Posts filed under ‘Wineries’
Sunday Sunrise
The Finger Lakes are a network of lakes in upstate New York, and on a map, they look like fingers. The area is also abounds with wineries -- so what's better when the two meet like in the above photo, of the sun rising over a vineyard. Happy Sunday, folks.
1922 Starkey House: A Mission-Revival Style Bed & Breakfast
Starkey House is located in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country along Seneca Lake. It is a genuine Mission-Revival-style home, built in 1922. The current owner, Cathy Moskal, has been lovingly restoring the home for the last 14 years.
Upon entering the house I noticed the beautiful hardwood trim (original America Chestnut, now extinct) and vintage stained glass windows in the dining room and living room. Cathy provided us a quick history of the area, and the Starkey House. What immediately impressed us was that this looked like a Roycroft-inspired home, reminiscent of the Arts and Crafts Period.
Finger Lakes Fun: 2012 New York State Fair
Photo contest runner-up, 2011
Here it is — everything you need to know about the 2012 New York State Fair. I’ll be attending, and you can attend too — free — compliments of the NYS Fair — if you let me know your favorite fair memory. I have tickets to give away, so impress me. I’ll pick a winner August 22, contact you, and you can pick up your (2) FREE tickets at Will Call.
- Thursday, Aug. 23, to Monday, Sept. 3, 2012
- Gates open at 8 a.m. daily
- exhibit buildings are open from 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
- 375 acres filled with fun: Free Stuff to do and see:
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- Butter sculpture / Sand sculpture
- Animal shows, petting zoo
- Nightly parade at 6 p.m.
- NEW: Monster truck show
- NEW: BMX stunt show
- NEW: Interactive rain forest learning exhibit
- NEW: Midway Music Series – built around local and up-and-coming bands
- NEW: Great Lakes Lumberjack Show
- Different acts each day at 2 and 8 p.m.
- All shows at Chevy Court are free with Fair admission
Photo Contest Winner — 2011
Signature State Fair Food:
- Lots of food deals: $0.25 cup of fresh milk, $1 baked potatoes (Horticulture Bldg.), hot beef sundaes, salt potatoes
- Deep-fried mac & cheese, mashed potatoes, candy bars, cheesecake, PB&J sandwiches
- Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Gianelli sausage sandwiches
- Big Kahuna Donut Dog
Tickets:
- General admission is $10 (children under 12 free every day)
- Advance sale tickets $6 – save 40% – (on sale at a variety of locations throughout New York State, click here for a full list).
- Can also purchase six-day frequent fair passes (valid for one person) $30, pre-paid parking passes for one day $5
Special Days:
- Senior Citizen Days: Aug. 27 & 28 (free admission 60 and older)
- Veterans Day: Aug. 30 (free with military ID)
- Student’s Day: Aug. 31 (free admission for students 16 and under)
- Native American Day: Aug. 31 (free admission for Native Americans)
- NEW: College Night: Aug. 31 (college students will receive vendor discounts)
photo contest runner-up 2011
Midway:
- Unlimited rides for one price: $25 wristbands on six days
- Thurs 8/23, Fri 8/24, Mon 8/27, Tues 8/28, Wed 8/29, Thurs 8/30
- This year we will again offer the Discount Strates Shows Midway FunCard worth $24 for only $14 if you purchase by Aug. 22
- Available at most advance sale locations
- 24 credits per card – each ride requires 2 or more credit.
- A savings of $10 off the regular ride book price.
- The FunCard System replaces traditional ride books and individual tickets with a single electronic, bar coded card that can be used on all of the of the rides at the Midway and Kiddieland.
- NEW: This year, Fairgoers can also buy advance sale midway wristbands and ride tickets online through Aug. 22. There will be a price discount for those purchasing online.
Mobile Fair Site:
- A mobile version of nysfair.org
- It functions like an app on a smartphone and allows smartphone users to have easy access to the most popular Fair information (concerts, visitor guide, food guide, etc.)
QR Code:
- NEW: This year, QR Codes will be placed on agricultural signage around the Fairgrounds allowing Fairgoers to scan the QR Codes and learn more about NYS Fair agriculture.
- There is a QR Code on the advance sale posters and counter cards at all advance sale ticket locations. The QR Code will also be placed on print ads.
- If you can scan the QR Code with a smartphone, you can enter into a drawing to win a free, one-day parking pass to the Fair.
- Those without a smartphone can text “parking” to 24587 to be entered into the free parking drawing.
Updates:
- You can sign up for email and text message updates at www.nysfair.org
- Find The Great New York State Fair on Facebook
- Follow NYSFair on Twitter
Combine the great tastes of the Finger Lakes at the Farm and Fork
It’s a hot Saturday summer night. We enjoy a long drive rolling through the heart of the Finger lakes, headed for Trumansburg. As the sun grows low in the sky, we park the car, looking at a normal-looking farm and barn. Can this be it?
Silver Queen Farm plays host to a monthly gourmet, farm-driven meal, known as the The Farm & Fork. The Farm & Fork is a collaboration between a caterer and local farms. The third Saturday evening of each month they welcome guests for a gourmet meal prepared with just-picked vegetables and fruits from the Finger Lakes Region.
Dano’s on Seneca Lake
Appetizers = Vorspeisen = spreads
Dano’s Heuriger along the east side of Seneca Lake, is America’s first heuriger (pronounced hoy-rig-er). Dano’s is a traditional Viennese winery restaurant featuring Finger Lakes award-winning wines paired with the superb Viennese-inspired cooking of chef/co-owner Dano Hutnik and pastry chef/co-owner Karen Gilman.
Ever-changing menu on a giant chalk board
View inside of Danos
As you ride along Rt 414, on the east side of Seneca Lake, Dano’s does not grab you with a stunning roadside facade. Other than the sign you don’t see much, just a large shingled roof and a big gravel parking lot.
Ceiling shot
Architect Andrea Simitch designed the building to with the same voluminous space as a barn, and the spacious interior brings to mind the traditional volumes of a farm building, but with much more warmth and light. The west wall is glass, floor to ceiling, placing you right into the surrounding fields.
View from the deck
Beyond the glass wall that faces the lake, there is an outdoor terrace with seating for up to 60.
Horseradish Beet Salad, House Pate, Bratwurst
Dano, the chef, makes make his own sausage, and cheese, and recently added a vegetable garden and fruit orchard. He makes a mean chutney.
The menu is completely a la carte. You can order all at once or in dribs and drabs — which we did. Sharing is encouraged. Arriving at 4pm on a Saturday worked out perfectly, as we beat the dinner rush, and could take our time ordering and savoring. Dano’s seats continuously from noon until closing.
We started with three spreads for $9. The Liptauer is their house special and was our favorite A “spread” is pretty much a base of cream cheese with tasty items like feta paprika, onion, garlic, caraway seed, or capers, mixed in producing yummy things to spread on sliced bread (or gluten-free crackers). We also tried the Pumpkin Seed Oil and the Hotel Sacher spreads.
Our helpful waiter guided us to try some white wine: A Berger Gruner Veltliner, and a Standing Stone Vineyard Vidal Blanc.
Sacher Torte — rich chocolate with orange
We moved on to the the House Paté, a Horseradish Beet Salad, Smoked Hungarian Sausage, and a Bratwurst. Any chinks left in our tummies were solidly filled with the rich Sacher Torte and a Red Newt Port.
Dano’s has been named a regional semi-finalist in 2012 James Beard Foundation Awards. The awards annually honor the top professionals in the food and beverage industries, and are considered the Oscars of the food world. This year, there were a record 57,000 online entries.
Location of Danos
Dano’s Heuriger is located at 9564 Route 414 just south of Lodi, NY.
Ports Cafe Geneva: DeVine Dining
The kitchen of Ports Cafe
It’s the time of the year to make one last trip to close the cottage. Not much to look forward to on the drive east from Rochester, on a frosty Friday night, so we made reservations to stop for dinner while en route, at Ports Cafe, just south of Geneva on Seneca Lake.
Listening to the specials
Interior of Ports
Ports specializes in specials. They had almost as many specials as regular menu items, which we never even sampled. Our waitress was helpful and attentive. We start with appetizers and wine flights.
Wine flights allowed us to each sample 3 whites (local) and 3 reds. Some of the local wineries are Billsboro, Dr Frank, Glenora, and William Hill.
Mussels in a delicious broth
Appetizers: Mussels in a garlic white wine sauce. AWESOME.
Best swordfish I have ever had
Main Course: Seafood kabobs: shrimps scallops, swordfish, pineapple, red bell pepper, scallion with garlic and parsley butter and a New York Strip with smashed potatoes. Both very good.
Doesn't this look great?
Dessert was a pecan bourbon creme brulee, which though very pretty, did not wow us. But, the ice wine was delicious.
Reviews in Trip Advisor. Listed as the number 1 restaurant in Geneva, according to Trip Advisor.
This is a very nice affordable cafe with lots of variety. It is not on par with Moro’s Table in Auburn or Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg, but it is charming friendly and we spent less than $100. with all the trimmings.
Ports is located at 4432 West Lake Road, Route 14, Geneva, NY 14456, 315-789-2020.
Travel Back in Finger Lakes Time to The Hayward House
The Hayward House is a Bed and Breakfast in Ovid New York. The house is actually in the middle of nowhere, but not too far from everywhere you might want to go, whether it’s wineries, the lake shore, Ithaca, Seneca Falls, or Watkins Glen. But when you stay at The Hayward House know that you will get peace and quiet, and big sky and stars galore.
Happy Cows at the Muranda Cheese Company
This blog post is a continuation from the previous. While traveling the Finger Lakes Cheese Trail we met Tom Murray of the Muranda Cheese Company. Miranda makes 13 different kinds of raw milk cheese. Raw milk cheese is made from unpasteurized milk. Unpasteurized milk has bacteria in it, which contributes to greater flavor.
Finger Lakes Cheese Trail Adventure
Did you think I meant to say “wine trail?” No whey! Cheese farms are popping up all over the Finger Lakes. We’re took a special trip to ride some of the trail, meet the cheese makers, and try as much as possible!
Finger Lakes Summer Fun: Three Brothers Winery
On a cool Saturday afternoon we were driving between Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. On a whim, Charlie followed signs to Three Brothers Winery. Amidst a peaceful pastoral landscape we saw a parking lot FULL of cars, limos with even a bus! That is because Three Brothers Winery is a destination in itself. There are 3 different wineries, run by three distinctly different brothers, plus a brewery —which apparently they can all agree upon.
