Burger Mondays

Name: Burger Mondays
Location: 23 Henry St., Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 722-7777
Cuisine: American
Price: $30+ for two

Review:
Burger Mondays is one of the latest restaurant additions to Downtown Binghamton, joining pizza-pub Amici, the River Bistro located inside the Riverwalk Hotel, and Remlik’s as new places I have been excited to try out. Burger Mondays, taking over the former location of Zazou and D.C. Dunster’s on the corner of Henry and State, specializes in gourmet burgers and milkshakes, both of which come in various interesting-sounding forms.

The restaurant is fairly pleasing aesthetically, with a spacious dining room with about 25-30 tables and booths toward the front, and a large, separate bar in back. Tables are adorned with black linens and fancy centerpieces. On looks alone, Burger Mondays is a little on the stark side, but generally makes a good first impression.

This review’s been a long time in the making. I’ve actually had the pleasure to try Burger Mondays three times, with three different dining companions. The first time, I decided to try it out the weekend right after they opened in March with my friend Tom. What I hadn’t remembered before I got there was that it was Binghamton’s Parade Day. The restaurant was packed and they had limited the menu to only two of their burger options, the Original and the Classic. Hoping to try something a little more exotic, I was disappointed, but given how busy they were in both the restaurant and the bar area, their decision was probably for the best. On the first visit, I tried out the Classic Burger, featuring white cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, onion, and a house-made aioli. The first thing that struck me upon ordering was that I was not asked how I wanted the burger. I’m a medium-rare guy myself, so I was worried that it would come out overcooked. As it turned out, it was more unevenly cooked than overcooked. Part of the burger was pink, the other half was well-done. On top of that, I didn’t think it was anything to get too excited about. It was a fine burger—nothing more, nothing less. Tom echoed the same sentiment. In lieu of writing a review at that time, I decided to pay Burger Mondays another visit during a less-busy time, where I would be able to order from the full menu.


On the second visit, Megan and I came for a late-lunch on a Friday afternoon. This time around, Megan ordered the aforementioned Classic Burger, while I went with Chef Matt Jones’ namesake item, a double-stacked burger called The Jonesy, which features pork and beef patties with a chili pepper salad, pancetta, asiago cheese, and a Worcestershire reduction. I decided to be adventurous and went with the Mondays Original milkshake to complement the burger. This milkshake is made with chocolate, caramel, peanut butter, banana, and pretzel: the waitress assured me it was a good choice and I was excited to give it a try. I also ordered a bowl of the Guinness Chili as a starter.


The Chili and milkshake were the first items to arrive. The chili was pretty excellent, a thick, meaty chili (chunks of beef rather than ground beef) with robust flavor. The milkshake was a little less successful, but not bad. It was perhaps a little too thick, but the flavors came together pretty nicely. The combination of peanut butter and banana was particularly winning.


Next came the burgers. To my surprise, I did not care too much for The Jonesy. I really expected to like this one. All the advertised ingredients were there, but in my opinion, I didn’t think they went together very well; a definite case of too much going on. In particular, I felt the chili pepper flavor dominated the rest of the burger and made it difficult to discern the other flavors. Again, we were not asked how we wanted the burgers, and mine was definitely overcooked. The patties themselves were a little bland and tiny. The toasted bun had a somewhat tough, chewy consistency that I didn’t care for. For a $14 burger, I was expecting much more than this.


Megan thought her burger was pretty good, but HATED the French fries. These fries are the small, thin variety that might be sliced a little too thin for their own good. To quote Megan: “There is no chance I will ever like those fries.” As for me, I don’t find the fries to be quite as offensive as she does (they are well-fried and well-seasoned), but I’ve had better. In the end, my second trip to Burger Mondays was just OK. I believe the phrase "It's better than Tully's" crossed my lips at that juncture, but that isn't exactly high praise.

Onward to visit #3: a long-awaited meeting of blogging minds. I teamed up with local food blogger Big Hungry Shelby, who covers restaurants all around the Southern Tier, the Finger Lakes, “real” upstate (North Country), and wherever her travels lead her. She releases a new blog entry every Wednesday, and it’s always a fun read. It’s clear Shelby has a real passion for great food, and when she suggested we get together to visit Burger Mondays, I was excited to have the chance to meet her. Megan was supposed to come along, but was sidelined with a migraine headache, so it was just Shelby and me on this occasion.

This time burger-wise, I went for a safe pick: the Southern BBQ burger. This burger consists of ground pork, caramelized onions, and cole slaw, all covered in their homemade BBQ sauce. It sounded like something totally up my alley, so I was stoked to give it a try. Shelby went for the Classic on her initial visit. As a starter, I ordered a bowl of the Thai Beef soup, on special that night, while Shelby elected to try another special, mini bacon steak tacos. A root beer float for myself and a chocolate milkshake for my companion, and we were ready to feast.

The soup came first, and was pretty good. Basically, it reminded me of a combination of standard vegetable (sliced potatoes and carrots) soup combined with the crushed chili and herbal flavors of Tom Yum soup like you’d find in a Thai restaurant. It was good, and I would order it again for sure.

Shelby encouraged me to try one of the pork tacos she ordered, and who am I to turn down food? I’m glad I tried one since it was really tasty. The pork was covered with a citrusy, spicy salsa (we thought we detected grilled pineapple, but would later confirm that mango was the key ingredient). Good stuff no doubt, and a great start to the meal.

The Southern BBQ burger turned out to be a solid choice, becoming the first burger at Burger Mondays that I really liked. I was a little skeptical about the combination of grilled onion and slaw, but this time the flavors came together nicely. It was a juicy, well-cooked burger. It didn’t blow my mind, it wasn’t the best burger I’ve ever had or anything like that, but I enjoyed it and had no complaints this time around. Additionally, the fries were better this time than they were on my previous visits, but still not great.

It was great to get together with Shelby. We had a nice time conversing about all sorts of things but mainly the local restaurants in the area and I’m hopeful that she and Megan and I can get together for another meeting sometime soon. Here’s a short recap that Shelby has provided detailing her view of our experience:

“An appetizer special was ‘bacon steak tacos,’and since I'm Big Hungry Shelby, you know I was getting those. These were mini corn tortillas with braised/roasted pork belly and a potent fruit salsa on top. The salsa was the star of this dish – a punch of grilled pineapple, mango and chilies that kind of blew out my taste buds for the rest of the ingredients. There was white cheese on the bottom, but I couldn’t identify it through the explosion of citrusy heat. I loved these, though, with their savory pulled-pork-like flavor complimented by the shock of heat and tartness. For the sake of a baseline, I chose the classic burger; a bacon cheeseburger offered with an aioli, a side of house-made fries and house-made pickle spears. I was all jazzed up about the homemade pickle, but the spear I received didn’t live up to my expectations – it was a barely pickled cucumber, no more. I am not a mayonnaise fan to begin with, and then it always really bothers me when restaurants flavor up jarred mayo and call it aioli – which is actually a homemade, garlicky, mayonnaise-adjacent concoction that is delicious and unlike gloppy jarred mayo entirely – so I opted for that on the side and didn’t end up even trying it. The burger was tasty – definitely juicy, crowned with lots of sharp, white cheddar cheese on a substantial, toasted roll. It was very hearty, with the medium-thickness burger patty, bacon, generous cheese and bun, but that’s not to say it was particularly beefy, nor did the bacon pack its own punch. The whole shebang was pretty balanced, with none of the players taking the lead. This is not a bad thing; however I do personally like an aggressively beef-centric burger. My hunch is that, with food costs soaring as they are now, the leadership at Burger Mondays is having a tough time sourcing high-end product and still keeping the margins decent and the prices in check. I suspect higher quality meat would elevate this burger to something truly excellent, as all the technique was there, it was just the flavors that were a bit lacking.

Basically, I think what you’re tasting at Burger Mondays is potential. It’s new, just having opened about a month ago, and the feeling I’m getting is that Matt is back there training his people with fervor that just isn’t quite permeating the entire staff as yet. This guy was the head chef at Number 5, for pity’s sake – he knows his way around a kitchen, and clearly has a passion for food if he’s trotting a bacon steak recipe around in his back pocket to every kitchen he graces. But there are some issues at Burger Mondays that are undeniable, and I’m going to wait a bit before going back. Dan and I agreed to award a 6.5 on the BHS scale, with room for improvement that I know is achievable.”

Please be sure to check out Big Hungry Shelby’s full review here, and make sure to check out her weekly column every Wednesday!

I reckon this has been a lengthy read, but I have a lot to say about Burger Mondays. Overall, I think it’s a restaurant that has great potential, but it’s not quite there yet. It’s my belief that if the restaurant has “Burger” in the name and they are going to charge the prices they do, the burgers and fries should be out of this world. At this point, they simply aren’t. I don’t know if the issue is just general inconsistency due to being a new restaurant, ingredient quality, or something else, but my three visits have proven that the restaurant is not yet where they need to be to be considered a true dining destination. Don’t get me wrong, Burger Mondays is worth checking out. It’s a comfortable space, a fine addition to Downtown Binghamton, and the food is generally good (particularly the non-burger items, as fate would have it). My hope is that they will continue to improve, and if my most recent visit is any indication, they are well on their way to doing so.

Grade: B




But wait...that's not all!

A friend and reader of the blog, Michael, also wrote a review of Burger Mondays that he'd like for us to share here. I am impressed with his review and I'm hopeful that he'll contribute to our effort more in the future. He seems to share some of the same concerns that Shelby and I had, and would rate the restaurant 2 stars on a 4-star scale. Here is Michael's review:

The moment I walked into Burger Mondays I heaved a sigh of relief. When I learned that someone had added an upscale burger-concept restaurant to downtown Binghamton’s notoriously bleak dining landscape, I resolved to give it a try, but expected the sort of schizophrenic décor one associates with an Applebee’s or Friday’s. Instead, the dining room is sparsely, even severely, decorated, leading one to believe that the brain trust responsible was reluctant to have anything distract the diner from what should always be the star of any restaurant’s show—the food.

Now, I’m not exactly a huge fan of stark black walls—the color is neither warm, nor inviting—and the overall impression is less of a dining room than of a large retail space into which a restaurant has been shoe-horned, but I was encouraged nonetheless. Binghamton is sorely lacking in restaurants that fill the gap between corporate family eateries (like the aforementioned Applebee's) and our few high-end establishments (most notably P.S. and Moxie Grill), and it seemed like someone had resolved to challenge the Lost Dog’s seventeen year run as the undisputed champion of this category. The dining room (and the tastefully-appointed bar) give the clear impression that here, at last, was a serious attempt to provide another option for those of us looking for a nice place to take a date without first undergoing a credit check.

One glance at the menu confirmed that impression. With an array of eclectic, arguably ambitious, appetizers, and a burger menu that ranges in price from seven (the “Mondays Original) to fourteen dollars (an Ahi tuna burger, and “The Jonesy”), Burger Mondays seems determined to distance itself from more traditional purveyors of ground beef on a bun. A closer look, though, raised some concerns; of the ten burgers on the menu, only two (the Original and the “Classic”) are priced at less than eleven dollars, and of the remaining eight, many boast so many ingredients that one is left wondering what they might be hiding under drifts of seasonings and showers of sauces. The presence of other options than ground beef (the Ahi, an Italian Beef sandwich that tempted this former Chicago resident, a mushroom “burger” for vegetarians, and a pulled pork offering) demonstrate a willingness to cater to more than burger lovers, a diversity essential for a restaurant’s survival in this day and age.

Our server was attentive and personable, though, after she delivered our drinks and started taking our order, we received our second warning that all was not quite right at Burger Mondays. When I inquired as to how I should order my burger if I wanted it to arrive according to my notion of “medium rare” (a cool to warm red center) I was cautioned that I should order it “rare,” and that even then it might come out more on the “well” side. While I was grateful for this admission, I was also a little frustrated; I am fed-up with chain restaurants (and others) who refuse to cook a burger to order (unless that order is medium-well or well), hiding behind the false statement that it is “illegal” to do so. Such claims are patently untrue, and just reflect an unwillingness by restaurants to stand behind the quality of their ground beef, and a lack of faith in the ability of their kitchens to handle and store said beef properly. I want to be perfectly clear that I am making no such accusation against Burger Mondays, but one of the reasons I was so eager to dine there at all was so I could avoid such wrangling and disappointments.

We began with a calamari salad, something I was eager to sample since few local places offer much more than fried, previously-frozen calamari and marinara. I was a little put off by the numerous zesty and savory ingredients (aged balsamic, cherry peppers, roasted red peppers, feta cheese) as properly prepared calamari has a delicate flavor that can be easily overwhelmed by more robust accompaniments. As it turned out, the bold flavors of the salad were a god-send, since the calamari itself was overcooked to the point of rubbery tastelessness (imagine batter-dipped pencil erasers). It is hard to guess how the salad might have been had the calamari been rescued from the deep-fryer in time, but the balsamic was applied so liberally, and the other ingredients so bold on the palate, I suspect that, even with properly-prepared calamari, the dish would have come up short.

For our entrees my companion ordered the risotto appetizer as an entrée (from which the kitchen was gracious enough to remove the dried cranberries at her request), and I ordered the “Mediterranean,” a feta, spinach, and oregano stuffed burger, topped with olive salad and sundried tomato aioli (see what I mean about an excess of ingredients?). Of the two, the risotto proved the better, a nice creamy dish, the starch of the rice balanced nicely against pine nuts, bleu cheese, and a port reduction. Sadly, my burger lived up to my fears rather than my desires, and the caveats about temperature were well-deserved. One bite in I knew that this was nowhere close to medium rare, and that even medium was a memory dwindling in its rear-view mirror. Once I had resolved myself to that disappointment, I then had to contend with the welter of flavors competing with the beef for my attention. Much like with the calamari salad, there was just too much going on—in addition to the previously described ingredients, the meat itself was so over-seasoned as to utterly mask any taste of beef. The best thing about the entire meal turned out to be the fresh cut fries, which were hot, nicely seasoned, and delicious.

And this, ultimately, is the biggest problem with Burger Mondays. So what if the décor isn’t exactly what I might want it to be, or if they fell short on a calamari salad? After all, this is a BURGER joint, and if they get the burger right, they’ve done their job. But they didn’t do that, and, in fact, fell far short of the mark. To have the audacity to charge twelve dollars for a burger, and then fail to deliver something extraordinary, something cooked to the customer’s specifications, is a clear sign that they’ve allowed the concept to get in the way of the burger. Better they should offer the best beef, with the fewest frills, and allow the quality of the meat to speak for itself. Binghamton already has a place that does just that, a little spot on Leroy called, simply, “The Beef.”

Dinner for two (with one appetizer as an entrée, please note), with an appetizer, one drink apiece, and tip, topped fifty dollars, and for that price I should have left happy, but instead I just left full. Burger Mondays definitely deserves a second chance; they’re the new kids on the block, and should have a chance to iron out any problems, but in the process they should remind themselves that the star of any burger joint, high concept or road-side stand, is the meat.

Many thanks to Shelby and Michael for their contributions to this post, and happy dining to all you readers out there!

South Side Yanni's

Name: South Side Yanni's
Location: 1200 Vestal Ave., Binghamton, NY 13903
Phone: (607) 723-1403
Cuisine: Pub food/American/Greek
Price: Inexpensive. Less than $20 for two.

Review:
South Side Yanni's is an institution on Binghamton's (you guessed it) South Side, serving its role as a neighborhood bar & grill for many years. I'm always skeptical about places like these since I'm always worried the emphasis will be more on the "bar" than the "grill," and I'm notoriously picky when it comes to bars. Plus, it's the South Side, not an area of town I get to very often. Additionally, the place looks a little sketchy from the exterior. All of these factors contributed to my being a little less than enthusiastic about giving Yanni's a shot.

A friend of ours who lives on the South Side has been championing the Yanni's cause for a couple of years now and when we were trying to coordinate an outing this past weekend, he suggested Yanni's. I hoped that the place would help to brighten our mood on a dismal, rainy Saturday, but had doubts as to whether they could deliver the goods.

I was astonished by what we found upon entering the place. First, I was surprised at how spacious it was. The bar takes up the right side of the place when you enter, but there's a relatively large dining room off to the left. Wooden tables and chairs and wood-paneled walls give the restaurant an old-fashioned, homey vibe. On looks alone, I immediately liked Yanni's and found it to be a comfortable place to hang out.

The menu features standard bar fare (fried appetizers, wings, burgers, sandwiches) with some Greek options as well (gyro, souvlaki, Greek salad, and a Greek Burger covered with tzatziki sauce and feta cheese). Our friend encouraged us to try the wings, which he claimed were the area's best, and so I started with a dozen hot garlic wings, and ordered the aforementioned Greek Burger for my entree with a side of fries. Megan went with the old pub food standby, a cheeseburger with fries.


The wings were first to arrive, and sure enough, they were the best I've had in the area, narrowly surpassing those of Kelly's in Endicott. They were a little smaller than those you find at Kelly's, but were less fatty and had much more flavor.


My Greek Burger was perfectly cooked to order (medium-rare) and had a great charbroiled taste. I'd never really considered tzatziki sauce as a possible burger condiment, but I thought it worked very well. With diced tomato and onion on top, this was an excellent burger and I'd order it again in a heartbeat. Megan was equally pleased with her burger, and both of us enjoyed the fries. Overall, this was a winner of a meal.

A couple minor drawbacks to Yanni's: they are sticklers when it comes to splitting checks (they don't do it), so be cognizant of that if you're going with a large party. Also, the beer selection features the usual standard macro (Bud/Miller/Coors/Yuengling) options, so if you like something snootier, this is not the place to find it.

I'm told that Yanni's offers specials each night of the week (ranging from meatloaf to chicken & biscuits to prime rib) that are quite good, so I'll be sure to check them out and will report back if I find anything particularly tasty.

Where I grew up in the Harrisburg, PA area, there's a bar & grill a little off the beaten path called the Eagle Hotel. It was a little rundown shack of a restaurant, positively nothing to look at from the exterior, but there was a line out the door to get a seat just about every night of the week because the food was excellent (especially the wings--to date, the best I've ever had by a mile). South Side Yanni's reminds me of the Eagle Hotel in a number of ways. It's a comfortable place that serves good food at completely reasonable prices. It's no surprise to me that Yanni's has become an area institution: of the local bar & grill places I've tried, Yanni's is the best of the lot.

Grade: A-

Rolando's Diner

Name: Rolando's Diner
Location: 140 Court St., Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 723-9058
Cuisine: Diner
Price: Dirt cheap. Less than $15 for two.

Review:
I feel like I'm doing this a lot lately, but sorry, readers, for taking so long between reviews. Life gets in the way sometimes, but fortunately we haven't stopped trying new places in and around the Binghamton area and you can expect some new reviews over the next few days.

Today we finally made it down to Rolando's Diner, a mainstay in Downtown Binghamton since 1971 that is well known for its simple charm and low prices. As diner fans, we were hopeful that Rolando's could deliver a quality breakfast, and off we went to check it out.

Rolando's is located on Court St. in a nice, central location. There's plenty of metered parking located out front and we had no trouble finding a spot. The inside of the restaurant features the classic diner layout of some booths lining both sides of the restaurant with a coffee counter along the left side toward the back. I'd imagine the place has not changed much since it opened forty years ago. Which, in my opinion, is not a bad thing.

When we arrived around 11:15 I was hopeful that I could still order breakfast. I was a little discouraged to find that each table had only lunch menus, but when a waitress came by she asked us if we wanted breakfast menus. Big win. A quick glance at the menu showed the usual wide variety of eggs, bacon, sausage, corned beef hash, omelets, and pancakes in various combinations. We each ordered a cup of coffee, and Megan ordered two eggs with bacon and homefries with toast ($4). I decided to be an absolute glutton and got three pancakes, two eggs over-easy, home fries, sausage, and coffee included for $6.15. A ridiculously good value, I thought, and it would give me a chance to try out the bulk of the breakfast menu at a low price. Plus, I was really hungry. A win-win situation if there ever was one.


Service was really quick and no-nonsense; our breakfasts arrived in less than 10 minutes. And sure enough, both of us were really pleased with what we got. Megan is tough to please in the bacon department, but it was exactly how she wanted it here. The only complaint she had was that the toast was a little crispier than she would've liked, but overall, she said she liked Rolando's about as much as Danny's Diner (one of her favorite area diners).


As for me, I had no complaints with my breakfast at all. It was exactly what I wanted. The pancakes were golden, fluffy, and most importantly, tasty. The syrup served with the pancakes was the crappy corn syrup variety, but hey, for the price, I'm not expecting real maple. The eggs were cooked exactly to order, the sausage was really tasty, and the home fries were among the best I've had in the area.

If there's one disappointing thing about Rolando's, it's that we didn't visit sooner. Its combination of low-key charm, dirt-cheap prices, huge portions, and tasty food really won me over. This is one of the best diners in Binghamton, and if you are a fan of diner fare in general, Rolando's is pretty much a must-visit.

Grade: A-

China Lake

Name: China Lake
Location: 3215 E Main St., Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 748-2133
Cuisine: Chinese (American and Authentic)
Price: Around $10 per person

Review:
Endwell's China Lake represents one of at least two Chinese restaurants in the Binghamton area that offer not only the standard Americanized Chinese take-out that most folks in this country are acquainted with, but also a special menu of more "authentic" Chinese cuisine. The other, Moon Star (also in Endwell, about a quarter mile up the road from China Lake), has long been a favorite of mine. It's been my "go-to" Chinese place since I first went there a few years back. Lately, I've had somewhat of a renewed interest in the area's Chinese restaurants. I heard China Lake was one of the best from friends, from various blurbs around the internet, and from loyal readers of this blog, and today we went to try it out.

China Lake is located in a small strip mall in Endwell on 17C, just before the North St. split. There's a tiny, awkward parking lot in front of the restaurant. Upon entering China Lake you'll notice there is hardly any ambiance to be had. The place has about 8 tables. There are a few 4-seaters along the left side, but most of the tables are for larger parties of 8 or more. The restaurant is slightly on the dingy side and has little by way of decoration to spruce it up. One gets the sense that China Lake works best as a take-out place. They also deliver (not sure to how wide a radius).

We took a seat and were given menus, noodles, and a homemade duck sauce. Since it was lunch time when we were there, we ordered from the lunch menu, which had two components. First was a list of Lunch Specials featuring an entree with soup of your choice (wonton, egg drop, hot & sour), from which Megan ordered the Chicken with Broccoli with wonton soup. On the flip side was the authentic Chinese menu, with several interesting looking choices (some easily more adventurous than I was willing to go on this day). From the special menu, I ordered the Barbecued Beef and also opted for some wonton soup.


The soup came first and I thought it was pretty good, maybe the best of the wonton soups I've had in this area. The wontons themselves were smaller, tighter pouches than what you get at many other places, but had very nice flavor. This is a soup I would definitely order again.


Next came the entrees. Megan liked the Chicken with Broccoli quite a lot, preferring it to the same dish at Moon Star (and any other Chinese we've had in the area for that matter). I had a couple bites and it wasn't bad. But not nearly as good as my entree.


I really enjoyed my Barbecued Beef entree a lot. This featured beef stir-fried in a somewhat spicy garlic sauce with green onions served over a bed of Chinese cabbage. Completely delicious, and something I would order again in a heartbeat. If I had to be a little bit critical of the dish, I'd say it was very oily. From the above picture, you can literally see it swimming in oil. This didn't bother me, nor detract from my enjoyment of the dish, but I get the sense that some people might be a little turned off by that aspect. Fortune cookies and fresh orange slices followed to complete the meal.

Service at China Lake was provided by friendly, if a bit gruff, older Chinese lady. I'd have to say the service was a bit spotty, as it took about 15 minutes for us to get drinks (just water and tea), and there was an extended wait for our check because the restaurant staff decided it was their time to eat. All this means is that China Lake has not supplanted Moon Star as my "dining-out" Chinese restaurant. I thought China Lake's food was probably the best Chinese I've had in the area, but I plan to enjoy exclusively it as take-out in the future. For what it's worth, Megan shares the exact same opinion. She enjoyed the food quite a bit, but to quote her: "There's no way I'll ever eat there again." If you choose to dine in, consider yourself warned.

China Lake is a very good, if somewhat flawed, Chinese restaurant. No doubt the menu is more expansive and unique than most others around, and most importantly, we found the food to be extremely tasty. Ambiance and service definitely knock the place down a peg in our eyes, an area in which the restaurant pales in comparison to the nearby Moon Star. But if all that matters is the food, I would have to conclude China Lake is the best restaurant of its ilk that you'll find in the Triple Cities.

Grade: B+

Chris' Diner

Name: Chris' Diner
Location: 192 State St., Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 723-6854
Cuisine: American Diner
Price: Around $10 per person

Review:
The diner tour rolled along again today with a trip to Chris' Diner, located on State St. in downtown Binghamton. The first notable thing about Chris' is the name, which almost certainly is grammatically incorrect and should instead be "Chris's," but I reckon this is Binghamton, not Oxford.

Chris' is the classic "greasy spoon" variety of diner, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They seem to have a pretty loyal following among working class folk and college students alike. Its proximity to the Binghamton Bus Terminal probably leads to a fair bit of traffic as well. Appearance-wise, it's a little shabby looking on the interior with the seats in the booths having gaping holes in the cushions; one gets the sense that this is a place that has seen better days. There are a couple booths and a few tables toward the front of the restaurant and a coffee counter taking up most of the right side along the back. In the old-fashioned diner style, behind the counter lies the grill, where you can watch the cook prepare your meal. From an ambiance perspective, I was not impressed with Chris'.

I ordered a Greek omelet (green pepper, onion, tomato, feta cheese) while Megan went with eggs and bacon. Both meals came with home fries and toast, and we had coffee to drink. Service was quick; within ten minutes, our food was on the table.


As it turns out, I didn't care too much for my breakfast at all. The omelet was on the watery side and the eggs were overcooked (an odd combination, I know). I did not get the sense that the vegetable contents were the freshest, either. The home fries and toast were decent. Coffee was on the weak side.


Megan had about the opposite reaction to mine. She enjoyed her breakfast thoroughly and said that everything was good, even the bacon, an item she is normally picky about. She did agree with me that the ambiance of the diner left a lot to be desired relative to some others in the area, like the Park Diner and the Broadway Diner. On the plus side, our breakfasts were pretty huge and fairly inexpensive.

Chris' Diner did not leave me with the greatest of impressions. I found it average at best, even by diner standards. If you're looking for old-school diner ambiance, there are several places that offer a better experience. And if a good breakfast is what you're seeking, I can't say that Chris' is the place to find one.

Grade: C

Tranquil Bar & Bistro

Name: Tranquil Bar/Bistro
Location: 36 Pine St., Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 723-0495
Cuisine: French/American
Price: $75+ for two

Review:
Tranquil Bar/Bistro represents the closest thing to a French fine dining experience in the Binghamton area. If you are a "foodie" like me and have never been to Tranquil, stop whatever you're doing right now and make a reservation. I guarantee you will find something to your liking.

Tranquil is located at the intersection of Pine and Fayette Streets in Downtown Binghamton, one block away from NYSEG Stadium, home of the Binghamton Mets. The restaurant occupies the former Player's Club Bar, an establishment I'd never been to, but it's an excellent spot for a restaurant, an older brick building that has a distinctly European-cafe feel inside. The space is divided fairly evenly into a bar and a dining room. We were seated quickly upon our arrival and we each order a glass of wine to begin the experience, along with the Spicy Cream Mussels appetizer. I elected to order Chicken and Andouille Sausage Jambalaya while Megan opted for the Shrimp and Wild Mushroom Risotto, hoping for a better risotto dish than that she had a couple weeks ago at Grotta in Vestal. We were presented with a small loaf of French bread ("authentic" according to Megan, who lived in Paris for five months last year) with a delicious sweet-cream butter. This was a fine start to what would become an excellent meal.


The mussels appetizer arrived after a short wait and were completely delicious. I was stunned at how tender the mussels were and how easy they were to pluck from the shells. The spicy cream sauce did indeed have a nice kick to it. I sat there trying to figure out the ingredients in the sauce....besides the obvious cream and butter, I am guessing either crushed red pepper or cayenne was what provided the heat, but there were lots of subtle flavors. Megan normally does not care for bivalves, but she was quickly converted by these mussels and ate half the generous portion with ease and enthusiasm. Next visit, I'll try the Mussels Vermouth to see how they compare.


Our entrees were next to arrive, and both were quite good. Megan's risotto was delicious and had a perfect consistency. As I've said before, risotto is a somewhat challenging dish. If undercooked, it's practically inedible, because who wants to eat crunchy rice? If overcooked, it's a gummy, starchy mess. This was spot on, perfectly seasoned and topped with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Megan was happy with the dish and is pretty jazzed about having the leftovers for lunch today.


My jambalaya was very tasty also, though it was perhaps a little too spicy for my liking. Don't get me wrong, I love spicy food of all varieties, but when I took a bite of this jambalaya, I initially found the heat to overwhelm the other flavors in the dish. With bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, chicken, andouille sausage served over Creole rice and topped with fresh scallions, this was a fine dish with lots of nice flavors once I got beyond the heat up front. I would order it again for sure, but on my next visit, I am excited about trying something different.


Time for dessert, and there was no way I was going to pass up the opportunity to have the British Style Toffee Pudding, which I had on my first visit to Tranquil a while ago, and have said on a few occasions is my absolute favorite thing I've eaten in the area. Well, it was no disappointment on this occasion either. This English pudding is very much unlike what most Americans would think of as "pudding," and has more of a cake-like consistency. Whatever it is, it's completely delicious, and I highly recommend trying it out if you go to Tranquil. Megan got the chocolate pudding (also British Style) which was delicious, too. But I highly recommend the toffee.

I would be remiss in my duties if I did not mention the service at Tranquil, which I feel many people would perceive as "slow." In my opinion, there is a distinct difference between slow service and "paced" service, and I think that Tranquil tries to offer a complete dining experience rather than just trying to get people in and out the door. If you need to eat in a hurry, this place is not for you. I found that our waiter provided a nice pace to the meal and provided good recommendations.

Tranquil is the best restaurant in the City of Binghamton, if not the entire area. The atmosphere is nice and appropriate for the food that's served. The food was excellent from start to finish, with my only criticism being the slightly overly spicy jambalaya, but that is an extremely minor quibble. The Toffee Pudding dessert deserves special mention as a totally awesome dish and an excellent way to end the meal. As I said, service is not quick, but with an experience like the one offered at Tranquil, who really wants it to end, anyway?

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

Cortese Restaurant

Name: Cortese Restaurant
Location: 117 Robinson St., Binghamton, NY 13904
Phone: (607) 723-6477
Cuisine: Italian
Price: $50+ for two for dinner

Review:
Cortese is one of Binghamton's longest-operating restaurants, a mainstay on Binghamton's East Side and a place well-loved by many. Their location on Robinson St. with not many other sit-down dining options nearby makes Cortese a popular spot for locals, and their tradition of excellence brings patrons through their doors from all over the Triple Cities and beyond.

It was just a matter of time until Megan and I got around to visiting Cortese for a review. We'd been there on two prior occasions. The first time, we went for pizza after hearing that it was the area's best. While pretty decent, it was nothing to get too excited about. On our second visit, we went in search of a good "surf & turf" meal and we ended up shelling out $90 for one of the worst meals we've ever had in a restaurant. Several things about the meal were positively disgusting, capped off by a seafood pasta entree I ordered that was literally swimming in salt water. Yuck. At the time, we swore the place off and promised never to speak its name again. Well, I reckon today was the dawn of a new era since we elected to give the restaurant another fair shot.

Cortese is a large restaurant with ample parking adjacent. Upon entering there's a dining area straight ahead, a bar room to the right, and yet another room beyond that. It's a cozy restaurant with candlelit tables and dark wooden decor. I am fond of the restaurant's appearance and find it to be somewhat similar to Endicott's Oaks Inn in that regard. Unfortunately for Cortese, that is where the comparisons end.

We arrived around 5:00 PM and were seated quickly and placed drink orders: for Megan, a glass of Riesling, for me, a pint of Smithwick's. The diverse menu features a wide array of Chicken, Veal, Pasta, Steak, and Seafood specialties. I elected to try the Chicken Soltimbocca [sic], featuring chicken breast sauteed in butter and garlic, topped with prosciutto and cheese, and served in a buttery sherry sauce. Entrees come with the standard soup or salad, choice of side (potato, rice, pasta), and complimentary bread and butter; I ordered the soup (ham and bean) and pasta. Megan went with the Chicken Parmigiana with salad and pasta.


The ham and bean soup was a fine start to the meal--nothing to write home about, but pretty good nonetheless with a generous quantity of beans and vegetables. Megan seemed reasonably happy with her salad. Both of us were eagerly awaiting our entrees in hopes of erasing the bad taste in our mouths (quite literally) from our last Cortese experience.


Soon enough, our entrees did arrive, and I can't say that the Chicken Soltimbocca was any good at all. A dried-out piece of chicken breast coated in a weird-tasting, greasy pit of garlicky butter, it was simply not good. Let it be said that this entree, when done well (such as at the aforementioned Oaks Inn), is one of my personal favorites. Here, I didn't care for it at all. It had a bitter, salty taste like that of soy sauce and lacked the velvety richness that other, better variants of the dish can have. Disappointing, and at $17.50, a ripoff. As if things couldn't get worse, the side of pasta was served in its own separate bowl and tasted like Spaghetti-O's. Epic fail.


On the plus side, Megan really liked her Chicken Parmigiana. She admired its crispy texture and enjoyed the red sauce on top. I tried a bite and would agree that it was pretty good and certainly better than what was on my plate. But in the end, I did not feel it was anything special, and certainly not worth the $16.25 they charge for a dish obtainable at other (better) restaurants for five fewer dollars.


In one last ditch effort to salvage some worth out of this meal, we opted to try dessert. Megan got the homemade strawberry cheesecake, while the Kentucky Bourbon Pecan Pie intrigued me. Served warm, the Pecan Pie was the first part of the meal that I truly enjoyed, with its slight hint of bourbon and soft crumb crust. Megan seemed to like the cheesecake well enough--at the very least, she devoured it with no complaints!

Service was a major plus at Cortese. Our waiter was an older gentleman who paced the meal nicely and who was a consummate professional in every way. Certainly this was not an experience without some positive attributes.

Ambiance and service may be solid components of what Cortese has to offer, but at the end of the day, I was once again greatly disappointed with the food. In an area full of quality Italian dining options, despite what the locals say, this is not one of the best places around and, in fact, I find it to be one of the worst. Our first two visits yielded feeble swings and misses. On the third visit there was little joy to be found on Binghamton's East Side: mighty Cortese has struck out.

Grade: C-

The Beef

Name: The Beef Restaurant
Location: 62 Leroy St., Binghamton NY 13905
Phone: (607) 722-9732
Cuisine: American Steakhouse
Price: $60+ for two for dinner

Review:
Formerly known by the clever name "What's Your Beef?" the newly revamped "The Beef Restaurant" (new owner, new menu, renovated space) is located on Binghamton's lovely west side on Leroy street on small commercial strip that includes the infamous Leroy Package Store as well as a few other small businesses. Dan and I had visited this restaurant years ago when it was under its former moniker and while we enjoyed our meal, we had not been back since due to the fact that we often forget that it is there. Usually we associate restaurants with what other restaurants are nearby and since there is really nothing else near The Beef, it gets neglected. However, while discussing dinner plans yesterday afternoon, my desire for steak brought it back into our minds and we decided to go back to see what changes had been made.

The first thing you notice when you walk into The Beef is that you are faced with a choice between two doors. The one to your right takes you into the small bar area and the one to your left will take you into the dining room. One small issue with the set up is that there is no proper hostess stand to check into and wait at - granted the dining room is small enough that someone will see you and seat you quickly, but there are still a few awkward moments when you are left standing around not knowing what to do. We were seated and given a menu and wine list to peruse. This was a bit tough because it was very dark inside - so much so that we were not able to take any pictures of our meal. Bummer, but I think most people can visualize a steak. The wine menu runs the gamut from dry rieslings to more bold fare. I actually broke my usual white wine precedent and opted for a red since I knew I would be getting a steak. Who wants to go to a place called "The Beef" and order chicken? Not me. Dan went with an Ithaca ale and we were both very happy with our drink selections. For our meals, I went with the house cut (9 oz) delmonico with baked potato and a house salad while Dan opted for the house cut prime rib with house potatoes and a bowl of french onion soup. Each dinner comes with bread, a choice of soup or salad and a choice of side. I should note that there were other options besides steak which included chicken, pasta, and other dishes which I'm sure are all good.

While we waited, I noted the dining room. It was on the small side, but did not feel crowded. Each table had lit candles and some soothing music (think unplugged versions of popular songs) played in the background. As I said, it was dark, which made the reading of the menu difficult, but which I didn't mind as much during the meal. It is a nice little space, very open and not at all stuffy. You could tell that it had been updated with new tables and wall decorations as I remember it being a bit more weathered looking the last time I was there.

We did not have to wait long to receive our salad, soup and a small loaf of bread with butter. The salad was a salad - I got the house italian and it was nothing special, certainly not as awesome as the house italian at Cacciatores. Dan enjoyed his french onion soup although it was extremely hot and probably should have sat for a few minutes before being brought out. He also noted that it was not your standard french onion soup - the onions were different and it didn't look as if the cheese had been baked over the top of the bowl. At any rate, I think we were both happy with our starters but not blown away.

A short time later we received our beef. Mine was perfectly cooked (medium well) and had far less fat than other delmonico steaks that I have had at other places. My baked potato was served with sour cream and it complimented the steak. One issue I had was the absence of a vegetable - yes, I realize that potatoes are vegetables, but they usually do not serve as such - usually one can get a potato AND a vegetable, preferably a green one to add some color to the plate. The waiter had told us that the vegetable of the day was green beans and I was stoked because they are my favorite. So, I was a smidge disappointed to see only meat and potato on my plate. A minor point, but one worth commenting on.

Dan's prime rib was cooked to his specifications (medium rare) and looked very juicy - a little too juicy for the plate as it turned out. The plate was not deep enough to accommodate the prime rib juice, so Dan had to take extra care when cutting to avoid being splashed. The house potatoes he received were baked slices that had been sprinkled with seasoning and were also served with sour cream. Overall, I think we were both pleased with our steaks - he also noted that his prime rib had far less fat than he expected.

For dessert, we split a slice of cheesecake - made on the premises. It was very good, not too heavy, but rich and the right note to end the meal on. Our waiter was really good - attentive without hovering and he paced the meal perfectly - never did we feel rushed or wait too long for anything. It was a very nice meal that Dan and I were pleased with.

At the end of the day, did The Beef deliver the best steak I've ever had? No. Was it the best piece of beef that I have had in Binghamton? No - that honor goes to the greek tenderloin at Number 5/Lampy's. However, The Beef delivered a nice steak and potato dinner in a nice, comfortable space with a nice waiter serving us at a nice pace. It was not a cheap meal - $70 for the two of us with drinks, dinner, dessert, tax and tip, but I would not say that it was overpriced. All in all, I would definitely go back to The Beef anytime for a laid back steak dinner.

Grade: B+

Tony's Italian Grill

Name: Tony's Italian Grill
Location: 2315 E Main St., Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 785-3750
Cuisine: Italian
Price: Usually $40-$60 for two. Could be much cheaper or much more expensive depending on your order.

Review:
It's amazing to me that we haven't yet taken the time to review Tony's Italian Grill, seeing as it's one of the area's restaurants we've visited most often. Located on Main St. in Endwell, Tony's is quite literally the "brother" restaurant to Nick's in Endicott. While Nick's is a much smaller restaurant that in my opinion is most notable for its pizza, Tony's is a spacious eatery with a huge, beautiful dining room, a separate bar area, and even a porch available for outdoor seating while the weather is accommodating. On looks alone, Tony's has long been one of our favorites.

The menu consists of all the usual, traditional Italian options, in addition to some other less common ones (Bucatini all amatriciana, Penne Rustica to name a couple). They have a long list of appetizers, several different soups and salads, and pizza available both by the slice and by the pie. Certainly there's something on the menu that would appeal to everyone.

We decided to head to Tony's yesterday for lunch. During lunch, Tony's has a bit of an abbreviated menu, but the portions you get are exactly the same as those you get for dinner. Being in a particularly gluttonous mood, I elected to start with the Fried Calamari appetizer, opted to try a slice of their meatball pizza, and went with the Penne Rustica as my entree. Megan went with one of the entree-sized salads, the Insalata Milanese.


The calamari is, in my opinion, one of the best items you can get at Tony's. Served with red sauce and light buttermilk breading, this was a top-notch way to start the meal. It's worth noting that this appetizer will easily feed four or more, and if you really like calamari, you might even be happy with this as your entree. Yesterday, I felt like there was a little bit of a salt issue, as some of the calamari pieces were significantly more or less salted than others. But this is an appetizer I can certainly recommend wholeheartedly.


In perusing the menu yesterday, I was surprised I'd never tried the pizza before yesterday, and my choice of a meatball slice was a pretty good selection. This was a standard NY-style slice and, not too surprisingly, was reminiscent of the pizza at Nick's. It didn't blow me away or anything, but it was pretty good pizza and probably a notch above-average for the area.


The Penne Rustica was a good choice for an entree. Featuring grilled chicken and fresh broccoli florets in a garlic cream sauce served over al dente penne, it was pretty tasty. I expected the garlic cream sauce to be rich and overpowering, like an alfredo sauce is often prone to being, but it was refreshingly light yet flavorful. One thing the dish was lacking was a savory component. It's my understanding that Penne Rustica often is made with pancetta, which I think would have made a fantastic complement to the flavors inherent in this dish. But, as seems to be the case with every visit to Tony's, in the end I found an entree that I liked quite a bit, but did not love.


Megan's salad was somewhat less impressive. Its components (grilled chicken, Italian greens, walnuts) were good, but she commented that it was overly drenched in its oil-and-vinegar based dressing.

According to Urbanspoon, Tony's Italian Grill is listed as the #1 restaurant in the Greater Binghamton area. At first, I have to admit this was somewhat surprising, but after some thought, it made perfect sense. On Urbanspoon, restaurants are rated based solely on whether a patron liked it or disliked it. In my estimation, it's nearly impossible to dislike Tony's. Aesthetically, it's one of the nicest places around. It's a versatile place where you could easily eat for under $20 if you just come for pizza, while also serving as a destination for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. Service is good, if somewhat unremarkable. (It's worth noting that Megan was mildly peeved about being carded when she ordered a glass of wine yesterday. We aren't that old, but come on, do we really look 20 or younger? ) And there's no doubt that the food is good: I have never had a meal at Tony's that I've disliked.

But the problem with Tony's, if there is one, is that while the food is always good, it's never great. I've probably eaten my way through about half the menu at this point, and quite simply, there's nothing I've ordered that I crave, that I would absolutely have to get again on a future visit. For that reason, Tony's takes a backseat in my mind to some of the area's other Italian restaurants. Don't get me wrong, Tony's is a good restaurant, and a fine place to grab lunch or dinner. We have done so many times and will inevitably do so again. But the best restaurant in Binghamton? Sorry, Urbanspoon, methinks not.

Grade: B

Mama Giuseppa's

Name: Mama Giuseppa's
Location: 4 S. Liberty Ave., Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 748-7200
Cuisine: Italian/Pizza
Price: Likely $20-$30 per person

Review:
Mama Giuseppa's is yet another entry in the long line of Italian restaurants that dot the landscape of the Triple Cities. This one is located on North St. in Endicott (technically a Liberty Ave. address), not far from the Cider Mill, and they've just celebrated their 10-year anniversary of being in business. It's a restaurant that I truly had not heard much about before we went, but based on things I'd read, those who like the place are staunch defenders of its low-key charm and home-style Italian eats. A Facebook page with over 500 supporters certainly seems to support this notion.

The restaurant itself is a fairly small space with somewhere around six to eight booths along the right hand side and 15-20 tables toward the back. It's a clean space and the atmosphere gives off the vibe that you're eating in someone's kitchen; the decor is quaint and homey with all sorts of family photographs on the walls, and there was some 1940's big-band music piping through the speakers. On atmosphere alone, it is somewhat reminiscent of both Frank's out in Maine, and Johnson City's Cacciatore's.

We took a minute to look through the menu before placing our orders, and found it to be rather extensive. All the traditional Italian pasta favorites are accounted for, in addition to many different chicken, veal, and seafood dishes, and they double as a pizzeria as well. I opted to go with the lasagna ($10.99) and added both a meatball and a sausage ($1.25 each); on the recommendation of the waitress, Megan went with the Shrimp Scampi ($15.99) served over penne. Entrees come with a house salad (we added the bleu cheese crumbles for $1 each) and complimentary garlic knots.

The salad, with its homemade Italian dressing, was a decent start to the meal, but nothing to get excited about. It featured the standard greens, tomato, onion, cucumber, and olives. The Italian dressing was a tasty balsamic vinegar-based topper and the bleu cheese crumbles were a solid add-on. The garlic knots, what I perceive to be a specialty at Mama Giuseppa's, were quite excellent.

The first thing we noticed about our entrees was the sheer enormity. The lasagna was easily two full portions in size, if not four. The shrimp scampi certainly wasn't skimpy either. We admired the presentation of the dishes, finding it to be in line with the aforementioned home-style ambiance. Aside from the fact that that the lasagna was a little crusty and burnt around the edges, as you can see above.

The lasagna was very good, with thick, sweet red sauce, flavorful beef, and a fairly thick layer of mozzarella. It wasn't the best lasagna I've had in the area (that title would go to Frank's), but it was tasty, and the leftover half will make for a good dinner tomorrow night as well. I tried out Megan's scampi and found it to be only average--nowhere near the amazing scampi at the Oaks Inn (which Megan and I have vowed to visit again very soon). The shrimp were good, but the dish was somewhat lacking in flavor beyond oil and garlic; some fresh herbs might have taken the dish to the next level. For its faults, it was still a decent dish--but I doubt that either of us would order it next time.

Since we both stopped short of finishing our enormous portions, we left a little room for dessert and opted to split a cannoli, as has seemed to become the custom in our visits to the area's Italian restaurants. I will say that the dessert menu at Mama Giuseppa's was totally up my alley, and everything on the dessert tray looked really great, including a peanut butter pie that I was *this* close to persuading Megan to order instead. But she had her heart set on the cannoli, and it ended up being an excellent choice, a great, flaky warmed pastry with cheese filling that rates favorably among the desserts we've had recently. Certainly a fine way to end a fine meal.

All things considered, I thought Mama Giuseppa's was certainly worth visiting. It has a casual, neighborhood atmosphere, good service, and the home-style food is pretty solid. I am interested in trying the pizza, which I have heard good things about. Based on this visit, I don't think Mama Giuseppa's is exceptional in any way (aside from portion size), and I doubt we'll head there often because the similar and superior Cacciatore's is closer to where we live, but it's a solid entrant to the area's Italian scene. It's definitely a notch above the celebrated-yet-overrated Consol's.

Grade: B

Red Oak Diner

Name: Red Oak Diner
Location: 305 Front St., Binghamton, NY 13905
Phone: (607) 722-0440
Cuisine: American Diner
Price: Around $10 per person

Review:
Another day, another diner for the Tasting Binghamton crew. This time we headed out to the Red Oak Diner on Front St. in Binghamton's First Ward for our inaugural visit. With its location right off the highway en route to Downtown Binghamton, it's a place we've passed by a number of times over the years but never bothered to stop in. I had often wondered if it were anything like The Spot Diner, located further up on Front St., given that the restaurants look similarly from the outside.

Sure enough, on the inside, I found it to be somewhat comparable to The Spot. It's a 1970's-style Greek diner with lots of seating. Upon entrance you'll see some booths to the left, the standard coffee counter straight ahead, and a large dining room to the right. We were instructed to seat ourselves in the dining room and chose a reasonable-looking table toward the back, adjacent to a window.

Service is by far the best thing the Red Oak has going. Throughout our visit, the service was very quick, from the delivery of menus, to ordering, to receiving our meals and the check. The waitress was friendly and it seemed as if she was a longtime employee of the establishment. The question is: would the food match the service?

In my opinion, it would not. Venturing a little outside my normal diner order, I elected to go with the Chicken and Biscuits special they were offering. This came with a complimentary cup of soup and a side, so I went with the Vegetable Beef and a side of mashed potatoes. Megan was a little more conservative in her ordering and went with a Turkey Club sandwich, which she proceeded to enjoy far more than I enjoyed my meal.

This is diner food, so I really try not to get my hopes up too much. It's inexpensive and intended to be quick, comfort food, after all. It isn't fine dining. Even so, I was not happy with my meal at all. The Vegetable Beef soup was an OK beginning to the meal. It certainly wasn't skimpy on the vegetables nor the beef. All told, it was a minor improvement over Campbell's. The rest of the meal was pretty much a disaster. The mashed potatoes weren't the instant variety but they were about as close as you can get. The chicken didn't have much flavor, and the biscuits had absolutely none. The entire plate was topped with a yellowish gravy that was equally tasteless and had begun to congeal. This may have been the blandest plate of food I've ever been served. It was edible, and arrived from the kitchen at a breakneck pace (literally, there were fewer than five minutes between the time we ordered and the time we had our plates in front of us), but I felt as if I could probably get a better, or at least similar, plate of food from the Binghamton High School cafeteria. Hell, I'm no Wolfgang Puck, but I could muster a better effort myself. Harsh, perhaps, but that's the honest truth.

Like I said, the Red Oak has some pluses. The service is friendly and as quick as anywhere else I've been in the area. The dining area is a pleasant, large space and has some old-school charm. Megan liked her club sandwich perfectly well. In fact, I think she rather liked the place on the whole. The truth of the matter is that I wanted her to write the review for the Red Oak so that I didn't have to write all this, but the more I thought about it, the more I really disliked my meal there, and as you've probably discerned by now, the food was simply not anything I'd want to pay money for again. With dozens of diners in the Triple Cities, it's my feeling that there are many, many better options to choose than the Red Oak.

Grade: C-