Wedding in Syracuse

I start off by thanking everyone for their suggestions. It only seems like I ignored them all; when in fact, I printed them all out and kept looking to the list only to be held to schedules beyond my control. Everything worked out well. The directions provided worked out great.

4th of July started on a Friday. We were not able to get on the road until the evening. As we were going to get started late anyway...may as well hit a BBQ at a friends. Burgers and hotdogs on a weber were the fair along with pasta salads and many dips and fruit. I took my burger and added guacamole and black bean and corn salsa for a southwestern flare. Everyone else was impressed (or thought I was crazy - No one followed my create a burger idea). We got on 270 to 15 to 81 well fed. We drve straight through to Syracuse and arrived about 2 AM. Woohoo. Beds feel real good at that time.

Saturday. Wedding day. We have realized we have no card and no money. We go out in search of both and I ask our Rite Aid checker where a good spot to eat is. She responds that there are no places to go in Syracuse. I kid you not. Whilst my other is checking cards, I try again by asking where she and her friends would go grab breakfast. Score. I've hit the magic words and she gives up her closely guarded restaurant secrets. We go to a small town/neighborhood? a mile away called Dewitt and a restaurant called Pardzee's. It doesn't look like it, but the parking lot was full.



Pardzee's is golf themed and they take their theme as far as it can go. It's a fun place. Much of Syracuse seems golf centric, but this could just be because we ended up at a wedding reception at a golf resort. I left off the page of burgers from the menu.





We got the Greek Omlette which was stuffed with spinach, tomatos, and feta. I had the 18th Hole at Harbor Town, which despite it's elaborite name was eggs benedict. A good eggs benedict with nice crispy home fries. I get mine with scrambled eggs rather than poached, but I'm really just in it for the hollendaise. The ham on the "Harbor Town" was really good. Seemed more like country ham than a slice of packaged canadien bacon. I insist it was a few slices of ham. They grilled it up before putting it on the english muffin. The effect was very nice.



Back to the hotel - Doubletree, Scorereader. Nice room. Indoor and outdoor pools. New Yorkers are pale. Just enough time to shower and get ready for the wedding which was very nice and I can not remember the church name. The bride's mother invited everyone over for appetizers after the ceremony which was very nice. Even nicer when we saw the trouble she went though with a tent and coffee/punch/pastries and shrimp and dips and pinwheels of meats and cheeses. She went all out and the weather was perfectly sunny and low 80s with a breeze. Very relaxed.

Quick trip back to the hotel to try and set up a ride to the reception as responsible drivers (or irresponsible people who did not want to drive 9- and left their camera). Here's a test for the CNY people. The reception was at a Golf country club which was on the top of a hill (great view) and seemed to be just southeast of the city part of Syracuse. Roaming appetizers - stuffed mushrooms, chicken kabob- teriyaki?, spinach triangles, and ...bacon wrappped scallops (insert organ music). There was also a table set up with meatballs, fruit and cheeses. We convinced one of the waiters to keep servicing the balcony and had a constant flow of appetizers at our hands.

Dinner was prime rib or a walnut encrusted fish - it could have been mahi mahi. It was very good. Very good. The fish had a rice pilaf and steamed veggies. Dessert table included the wedding cake which was fantastic - tasted very moist like pound cake with a layer of strawberries and a whipped cream frosting. Also gracing the table was key lime pie, carrot cake, chocolate mousse cake, petit fours, cheese cake, cannolis, Mini pies and tarts, mini cookies...too much to remember. Had never seen it done, but I was impressed. The wedding cake was the best of them all. Dancing all over the place and a surprise fireworks show that competed with any 4th of July celebration I have ever seen finished the night. That golf course must have been a little charred the next day.

The next morning there was a brunch at the Doubletree for everyone. I'll hit the highlights. Waffles and omlettes to order, and a chocolate fountain. Several breakfast items - eggs bene, bisquits and gravy, philly cheesesteak egg scramble. Lunch items - salmon, beef roast with gravy, etc. Never made it past breakfast items and was still stuffed. I was impressed when someone at our table thought to combine the chocolate from the fountain with the waffle. Visionary. Everyone headed out.

There was no traffic leaving DC. There was traffic returning. What's up PA? How about a few less detours on a holiday weekend? We stopped at the PA welcome center and the local Lions clubs set up free food offerings. Hot dogs, drinks, cup cakes for a donation. I had a chocolate cupcake with crushed nuts on top. We also picked up a strangley wonderful bag of skittles. Did you know the red skittle is supposed to be strawberry flavored and not cherry? I didn't.



As I've stated in another thread, that breakfast really stayed with us. We weren't hungry at 6 but I was not willing to let the whole trip go by without hitting one roadfood place. Ah Chubby's. A Beacon less than an hour from DC. Loved by Dolly Parton and Xena Warrior Princess. We ordered two jam jars of root beer on tap.




The crab soup comes with the warning that people will be cut off at 2 bowls. How do you not order that? Not bad, very sweet like a corn and crab chowder but maybe not needing the bowl restriction. Also, the waitress was a kick. A nice addition to the atmosphere



Our lite supper consisted of a half rack of ribs, which were smoked to bright pink, beans and corn bread. The corn bread was cake like. The ribs were tender. We also had a half pound (There is no way this was only a half pound) of slow cooked brisket. See the juice on the plate. Green beans with bacon and the best mac and cheese I've have had in a while also graced the plate. Chubby's has three BBQ sauces on the table: original, hot, and I think the third is called deluxe? The delux was very sweet and not smokey. I went for original. Sorry for the blurry image. I as again stuffed when I left. I really wanted to know what the desserts were, but I would have had to sleep in the back room for a few hours if I did it.


Then trip over. It did not feel like 3 days. I'm back to work.

ok:
Based on your description, the wedding was probably at Drumlins.

Pardzees is a popular Dewitt/East Syracuse hangout. My Mom and dad sometimes go there after a round of golf. although I grew up in Liverpool, my parent currently live in Erie Village, which has an East Syracuse mailing address, but is closer to Dewitt and Fayetteville.

Regarding golf in Syracuse: Syracuse has no fewer than 40 golf courses in the immediate Syracuse area. (within a 30 minute drive of city center) Golf is relatively cheap, too. And, there's a course out there for every level player. From 9 hole execs (100 yard holes and less), to championship level courses. Although, there's not much in terms of championship level courses. Most courses are your run of the mill standard courses you can find anywhere, with a few Robert Trent Jones courses and other well know golf course architects thrown in there. But, who cares what the course is like, it is so cheap to play golf in Syracuse, and the season is so short, that an abundance of standard courses is great fun. My father-in-law makes a summer out of going from course to course, on top of his weekly golf outting with my brother-in-law. You'd have to be fairly well off to play that amount of golf here in DC, but in Syracuse, that's not the case.

If you look on the Pardeez menu, you'll see Arrowhead Golf course as one of the advertizers. I happened to play on Arrowhead's "9 West" course on June 29th with my Father-in-law during my wife's baby shower. "9 West" is a shorter 9 hole course compared to their very long 18 hole course. And, I know the Federico's who own the body shop that's advertized. Nice family. I grew with their cousins who lived two door down from us.

RE: The Double Tree. That Double Tree is located in Carrier Circle, named after Carrier Corporation, which was originally based in Syracuse - and the company that bought the naming rights to the Dome at Syracuse University. My Wedding reception, 9 years ago this coming Thursday, was at a restaurant in that same area. Following our reception, my wife and I stayed at the Residence Inn, while the rest of the wedding guests stayed at the Courtyard Marriott. All located in that same strip of hotels. And my good friend had his reception at the Embassy Suites there as well.

Chubby's looked great. Maybe we'll hit that place when we're on a return trip from the 'cuse.

I am the level of short 9 hole courses. Which means Hains Point for DC. If we knew about all the courses, we probably would have cropped the morning work on Friday and tried to sneak up early with clubs. That may be a pipe dream, there was a lot to do before going. Ah well, cook out with friends is not a bad trade off. I must say, on the whole, Syracuse is smaller than I thought it would be. My only understanding of it was from friends who attended school there.

well, compared to DC, it is small. But, a weekend wedding doesn't allow you to see all the city and area has to offer. There's quite a bit to do up there, especially in the Summer. Unlike DC, where it's too hot to go outside in July/August, Syracuse summers are perfect for outdoor festivals, which happen all over the area all summer long. Many festivals overlapping each other. People visiting Syracuse in the summer get the wrong impression though. There's so much to do in the summer, the town is decieving to summer travelers. One has to be there in the Winter (which lasts from mid-October to end of March - and April isn't even all that warm), to see why it's not the top choice of places to move to.

PS Did you notice the 80's and early 90's hairdos that still persist in that area? My wife and I laugh at the teased hair, bangs, and quasi-mullets we see.

Ha. Missed the hair as we were mainly hanging around people from out of town. I did notice tattoos on everyone in the area. I don't have anything against them, but have never seen them in such volume. Do they do that at baptisms or something? Sprinkle of holy water and a rose for your ankle? The ankle was the location of choice for men and women.

I did roll my eyes at leaving the low 80s weather and hearing the 100 degree forcast for a muggy DC Monday.

nice write up.. and now I am drooling at Chubbys Q...
I have read many times that it is, and those pics sure look like it.