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Let me make this clear: I don’t have writer’s block, per se. I could probably prattle on for several pages about nothing if need be, effortlessly. I have the words at my disposal. It’s food I don’t have this week, Big Hungries, or more specifically, food served at a restaurant that I can then review here. Once again, it’s January, a time to munch on lunches comprised of hummus and raw veggies, plastic sacks of green, seedless, grapes, and vegetarian miso soup with shitake mushrooms. It’s a time to stare obsessively at pictures of the Miss America contestants in Las Vegas and dream of rocking dresses that short.

I stayed in my house most of the weekend, working on silly craft projects and organizing the house, post-holidays. Oh, and getting ready for my annual Miss America party, which is this Saturday.

Something tells me on one is going to be lining up to pay for my one-of-a-kind creations anytime soon. Anyhoodle, my local pageant in the Miss America system survives on the monetary generosity of girls who like glitter, so I made a box to encourage them.

Making a rhinestone crown out of various sticker sheets from Michaels is time-consuming, so instead of getting my butt out of the house and eating so I could produce an interesting blog for you this week, I made, like chicken fingers and spaghetti over the weekend. BOR-ING!

My lack of content did get me thinking about the places I’ve been meaning to review, but still haven’t eaten at with enough frequency, or collected enough photos of, to offer a comprehensive picture yet. Places like Romalato’s, in Watertown. I have two lines written in my little BHS notebook about it, a couple of errant photos, and no real content. Another of these is Owego Original Italian, in, you guessed it, Owego. Last spring, I took two terrific pictures of a fantastic lunch there, but two items does not a review make.  I apologize, and I will get back to both of them ASAP so I can share their wonders with you.

I thought instead, this week, we could discuss mail ordering food. I know some of you out there in the blogosphere are shy about internet shopping. I consider it a necessity when you live so far afield of a major metropolitan area. As promised in my Big Hungry Awards post, yesterday I ordered some delicious green chile sauce from my friends at the Santa Fe Ole Food Company. I can’t wait to make pork chile verde later on this month!

Another favorite send-away of mine, which I’ve written to you about before is Vosges Chocolates, from which I received a large delivery Monday. Do not doubt me when I tell you that their caramel marshmallows could drive away the toughest case of Seasonal Affective Disorder an Upstate winter can conjure. The caramel actually oozes out above the homemade, soft, vanilla-infused, cloud-like marshmallow! Send some of their sinful bacon caramel toffee to a friend, and you may receive proposals of marriage and the like. I have some of this on hand as a prize for one of the games at my party this weekend, and I’m already jealous of whomever wins it.

Something that has caught my eye recently is Gilt Taste. Gilt.com is an invite-only site usually touting sample sale luxury goods of the fashion variety. But with this new site, they’re hawking gourmet foods to make you drool, including cake that comes in a jar, which has absolutely captivated me. I must have some. This site also publishes recipes from the likes of Ruth Reichel, so I’m in good company with my fascination. Check it out when you need a gift for the gourmand in your life who has everything. I bought some white cheddar and truffle oil popcorn from here last year, and enjoyed it immensely.

Another culinary cult item that has been blowing up on Twitter for the past couple months, is currently enjoying a premo locale in my refrigerator, and graced the gift baskets of two foodies on my Christmas list is Bacon Marmalade. I have stirred this sticky-sweet and salty jam into oatmeal, added it to sautéing green beans, eaten it straight up on a cracker, and smeared it onto a breakfast sandwich. In NYC, our hipster friends are eating it over ice cream. Isn’t the world MAD with decadence? The versatility of this ingenious item is its biggest asset.

Mail order chicken pot pie is next on my culinary mail order to-do list. Mindy Kaling, who moonlights as the hilarious Kelly Kapour on The Office but whose main purpose in my life is amusing me via her genius blog, The Concerns of Mindy Kaling, recommended this item last year. I hope someone orders it for me: Dean and Deluca Chicken Pot Pie. Also in my future: macarons. Not macaroons, the coconut haystacks enrobed in chocolate, but macarons, the delicate French cookies in imaginative flavors, which I wanted to buy at the Apple Pie Bakery in December, but from which Shawn dissuaded me. Never trust a boyfriend who talks you out of cookies!

OK, you guys, I just scrolled back up and looked at the picture of Miss New York, and now I feel all guilty about prattling on about my pot pie and macaron fantasies for pages and pages. I’m going to eat some grapes and adjourn this party until next week. Maybe by then, I’ll have a real topic for ya.Wah-wah. My personality is big, my hunger is bigger!    

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Happy New Year, Big Hungries! Like many of you, this is a week of penance for me, food-wise. I spent Monday of this week braising Swiss chard, making crockpot chili with lovely dried black beans, and cranking out healthy, whole-grain porridge to use as a base for breakfasts this week.

None of those items is particularly scintillating, I realize. But there are lots of other exciting things to chat about this week, including the fact that I am currently in the process of moving Big Hungry Shelby – including archival posts – over to Blogger/Blogspot. NNYorker.com has been a wonderful home for BHS these past two years, but I’m looking to expand my capabilities for personalization, photos, and monetization, for which Blogspot seems to be the standard. So pop on over to http://bighungryshelby.blogspot.com/ and bookmark it! I’ll still let you know about new posts via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but you should find better quality pictures going forward, plus an easier comments process and more variety, visually. I’m looking forward to playing with this new platform and really making it my own, and I hope we can continue to develop an active community of Big Hungries in this new corner of the Blogosphere.

While we’re all busy with our cleanses, detoxes, low carb and no alcohol resolutions, I’d like to take this chance to talk about a newfound holiday obsession I’m late on the train for: Tom and Jerrys. This NNY holiday staple is an eggnog-adjacent, creamy, hot toddy. It has long been served at The Crystal in Watertown, but my Dad and I went to The Paddock Club during Christmas week for my initiation. These concoctions are made from a sugar and egg-heavy batter poured over a shot of brandy and warmed up with boiling water. The result is frothy, sweet, potent and warming – absolutely delicious. We may be past the holiday season, but I implore you to Google a recipe and mix up a bunch this weekend. Melinda and I made a batch last week and enjoyed them while watching The Help on Blu-ray. A delightful combination!

Hot toddy

In addition to learning a new cocktail over the holidays, I received some really fantastic gifts. Two are most notable in this forum: a cool, metal golfer who holds a bottle of wine for us on our bar cabinet, and a hand-decorated “Auntie Big Hungry Shelby” apron from my beautiful niece Georgia and handsome nephew Mason. Here is the holiday version of the wine holder:

Santabooze wants to buy you a drink

…and the awesome apron, for which I thank sister-in-law Liz and sister Mary:

Seriously, how cool is that apron? I love it so much.

In other news, if you’re looking to get yourself a little post-Christmas gift, consider the lunch crock, from Crock-Pot. You take your lunch to work in it, plug it in in the morning, and your food is warm by noontime! I received mine right before Christmas, but used it for the first time this week, and my chili was piping hot at 11:30 yesterday! Moreover, you can leave the plastic warming crock at work, and just carry the insert to and from home – so convenient. I wholeheartedly endorse this product, and I’m sure Crock-pot Corporation has never heard of a Big Hungry anything.

A hot crock o’ lunch

Now that a new year and a new blogging home are upon us, I’m excited to get back into the swing of things with restaurant reviews and travel recommendations. Over the break, my parents and I celebrated Mom’s retirement with dinner at Fireside in Black River. Oh boy, have things gone downhill there since I last reviewed it! Gone were the delightful popovers and strawberry butter and in their place were an undercooked baked potato alongside a tough, lukewarm, prime rib not even served with au jus. Neither of my parents enjoyed their meals, either, and despite our complaints, no money was taken off our bill. We had dessert there the month prior with family friends and I didn’t care for that, either, but wasn’t going to mention it here since we hadn’t sampled a full meal. Well, now I have, and I’m comfortable sharing that it’s off my list of good places in Watertown, at least until I hear they’ve staffed up with a real executive chef.

So welcome back, my friends. Enjoy these first few days of the new year. Start an exercise regime; go on that austerity budget; enjoy using up your gift cards! Pop on over to Blogspot and let me know what you think of the new digs, please. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@BigHungryShelby) and join our Big Hungry Shelby group on Facebook! My personality is big, my hunger is bigger!   

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The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care. At night, visions of sugarplums dance in our heads. That’s right, girls and boys, it’s the holiday season.  Make sure the overdraft protection is in place on your checking account and your house is stocked with scotch tape. Around these parts, the shopping is finished and the cards have been sent out. I gave up baking cookies long ago, because there’s no need to inflict that misery on people at Christmastime. So that means my idle hands are the playthings of the second annual Big Hungry Awards! Gird your loins, peeps, because something yummy this way comes.

Again, I will remind you that while I am happy to hand out accolades, I have not as yet figured out the monetization (is that a word?) of Big Hungry Shelby, and therefore, there is no actual award. Restaurateurs: I will give you a hug next time I stop in your establishment.

First up, as with any great meal: Best Appetizer. Just recently, you may have read my post about Shawn’s and my trip to the Culinary Institute of America. It was a dream-like day, in which I spontaneously pronounced my love for Shawn at several intervals, did a lot of gasping and running to things which were exciting to me, and ingested many times over the USDA’s caloric recommendation for a human my size. There were many, many items that tickled my taste buds that glorious day, but one of the best was the pumpkin flan appetizer at the campus’ Italian restaurant Caterina de’ Medici. The flan itself was unparalleled in texture – airy but still dense with fresh squash flavor, and the little canels of goat cheese served on the side were hands-down the freshest, creamiest examples of goat cheese I have ever tasted. I would eat this every day, which is a good indicator of a fabulous dish.

Goat cheese so snowy white, it barely shows up against the plate

The next award is for Best Bacon. You knew this was coming, didn’t you? Now, this would go, hands-down to the Blue Duck Tavern’s pork belly dish I had in Washington, DC in October, except that I feel like granting BHS awards to non-New York restaurants counters the whole mission of the blog. I’m really here to highlight local New York businesses, not gallivant all over God’s creation and point out all the places you can’t go. That’s why this is instead going to the house-cured pork belly dish, again at the Culinary Institute, at the Apple Pie Bakery Café.  Talk about a bowl of something good! A base of coarse ground Anson Mills white grits, topped with savory chunks of braised pork belly (bacon’s less salty older brother), a perfectly over-easy egg, and a house made chile sauce to kick all that luxurious fat in the behind. I moaned when I took the first bite…and the last.

This dish lives only a couple hours from me. I need to visit it more often?

There was only one choice for Best Dessert of 2011. Over the summer, my parents and I were lucky to score a gorgeous table at a pretty little restaurant in Clayton, Bella’s Bistro. The kitchen there was led by the talented Gabe Aubertine and his sous chef Andy Wehrle, a team committed to bringing Top Chef-quality food to the Northcountry. Mark my words, folks, one or both of these rapscallions will end up with a James Beard Award in the next few years. Anyway, they made me the vegan nightmare, a mash-up of maple ice cream, chocolate-covered bacon strips, and churro-style crispy pastry batons that scarred me for life as far as desserts are concerned. It was epic, and it was delicious. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Gabe will be returning to Bella’s for another season, but stay tuned for his next move. You better believe I will be following it.

The name of this dish just cracks me up

Best Cocktail is something I had over the summer, but never had a chance to really share with you, Big Hungries. You know I’m a fan of all things at the Sheldrake Point Vineyards, in Ovid, NY, including the winery’s lovely restaurant, Simply Red Bistro. Over the summer, I introduced this enclave of good wine and good food to Big Hungry Lindsay’s friends when I hosted her bachelorette party here in the Southern Tier. Several of the ladies ordered the lavender lemonade – sans alcohol – and I could not believe how scrumptious it was. Unlike lavender-scented bath items, which are what I assumed this drink would taste and smell like, the lavender hints served to add an herbal, ethereal quality to the tart lemonade. It would have been simply fabulous with a splash of vodka, sitting outside on the patio, enjoying sunset over the Cayuga Lake.

Ain’t no Countrytime

Next up, the award for Best Ambiance….struggling with this one a bit. I’ve had many moments in the past calendar year where I leaned back, cocktail or wine in hand, and muttered, “I am so happy right now,” which is my usual barometer for good ambiance. At Forno Bistro in Saratoga Springs, I drunk in the beautiful surroundings with a kind of sophisticated appreciation. Seated on the patio at South Fin Grill in Staten Island, watching a newly-married bride and groom lead their loved ones down the beach, I hadn’t a care in the world. And at Café Mira, in Adams, I admired the pressed tin ceiling, beautiful balconied seating area and warm fireplace.  We had terrific service at all three, but I’m going to have to award this one to Forno Bistro. Everywhere you look there is a feast for the eyes, we were fawned and fussed over from the moment we arrived, including chats with the chef and owner, and the food didn’t let down its end of the bargain at any juncture.

So happy…at Forno

September was a rough month. I turned 34 (seriously, how can that even be true?), my place of work and entire community were flooded, it was a lot. But the Best Surprise of 2011 also brightened my door, in the form of a birthday box of goodies from Big Hungry Laura in Albuquerque, NM. The best thing in that surprise box of sauces and salsa was Green Chile Sauce from Santa Fe Ole Food Company. In New Mexico, they put chile sauce – either red or green – on just about everything. Eggs, tacos, burritos, soups, stews, beans and greens all come covered, smothered, graced and laced with these magical elixirs. When traveling in New Mexico, just about anything you order, the waitress will ask you, “red or green?” If you’re cool, you answer “green,” if you’re a heat-seeker, you answer “red,” and if you’re really, really hip, “Christmas,” will net you a plate featuring both boisterous sauces.  To best utilize your green chile sauce, get yourself a pork butt, cut it into a 1- 2 inch dice (discarding any overly fatty bits, but you want some fat), sear it off over high heat in canola oil, then drain off your fat, pour in the entire jar of sauce and braise at barely a simmer for a couple hours. You will get insane chile verde pork for tacos, burritos, juevos rancheros, migas, or any other Mexican delicacy you can image. It’s killer.

It’s less green that you think it will be

Hand in hand with the best surprise comes the Best Blogger Perk of 2011. From time to time, companies send me goodies to review. While I make no promises to gush about such things, I’ve found that mostly, these goodies really are good. This fall, one such package arrived from O’Kroft Family Foods, out in Texas. An assortment of Willie B’s Texas Salsa was inside, and I’ve found the fresco variety to be everything I like in a good jarred salsa. That is, bright, fresh flavors mimicking a homemade pico de gallo, with cilantro, lime and tons of good tomatoes. If you like to dance with the devil in the pale moonlight, the haberno salsa is for you. I made a recent batch of my Triplett Dip (queso fundido) with this, and set the mouths of everyone within a five mile radius en fuego. I just wish the salsa verde had been included. I may have to order a jar.

Best Entrée of 2011 is another nail-biter. It’s so hard to pick just one! Everything from the DeAngelo pasta purses at Wise Guys Pizza and Pasta in Chaumont to the harvest dog and poutine at the Hops Spot in Sackets delighted me. I’ve toyed with awarding this honor (heh) to either Forno Bistro, for the spectacular braised lamb shank and polenta, or to Café Mira for the osso bucco made with so much care and finesse. But then, what about the braised oxtail at the CIA? Name one braised wonder, and I feel bad for the other two, when really, all three were sublime. So I’m moving in a different direction, embracing my “everything delicious, no pretense” philosophy, and naming Dinosaur BBQ’s Pork Sket sandwich platter, with their sonnet-worthy, rich, macaroni and cheese and terrific collards. Honorable mention to their dirty rice, which I have a special place for in my heart. This sandwich has everything you want from a great BBQ joint: succulent pulled pork, smoky beef brisket, cool, crisp, cole slaw, melty cheddar cheese and zingy, pickled jalapenos. Oh great, now I’ve drooled on my keyboard. I’m blaming the dinosaurs. OMG, and I most forgot: homemade pickles! Can I marry a plate of food?

Uh-oh. Now I need to eat this again. God, these awards are FILLED with culinary landmines!

And the award you’ve been waiting for, naturally, Best Restaurant of 2011. Last year, this coveted title was given to the Ithaca Ale House, which remains a favorite. This year, again, I was a little stumped. That’s why I started writing this post last week! But I’ve given it a lot of thought – probably more than it deserves, given the fact we’re talking an imaginary award here – and my Big Hungry Shelby Best Restaurant of 2011 is an overall award to the Culinary Institute of America. In all my travels this year, no other place so captured me, delighted me, filled me with yummy food and a warm feeling. From the gorgeous campus roamed by neophytes in chef whites, overlooking the breathtaking Hudson River Valley, to the vast array of fun, fancy grey, pink and black salts all along the waiting line at Apple Pie Bakery Café, to the theme-appropriate farm sinks in the ladies room at Caterina de Medici, every moment there is pure pleasure. If you’re looking for a quick getaway from existence as you know it, I beg you to schedule a weekend here and avail yourself of the fabulous on-campus eateries. We ate way too much that entire day (and drank too much, too), but a little gluttony makes you feel alive!

Cheers! Now let’s eat.

And so we wrap up another year of eating, Big Hungry-style. It’s shocking to me that another year has gone by, and that some of you nice people still read all my blathering about food. Thanks for sticking with me! In 2012, I’m moving the whole shebang over to Blogspot.com, so that I can bring you better quality pictures and a little more flexibility in my layout, so I hope you’ll follow me there. Don’t worry, I’ll still post things on NNYorker.com, and you’ll see me pop up here and there…especially on Twitter (@BigHungryShelby) and Facebook (join our Big Hungry Shelby group today!).

For now, I’m going to take a couple weeks off for the holidays. No need to blog about Christmas or New Years. You know there will be bacon, and gravy, and hopefully some really good cookies. What else do you need to know, right? If you find a new place I simply must check out, share it in the comments, below, or on the Facebook page. I’d be happy to follow your recommendations into the new year. See you in 2012…something yummy this way comes!

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Picture it: a cold, sunny Sunday morning, just after Thanksgiving. My parents and I hop in the car, hungry, looking for a blog-worthy breakfast. We drive over to Adams, hoping to knosh at The Depot, only to find that former gem shuttered once again. Hopeful, we stop into Pearl’s Pastry Shoppe, right next to Café Mira on Main St., but they don’t serve full breakfast. Back in the car again, Mom recalls hearing about somewhere that might be good in Sandy Creek, and we venture on, but she can’t remember the name, and a drive through the main drag reveals nowhere promising. Finally, peaked and cranky, we roll into Pulaski, and the journey darkens when Dad chooses Ponderosa and neither Mom nor I have the cognizance to object.

Love this tagline

There is a very good reason that most of you reading this won’t have eaten at a Ponderosa since childhood. That reason being: they don’t serve actual food there. The breakfast buffet was almost unspeakably disgusting. The eggs were powdered, the bacon precooked and packaged, the fruit, canned, and the syrup, made with corn, not maple. I think you know I’m happy to while away calories on junk as long as that junk is grounded in real food, but this was inedible. I’m ashamed to admit I wasted several plates of “food” just trying to find something I could eat more than one bite of before getting completely grossed out. Even the coffee was terrible. Yet the place was packed – a sad commentary on our society, as Pulaski used to have several good breakfasts joints and now seems to only sport this grease shack and Dunkin Donuts, across the street. As Americans, we need to stop accepting processed food-adjacent crap and demand better food, whole food, real food.

Luckily, at Pearl’s Pastry Shoppe (God, I love the extra “pe” on the end of that word), we had been wise enough stock up on donuts, brownies and other treats, so after my one-bite sampling of the safer looking Ponderosa offerings that still left me ravenous, I was able to enjoy a maple bacon donut. That’s right. At a tiny bakery in Adams, NY, someone is embracing the hog and making maple bacon donuts. Guess what else? They’re selling individual slices of bacon, enrobed in lovely milk chocolate. For those of you who still wrinkle your nose at this delicacy and haven’t been initiated into the sacred sisterhood of bacon chocolate, hold back the judgment and give it a try. Trust Big Hungry, she wouldn’t lead you astray. As for the donut, it was sweet with mapley goodness and just touched with a few savory bacon bits on top. The texture wasn’t perfect – I like a yeast-based donut to collapse completely once in your mouth and dissolve into fried, sugary nirvana – but after the swill at Ponderosa, it was manna.

An assortment of joy

Something really special offered at Pearl’s is the homemade English muffin. If you read my post earlier this fall about London and the beautiful English muffins I saw at Borough Market there, then you know I was excited when I spied these babies, sitting taller and prouder than any supermarket variety:

Get a load of these nooks and crannies

The following weekend, as I was up north again to meet my gorgeous, dribbling, giggling, baby nephew, Dad was determined to make up the Ponderosa malfeasance with an epic meal. Enter: Tug Hill Vineyards, which has been cranking out what is probably the Northcountry’s finest Sunday brunch for some time now. And I’m sorry I’m letting you know about it so late in the year, because this coming Sunday is the last one they’re doing until Spring. You know what that means, Big Hungries…call now to reserve your seat for this weekend! I mean, just look at how gorg this place is:

Tug Hill Vineyards

Bar area

This buffet-style brunch makes Ponderosa’s monstrosity seem like filling for a barnyard trough. Choices ranged from gorgeous herbed scrambled eggs and broccoli quiche (made with real eggs), to minted fruit and garden salads, to chocolate mousse cake. Particular stand outs on the Sunday we visited were the baked ham, sweet and tender and studded with orange zest for extra zing, blackberry-stuffed French toast made with French bread, so the pieces were small enough to not overwhelm the tummy, and a light sprinkling of granola up top to add some texture, and butternut squash soup topped with buttery, crunchy croutons to give it some personality.

My first (not last) plate of food – I did more than sample a bite of each

The caramelized onion macaroni and cheese was tasty – the onion flavor was good and added a quirkiness to the overall taste – but the cheese wasn’t assertive enough to make my favorite list. I like a really sharp cheddar in my mac, and that tang was lacking here. Similarly, I was unimpressed with the mashed turnips, which needed the zip of a few parsnips or more spices to lift them out of blahsville. What I did love were the garlic mashed potatoes with the excellent, rich, savory sauce of the salisbury steak. The roasted garlic flavor sung, and although the steak was a bit greasy, the beefy essence was full-on satisfaction paired with the creamy-textured potatoes.

Turnips love parsnips, and cheese loves aging

The use of citrus was evident in the chef’s wheelhouse – I detected notes of it in the light and deliciously-frosted yet lacking in strong cinnamon-sugar flavor sticky buns, and the lovely hollandaise, which topped a make-it-yourself eggs benny station I (of course) bastardized with bacon. The ham was the best of the citrusy offerings, but the subtle hints detected in the other dishes lent a nice continuity to the meal.

Dad’s festive plate

The dessert assortment was not one to miss. I tried both the pumpkin praline pie and the vanilla bean custard. The pie was light and spiced appropriately for the season, but the crust was a little mushy. This is excusable – I can’t imagine the preparation involved in the small kitchen here for this brunch set-up each week, and I’m sure the pie was made at least the day before – but a graham cracker crust would have held up better. The custard? Well, it was stunning. This creamy, dreamy wonder was dotted with vanilla beans painstakingly scraped from their pods – no wonder the pie succumbed to a soggy crust, all the attention was paid to the pods!

Dessert Bonanza

Brunch at Tug Hill Vineyards completely erased the scars left by Ponderosa’s ugly dark mark the week beforehand. Our waitress was friendly and went out of her way to ensure we had a pleasant meal, the décor was homey yet elegant (I would have liked to sit closer to the fire, although the sunlight through the window was nice for my pictures), and the coffee was excellent. While brunches are soon over for the season, this space is available for private parties, so you should try to get yourself invited to something planned here. Start being nice to everyone you know from Lowville now! We awarded this outstanding repast an 8.5 on the BHS scale, and will be back in the spring with more folks to enjoy its offerings.

I should finish up by letting you know that Pearl’s is taking custom orders for pies, rolls, breads, cheesecakes and rum balls through December 23. Call them now to reserve your sweet treats for the holidays. And remember to stop by next week for the second annual BHS Awards! I’m so stressed already; thinking about making a choice on a favorite appetizer of 2011 is going to make me break a sweat. My personality is big, my hunger is bigger!    

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As my parents and I struggled to recover from the feasting of Thanksgiving a couple weeks back, we searched our brains for somewhere…different…to eat in Watertown. Ordinarily, Italian food would seem same old, same old, but after several days of butternut squash, roasted meats, pies, pumpkin crunch and gravy, anything including red sauce seemed fresh and novel. Enter: Cavallario’s Cucina, that Watertown stalwart that’s a lot hipper than you might think.

I am always impressed by the interior design at Cavallario’s. It’s so attractive, with none of that leftover from the sixties red vinyl booth and checked tablecloth nonsense so embraced at other establishments of its ilk. All the different dining areas at Cavallario’s are contemporary, with fun prints of fat Italian waiters, wrought iron details and rich colors. The fresh herb centerpiece on the table didn’t hurt, either.

These almost fooled me into thinking it’s summer! Eh, not quite.

Our waitress tempted us with the promise of a house-made lemon garlic romano dressing for our salads, and we all bit. That promise was fulfilled with crunchy romaine, tomatoes that again, defied the season with their sweetness, cucumbers, bell pepper and the lip-smacking dressing, which was tart with lemon but rounded out by a balanced hit of cheese. Our only other starter, complimentary bread (it wasn’t an appetizer kind of night, but I’m sure that pesto artichoke brie is dynamite) was outstanding. Adorned with fresh parsley and gobs of garlic butter, the bread was fine textured but not crumbly, due to a substantially crunchy exterior. It absolutely melted in my mouth, and it was challenge to keep myself to two pieces.

Who baked you, little wonder?

As I said, I had overloaded on rich holiday foods the previous day, and was feeling the will of my recent eggplant obsession tugging at my tummy, so I went with a special: seared tuna with eggplant caponata. The first taste was gorgeous: bright, peppery olive oil right up front, then the earthy, almost bitter eggplant, followed by perfectly fresh tuna left rare in the middle. The leeks and excellent quality kalamata, pit-in; olives in the caponata brought up the rest of the flavor profile like champs. If I had one small complaint, it would be that while the flavor on the fish was excellent and it was cooked well, the piece was so thick, it ended up being stringy towards the middle where it was more rare. In a thinner piece of fish, this wouldn’t have been a problem, but with this hunka tuna, it was a little challenging.

Big tuna

Dad ordered the braciole, which is a thin steak rolled up, usually with breadcrumbs, cheese and herbs. This was an old favorite at Giovanni’s, and these days I love to order it at Oak’s Inn in Endicott. Cavallario’s is stuffed with mushrooms and feta, a cool twist, and served over capellini, in a pomodoro sauce. This was luscious. While not as tender as other iterations I’ve enjoyed, the pomodoro sauce was enriched with the flavor of the meat and cheese, and the feta lent a pungent, salty note to the sweet sauce and earthy mushrooms. A successful dish, indeed.

Pronounced: Bra-zhool

Mom, of course, is our simple food lover, and went with the linguine and pomodoro sauce. The linguine was al dente and the sauce as a good, earthy, chunky tomato sauce. The meatballs that came with this entrée were super tender and well-seasoned. They sure beat any meatball I’ve ever made. Maybe being of Romanian and German descent does not a master meatballer make?

Simple pasta, simple sauce

We could not have been happier with the change-up this meal offered to our holiday weekend, or with the laid-back but still classy atmosphere dinner here afforded us. I give Cavallario’s Cucina a 7.5 on the BHS scale. While my fish and Dad’s beef could have been more tender, the flavors were all there and popping, the service was top notch, and the cuisine was just outside the norm enough to be really refreshing. If you’re in town to do some holiday shopping in the next few weeks, stop by CC for dinner and test it for yourself. Don’t miss the dressing.

I’m mapping out my posts for the rest of the year. Ahhhh! I can’t believe it’s so close! My BHS Awards will be happening soon, and I have a great brunch recommendation in NNY for you to try. If you’re craving more BHS, drop in on our Facebook group or follow me on Twitter @BigHungryShelby. My personality is big, my hunger is bigger!    

PS: My nephew is here! Behold, my precious:

He is one of the best things ever. Like seriously, right up there with bacon, green chile sauce, pork belly, Sephora, little blue boxes and naps. I am smitten.

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Exciting things are happening in my world this week which make writing this post less than thrilling: I’m heading to DC this afternoon for a work conference and managed to schedule a department dinner tonight at my fav, Blue Duck Tavern. Also, my sister is in the hospital right now delivering unto us my nephew. I am beside myself with life’s blessings.

But I need to give due credence to the recently passed Fall 2011 Binghamton Restaurant Week, which was cruelly delayed by September’s epic flooding and just wrapped up on November 17. This time around, I had the opportunity to dine at two participating establishments whose doors I have never before darkened, and while neither blew me away, I would be happy to eat eat at either again.

First up: The River Bistro, located inside the remodeled Riverwalk Hotel in downtown Binghamton. Big Hungry Melinda and her dashing man friend BLD joined me there on the very first night of restaurant week. While we were enthused by the new, slick décor in this space, our sweaty, nervous waiter was less well received. River Bistro’s special RW menu was a little scant compared with other restaurants, but we made do.

Our appetizer was actually off the regular menu, which we couldn’t resist because they sounded so good: house made dirty chips with spinach, roasted garlic and truffle scented aged white cheddar fondue. These were about 98 percent successful – the chips were thick-cut and crispy, although not so much that they shattered when you dipped them. And the fondue was delicious – the spinach lightened up all the sharp cheddar richness, and the roasted garlic played in time – but there was no hint of truffle anywhere in it. If the chef is using truffle oil to achieve the promised “truffle scent,” he needs to have a heavier hand.

Where for art thou, truffles?

Our starters on the RW menu included an iceberg wedge salad and tempura-fried veggies with wasabi mayo. I chose the salad, as did Melinda, and we were pleased: the lettuce was crisp, the bacon, freshly cooked, the balsamic drizzle played off the rich blue cheese dressing very well. BLD’s tempura veggies were so uninspiring-looking, I didn’t even take a bite. The portion was small and, as much as I love fried things, this didn’t look worth the calories.

Could sink the titanic

The main entrée choices were grilled skirt steak with zucchini, roasted garlic mashed potatoes and onion strings, or tomato risotto. Melinda got the risotto, which was nice, but not photogenic. It had a nice sweetness from the oven-roasting the roma tomatoes underwent, although I would have liked the consistency to be a little looser – a sticking point on season after season of Top Chef. BLD and I went for the steak, and I was really disappointed with the texture, which was just too chewy for my taste. I know skirt steak isn’t ribeye, but marinating the meat would have taken this entrée a long way, and it was a step sadly skipped. The mashed potatoes and onion strings were fantastic, and I enjoyed the dish overall, except for the years I spent chewing that steak.

The key word should be marinate, not masticate

Third course choice: chocolate pot du crème or strawberry and cream napoleon. The chocolate was the winner here, with deep, dark, cocoa flavor. I am trying to maintain a modicum of health these days, so I only enjoyed three spoonfuls, but it was so rich, that was all I needed. The napoleon, never one of my dessert favorites, was a little bland: out of season berries around too-brittle pastry squares with a pretty nondescript pastry cream.

 
Pot du AHEM

There is undeniably some good work going on at The River Bistro. And to be fair, RW may not be the best time to judge it, however, isn’t that the whole point of such an event – for people to get out and sample places to see if they’d like to go back? Our harried waiter did not help matters, although again, the lovely décor and peaceful ambiance went a long way. I would give The River Bistro a six on the BHS scale, and encourage the management here to indulge their chefs creativity but also maybe get them some professional development classes in really nailing world cuisine.

My second RW foray was with two co-workers both named Lisa, to Tranquil Bistro, also in Binghamton. I had read other bloggers’ insistence that Tranquil is the best restaurant in the Southern Tier, and I wanted to try it for myself. Tranquil’s RW menu was more extensive than River Bistro’s, providing more choices and more courses. Being the greedy Shelby I am, you know I appreciate that. I also like the interior of this small joint – they’re definitely going for a city vibe with a European twist. What I didn’t love was the kitchen noise – the wait staff receives the food from the kitchen in a tony pass that collides with one end of the bar, and the clattering and crashing from that area dominated the whole space.

I started my meal with the pumpkin ricotta gnocchi, and was very impressed right off the bat – the gnocchi was pillowy and soft, the mushrooms and spinach earthy and light, and the sage brown butter was a classic and apt pair. I could have eaten this as my entrée and been very satisfied, had the portion been doubled. I just would have liked to see the presentation a bit tighter – the components of the dish were a little spread out on the plate.

A scattering of flavor

Lisa’s salad stole the show, however. The warm spinach salad with roasted root vegetables, bacon, dried cherries and toasted hazelnuts in a maple balsamic vinaigrette lived up to every bit of its egregious description. Every flavor was in balance, and the overall taste on the palate was more luxurious than any salad I have ever had. This was the pinnacle of the whole meal. Incidentally, it is on the regular menu and you SHOULD go to Tranquil Bistro and get some.

Spinach good

We all went for the French onion soup for our next course, and were disappointed after the appetizer high: the soup was nearly cold. While the flavor was good, the soup itself wasn’t even hot enough to melt the cheese on the crouton, nor had each dish been finished in a salamander, as in most restaurants. Also, I found the texture to be a bit off-putting – there was almost a graininess to the broth.

 All looks, no heat

We divided and conquered most of the entrée list. I had the duck sausage risotto, an over-the-top rich dish rounded out by roasted butternut squash and caramelized onions. The duck sausage was simply sublime, and really made a hearty winter statement out of a run-of-the-mill risotto dinner. I couldn’t eat even half of it, but I loved it. Again, I would have liked to see a tighter presentation, though. The sauce was all over just one half the plate, making it look sloppy.

Duck, duck, YUM

One of the Lisa’s went for the beef tenderloin with andouille sausage. The andouille in this was underwhelming – not spicy enough and lost in the rest of the dish’s flavors. But the steak was tender and well-flavored, sauced with a creamed bourbon reduction and accompanied by tender crisp veggies and mashed red potatoes. Lisa loved it, and we all agreed. The other Lisa was not so fortunate in her choice, the eggplant “steak.” I expected the eggplant to be cut thick and vertically, to maximize the meatiness and surface area for roasting. Instead, Lisa was served a small, thin horizontally-cut disk of eggplant, with maybe a half cup of bland polenta and an uninspired tomato sauce. She was starving after eating the tiny portion, and was glad the risotto and steak were up for sharing.

Messy, but not weak, sauce

The dessert course was a pick between chocolate mousse and a cream puff. Neither really knocked my socks off, but Lisa really enjoyed her chocolate mousse. I’ve heard the sticky toffee pudding is the thing to have here, and it wasn’t on the RW menu that evening.

Not worth the calories to have more than two bites

While there were moments of greatness in this meal, I would not crown Tranquil Bistro the best restaurant in the Southern Tier. I’ve had far better outings to Oaks Inn, P.S. and Tony’s. I awarded Tranquil seven out of 10 on the BHS scale, with a special commendation for that spinach salad, which is just killer. In any event, this is what Restaurant Week is all about – to try places that are new to you and figure out what to revisit. I wouldn’t shy away from a return meal at either of these places, although I would be chooiser in my ordering, to be sure.

I’m back in the Northcountry next week, Big Hungries, for a review of a beloved Watertown eatery, so join me next Wednesday morning...at which point you will have to call me Aunt Big Hungry Shelby, because my nephew will have joined us by then! My personality is big, my hunger is bigger!    

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Thanksgiving: that joyous festival of giving thanks, gravy, carbohydrates, football-soaked couch naps at relatives’ houses, overindulgence in wine and pie, and wishing you had worn stretchy-er pants. What I’m seeing a lot of this year is surprising, though. While usually, I think of Thanksgiving as the day before it’s really OK to haul out the Christmas decorations, start writing holiday cards, wrapping presents, etc., this year, I’m seeing a lot of people jump that gun. According to my newsfeed on Facebook, trees are up, presents are wrapped, people are listening to their holiday CDs, and great cookie bake-offs are being plotted. I’ve always considered myself a lover of Christmas and a great planner, but pre-empting Thanksgiving for Christmas is just not kosher with this gal.

That said, I am known to start my shopping early; usually around July or August, in fact. I think it was June this year. But since many of you have the restraint to wait until the actual Christmas season to begin Christmas shopping, I thought I would outline my family’s favorite holiday shopping trip ritual, complete with restaurant recommendations, for your retail and gastronomic pleasure. In case you still need to get away for a really intensive weekend of shopping, here’s our annual outline: Friday night/ Saturday at King of Prussia Mall, outside Philadelphia, PA, then Sunday at either an outlet mall in the Philly area, or like this year, in Lancaster, PA at those outlet malls. If we leave said outlet mall on Sunday early enough and don’t have what we needed done, we sometimes stop at The Crossings Outlets in Tannersville, PA, on the way back to my house in Owego for last minute goodies.

Of course, venturing down the 81 corridor towards Philly affords one the opportunity to eat at Bingham’s Restaurant, that legendary pie paradise stuck between Binghamton and Scranton, conveniently located to hop right off the highway and stuff your face. I had heard for years that I needed to check this place out, and as it recently reopened after a fire-induced remodel, this seemed like the opportune time. Our meal was appropriately hearty and plentiful. I got chicken pot pie just to be really authentic to the pie experience.

Pie, pie, I love pie, nothing goes better with a suit and tie

The pot pie was fine, perhaps a tad on the salty side no doubt owing to a hefty ladleful of chicken base rather than a real chicken stock starter, but it couldn’t hold a candle to my pecan pie dessert, which was by far the most delicious, best textured pecan pie I have ever tasted. The crust was perfectly flaky, the corn syrup base almost creamy in its sugary, dreamlike consistency, and the pecans almost candied in their crunchy sweetness.

Me oh my, I love pie

Dad’s ruben sandwich was sloppy and satisfying. There was no shortage of thousand islands dressing on that puppy, and the fries on the side were yummy. The rye bread upon which the sandwich was constructed was the star – thick cut and made in-house, it was stellar. He had the mixed berry pie for dessert, and was similarly pleased with that meal-ender. Again, outstanding crust, and fresh, luscious filling. Pie is really the star attraction at Bingham’s.

Name the movie from which the pie song came, and you win a BHS t-shirt!

But hold the phone, because pie isn’t the only trick up Bingham’s sleeve. Mom had the rice pudding, which was pretty in addition to being rich, ultra creamy, but still toothsome. I love it when the rice isn’t cooked down so much that it’s falling apart, but the pudding is still creamy and smooth. There’s a trick to achieving that – I don’t know what it is, but I appreciate it when I find it. The huge portion and tiny price made this a home run. Even if you don’t escape on a shopping mini-break this holiday season, if your travels take you over the highway and through the woods to Northern PA, stop by Bingham’s for solid comfort food and exemplary dessert.

Not pie.

After arriving at King of Prussia, taking advantage of the ginormous Crate and Barrel just outside the mall, and checking into our swank and reasonably priced Hyatt Place room, we made the somewhat lazy decision to grab dinner at Legal Seafood. Now, I’ve eaten at plenty of these over the years and never had a bad experience, but maybe a Friday night during the high season isn’t the best time to attempt to sample Legal’s fare. The beeper signifying our table was ready never went off, causing us to wait just about an hour to be seated, and then the waitress brought the wrong dinner to my Mom. The food was excellent, but we were just too tired to really battle the service issues we faced that evening. If you do eat here, don’t miss the clam chowder and crab cakes – both are excellent, for chain restaurant food.

Saturday night, we were equally tired, but better organized for better dining. The nice barkeep at the hotel recommended Creed’s Seafood & Steaks, just across the road from the mall, which we had been eyeing anyway. What a great recommendation!  It was quiet and lovely inside – traditional but not in a stuffy way. The service was professional and attentive, but friendly. The prices are on the higher end, but so is the food. I started with an arugula salad with wedges of brie, whole cashews, caramelized red onions and inventive blueberry vinaigrette. I felt adventuresome ordering something so strange-sounding, but was rewarded with a delicious and unique appetizer. The dressing was less sweet and more tart than I had anticipated, but also familiar with the texture and slight sugary essence of fresh blueberries. The brie wasn’t your bottom-of-the-barrel Presidente variety, but just a little funky and buttery rich.

Blueberry salad with brie

Mom and I ordered the filet mignon skewers, and were both so happy with our dinners. First of all, the green beans were tremendous – crisp, sweet, bright green and buttered. YUM! The steak was almost equally as buttery, cooked perfectly, and tender as filet should be – served with a masterful béarnaise sauce that I would eat everyday of the rest of my life if I could. Bernaise is a butter and tarragon sauce – a cousin to the hollandaise you find on eggs benedict at Sunday brunch. It pairs awesomely with steak and elevates simple steamed veggies to the sublime.

Sorry for how crappy my photography was that evening. I don’t know what happened.

Dad’s entrée was another stunner, even if I crinkled my nose at his initial ordering: venison loin. I expected the venison I’ve tried to cook a hundred times and still never enjoyed – gamey, tough, blah. But this was farmed, tender, and mild. Almost like beef sirloin – if you want to try venison for the first time, this is the place. The chianti sauce served alongside was all rich mellowness and brought the whole dish together. Two thumbs up.

The venison got all the good lighting

We were all really too stuffed for dessert, but the hotel had given us a free coupon, and who were we to pass that up? The apple cider crème brulee proved the most seductive option, and all three of us enjoyed cracking through the hard-sugar shell into the lush apple chiffon custard below, as well as the creamy pumpkin ice cream served on top. This has been my season for fun, inventive, fall-flavored ice creams, and I’m loving it! We awarded Creed’s a nine on the BHS scale, and moved on up the road to crash for the night at our hotel.

Loving the fall desserts!

Sunday morning, we scooted over to Lancaster for a morning of Coach and Banana Republic outlet madness, followed by lunch at our favorite of the Amish-style dining establishments dotting hilariously-named Bird-in-Hand, PA: Plain and Fancy Farm. Looking at their website now, I see Adam Richman also visited recently and loved it there. Good on ya, Man V. Food!

We skipped the epic meal that they serve as their Amish Farm Feast, and instead chose to order off the plentiful lunch menu. And look, when you visit Amish country, just give up the goose on the diet, will ya? Order the fried chicken, all the crazy sides, and make peace with the fact that you will owe the treadmill a good five miles for this travesty. It’s worth it. My platter of goodness featured the afore-mentioned fried chicken, bursting with flavor that only brining lends and coated in a satisfying crunchy, light breading, a small portion of delicious thinly sliced roast beef in real gravy, Amish pepper cabbage, dried sweet corn, and brown butter egg noodles. This is all food just a little bit different than the typical American palette is used to, and for the good: the pepper cabbage is pickled, peppery and bright, the dried sweet corn is sweet, yes, but also a complete mystery to me. You’ve got to try it to believe it. The noodles are something I always order in Amish country, and though these weren’t my favorite ever, the brown butter is a really cool touch, making them sweet and nutty.

Artful rendition of my Amish feast – thank you, Instagram!

 We were too full to sample the shoo-fly pie for dessert, but I took a whoopee pie for the road and was glad for it. Think achingly sweet vanilla frosting jammed between cocoa-rich fluffy chocolate cakes. I would give Plain and Fancy a solid seven on the BHS scale, and recommend either it or Miller’s Smorgasbord if you visit Lancaster/Bird-in-Hand/Intercourse (hee) anytime soon. Both have charming gift shops from which you can acquire pies, souvenirs, and books on the fascinating lifestyle of the Amish community. We saw more Amish families than ever before during our visit this year, and I’m always delighted to catch a glimpse into the daily lives of these “plain people” who live among us, but so separately.

Thanksgiving is all about indulgence, right? Ok, not really. It’s about giving thanks. But more often than not, we Americans pile on a hefty helping of indulgence with our holidays. Well, what better way to indulge than to escape with your favorite people for a couple days, enjoy the tax-free-clothing land of Pennsylvania, and some great food? Try any of these choices on your next jaunt to the near-south, and let me know what you think of my picks. And Happy Thanksgiving, y’all! My personality is big, my hunger is bigger!    

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