Crepe Heaven

Name: Crepe Heaven
Location: 217 Main St., Binghamton, NY 13905
Phone: (607) 217-7188
Cuisine: Crepes/Coffee
Price: Less than $10 per person

Review:
For years, I have been interested in trying Crepe Heaven, but getting the wife to go always proved a challenge. You see, she'd been there once a few years back, around the time the place opened, and liked it, but found it to be more of a dessert place rather than a place to head for a substantial breakfast or lunch. Thus, we often passed right by Crepe Heaven en route to other dining locales downtown. The other day, I finally got Megan to agree to go there for a late-breakfast/early-lunch. We arrived at the restaurant, located near the Price Chopper Plaza on Binghamton's West Side, around 11:00 AM, and I hoped that Crepe Heaven would live up to its name.

I was surprised by the ambiance, decor, and size of the restaurant, which carries a European-cafe vibe (with far more room between the tables than you'd find in Europe, for sure). It's a charming and classy space that stands out by comparison to most area restaurants. We ordered drinks (a french press for me, a cafe au lait for Megan) and took a look at the menu, which featured a wide selection of sweet crepes, savory crepes, and some other specialty items like chevapi (Bosnian grilled beef served with onions and sour cream on a roll).


For those unfamiliar with crepes, a crepe is basically a very thin pancake, rolled up with various fillings inside. Sweet crepes have fillings like jelly, jam, Nutella spread, honey, and fruit fillings, while savory crepes feature meats, cheeses, and vegetables and are similar to omelets. Crepes are considered a French national dish, and I had the pleasure of enjoying a crepe when I visited Paris last year while Megan was living there. In Paris, it's most common to see crepes offered as street food, akin to an American hot dog stand. Thus, I was expecting Crepe Heaven to offer more of a fast food experience; I was pleasantly surprised that this was not the case. At any rate, I ordered a ham, egg, and cheese crepe, while Megan went the sweet route and got the Nutella crepe with strawberries.


Ten minutes later, we had our crepes. I admired the presentation of the dishes and was ready to dig in. Sure enough, my crepe was pretty excellent. Served with sour cream on the side, it was a great combination of flavors. I think it's best described as a more delicate version of an omelet, but definitely tastier than any omelet I could get at an area diner. I tried Megan's Nutella crepe, drizzled with chocolate sauce, which was also delicious. Our coffee drinks were an excellent complement for the crepes, and the $16 check did not exactly break the bank either.

My trip to Crepe Heaven was thankfully a far cry from purgatory. The restaurant offers a refined dining experience in a classy environment with delicious, well-presented food at an inexpensive price. Service was friendly and efficient. I regret not going to Crepe Heaven much sooner. This is easily one of Binghamton's best restaurants, and I look forward to going back to try more crepes in the near future.

Grade: A

Grotta Restaurant

Name: Grotta Restaurant
Location: 126 Front St., Vestal, NY 13850
Phone: (607) 785-0222
Cuisine: Italian
Price: $10-$15 per person

Review:
Grotta is located at the southwestern tip of the Four Corners in Vestal, near Vestal High School. It's a pretty good location for a restaurant given that there's not much competition in the immediate vicinity. We have slowly but surely been winding our way through the area's Italian restaurants and I believe this one is one of the last we'd yet to visit. We noticed their menu in the latest phone book and were impressed with its variety, particularly a number of different risotto dishes and some more uncommon entrees like Fettucine alla Matriciana. Hence, when it came time for dinner tonight, Grotta is where we headed.

The restaurant is a medium-sized space with ample decor and natural lighting. As we entered we were greeted by a grandmotherly Italian woman who looked to be the restaurant's only employee throughout our visit. We were instructed to sit anywhere, and soon after we placed our orders.

I decided to try a slice of cheese pizza as an appetizer, as I always like to try the pizza in any new Italian restaurants I go to. For my entree I was told that the aforementioned Fettucine alla Matriciana was not an option today, as they didn't have all the ingredients for it. So I went with Fettucine Carbonara, another favorite of mine when done well (it is known for being a dish that is difficult to execute perfectly). When done improperly, it's basically pasta covered in scrambled eggs which can be a little gross. I was hopeful that Grotta could successfully pull it off. Megan ordered the Risotto alla Grotta, a risotto dish with chicken and fresh parmesan. Each dinner came with complimentary garlic knots and a house salad.


The pizza arrived first and was clearly not fresh. It was reheated and who knows how many hours old. I can't really assess its flavor because it just tasted kind of like cardboard with a hint of tomato sauce on it.


The garlic knots and house salad were the next arrivals. The salad was pretty standard, with a house Italian vinaigrette dressing and the usual vegetable contents. The garlic knots were quite large, but in my estimation were a bit too doughy and lacking in the garlicky and buttery flavor that I love in a good garlic knot.


Next would come the entrees, and each had a major problem. Megan's risotto was terrible. It had all the flavors you'd expect of a great risotto dish, and thus had so much potential, but the risotto was undercooked to the point of being literally crunchy as you took a bite. We know how complex risotto can be, and how time-consuming it can be to make: Megan makes risotto at home often. It requires constant stirring and lots of time to develop the desirable creamy consistency. This risotto did not have that consistency at all, rendering the dish practically inedible. I think the waitress thought we were in some kind of hurry or something (though we did absolutely nothing to give that impression and even encouraged her to take her time with our entrees since we knew they were both challenging dishes). But that is absolutely no excuse: when we go out, the #1 thing we care about is our food being cooked well. This risotto was an absolute failure. A shame, since we both agreed that given ten more minutes of stirring would have resulted in a very good entree. You win some, you lose some.


The Fettucine Carbonara was closer to a win, but still had its share of problems. For those unfamiliar with the dish, it consists of egg, pancetta or bacon, and pecorino or parmesan cheese tossed with pasta. If the chef is not careful when adding the pasta, the eggs will scramble and the consistency of the dish will be pretty disgusting. Unfortunately, I got scrambled eggs this time around. The meat was most certainly prosciutto ham instead of the usual pancetta (not a problem in my eyes but I think others would see this as a bit of a faux pas). The dish had some nice flavors with its fresh parmesan and al dente pasta and I was able to eat it (unlike Megan with her risotto), but I have certainly seen better attempts at carbonara than what I got this time.

Overall, I feel bad to give such a bad review. Service at Grotta was pleasant and friendly and the restaurant itself offers a comfortable environment. The menu is diverse, and the dishes certainly had potential. But from our perspective, the execution of our entrees was awful, to the point where we certainly will never go back. Maybe it was just a bad day, but based on this experience, I'd advise others to steer clear of this restaurant as well.

Grade: D

Moxie Grill

Name: Moxie Grill
Location: 998 Conklin Rd., Conklin, NY 13903
Phone: (607) 237-0779
Cuisine: American eclectic
Price: Likely $30+ per person

Review:
After long last, the Tasting Binghamton crew amassed an army of our loyal followers and made the trek out to Conklin to check out the fabled Moxie Grill, a restaurant we'd heard a lot about in the last few years, but had never made a priority to check out. I've read a lot about the restaurant and realize that many consider it one of the finest restaurants in the Binghamton area. Naturally, I was extremely excited to give it a shot, and so we made reservations for a party of eight, left the city lights of the South Side behind, and headed an extra few miles out to Conklin.

Upon our arrival we were seated promptly on the lower floor of the two-tier restaurant. It immediately struck me as one of the nicest-looking restaurants in the area, with its attractive color scheme of golds, beiges, and browns and hardwood tables giving the restaurant an arresting look. Unlike some of the area's other fine dining establishments like Number 5 and P.S., which are somewhat stuffy and mannered, Moxie is hipper and more likely to appeal to a younger crowd. But I came to chew the food, not the scenery, so on to more important matters...


We ordered drinks, and I was happy to find an impressive beer list which included various choices from Cooperstown's Ommegang Brewery and Chimay Blue Trappist Ale. For wine drinkers, there's an equally impressive list to make a choice from. We put in some orders for appetizers while waiting for one of our late-arriving friends. Megan and I decided to try out the Blue Cheese Fries, with crumbly Danish blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, and scallions. The fries were pretty tasty and hit the spot, with the marriage of the creamy cheese, smoky bacon, and well-seasoned fries providing a good first impression. Our friend Jaime opted for the Fried Calamari, served with a slightly spicy marinara sauce and a neat presentation. I got to try some and was impressed with what I had. Neither of these appetizers was mind-blowing, but both were impressive enough for me to want to order them again.

When it came time to order the main course, I was torn, since so many of the entrees on the menu looked to be up my alley. Tender Kobe beef would call my name one minute, and tasty-sounding variations on wood-fired pizza the next. In the end, I decided to go neither route and instead ordered the Paella, in part because it was listed as a "signature dish" and in no small part due to the fact that I am unlikely to find it on another area menu. Served with a salad, I got the house salad with a Thai peanut dressing. Megan opted for the Delmonico steak, cooked medium well (grrr...) with a side of polenta and the Chicago iceberg wedge salad.


The house salad was interesting, with field greens, kalamata olives, and peppers doused in the peanut dressing I had chosen. Normally I am not such a fan of my salad being drenched in dressing, but I can make an exception this time because it was quite delicious. Did it pair well with the olives and peppers? Not especially, but here I go again, going on and on about salad...let's move on to the main course.


The paella was a good choice, well-prepared with quality ingredients. This dish included shelled clams and mussels, shrimp, scallops, chicken, and chorizo sausage served over risotto. There are aspects to the dish I liked more than others. The scallops, for example, were perfectly cooked, and if I had it to do over again, I might just order scallops as a entree. Some of the other parts of the dish, like the chorizo sausage (usually a dominant, bold flavor), were buried a little too much in the mix. Overall, this was a good dish that I liked, but did not love. On a future trip to Moxie, I am likely to try something different.


Megan's Delmonico was overcooked. Granted, she did order it medium well (to my chagrin...I am a medium rare guy, myself), but there was no trace of pink to the meat at all. It was charred and tough, which detracted from her enjoyment of the experience. There's no doubt in my mind that it was a quality piece of meat, but at a steep $26, it should probably be cooked how you want it. On the plus side, her side of polenta was pretty tasty, rich and slightly cheesy and a nice addition to what I believe to be a good, diverse menu.


The Almond Joy Cheesecake was our dessert of choice, and was probably the best part of the whole meal. It tasted exactly like the name suggests: an Almond Joy candy bar (almonds, chocolate, and coconut) in a rich, New York-style cheesecake. Very nice.

The service at Moxie was friendly and well-paced. Our waiter, Drew, was attentive without being overbearing, and was patient with us even when one member of our party was more than a half hour late. I also appreciated the fact that they allowed us to split the check six ways, which was probably a major pain in the butt from the waiter's perspective, but made our lives much easier.

I was not blown away by Moxie, but there were many positives about the experience. For starters, the atmosphere is one of the best in the area. The beverage list is unquestionably top-notch, and the food was generally solid, with the major faux pas occurring with the overcooked steak. Is Moxie one of the area's best restaurants? I'd have to say the jury's still out on that one. Would I go back in a heartbeat if I had $100 burning a hole through my wallet? Without a doubt.

Grade: B

Turkish Restaurant

Name: Turkish Restaurant
Location: 258 Main St., Johnson City, NY 13790
Phone: (607) 644-9030
Cuisine: Turkish
Price: Around $20 per person

Review:
I was driving through Johnson City yesterday on the way to pick up some Thai take-out from Sabaidee and noticed a new sign in the location of the former Green Owl Diner. The sign simply read "Turkish Restaurant," and I recalled quickly that Megan had seen the place a few weeks back and was looking forward to trying it out. Today, we decided to do exactly that.

I must admit that I am relatively inexperienced when it comes to the world of Turkish cuisine, and Middle Eastern food in general. I've had my share of hummus, had a delicious falafel wrap while I was in Paris, and am pretty well versed in Greek food (a staple throughout this area), but I'm not sure I'd ever eaten food specifically designated as Turkish until today. Let's just say that my first Turkish meal certainly will not be my last.

The Turkish Restaurant is located right in the heart of downtown Johnson City across the block from the Red Robin Diner. It's a good location with ample parking on the adjacent side streets and in a larger lot one block behind. The restaurant itself retains many of the diner-like qualities that the Green Owl likely had (can't say I ever made it there while they were open). It's a long, narrow restaurant with a coffee counter in the front which widens to a larger dining room space toward the back with booths on both sides. The old, wooden booths are not exactly the most comfortable in the world, but they get the job done.

We were seated quickly and took a long look at the menu. Admittedly, many of the dishes were not all that familiar to us, and Megan was disappointed that they didn't have falafel, one of her personal favorites. No big deal though. We ordered the hummus appetizer, and I went with the Doner Kebab entree while Megan elected to try out the Doner Wrap. For those unfamiliar, doner is sliced meat cooked on a vertical spit and is one of the signature staples of Turkish cuisine. I also decided to try out a Turkish coffee, as I've always been kind of interested in what those tiny cups would taste like.


The hummus, served with freshly-baked pita bread, came out first. And it was by far the best hummus I have ever had--rich, creamy, garlicky, and flat-out awesome. I am not usually too crazy about hummus, but this stuff won me over in one bite. The pita bread was warm, soft, and flavorful and was the perfect complement to the hummus. Had the meal ended with this appetizer, I would have been more than pleased.


But soon enough, the main course would arrive, and I admired the presentation of my kebab entree. Served with rice and a salad of lettuce, tomato, and sliced onion on the side, the doner was a fine choice of entree which I enjoyed immensely. The beef was well-seasoned and tender. The side salad and rice didn't do much for me, but this is certainly a dish I would order again. The Turkish coffee was tasty and served in the usual miniature cup. Not something I would order regularly, but for my inaugural visit to a Turkish restaurant, it was something I couldn't resist.


Megan's doner wrap was quite similar in appearance and taste to the Greek gyro and in my opinion was superior to any gyro/souvlaki sandwiches I've had in the area. The yogurt/tzatziki sauce was light and refreshing and not overpowering like it sometimes can be, and the doner meat was, again, of a very high quality. Thumbs up from me on the wrap.


When it came time for dessert, it's impossible for Megan and me to say no to baklava, so that's what we ordered. We were presented with three healthy-sized squares of the delectable pastry and were instructed by the waiter not to eat it with a fork, but to eat it with our hands and to turn it upside-down before taking a bite so that we could really get a good taste of the sweet honey. Better advice has never been given. I love a great piece of baklava, and this was some of the best I've ever had. Sweet but not syrupy, and not too brittle and flaky like some baklava can be, this dessert was right on the money.

Service at the Turkish Restaurant was phenomenal, and I was left with the impression that they really care about making great quality food and sharing their love for their cuisine with those who might not have experienced it before. A hostess took the time to explain all the various dishes to us before we placed our order, and our waiter, a well-dressed and well-mannered younger gentleman, was absolutely superb, helpful and attentive from start to finish.

I'd have to say that Johnson City's new Turkish Restaurant is a huge hit. Do not expect to be blown away by the ambiance, but the food is excellent and the friendly service is second-to-none. With its easy accessibility by bus, I could see this restaurant being a popular place among Binghamton University students, particularly the Turkish students who come to study at BU as part of the Dual Diploma exchange program. Frankly, I am surprised it has taken so long for a Turkish restaurant to make it to Binghamton given the large Turkish population on campus. But now is as good a time as any, and I am hopeful that this restaurant will make a go of it for a long time, because based on today's experience, I have no doubt that Megan and I will be regular patrons until our Binghamton days come to an end. I eagerly anticipate trying out all of their other offerings.

Grade: A

Whole in the Wall

Name: Whole in the Wall
Location: 43 S. Washington St., Binghamton, NY 13903
Phone: (607) 722-5138
Cuisine: Organic/Vegetarian
Price: $20-$25 per person

Review:
I have to admit, before I went to Whole in the Wall, I was not too excited about the prospects of eating at a "health food" restaurant. When I go out to eat, I want a hearty meal, I want decadence, I want to indulge. I expected Whole in the Wall, one of Binghamton's most well-known and well-loved eateries, to provide none of those things.

Well, I was wrong, because Whole in the Wall proves that an organic meal can be just as sumptuous as any other.

On my first visit to Whole in the Wall, I ordered the Roasted Red Pepper pesto entree and thought it to be just OK and not deserving of the "Best Pesto in the Universe" praise that the restaurant has received over the years. Megan ordered the Mideast Platter, which included falafel, baba ghanouj, and hummus with sliced pita bread. Neither of us were too impressed with that dish and found the tzatziki sauce on the side to have an off-putting taste. In the end it was an expensive meal that neither of us was really that pleased with so we weren't really in a rush to go back.

Big mistake. Visit #2 would prove to be much better.

Last Saturday we made our second visit to Whole in the Wall, a charming little restaurant with a quaint dining room that includes a piano and local artwork for sale hanging on the walls. When we arrived we were the only patrons there, although as time went on, others eventually filtered in. The lack of other customers helped in the sense that we received mostly excellent service throughout our meal.


Both of us ordered entrees from the list of daily specials. I decided to give the pesto a second chance, opting for the Spinach Parmesan on my friend Tom's recommendation. Megan ordered a dish called the Indian Summer Lasagna, featuring bell peppers, whole wheat pasta, and various cheeses. Both of us tried out the Creamy Mushroom Soup and a house salad as starters. My pesto dish came with a complimentary Garlic Ball, an absolutely delicious whole wheat bread bowl style concoction doused in buttery garlic.


The soup came out first and was pretty awesome. I'm not typically that big a fan of mushrooms, but this was quite tasty. It's a very thick, cream-based soup that both of us enjoyed immensely. We would order it again in a heartbeat. Salads would follow, but the thing that interested me most was the main course.


The Spinach Parmesan pesto was good. Again, not great. I was expecting (and would have preferred) a creamier pesto with the emphasis on the parmesan rather than the spinach. Presentation was nice with the greenness of the pesto being offset by some half-slices of cherry tomato. I'm still not convinced this is the best pesto in the universe, but I did like it, and ate it up in short order.


Megan's lasagna was a little less successful in our opinion. We both found it to be a little on the bland side, with a butternut cream sauce providing the most dominating flavor (and not a flavor typically associated with lasagna). In the end, I am still not 100% pleased with Whole in the Wall's main courses, but the best was yet to come.


We made sure to save room for dessert and decided to split the Raspberry Brownie a la Mode. Served with fresh raspberry topping, ice cream, and whipped cream, this was incredibly decadent and insanely delicious. Definitely one of the best desserts I've had in the area and when we make it back to Whole in the Wall for another visit, this dessert will be part of the agenda for sure. Hard to believe that a dessert this good is made from organic ingredients.

Overall, this was a much better visit than our first, and I look forward to heading over to Binghamton's South Side again soon for a third visit. I still have some reservations about the main courses since neither of us were blown away, but I think this is a case of simply not having found the entree I'm destined to love. After all, the soup was great, the garlic ball was delicious, and the dessert was heavenly, so obviously this is a restaurant capable of delivering excellent food. Service was top-notch and ambiance is charming. And once again, if you have reservations about trying out a "vegetarian" restaurant such as this (they do have several entrees with meat, by the way), toss those concerns aside and give it a chance: you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find.

Grade: B+

Delgado's Cafe

Name: Delgado's Cafe
Location: 119 Harry L Dr., Johnson City, NY 13790
Phone: (607) 798-7306
Cuisine: Mexican
Price: $15-$20 per person

Review:
Megan and I used to go to Delgado's quite often. Mexican food is one of our favorites, and its nearby location made it very convenient for us. Then came the day that we found Los Tapatios, superior in quality and much cheaper in price. This rendered Delgado's pretty much obsolete in our minds.

But we are trying to be complete in our food-blogging duties, so we paid a visit to Delgado's last night for dinner. I was curious to see how things had evolved in the several years since we had last been there. We arrived around 4:30 PM on a Friday and were surprised to find very few spots available in the parking lot at such an early time. We entered through the rear (the restaurant entrance--the bar entrance is in the front) and seated ourselves in one of their spacious wooden booths. The restaurant is a large, well-decorated space with a big dining room in back and a long bar in front. Delgado's provides a low-key, comfortable atmosphere and seems to be a popular place for the after-work crowd to have a few beverages.

We were presented with menus, tortilla chips, and two different dips. The first was the standard salsa, which I found to be pale by comparison to Los Tapatios' equivalent, while the second was a much tastier bean dip. The menu is rather extensive and includes pretty much any standard Mexican dish you can imagine, available in various combinations. One of their most popular items are the wings, which I have had many times in the past. I didn't get any wings on this visit, but I can attest that the honey garlic and the spicy BBQ wings are rather tasty and a little bit different, sauce-wise, from most other wings I've had. Megan ordered the Fajitas a la Carte (around $13 with no extras) while I went with the Ranchero-style Beef Enchiladas dinner ($16), which came with albondiga (meatball) soup, and sides of beans and rice.


The albondiga soup was a pretty good start to the meal. Featuring tiny meatballs with various vegetables in a beef broth, I would describe it as the Mexican equivalent of Italian wedding soup. Not bad, but nothing particularly memorable.


I was reasonably happy with my enchilada dinner. The enchiladas were pretty tasty but were covered in ranchero sauce, which I found to be kind of oddly thick, gravy-like, and maybe a little bit cheesy in taste. Whatever it was, I found it to be mildly off-putting. But I did enjoy the seasoning of the ground beef filling and the Mexican rice and refried beans contributed to make this a mostly satisfying meal. Although I was kind of thinking to myself the entire time that I could get the same exact meal more authentically for half the price at Los Tapatios.

Megan's fajitas were decent, but were definitely different from any other fajitas we've had before. Served with the usual sauteed peppers and onions and a side plate of lettuce, tomato, cheese, and sour cream, the chicken is marinaded in some kind of garlicky sauce vaguely reminiscent of soy sauce. Perhaps a little bit weird, but not bad. Megan was reasonably pleased but she lamented that the entree does not come with any sides unless you order the full dinner for $3-$4 more. Sorry, but beans and rice are not worth $3-$4.

Overall, our visit to Delgado's reconfirmed what I knew all along, that Los Tapatios is the better of the two restaurants in both quality and value. That said, I wasn't displeased or disappointed with my meal. I don't know if or when we'll make it back to Delgado's again, but I can see why others may like it. It has a laid-back atmosphere and would be a fine place to hang out with friends, eat some wings, and have a couple margaritas. If you like Mexican food, you owe it to yourself to try Delgado's, but it pales in comparison to the area's best.

Grade: B-

Hurricane Rylie's Cafe

Name: Hurricane Rylie's Cafe
Location: 113 Nanticoke Ave., Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 754-2999
Cuisine: Sandwiches/Burgers/Wraps/Bar Food
Price: Around $10 per person

Review:
We headed to Hurricane Rylie's, located near the corner of Main and Nanticoke in Endicott, for dinner on a Wednesday night with no real expectations in mind. Armed with a coupon for "buy one, get one free" burgers, sandwiches, or wraps (thanks Kyle!), we figured it would be a low cost opportunity to check out a place we'd never been. We arrived around 7:00 PM and gave it a shot.

Rylie's is a deceptively large restaurant, with some seating available in a front room that includes the bar, and a dining room in the back. We quickly noted the ambiance, which was tropical in nature and vaguely reminiscent of Cosmo's Tiki Bar in Johnson City.

A quick perusal of the menu left me feeling uninspired by its combination of bar food (the usual suspects: fries, wings, mozzarella sticks, onion rings, etc.) and various sandwiches and wraps. Since Hurricane Rylie's doubles as a bar, I noted its beer selection (as is my wont to do) and found it to be equally lackluster. Megan elected to try out the Chicken Club Wrap with their side of the day, a Mexican pasta salad. I went for the Blackened Chicken Wrap, featuring chicken, roasted red peppers, lettuce, and ranch dressing, and got fries on the side.


Service was relatively quick as we got our meals just a few minutes later. I have to say, I was not impressed with my wrap. On first bite it was OK, but there were a few grisly strips of chicken in there and the warmed-over ranch dressing was mildly nauseating. It was edible, but nothing I'd order again. The fries were the shoestring variety and inferior to those you'd get at Mickey D's. Megan had somewhat similar feelings about her meal, which she thought was OK but nothing to get excited about.

In the end, Hurricane Rylie's was pretty much the definition of average. The food was passable but nothing more. The ambiance was light, fun, and slightly tacky in their attempt to milk the "hurricane" theme as much as they can, and service was quick at first, but it took us a while to get our check at meal's end. With the coupon the check came to a mere $10, and honestly, I wouldn't want to have paid more for such mediocrity.

Grade: C