a farm-to-table culinary paradise: tips from a local on dining out.
wild garlics scapes are a locally foraged delicacy in mid summer
Where to dine?
This is perhaps the question I get asked most frequently by visitors to the area. While this is by no means an exhaustive list (that’s someone else’s job: see Ithaca Eats) what I have compiled here is an ever-evolving list of my favorite places.
Keep in mind that the service industry has been hit hard by the pandemic and many are struggling to find enough staff to handle the recovery. To be safe, call first to see what their hours are, whether reservations are required and whether they’re doing takeout only.
And most importantly, be kind, and be compassionate. When your food is taking longer than usual, it’s because there is a shortage of supplies and a shortage of staff/workforce across the board. Be patient, and be grateful to be eating out at all and not stuck at home in lockdown like so much of the world right now. Read more on the situation here.
To delve deeper into the culinary landscape, check out Edible Finger Lakes, a magazine devoted to covering the food, wine and farms of the Upstate New York region.
breakfast, brunch and lunch
For many of us, breakfast starts with coffee. Gimme! Coffee is an Ithaca staple - locally roasted coffee in a hipster aesthetic, several locations around town. Order ahead online to have it waiting for you when you arrive, or wait outside in line at the walkup window like a true local. Also, newcomer The Botanist Coffee House (and plant store) – is an equally hip new addition to the north side/fall creek area of town.
Stonebend Farm in Enfield offers a fabulous farm brunch on Sundays from 10-2 with wood fired biscuits and gravy, waffles, local sausages and other delicious brunch items.
The Ithaca Bakery and College Town Bagels have several locations for sandwiches, bagels, an array of salads, soups and spreads - everything you need to pack a picnic and to take to one of the parks or waterfalls.
I also recommend driving out to the Finger Lakes Cider House at Good Life Farm, a beautiful spot located on an organic farm with stunning lake views. Taste craft cider and eat from a locally sourced lunch menu.
For sit down options, I recommend Cafe DeWitt, an open air cafe in the atrium of the DeWitt Mall is a delicious option for gourmet breakfast, brunch and lunch - not to mention seeing and being seen.
The Coal Yard Cafe in Trumansburg is a sweet little breakfast spot with a walk up take out window, and a new pop up stand that just opened on Ithaca’s West End Inlet Island, and Allechant has lunch and Sunday brunch curbside pickup as well as charming outdoor table service in warmer weather. Creekside Cafe in Trumansburg has a lovely brunch menu - seating is limited so call ahead, or grab takeout and take it to a park.
On weekends, the Ithaca Farmers Market is a fabulous option for snacking your way down the line of booths - and the long line at the Solaz breakfast burrito stand is well worth the wait.
However, if what you’re after is a regular good old fashioned greasy-spoon diner experience, visit the Lincoln Street Diner or the Ithaca classic State Street Diner.
casual dining (some of my personal favorites)
•. Maxie’s Supper Club (Oyster bar, bustling atmosphere, Cajun and southern comfort food)
•. The Rook (delicious duck fat fried chicken, charcuterie boards, lamb burgers and other bistro dinners)
•. Ithaca Beer - good beer, tasty farm to table fare and a large, bustling outdoor area with a stunning view of the valley
. The Grille at the RaNic golf course is a sweet and chill new outdoor bar and grill in what was formerly a country club but now a golf course. Go for the outdoor deck, the beautiful views and the delicious burgers.
• Ithaca Ale House (sports bar and pub food, excellent burgers, wings and hearty salads)
•. Viva Taqueria - Ithaca-style healthy Mexican food
•. Salt Point Brewing in Lansing (every Tuesday 4-7pm is taco Tuesday!) Flatbread pizzas and other snacks.
•. Serendipity’s Backlot is a cute outdoor dining spot behind the South Hill Business Campus serving healthy comfort food and usually has live music.
•. The Corner Pub at Rogues Harbor Inn in Lansing serves a nice pub-style menu of delicious burgers and sandwiches and their famous chicken riggies! Nice place to eat on the porch.
•. The Crossroads Bar and Grille in Lansing is a casual road side family restaurant serving lunch and dinner - burgers and sandwiches, wings and salad bowls. Outdoor seating area in summer. Located next door to Scoops Ice Cream stand.
•. O’ Malley’s in Interlaken is a lovely place for lake view dining - it’s a fried seafood basket, burgers and hot sandwiches kind of place but sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed. Large outdoor seating area, pool tables. You can also go there by boat.
high romance: suggestions for a memorable evening out
• The Heights Restaurant and H Bar – cooked-to-perfection pasta, steak, seafood.
• The 1833 Kitchen & Bar at the Aurora Inn (elegant patio brunch or dinner with views of the lake) - my favorite place for sunset cocktails and charcuterie.
•. Gola Osteria - high romance Northern Italian style!
• Mercado just reopened after the pandemic. Lovely downtown bistro atmosphere, northern Italian cuisine
•. Danos on Seneca Lake, Gorgeous postmodern building and outdoor patio with views of the lake. Contemporary Viennese bistro serving Austrian small plates & wines plus local vintages served in mugs.
• Stonecat Cafe (Seneca Lake), Seneca Lake farm-to-table splendor
• Mercato Bar & Kitchen, bustling bistro atmosphere, Northern Italian cuisine. I love Mercato but wish they’d spruce up the menu with new items every now and again.
• Le Cafe Cent Dix is one of the best restaurants in the area IMHO. Splendid French cuisine and craft cocktails served in a bustling bistro atmosphere.
culinary experiences - food for foodies
F.L.X. Table, Geneva - a pre-fix farm-to-table tasting menu that constantly evolves based on seasonality. Very limited seating by reservation only.
Kindred Fare, Geneva - inspired by farmhouse cooking and spirited gatherings with family and friends.
Danos on Seneca Lake - Lakeside Viennese bistro serves Austrian small plates & wines plus local vintages served in mugs.
Stonecat Cafe (Seneca Lake) - delicious farm-to-table cuisine, craft cocktails and other goodies served in a bucolic setting.
Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg - Seasonal dishes & desserts crafted from local ingredients in a low-key setting with an open kitchen.
Gola Osteria, Ithaca. Elevated Italian fare & wines are offered in an understated dining room in the Quarry Arms building.
food trucks
Louie’s Lunch The original food truck. An Ithaca icon! Located on the edge of Cornell’s campus, Louie’s has been serving hotdogs, hamburgers and fries, sandwiches, subs and other goodies to both town and gowners since 1918!!
On the Street Pitas Greek gyros, falafels and salads, located in the parking lot of the Jewel Box on Ithaca’s West End
Silo Food Truck Delicious fried chicken and other farm-to-table goodies made by the ‘Chicken Wizard,’ located in the beer garden Liquid State Brewery
Circus Truck. 720 West Green St. Ithaca. Delicious prepared-to-order pasta!
LocaMoto Tacos, healthy salads and bowls. Located in the parking lot of Atlas Bowl in Trumansburg.
Van Noble Farm’s Pop Up Pig Roasts. See the seasonal schedule here of farm-to-table pulled pork both on site at the farm in Mecklenburg and other sites around the area..
take out & delivery
Saigon Kitchen (eat in or take out) offers delicious Vietnamese. no delivery.
Tamarind or Taste of Thai Express, both deliver delicious Thai cuisine (Tamarind’s panang curry and pineapple fried rice are my go-to comfort food.. mix them together = pure heaven!)
Asia Cuisine. takeout. Delicious Korean and Japanese cuisine
Spicy Asian for Chinese. pickup or use Ithacatogo.com for delivery.
Hai Hong. Chinese Delivery.
Gorgers. takeout. Fresh baked breads for their delicious sandwiches, Po’Boys, Bahn mi, French fries, homemade soups and other goodies for lunch takeout.
Luna Inspired Street food. takeout and delivery. Eclectic mix of comfort food items ranging from tacos, mac and cheese, wings, burgers, and bowls with a locally sourced focus.
Or use the Ithaca To Go App which features a wide variety of restaurants that deliver to you.
pizza delivery, a few suggestions:
Franco’s Pizza does not deliver, but is DELICIOUS pizza and great place to go after some drinks at Liquid State or the Westy.
ice cream
• Summer only: Sweet Melissa’s in Ithaca for best local homemade soft serve and other treats
• Purity ice cream has a walk up to-go stand and breakfast and lunch to go if you order ahead (bike there via the Waterfront Trail)
• Dennis’s homemade ice cream. Newfield, NY. Dennis scours the world for quality ingredient to make his gelato-esque homemade ice cream which he serves out of a window at his house.
• Cayuga Creamery on the west shore of Cayuga Lake on rt. 89 and a location inside the DeWitt Mall in Ithaca. Inventive flavors!
•. Trimmers ice cream stand in Trumansburg
•. Not My Dad’s in Trumansburg