Syracuse, NY at Christmas

What the heck, it's worth a shot -- Anybody have any recommendations for Syracuse, NY over Christmas? This will the the fourth trip there for Mrs. JiLS and me to spend the holiday with her family, which is of course wonderful and I have no complaints. But God bless it, Syracuse is really, truly boring at Christmas. Roll up the sidewalks boring. Or am I missing something? I am looking forward to a pizza comparison, by the way; we'll hit at least one or two spots and Syracuse pizza is more or less in the East Coast style. I'll at least have that and will report back. But if anybody has other suggestions, please let me know.

Easy,

Dinosaur BBQ. See what all the incredible fuss is about on the NYC CH board recently. I am a longtime fan of these BBQ bars, long established in Syracuse and Rochester. Good music and good-to-very good renditions of all the basic BBQ meats.

You might not be surprised to learn that the college-catering originals, while very good and well known locally, did not "exist" in the minds and writings of NY Chowhounds until Dino jumped onto the NYC BBQ bandwaggon to cash in on the latest, greatest Manhattan chow-fad. In any event, the Manhattan reception has been overwhelmingly positive, likely with good reason given the longstanding high BBQ standards of the Dino folks and the similarly longstanding dearth of NYC BBQ.

You can and should visit the original, your best bet in Syracuse for my money.

http://www.dinosaurbarbque.com/

Here's a brief report of my Syracuse experience. First, no visits to Dinosaur Barbecue (for a couple of reasons, including (1) didn't get Jeff's note until I got back and (2) not a lot of barbecue enthusiasts among the in-laws ... although we did get a jar of Dinos sauce a couple of years back from Mrs. JiLS's brother, and it was all right!). Anyway, what we did get to included:

Thursday dinner at Angotti's. This is classic Italian-American fare, red (make that very, very bright red) sauce in a spartan setting that fills up very rapidly after 5:30 (and Mrs. JiLS's folks being savvy regulars got us there about 5:27). Angotti's is primarily known for the pizza, which I've yet to try (meant to get back this visit but failed to find the time). They do good work with eggplant parmigiana, baked ziti (that's mostaccioli in Chicago), and other comfort dishes. A great family dinner I wouldn't miss, although I'm not sure that Syracuse doesn't have some better (at least pricier) Italian alternatives. Probably NOT a place to come alone, but one table over was a local NBC TV newscaster who we understand just lost his job, with some family ... hope it made him feel better. Angotti's

Friday morning found us at the (formerly all-night) Egg-Plant. Now relocated to a strip mall on Erie Boulevard in East Syracuse, this was THE place for apres theatre dining when Mrs. JiLS was in grad school at Syracuse U in the late 1980s. Apparently they curtailed the hours in 1998, but they used to be open 9:00 p.m. till 4:00 a.m. -- then open again at 7:00 until a 3:00 p.m. siesta. Anyway, still a very fun place where, unlike so many "fun" places with a tradition, the food is actually very good. Known for their creative omelette options, including tuna fish, peanut butter and jelly, and other nominal stomach-turners that turn out pretty tasty. I went for peanut butter and bacon, and (much like my sometimes touted peanut butter and bacon on rye toast sandwich), this sweet, salty, gooey mess was a wonderful exprience. Not as wonderful, however, as the toasted honey bun Mrs. JiLS and I also split. With all our reputation for heart attack specials, I'm surprised this one hasn't made a go here in Chicago (although it would be easy to reproduce, even at home ... so pay attention). Take a honey bun (any brand will do) and split it down the middle long-wise and thin-wise (like slicing a plantain for a jibarito). Spread with butter or (what I think they do at Egg-Plant) that fake butter grilling stuff, and stick it in a flat sandwich press. Grill until golden brown, then serve with some more butter. Damn, that's good eating. (Trivia Note: They serve lunch, including a double cheese burger that's been around, "Big Baby"-style, since about 1960. It's called the "Vopper" (Or sometimes, "Vhopper"). This is the result of a trademark tussle with Burger King in 1975 and the owner's "cultural heritage," as he puts it in a framed article on the wall of the Egg-Plant.) This morning we went back; more sober dining choices this time around, but equally good.

The only pizza eaten during this visit was Johnny's in DeWitt, because it's close to the parents-in-law. Not great, actually pretty poor quality cheese, but the crust would get the stamp of approval from all New York/East Coast pizza fans (bread dough not short dough, tossed, lightly topped). Next time I will have Angotti's pizza and maybe have something more report-worthy.