P.M.P. Delicatessen

Name: P.M.P. Delicatessen
Location: 80 Harry L Drive, Johnson City, NY 13790
Phone: (607) 797-1131
Cuisine: Sandwiches/Subs/Eastern European specialty items
Price: $5 per person

Review:
The search for good subs continued today for lunch with a stop at the P.M.P. Delicatessen on Harry L Drive in Johnson City. This is a place I've driven by literally thousands of times over the years, but I've never bothered to stop in, and I wasn't sure if anyone else did either. My attempts to find out anything about P.M.P. on the internet always came up fruitless, and something about the place always looked kind of sketchy to me. Today was the day I found out I was wrong.

P.M.P. is a deli first and foremost, with the standard subs and sandwiches comprising much of their menu, but they also serve their own versions of regional specialty items like spiedies and City Chicken. This is one of the rare places you can get lamb spiedies, the original spiedie meat of choice at Sharkey's way back in the 1940's. There is a definite focus on Eastern European cuisine in P.M.P., as they sell traditional foods like kielbasa, holupki (cabbage rolls), and a shockingly good variety of German, Czech, and Polish beer. I was surprised to see things like Paulaner Salvator, Ayinger Celebrator, and even a few bombers of Southern Tier Back Burner, among others. P.M.P. won't put Sam the Beer Man out of business anytime soon, but they've got a nice little collection going. For those who want to eat there, there are a few tables set up, and the place is adorned with hockey memorabilia and other trinkets. It's an odd atmosphere, yet somehow kind of cool.

I walked in at 12:30 PM and was one of three patrons at the time. I got a chicken spiedie sub for myself and a turkey sub for Megan. The woman who took my order was extremely nice and seemed glad that I had such a simple order--apparently the previous few patrons had made large and complicated orders. In five short minutes our order was ready, I paid the friendly cashier, an older gentleman who kidded me that my $7 order came to "$50," and I was on my way.

My chicken spiedie sub was quite good. I was impressed with the meat and found the spiedie as a whole superior to Sharkey's, but not quite to the level of Lupo's or the Spiedie & Rib Pit. The meat was flavorful and juicy and was served on an Italian steak roll which did well to soak up the juices. Not amazing, but very nice, and at $3.49, very cheap.

Megan's sub was also pretty good. She was a little miffed about the fact that the meat was placed on top of the toppings she got (lettuce, tomato, onion, American cheese, mayo), preferring it the other way around. Her impression was that P.M.P. was "just alright." I tried her sub and I got the impression that the turkey and toppings were fresh and of decent quality, but it was fairly ordinary otherwise.

Living near Harry L Drive, I can definitely see myself stopping off at P.M.P. again, maybe next time trying out the City Chicken, pierogies, or other local fare, in addition to taking a closer look at their beer selection. I enjoyed the quick, friendly service and the spiedies were good. My search for the ultimate sub shop won't end here, but I will be glad to support this local business again in the future, and I'm hopeful this post will give them some online presence so that other curious parties can stop wondering from afar what the place is like and start giving them some business.

Grade: B

Arcaro & Genell

Name: Arcaro & Genell
Location: 443 S Main St., Old Forge, PA 18518
Phone: (570) 457-4262
Cuisine: Italian
Price: $13+ for a full "tray," the "+" depending on toppings

Review:
Old Forge, PA, a southwestern suburb of Scranton, is known to Northeastern Pennsylvanians, and I reckon a few others, as the "Pizza Capital of the World," boasting more pizza parlors per person than anywhere else. Not only do they have more pizza options than anywhere, the style of pizza is an entity unto itself. Old Forge pizza is known for a crispy, somewhat thick crust and lacks the traditional gooey mozzarella cheese of most pizzas. The pizza is rectangular instead of round, pies are known as "trays," while slices are "cuts." When in Old Forge, you must speak the local vernacular.

After my review of Brozzetti's in Johnson City last Sunday, where I speculated that Brozzetti's could be a rogue Old Forge pizza place, I decided I had to find out the truth of the matter. Even though this is the "Tasting Binghamton" blog, some places that aren't in Binghamton are worth a day trip. This is one of them.

My friend Tom and I, beer geeks as we are, made a trip down to the Scranton area to pick up some stuff we can't get locally in Binghamton and around mid-afternoon we both developed some serious hunger. I suggested a trip out to Revello's in Old Forge, as I'd heard they were the best of the bunch and had served some famous patrons, such as Hillary Clinton. Tom was game for the 10-mile trip from our location at the time and off we went with my Droid to guide us to our destination.

Upon arriving at Revello's we were stunned to notice that the place was closed at 2:30 PM on a Saturday and would not be open until 4:30. Luckily, we looked across the intersection and saw Arcaro & Genell, which I noticed other people entering, and I'd read it was supposed to be right up there with Revello's as the best around.

We entered and took a seat and I was surprised by the ambiance. It's a dimly-lit place with booths to the left, tables to the right, and a nice-looking bar in one corner. I felt a little underdressed in the place; it was really very nice on the inside. Soon after, we asked the waitress (who I felt bad for as it seems she was the only waitress on duty and the place was pretty busy) which topping she would recommend of pepperoni, sausage, and meatball. Without a moment's thought, she replied that we should get all three of them. I wasn't about to deviate from her suggestion and so that's what we did, with Tom adding green peppers and olives to his half of the pie...errr...ummm...tray. The waitress warned us that the full tray would be more than enough for two people, but I didn't care. This was Old Forge and I was going to get my money's worth!

After a looooong wait (40 minutes or so) our pizza finally came out. I presume that the style of the pizza in addition to the number of toppings we got added significantly to the waiting time. Would it be worth the wait?

In a word, YES! This was excellent pizza, and I can understand why Old Forge has built such a reputation. The first thing you notice about this pizza that is different from usual is the cheese. I was right about its cheese being similar to Brozzetti's! It's definitely a softer, filmier cheese like either American or Fontina that sticks to your teeth as you bite in. This cheese makes for a less greasy pizza than the standard mozzarella, which is a welcome change of pace. Unfortunately for my conjecture, that's where the similarities to Brozzetti's end. While Brozzetti's has a soft, bready crust, Arcaro & Genell's is very crispy and has a fried-like quality to it. The closest comparison I can think of would be the crust on the pan pizza at Pizza Hut, but a MUCH better done version, and much tastier. Tom commented that he thought it was similar to French bread pizza, and I can see a strong similarity there as well. The toppings are phenomenal, especially the meatballs, which come thick-sliced and well-seasoned. The sauce is robust and a little spicy, but I would say that the sauce is a secondary element to this pizza, with the cheese and the crust being its primary players. Again, this is way different from Brozzetti's where the sloppy sauce is pivotal. Arcaro & Genell's pizza is definitely unique, sharing some qualities with Sicilian-style pizza, but the cheese and crust combine to put this in a category all its own.

I was able to get through 3 cuts of our 12-cut tray, while Tom was only able to manage 2. This is extremely rich pizza: the waitress was definitely right about this being way too much for the two of us, but hey, we each got to take some home with us. I just heated up a slice...grrr....cut for lunch and it was nearly as great reheated as it was in Old Forge itself.

The pizza came to around $20 which, for the number of toppings we got, the size of the pizza, and the ability to say I've had Old Forge pizza, I found to be reasonable.

If you're a Binghamtonian in search of something different, consider making the hour-long trip down I-81 to Old Forge and stopping at Arcaro & Genell's. My theory that the pizza would be similar to Brozzetti's may have been mostly disproven, but at least I was partially right (regarding the cheese), and I found a pizza that I would certainly consider among the best I have ever sampled. If you ever find yourself in Scranton, this place is a must-visit.

Grade: A

Thai Thai Cuisine

Name: Thai Thai Cuisine
Location: 584 Court St., Binghamton, NY 13904
Phone: (607) 775-9499
Cuisine: Thai Thai (ha!)
Price: $20 for two

Review:
Thai Thai represents the third and final installment in our tour of local Thai restaurants. To recap what's transpired thus far, I liked Endicott's Thai Basil (Grade: A-) for their low-key ambiance and high-quality food, and I enjoyed Johnson City's Sabaidee (Grade: B+) for their good food, very quick service, and extremely low prices, but thought it would serve best as a take-out place. How would Thai Thai (considered by many the best of the three) stack up?

Thai Thai is located in Rocket Plaza just outside Binghamton's city limits on Upper Court St. Keep driving out Court St. until you think you've gone WAY too far, and it's on the right. Look for the rocket, and Madame Oar's strip club. Yeah, this isn't the nicest part of town.

The restaurant is quite small with about 10-12 tables scattered throughout the place. It's a decent little dining room, but nowhere near the dimly-lit atmosphere of Thai Basil, or even the brightly-colored decor of Sabaidee. We were seated, or rather seated ourselves, promptly and ordered drinks shortly thereafter. I decided to try something a little bit different and went with the Thai iced tea. I am not sure what it consisted of, but if I had to guess, I would say it was tea with various spices (maybe tamarind and/or cardamom) served with coconut milk. It was pretty good. I'm not sure it's something I would get every time, but I enjoyed it for what it was. (A note about drinks: they don't serve alcohol, but there's a bottle shop next door...you can get some wine there and BYOB.)



I ordered the Pad Kee Mao ($6.99) with beef as my entree, known to the English-speaking world as Drunken Noodles. This is my go-to dish at Thai restaurants when I can't decide what else to order. It features wide flat noodles with your choice of meat (pork, chicken, or beef) with carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, onions, basil leaf, and probably some other stuff I'm forgetting right now. I ordered it "spicy" and had high hopes for the dish.

It was really good, and REALLY spicy. Consider this a warning: if you order something "spicy" at Thai Thai, prepare for your mouth to be on fire. Me, I like it that way, but if you are bothered by the spiciness of your food, make sure to tell them that. Anyhow, this was a really good dish, maybe slightly better than Thai Basil's equivalent. One small criticism is that some of the broccoli was kind of sorry-looking, but it tasted fine. I would definitely order this dish again, but will probably try out one of their curry dishes on my next visit.



Megan ordered the Pad Thai (also $6.99), what I would probably consider the most popular Thai dish. This consists of rice noodles with bean sprouts and tofu in a tamarind sauce, served with your choice of meat and topped with crushed peanuts. She liked it quite a bit, and I sampled it and found it to be very good. The thing I like most about Thai food is that within each dish there is a real complexity to the flavors and each bite can give you something a little bit different. This Pad Thai certainly had that quality to it. Highly enjoyable and very well done.

Service was a negative at Thai Thai, provided by a disinterested older Caucasian woman. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen a waitress display less enthusiasm than this one. Come on, this is a Thai restaurant, and we've got this slow old white woman as the face of the operation? Really? Compare this with the service at Thai Basil, which may also be slow from time to time, but the waitresses are very enthusiastic, friendly, and, ummm, Thai. Not to mention the extremely quick service provided by the gentlemen at Sabaidee. The service wasn't anything that would prevent me from making a return visit to Thai Thai, but it was severely lacking in enthusiasm and speed.

In the end, Thai Thai might very well be the best Thai restaurant in the area from a food perspective. The prices are beyond reasonable, a definite advantage over Thai Basil, which is a little pricier (but still not bad). From a service and atmosphere perspective, Thai Thai is probably the worst of the three. At the end of the day, the Triple Cities are lucky to have three very solid Thai restaurants, and even better, they are evenly spaced out with Thai Thai serving Binghamton's East Side, Sabaidee covering the middle ground in JC, and Thai Basil collecting the Endicott crowd. If I had to choose one place out of the three, it would be Thai Basil, but the other two are extremely worthy establishments and are not far behind.

Grade: B

S & M Delicatessen

Name: S & M Delicatessen
Location: 3309 Watson Blvd., Endwell, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 754-0636
Cuisine: Subs/Pizza
Price: Cheap. Around $5 per person.

Review:
Since the recent demise of Tony T's in Vestal, I'm in search of a really good local sub place. And when I say "local," I mean somewhere in relatively close proximity to where I live in Johnson City. I tried out the Original Italian Pizzeria in Endicott and enjoyed their Italian sub, but that's a little bit further than I ordinarily would like to go. On the tip of a reader, I decided to give S & M Deli in Endwell a shot.

S & M is a small shop with, let's face it, a pretty damn funny name. It is located on Watson Blvd. across the street from the Broadway Diner and they specialize in pizza and subs but also have reheatable Italian dishes available and local specialties like City Chicken. More on that in a future post. They also have some basic grocery items and sell ice and beer. In NYC, S & M would be referred to as a "bodega." This is strictly a "to-go" place, as they have no seating.

I walked in around 11:30 AM on a Friday and ordered an Italian sub with everything on it: Italian meats, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, mayo, sub sauce, and sweet peppers.



I thought this was a great-looking sub. How would it stand up to a taste test?

In truth, not very well.

A good sub starts with the bread. I did not care much for this particular sub roll. It was a bit too airy for my liking and didn't really have much flavor. On the plus side, the meats and veggies were fresh. But the real problem with this sub was that there was WAY too much mayonnaise for my liking. The thing was inundated with mayo to the point where I couldn't taste much else in most bites. The good news, of course, is that this is a correctable problem. Just order it without mayo, or tell them to go light on it. Even so, the whole thing was just kind of "blah."

Back when I was in high school, we used to do a sub fundraiser. We'd go around the neighborhood asking if folks wanted to buy subs and eventually the day would come when the subs came in and we distributed them to the proper folks. They were decent subs but nothing to get excited about. You knew when you ordered one of these things that you weren't getting something gourmet, but you were helping the neighbor kid fund his trip to Florida or whatever, so you didn't mind too much. The sub I had from S & M was a Fundraiser Sub. Average in every way, but by buying one you're helping keep a little family business alive in an era where there's a Subway on every corner. That's gotta be worth something, I guess, but it isn't going to be enough to bring me back there to have another.

Grade: C

Texas Roadhouse

Name: Texas Roadhouse
Location: 4399 Vestal Parkway E., Vestal, NY 13850
Phone: (607) 729-8200
Cuisine: American steakhouse
Price: Usually around $40 for two

Review:
I normally don't do reviews of chain restaurants, but I had a request from a loyal reader on our Facebook page for a review of Texas Roadhouse, and who am I to deny the masses?

Texas Roadhouse is situated across from the Binghamton University campus on the Vestal Parkway. It's immediately adjacent to Route 201 and you can enter the parking area from either the Parkway or from Old Vestal Road. The restaurant, as the name would suggest, specializes in steaks, ribs, barbecued chicken, and other classic American fare. They tend to be very busy during the prime dining hours on weekend nights, so I advise either eating there at an offpeak time (think mid-afternoon) or calling ahead for seating, which can drive down the waiting time. Otherwise, expect to wait for a half hour or more. They do have a bar, so you can wait there if you prefer.

Upon entering the Texas Roadhouse you'll notice the hostess stand immediately in front of you, and a large waiting area off to the right. In the waiting area are two gigantic barrels full of shelled peanuts. If you happen to have a peanut allergy, I would suggest staying at least a football field's length from Texas Roadhouse at all times. There are peanuts, peanut dust, and peanut shells EVERYWHERE throughout this place. Anyway, for those inclined, grab a few peanuts to eat while you're waiting and feel free to throw the shells on the ground. The place is decorated with all sorts of Texas-style paraphernalia including an entire corner dedicated to Willie Nelson. It makes for a pretty decent atmosphere, if more-than-slightly kitschy.

Upon being seated each table is given a basket of rolls with cinnamon butter and a bucket of peanuts. The rolls are pretty tasty and the butter takes them to the next level. Great way to start the meal. Service is fairly variable at the Texas Roadhouse. Sometimes it's prompt and friendly, sometimes it's very slow and/or slightly rude. It all depends on how busy it is, how quickly the kitchen is churning out the food, and of course which server you get.

I usually get the Onion Blossom appetizer which is the Texas Roadhouse equivalent of Outback Steakhouse's Bloomin' Onion. It's pretty much the same exact thing. Served with a horseradish dipping sauce, sometimes this fried/breaded onion can be very good, other times it's a little burnt, or too greasy. I have tried the wings as an appetizer before as well, and they were a little on the fatty side. I did not care for them too much.

For entrees, I've tried a few different things on the menu, but I tend to go with one of their special combos, either the Sirloin & Ribs or Ribeye & Ribs. With each entree you get your choice of two sides. You can get a baked potato (loaded with bacon/cheese/chives/butter/sour cream if you like, or loaded with chili and cheese), a sweet potato (loaded with cinnamon and marshmallow if you ask for it), baked beans, a side salad, a cup of chili, mac & cheese....there are a number of options. I normally go with a cup of chili and one of the potatoes. The chili is very good, with lots of beef. It's not too spicy but you can ask for tabasco if you want to kick it up a notch. The potato (whichever you get) is usually a highlight of the meal which I usually save for last.

The ribs/steaks are usually pretty good. Texas Roadhouse tends to be one of the best places to get a reasonably priced steak in the Binghamton area. Places like Number 5 Restaurant, Lampy's, and P.S. Restaurant definitely have better steaks, but they are wallet-busters ($20-$25 or more). Most steaks at the Roadhouse tend to hover around the $12-$15 range, which is pretty reasonable, especially given the amount of food you get. You can add onions and/or mushrooms to your steak for an additional $1 or so. The ribs are typically good and tend to fall right off the bone very easily. No comparison with the recently-departed Theo's in the rib department, but not bad if you are craving some baby backs.

One negative I have noticed about Texas Roadhouse is that the quality of the food has declined on recent visits. When they first opened, Megan and I went there quite a bit (this was before we started discovering a lot of the better local restaurants) and it was always good. Lately, it hasn't been as good. There was even one time I got pretty sick after eating there. I don't know if my stomach bug was directly related to the Roadhouse, but let's just say I was fine before I got there.

Overall, as chain restaurants go, Texas Roadhouse is a pretty good place to eat. They do fill a need for a reasonably priced steakhouse in the Binghamton area, and are in a very good location across from the BU campus. Food and service can be a little subpar from time to time, but on a good day, the meals I've gotten at Texas Roadhouse have been among the better steak dinners I've had in the Triple Cities. I recommend checking out the local fare first, but you can definitely do a lot worse than the Texas Roadhouse.

Grade: B

Frank's Pizzeria and Restaurant

Name: Frank's Pizzeria and Restaurant
Location: 2633 Rt. 26, Maine, NY 13802
Phone: (607) 323-5445
Cuisine: Italian
Price: $25+ for two

Review:
Out beyond the shining lights of the Triple Cities lies the hamlet of Maine, home to a recent entry in the region's Italian mix, Frank's Restaurant. Frank's has only been around since 2008 but word of mouth about the place has spread quickly. I heard recently that it was a charming little restaurant with great Italian food at very low prices with warm hospitality. Would it stand up to the hype?

We made a reservation for 5:30 PM on a Friday and arrived around 5:15 PM. I expected it would take me longer to get out to Maine, but it really only took 15 minutes to get there from downtown Johnson City. No matter that we were there early, our table was ready and we were greeted warmly and seated promptly by the hostess.

Frank's is a quaint, unassuming place in appearance both inside and out. The decor of the main dining room--which consists of ten well-spaced tables and all sorts of paintings and pictures adorning the walls--gave the vibe of a small European cafe. The somewhat loud, bustling nature of the place added to that effect. With it being a warm day outside, they had the fans going full blast, which was blowing a curtain adjacent to our table rather vigorously throughout our entire meal. This was a tad on the side of annoying at first, but I understood the need for some cool air and quickly got used to it.

The menu is pretty standard Italian with the addition of homemade gnocchi and some interesting sounding variations on it. I ordered the lasagna, having heard good things, while Megan went with her standard "first time at a new Italian place" entree, the chicken parmigiana (which she got with a side of rigatoni). I was extremely tempted to go with the Frutti di Mare special they had going, but I figured I wanted to go with something a little more typical on my first visit, to see how much I liked the food. Next visit, that's the route I'm going. That, or pizza. I saw folks at adjacent tables enjoying both standard NY-style slices and thick-crusted Sicilian. I have to admit: I was a little jealous. At any rate, all dinners come with a salad and warm garlic bread.



The salad was decent, with its mix of Italian greens, tomatoes, olives, and the house Italian dressing. Pretty standard and fairly similar to Cacciatore's in Johnson City, but Cacciatore's definitely has the better, more unique dressing. The garlic bread was pretty excellent, with some dense slices of Italian bread done up with a slight glaze of garlic butter.



The lasagna was definitely as advertised. I found it similar in style, again, to Cacciatore's lasagna--this time it was FAR superior. This was some of the best lasagna I've ever had. The red sauce is absolutely excellent--sweet, but not too sweet. I could drink a gallon of this stuff (but would probably get some serious heartburn!). I could really pick out the flavor of the sausage in this lasagna as well. It was a little bit lacking in ricotta cheese, but overall, I was extremely satisfied with the dish. This was "A"-worthy lasagna, no doubt about it.



Megan liked her chicken parm dish, but was not blown away by it. I tried a bite and it was pretty good, but nothing too special. Chicken parm is always a little hit-or-miss for me; this one was a hit but more of an infield single than a home run. Though she didn't love it, she brought leftovers home. Always a good sign.



We saved a little room for dessert and opted to split a slice of coconut cake. This was delicious, rich and full of flavor, and an excellent way to end the meal. In fact, it was right up there with the lasagna as a highlight of the meal. I highly recommend it.

Astonishingly, the damage only came to $27, which I thought was amazing given the amount of food we had and how tasty most of it was.

One negative aspect to Frank's, in our opinion, was the service. Our waitress was not good and seemed fairly disinterested in being there. I am guessing she was around 18 years old and would rather have been doing something else with her Friday evening, and I got the vibe toward the end of the meal that she was eager to get us out the door rather than serve us dessert. Plus, she tended to disappear for long stretches of time without checking on us. It took a solid 10 minutes after we finished eating before the plates were cleared, and she was not the one to do it. I did notice that the other waitresses seemed to be much more on the ball, and I even saw who I believe to be Frank himself making the rounds to chat with some of the patrons. So I don't think the service at Frank's is typically bad...we just got unlucky.

A few other notes:
1) They don't serve alcohol--however, feel free to bring your own.
2) Parking is available on both sides of the road. We parked on the side opposite from Frank's and that seemed to work quite well.
3) Definitely make a reservation. This is a pretty small place and is quite popular.
4) They aren't open Sundays or Mondays....so, ummm, don't go then.

Frank's is worth the drive through the rolling hills north of Endicott to eat some quality Italian food at extremely reasonable prices. The food is very good, the red tomato sauce is to die for, and the dessert was tasty. The atmosphere is nice, essentially a family restaurant with some fine dining embellishments. I am going to stop short of calling Frank's a "must-visit," but I am definitely enthusiastic about making another trip.

Grade: B+

Danny's Diner

Another Thursday, another diner to sample. Today, we chose to hit up one of the oldies (but allegedly goodies) Danny's Diner, located on Main Street (17C) just up the way from Cyber Cafe, but on the other side of the road. According to Dan, this diner has been in existence since the 1930s, but has only been at this location since 1970. I was interested to see what a longstanding legacy would bring.

From the outside, the diner is not much to look at and kind of blends in with the scenery. In fact, I have driven past it many times and only noted its existence on occasion. The building is long and narrow with parking on the right side. As we decided to go at 10:45 this morning, we did not have to contend with any crowds. Upon entering, we chose our wooden booth and waited for the menu. We were only one of about three tables occupied in the place, but that was to be expected given the time of day - post-breakfast rush and pre-lunch crowd. We were each given a menu fairly quickly by a sassy waitress who was one of two employees that I saw in the place. She was friendly and let us know that we could do either breakfast or lunch if we chose. We chose to go for the breakfast.

Dan and I both got the same special, with slight variation and coffee. I got three eggs scrambled with bacon, home fries and wheat toast. He went with three eggs over easy with sausage, home fries and white toast. There was a little miscommunication that resulted in Dan getting more toast and me waiting for my wheat, but it was no problem as we got to witness some playful banter between our waitress and the cook. Our orders came out quickly and filled the plate.






My breakfast was fantastic. The eggs were pretty good and the home fries were tasty and not too hard or soft. My wheat toast was done to my liking - slightly toasted with very little brown.

The real star of the breakfast in my opinion was the bacon. I am very picky about my bacon and have had a hard time finding good bacon done the way that I want. I like it crispy, not chewy and not crunchy. The Apple Dumpling Cafe had fantastic bacon and I thought that any diner would be hard pressed to top it. Danny's bacon is a contender. It was crispy and hot and tasted so awesome that I almost licked my fingers. Seriously, great bacon. The coffee was coffee - I usually only like flavored coffee and have a hard time getting excited about the regular stuff - so it was okay.

Dan enjoyed his food as well - I tried a bite of his sausage and found it to be really good - though not nearly as great as my bacon, which I was generous enough to allow him to have a bite of. He was able to polish off all of his food, but I had to throw in the napkin with some food left over. They give you generous portions. You will not leave hungry or with an empty wallet as our feast came to a mere 10 dollars.

As far as comparison to area diners, Danny's rates well. It may not have the ambiance of the Broadway or the Apple Dumpling Cafe (if you want to count that as a diner type place), but it makes up for it in charm and quality of food. The bacon alone is worth a return trip for me.

Grade: A-

Escape State Street

Name: Escape State Street
Location: 163 Washington St., Binghamton, NY 13901
Phone: (607) 723-1831
Cuisine: Sandwiches/Paninis/Flatbread Pizzas
Price: Less than $10 per person

Review:
Megan and I and a group of friends decided to avoid State St. for lunch one day a couple weeks back and went to...ummm...Escape State Street. Escape represents an oddity in the landscape of Binghamton food. The main idea behind Escape is for drunk Binghamton University students to have a place to go and commune after a hard night of partying one block over on, you guessed it, State St. As any Binghamtonian will tell you, State St. is notorious for being the place where the campus population intersects the city population. It's where the bars and clubs are, a dramatic world that evidently can sometimes be just a little too much to take. Sometimes its inhabitants need a quiet place to chat, to eat a hearty sandwich, to escape, if you will. Where should they go? Hmmm...

Escape State Street not only caters to the inebriated SUNY set but to the general public as well. They serve breakfast, lunch, and are open again for late-night hours until one hour AFTER the bars on State St. close. They also offer delivery service. In its short life, Escape has built a fairly sizable following among the college crowd--generating an article in BU's student-run Pipe Dream--but also seems to be making inroads in the community as well. It's a quaint little coffee/sandwich shop located in the Metrocenter "indent" on Washington Street, in the back left corner of said alcove. Walk around for a few minutes. You'll find it.

We got there for lunch 12:30 PM on a Thursday and the place was bustling. There are only a few tables in the place, but we were lucky to snag one after placing our order. The menu consists of a bunch of sandwiches and paninis with catchy names. Meat Your Maker is a roast beef sandwich with horseradish and caramelized onions, Binghamton on a Bun consists of chicken spiedies, feta cheese, peppers, and onions, and the Woppa is, as its mild slur of a name suggests, a panini consisting of various Italian meats, red pepper, onion, and provolone. That's just a few of their many offerings. All sandwiches and wraps with the exception of the $25, 4-lb. "Real McCoy" challenge are very reasonably priced in the $6 range. They also have some flat-bread pizzas available and various soups and salads.



I ordered the aforementioned Woppa and got a cup of coffee. The Woppa was not bad. Pepperoni, salami, ham, hot peppers, roasted red peppers, and cheese done up panini-style with the grill marks to prove it. Oil/vinegar on the side. Like I said, not bad. Average sandwich, decent taste, decent quality meat, some ridge-cut chips to go with it. All in all, this wasn't something that had me clamoring for more, but I liked it well enough. I guess I really didn't have much of an opinion of it. It provided sustenance. The coffee on the other hand was bad. Watery, not much flavor. Bah.



Megan ordered a turkey sandwich on marble rye. She was more dissatisfied with the experience than I was. Her turkey sandwich was lacking severely in the mayo department and she expressed that she thought the quality of the meat was nowhere near what you could get at a place like the Full Belly Deli in Vestal. I tend to agree with that assessment. Honestly, I prefer the Old World Deli right around the corner, not to mention Nezuntoz on the South Side (another home of catchy-named sandwiches). In good news, my friend Tom ordered one of the flat-bread pizzas and really liked it, so much so that he went back the very next day again for lunch. Maybe I should order similarly on my next visit.

Another issue I had with Escape was the slow and disorganized service. From the time we ordered until we had our food, it was probably about 15 minutes. It was busy that day, but not that busy. Had I been on a lunch break from working downtown, I probably would have been annoyed. My advice would be to call in your order ahead of time if you fall into that category. They also seemed to be having a hard time figuring out whose order was whose, which added to the inefficiency and probably extended the wait time for the food. I feel the layout of the place is something that could definitely use some remodeling in order to help increase the efficiency. If you go, you'll see what I mean.

I have to admit, if I were a certain kind of undergrad, I'd probably really dig this place. The food is cheap, it's a nice (perhaps a little cramped) hangout spot, and it offers an alternative to the bar scene. As someone a few years removed from the whole undergrad gig, I can't say I was too impressed with Escape State Street on my first visit. It was just awright for me, dog. But hey, they're still relatively new, still finding their way. In time, I could definitely see Escape State Street becoming a Binghamton fixture for the college crowd, the weekday warriors, and anyone else who feels the need to esca....well, you know.

Grade: B-

Sabaidee Thai Restaurant

Name: Sabaidee Thai Restaurant
Location: 36 Jenison Ave., Johnson City, NY 13790
Phone: (607) 766-0557
Cuisine: Thai
Price: Most entrees less than $10

Review:
Sabaidee is the second Thai restaurant in the Binghamton area that I've visited, after Thai Basil in Endicott. It used to be located off Hooper Road in Endwell but they've recently moved to Johnson City, on Jenison Ave. behind the M&T Bank and around the corner from Mekong Vietnamese. There used to be a Chinese restaurant at this location a number of years ago and it was perhaps the sketchiest, seediest place I'd ever entered. Frankly, it was kind of disgusting. Hence, I was a little bit hesitant to enter Sabaidee, but was pleasantly surprised by what the folks did with the place. They make good Thai food at insanely low prices--most entrees are around the $7 mark--and the location offers them a nice low-key (dare I say) elegance. They've got a nice little dining room setup with some stools also available for seating by the counter where you pay. It isn't lavish by any stretch, but it's colorful and mildly charming.

I stopped in for take-out around 1:30 PM on a Wednesday. There wasn't anyone else around, otherwise I probably would've decided to eat there. I don't really dig being the only patron in the entire place, you know? So I opted for take-out. I was greeted as I entered the door and after a quick glance over the menu I opted for the Masaman curry with pork, a lunch special for only $5.95.

Less than 10 minutes later(!) I was back in my car with some wonderfully aromatic Thai food in tow. I headed back to my office where I opened the bag and found a container each of Basmati rice and the curry I ordered.


For those unfamiliar, Masaman curry is originally a Muslim dish consisting of meat, potatoes, onions, peanuts, pineapple, and coconut milk with various spices. I've had this dish a couple times before and liked it: this was the best version of it I've had yet. Keep in mind I am not at all an expert in Thai cuisine, but I was very satisfied with this, and for only $6, I found it to be a lot of food and a major steal. I certainly wasn't hungry for the entire rest of the day. One minor complaint is that I felt the potatoes were a little bit harder than I would've liked, but this dish had really nice flavor. I think there was something like cinnamon in there to give it that extra flair. Whatever it was, I was very satisfied and am eager to try Sabaidee again for take-out, given how close it is to home for me in JC.

Of the two Thai restaurants I've visited so far, Thai Basil definitely offers the better ambiance and the richer experience. However, the food at both places is about equal in my mind, and there's no doubt that the service at Sabaidee is much more efficient and the prices are significantly lower. For a sit-down Thai meal, my vote goes to Thai Basil, but for take-out, I think Sabaidee represents better value.

Grade: B+

Nick's Pizza and Restaurant

Name: Nick's Pizza and Restaurant
Location: 117 E Main St., Endicott, NY 13760
Phone: (607) 785-2900
Cuisine: Italian/Pizza
Price: Around $10 per person

Review:
In my mind, there's not much out there as good as a great slice of pizza, and Binghamton is lucky to have several places capable of satisfying that craving. I've highlighted a couple of those places already to this point. Grande's on Upper Front St. is, to me at least, the gold standard of New York style pizza in this area. Brozzetti's in Johnson City might seem a little odd at first, but its addicting sweet crust, sloppy sauce, and interesting mix of cheeses have sprung a legion of followers, including this guy.

Nick's is another fine place to snag a slice. Located on Main St. in Endicott near the corner of Main and Nanticoke, Nick's serves up traditional Italian fare and New York style pizza at low prices in a casual environment. I have heard good things about the entrees at Nick's, but Megan and I have stuck with pizza on both occasions that we've been there. It is quite good, but in my mind it falls a bit short of Grande's. I certainly recommend it if you're in that area of Endicott and want a traditional slice of pizza.

On our most recent encounter with Nick's, I ordered a large half-cheese/half-sausage for pickup. Service was good; the pizza was ready to go when I got there 15 minutes after placing the order. $12 later, I was out the door.


I've gotta say, I was not too impressed with the distribution of toppings on this pie. The sausage was not uniformly distributed, while the cheese was much thicker in some parts than in others. Additionally, the crust was pretty obviously burnt in a few spots. That really doesn't bother me too much; I like a little taste of char on my pizza crust. From an aesthetic standpoint though, I guess I didn't think this pizza was too attractive.

As for the taste, I liked this pizza quite a lot. The sauce is what really drives this pizza. It's a thinner-than-average tomato sauce with a nice sweetness, the thinness making for relatively sloppy slices. The cheese and sausage were both typical, exactly what you'd expect. The crust was fairly thin throughout but thick and chewy on the edges. Similar to Grande's in that regard. Pretty good.

I am interested in trying Nick's for something other than pizza. My understanding is that Nick is the brother of Tony, who owns Tony's Italian Grill a couple miles up the road in Endwell. Tony's is a place Megan and I have been to numerous times over the years and we have enjoyed, but not loved, the food. In fact, I'll write about Tony's sometime soon. Most folks around the area seem to concur that Nick's is the superior of the two restaurants from a food standpoint, while Tony's offers a nicer, more upscale atmosphere. I'll post again regarding Nick's if and when I do get a chance to sample his other offerings; for now, I am able to give a solid, if not spectacular, recommendation to his pizza.

Grade: B