ITHACA - Taco Time

I’m back in New York and I’ve driven back to Cortland to visit Caleb. I’ve been craving tacos and will not shut up about them so Caleb has decided to humor me and take me out for some in Ithaca today for lunch. I’m pretty sure he’s just happy that I’ve made a decision about a meal for once, my love for tacos is a benefit to us all.

LOCATION: 101 N Aurora St. Ithaca, NY 14850

In the heart of downtown Ithaca is Viva Taqueria. We don’t tend to come down here because parking is tricky or expensive and Caleb isn’t a fan of these kinds of things but thanks to google and yelp he’s decided to make the effort to get me good tacos and for that I’m grateful. I’ve never been in this area and Viva Taqueria is a bustling place. Right on the corner, you can spot it from down the street streaming with people and packed with patrons on this weekend lunch hour. We go inside and the place looks big but jam packed with tables all over the place and very little room to walk. We only have to wait a few minutes before we’re seated at this small table near a couple of little girls on a play date. It’s going to be an interesting lunch. We each order a bottle of root beer and I finally get the tacos I’m craving.

I order the Hard Shell Tacos because I love corn tortillas but most places use flour for their soft tacos so I tend to order hard for safety, plus I love that crunch. The hard shell tacos come as 1 chicken, 1 beef, and 1 chorizo filled with beans, lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and salsa fresca and a side of rice, beans, and escabeche on the side. Caleb orders a burrito because he feels they’re superior but we’ll not talk about that. These tacos are what I’m looking for. I like the variety of meats that I get to try and I enjoy all of them. I’m not a huge fan of rice and beans so I pick at that a little but the escabeche has a great tart kick to it that reminds me of out pickled carrots and radishes too. I’m not blown away so I don’t know that Caleb and I will come back down here with the hassle of parking and the plethora of college kids everywhere but it hit the spot for the day and I’m pretty happy that we’ve come down here to get food. I do like the area and we do some light shopping on our way back to the car on this really beautiful, sunny day. Theres a book store and record store that we stop in and I love it. Tacos, books, and music, I’ll take it.

FL - I Heart Mac & Cheese

The summer Emily travels continues with a trip to visit my Aunt and Uncle again but this time back in Florida. One of my cousins, Kevin, from Germany and his friend have come to America to visit some beaches and take time off so I’m meeting up with them to lend a hand and give my Florida cousin, Michael, a break from the hectic family life. Pembroke Pines has been my second home since I was old enough to fly on a plane by myself and I love it here. Of course, it’s been a little while since I’ve visited and new places to eat have popped up and Michael has set aside time while the adults are working to have lunch at his new favorite spot by the house.

LOCATION: 15999 Pines Blvd. Pembroke Pines, FL 33027

I’ve never seen a grilled cheese and mac and cheese place that’s made to order before but I’m already wishing there was one of these in Rochester. It’s our new go to place and any time I come back to florida, we’re coming here. I love grilled cheese now but for me, pasta wins out over a sandwich. I heard mac & cheese has counter lineup that allows you to customize your dish and since I’m here visiting and Michael is treating me to lunch, I’m going all out.

This place has a set menu for people who like examples of options or for those who don’t want to get too complicated in building their own. Kevin and his friend order pepperoni pizza mac and cheese off the menu because their English is a little less than handy and I pick the Lobster and White Truffle Mac and Cheese off the menu because it looks too good to pass up on my first time here but Michael goes custom, all day. My Lobster mac is pretty expensive, coming in at $17.95 but Michael loves me an I’m okay with being the baby of the family sometimes. This mac comes with lobster, munster cheese, lobster cream, white truffle oil, and Scallions but i also add mushrooms and have them top it with some breadcrumbs before they toast it in their pizza oven like toaster with a conveyer belt.

I love mac and cheese. It’s great and I’m so pumped to have a place like this that does it to order with the cheese all melted and mixed in right in front of me. This is for sure our new must whenever I visit from now on and I’m already looking forward to coming back.

ROC - Lanai

I’m everywhere this summer, it’s the summer Emily travels and it’s a little tiring but I’m getting the most out of it for sure. I’m back in Rochester from that week in Bolton Landing and I’m ready to see some friends. I meet up with Victoria again and she’s agreed to go to the Seneca Park Zoo - August Zoo Brew with me where we drink beer/wine and walk around looking at all the animals. It’s a really great event the Zoo puts on as a fundraiser for specific animals each month and the first time either of us have gone. After a lap and a drink, we decide to go out for dinner and try yet another new place that’s sprung up while I was away in Chicago.

LOCATION: 295 Alexander St. Rochester, NY 14607

I’ve heard of this place being known well for it’s frozen alcoholic slushies which sound amazing to me but I’m driving and have a super low tolerance so after one drink and a lap around the zoo to walk it off I’ve decided to skip out on it this time, instead taking a few sips of Victoria’s drink and getting ready to eat to my heart’s content.

Our waitress tonight is super nice and helpful for our first visit here. Downstairs is the bar area and I’ve been to this place before when it was previously Mex, a Mexican themed restaurant that had killer margaritas back in my RIT days. Now it’s taken on a new shape as an Hawaiian tapas place with amazing alcoholic slushies. There’s a demographic their aiming for and I think they’ve hit it. We head upstairs instead to sit down at a table and while the dining area is pretty large and consists of a few different rooms, we are one of two or three tables eating. I guess everyone else is downstairs getting ready to drink.

Victoria is great and we go family style which is what this place is kind of known for with their tapas. I love trying a bunch of different dishes so tapas is like home to me and I’m super pumped by these Hawaiian inspired dishes. We order Mauna Pua which are Barbecue char sui pork in a sweet bun, Larb - a seasoned ground pork appetizer with lime and fresh herbs over lettuce, and Tofu Jap Chae which is a sweet and savory Korean noodle dish with spinach, mushroom, onion, red pepper, and carrot.

This asian blend speaks to us and we get super pumped to try it all and everything ends up being super amazing. Nothing is terribly out of left field and I feel like I’ve had these dishes before. The price range is great for the amount of food we’re getting and it’s actually really great bar food as well that soaks up alcohol and is super quick to make. We clear off a lot and end up taking a couple small boxes home with us. The Larb is plentiful and I wish it came with a couple more pieces of lettuce to eat it with but that’s easily fixed at home. The Mauna Pua is well balanced but I love those buns plain so I’m not hard to please and the Jap Chae is a great addition to round out or meal. I’d for sure some back again and enjoy the experience a lot, but maybe not on a Friday Night when the bars are about the get busy and parking get trickier with all the college kids coming in. I mean, I used to be one of them.

BOLTON - New Way Lunch

It’s 4th of July season and we’re back in Bolton Landing to celebrate on the lake with Caleb’s family. It’s a week of relaxing, boat rides, and a big family bbq one the 4th followed by fireworks. Caleb grew up in the area so we tend to drive a little bit out of the way to avoid all the tourists that hit in the summertime especially around the 4th. So he decided to take me to New Way Lunch in Warrensberg.

LOCATION: 3748 Main St. Warrensburg, NY 12885

Everything in this area of the Adirondacks is cute and small and family owned and New Way is no different. It’s a small building with a handful of tables and locals that know everyone else in the place. Any time we go anywhere Caleb points out someone he went to high school with or knows from working at all the local restaurants and boat shops. Everyone has their order ready to go without a menu so whenever I’m out, people know I’m not a local (not that being the only Asian in a sea of white people wasn’t a dead giveaway either).

New Way is known for their signature hot dogs and they’re a quick order. Right from the counter theres a little glass window where a local kid is warming up dogs and making orders. This is one of those places where people order two or three dogs and call it a day so I decide I’m going to be like a local and try one out. Caleb, on the other hand doesn’t really eat hot dogs so he goes with his standard Chicken Philly with french fries. '

The New Way Lunch Hot Dog is ‘World Famous since 1919’ and comes with mustard, onions, and a special signature meat sauce all for $1.65. At least I’m a cute cheap date. I order one without mustard (sorry, no condiments for me) and a small side of onion rings because Caleb says’s they’re great and once I get onion rings in my head they sound too good to not order.

The onion rings are perfect and are even served in a cute little fry basket meant for me. This hot dog smells amazing and I’m not disappointed at all. Everything is so simple and tastes amazing. I guess when you’ve been around for 100 years family owned, you get some things right. This doesn’t look like much food but I’m adequately filled. I was always a hamburger kid growing up but these hot dogs are growing on me hard core and I’m okay with that. New Way just might be a new favorite and a tradition I’ll have to make Caleb start with me anytime we come back to visit his family.

ROC - Taisho Bistro

I’m back in Rochester for a little while and ever since Christel and I got back from LA I’ve been craving Takoyaki like no other. Unfortunately for me, it’s much harder to find it in Rochester than it is in LA but after a little yelping, it’s time to try Taisho Bistro.

LOCATION: 100 Marketplace Dr. Henrietta, NY 14623

New restaurants have been popping up since I’ve been away in Chicago and Taisho is one of them for me. I set up a little date with my friend Victoria and we decide to meet up here. Victoria and I have been friends since high school and while she’s not crazy about octopus she’s down to try new places and enjoys asian food in general. We get to Taisho and the menu is vast. We each order our own main dishes but I add the Takoyaki that I’ve been dreaming about.

As I’ve mentioned in past posts, Takoyaki is a light batter thats cooked into a little ball form with other ingredients mixed in. Taisho Bistro markets theirs as “Osaka Style octopus ball with takoyaki sauce and mayo sauce” so this is made with green onions and the standard batter and octopus.

I had Victoria try one but she’s not a fan of octopus and didn’t make it through. I do appreciate her open mind and willingness to try something even though she has an aversion to one of the ingredients. She’s a champ.

This of course meant that I’d be eating 5 takoyaki balls with my meal but you get what you ask for and after months of craving this I wasn’t complaining. While it’s no TaNoTa, it wasn’t bad for Rochester and it hit the sweet spot of my craving for sure. The takoyaki was hot and still soft on the inside with really hearty bites of octopus cut inside. When I’m craving it again, I have a place to hit up on hand.