Posted by Michael Stern on July 06, 2003
There is a large menu at Glenwood Pines, including eighteen ounce steaks, farm-raised tilapia, spaghetti and meatballs, and multi-combo cold-cut sandwiches. But the main reason for coming to this friendly roadhouse overlooking Cayuga Lake is a Pinesburger. That’s a six-ounce beef oval topped with a couple of slices of cheese wedged into a length of Ithaca Bakery French bread with lettuce, tomato slices, onion slices and your choice of 1000 island dressing or mayonnaise. Connoisseurs told us that we had to have it with the 1000 island, and it would be hard to argue against that. The sweetness of the dressing is a grand compliment for the smoky meat and all its dressings. On the side, good companions include ultra-crunchy fried onion rings and creamy cole slaw.
We said the Pinesburger was the primary reason to visit. The secondary one is the fish fry. A huge, thick length of haddock is breaded and fried crisp and served with either tartar sauce or cocktail sauce. It is sweet, moist, flavorful fish, and a giant meal.
Ambience at Glenwood Pines is old-time tavern. When you walk in, you see a few pinball machines and a bowling game on the right, a pool table ahead of you and, beyond that, the bar where some folks sit and imbibe beers with (or without) their Pinesburgers as a TV delivers sports broadcasts from the upper right corner. To the left are tables and a small separate dining room; also a small case of trophies – for baseball, bowling, and volleyball – earned by teams that Glenwood Pines has sponsored.
Overall: Worth driving from anyplace
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Reviewers "Must Eats" List
Pinesburger
($4.00)
Fresh Fish Fry
($12.00)
"The house specialty, a Pinesburger, was invented in the mid-1970s by previous owners Lee Denman and Dave Pepin. Note the 1000 Island dressing underneath the lettuce: the essential condiment."
Michael Stern
"The fried haddock at Glenwood Pines is huge, crunchy, and sweet-flavored."
Michael Stern
"More than a half-century old, "The Pines" has a comfortable, well-weathered ambience. Its pinball games are vintage."
Michael Stern
"A destination eat-and-drink place for local residents as well as Cornell students and faculty (Stephen Rushmore photo)"
Michael Stern
"When it originally opened just after World War II, The Pines was a small farm stand with local produce and homemade ice cream. Today, its Pinesburger and fish fry are world-renowned."
Michael Stern
"A lot of food! Underneath everything else is a full fish fry. That's really all you need."
Bruce Bilmes and Susan Boyle
