Marshall's closed in the spring of 2005.]
Hummingbird Pantry. [9/16/2005: This bakery closed in the summer of 2005; a restaurant named "Circa" is going into this location.]
I am still amazed that there are that many different places to get a meal or snack in town. And there are a dozen places I gave at least 3.5/5. That's not too shabby for a tiny town.
What did I miss? What would you say? Please include your reviews in the Discussions area of this site! :)
Here's the history of updates to this page:
[Updated 6/25/2007; Pepi's Pizza has closed permanently (May 2007). Cazenovia Grill closed in April 2007; the location is being redeveloped as a "family Italian" restaurant called Nirchi's Italian Grill.]
[Updated 2/12/2007; Not a lot of new news on the restaurant scene at the moment, but updates include: Circa is open for lunch, and the Little Red Coffee Express is serving hot coffee and light breakfast items in the space between Atwell Mill and Harris Cleaners. Also, a friend who commutes daily to Cazenovia reports that he only eats at places that accept debit cards, which limits his quick lunch choices to McDonald's and Subway. I wonder if the other to-go places (e.g. Great Wall, the Pizza Restaurants, and Angel's) will consider taking debit cards as a way to improve their lunch business.]
[Updated 2/12/2006; Circa restaurant is open and I've had a chance to enjoy it. A separate post with a a full review will be posted.]
[Updated 1/19/2006; Nicolena's is no longer open and the space is for lease. Circa (in the former Hummingbird Pantry) expects to open in February, according to the Post-Standard. I've had meals recently at Cazenovia Grill, Golden Pheasant, Seven Stone Steps, Stone's Throw, and the Brae Loch Inn.]
[Updated 9/16/2005 and again 10/6/2005; a recent lunch at the new Nicolena's, a great meal at the Lincklaen House, and the closing of three establishments - Marshall's, DiPaulo's, and Hummingbird Pantry - made me realize I really ought to update this! Please bear in mind these are my opinions and are based on my personal experience over a few years - places change all the time and I hope everyone will try all Cazenovia restaurants at least once to see for yourself what they're all about.]