This is gonna be a big one folks, so I think I'll have to break it up into a few sections. My Roadfood "Spidey-Sense" seemed to be tingling wherever I went, so I've got a lot to say (and actually remembered to take lots of pictures!). I went up to Rome and Syracuse to see my family for a long weekend and for my niece's 3rd birthday. I knew I had arrived in the Central NY region by the telltale gray skies and light rain. I miss my family, but I sure don't miss that weather.
4/10/08- My mom and I went to dinner at Teddy's Restaurant (reviewed here of RF):
http://roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=4381 I had the Broccoli and Red Pepper Garlic Pasta and mom had the grilled salmon sandwich that she really enjoyed. I love the pasta dish, but it is huge, so I took about half of it to go, which I happily ate later that night. This dish has a real depth of flavor. I think they use linguine and it's sauteed at the end with chicken stock, white wine, crushed red pepper flakes, garlic, broccoli and sweet red peppers, then topped with parmesan cheese. The vegetables get softened, but still retain a nice crunch and the garlic has a great presence and the pepper flakes provide a slight undertone of heat.
I had forgotten to bring my camera in when we ate, so I drove back down later that night, took some photos outside, then went inside and asked Carlos, the owner, if it would be okay for me to take some shots inside and he was really cool with it, I think the waitress I talked to thought it was pretty funny that I was taking photos of their trophy and t-shirt. A close-up of Teddy's Riggiefest Trophy.
A full shot of the trophy. Teddy's has won three years in a row, so they are not eligible to compete this year, but they can attend and serve their riggies to the public.
The Riggiefest is coming up soon, so if you're in CNY, check it out! I haven't been, but I hear it's pretty good.
The full ad for Riggiefest 2008.
What is a riggie, you say? Look no further.
I saw this t-shirt and just had to get a picture of it.
I stopped in at the local Price Chopper supermarket for some local specialties and some items I either cannot find in NYC or are much cheaper upstate. I found my childhood favorite, Freihofer's chocolate chip cookies on sale, so I picked up a couple of boxes.
A better shot of the cookies. I have always loved these and for me, they taste the most like homemade of any boxed kind. They use dark chocolate chips and they have a slight hint of saltiness to them which I think is wonderful and blends very harmoniously with the chocolate. My grandma wasn't big on sweets, but she usually had a box of these at her house and I'd have a few when I finished mowing the lawn or just stopped by to visit after school. So there is a real sense of memory attached to these for me.
The company was started in Philadelphia, but really took off when they set up a facility in Troy, NY in 1913.
I like this wagon display that is an homage to the early days of the company. I was disappointed to see the Entemanns on there until I went to the website,
www.freihofers.com and realized that they are both now part of a larger group of bakeries. Not sure if that is a good thing, but the cookies are just as delicious as I remember. I sampled some more Freihofer's baked goods, but that's later in the trip...
A close-up of my beloved Turkey Joints. They've been around since 1919. I picked up a couple of bottles from Price Chopper as well. The website is
www.turkeyjoints.com. These have been under my family's Christmas tree since I can remember with a note: from Santa! The label says Candyland and the place that makes them is Nora's Candy Shop. I know that Candyland was a popular local restaurant (that later became Liberty Lane-a sorely missed breakfast spot) in Rome when my parents were teens and they sold Turkey joints there. I'm not sure why there are two names now, but I love the fact that they only ship seasonally to ensure freshness. They may only make them from October to May, but it's not entirely clear on the website.
A shot of the label. The looks I have gotten from people when I first tell them I love turkey joints is priceless!
The banner at Price Chopper. I almost didn't find them and thought they may have run out for the season.
How many bottles would you like, sir?? The only complaint I have ever had about these was the year that they switched from a 16 oz jar to a 12 oz jar AND raised the price! I knew that changed sizes when I picked up the still wrapped jar under the Christmas tree and realized it was much smaller.
Jane and Michael Stern had written in "Two For The Road" that when they first started out doing roadfood, they had a "blind spot" for all of the great places in their state of CT. I can see how that would happen. I realized that there are more places in my hometown worth investigating that I had ever thought. I took this shot while running some errands with my mom. I had been going here for years to pick up prescriptions for clients when I worked at a group home, but it never occurred to me to eat here. I love the luncheon sign! The name of this place on the other side of the building is "Prescription Center Pharmacy and Surgical Supplies". Priceless!! I think I'll have to make a point of it on my next trip. There is a seafood market called Stan's Seafood Inc. at 726 W. Dominick Street Rome, New York 13440. Phone # 315-337-9170 and has been around since well before I was born, but I didn't "find" it until I was in my mid-twenties (and this is a city of less than 50,000 people!). They sell fresh seafood to cook at home and also do fish fry dinners to go on Friday nights. Just about every restaurant in Rome has a Friday fish fry-big Catholic population. There is also a Polish church next door to the group home where I worked that made their own pierogies and stuffed cabbage (galumpkies?) that we used to buy now and then for dinner. I need to get back up there and check these places out. More to come in Part 2...!!
