14850 Dining

Taking over from Bru Dogs is this new semi-permanent food truck outside Jason's, offering a simple menu of hot dogs and handmade potato chips from lunch through late night. Go for a chili cheese dog, or share "chips on a stick," a spiral-cut potato that's fried while you wait. 

Ithaca probably had plenty of chicken wings already, we're checking out Buffalo Wild Wings, the latest chain restaurant to open in town. On Route 13 in Ithaca's southwest, Buffalo Wild Wings serves not just wings and so-called "boneless wings," but wraps, burgers, and even ribs. We were pleasantly surprised that the wing sauces had lots of flavor. The hot actually was, and the spicy garlic and garlic parmesan both weren't shy about the garlic.

This brand new Collegetown eatery, in the alley across from the Royal Palm Tavern, offers healthy, fresh, design-your-own wraps, salads, and smoothies. The custom wrap and salad menu (starting at $6) features no fewer than 35 ingredients to choose from, not counting the tortillas and meats (grilled chicken, tuna, or eggs), plus a couple dozen dressings. Or pick from one of the $6 pre-designed salads or wraps. Check it out from lunch through late-night if you're tired of bagels, pizza, and cheeseburgers.

This Community Corners institution is a family-owned delicatessen specializing in Middle Eastern specialties in addition to a wide array of fresh American-deli-style foods. The overstuffed sandwiches and pitas barely leave room for the exceptional baklava and other desserts. Great falafel and gyros, and fresh roast beef whose aroma permeates the neighborhood. Leave a little room for dessert, such as traditional baklava or a cinnamon baklava roll, honey cake, or a semolina cookie, along with a cup of the very strong middle eastern coffee -- or regular coffee or tea.

Ithaca's is the 475th franchise of this DC-based chain that specializes in just burgers, hot dogs, and fries, all freshly prepared to order. The Five Guys web site says there are over 200,000 ways to order your burger, but if you want chicken nuggets, or cheese sticks, or milkshakes, or cherry pie, you'll have to go somewhere else. For fast food, the burgers are outstanding. Vegetarian options are limited to a grilled cheese sandwich or a burger-without-the-burger, plus the fries, but we know lots of vegetarians who are delighted with these.

When I told a friend in Florida I was going to visit the Ithaca Bakery, she exclaimed, "Oh, I love bakeries!" I had to stop and think for a moment, then explain that our Meadow Street "bakery" doesn't just do bread and pastries. They do bake the fresh bread, rolls, donuts, cookies, and cakes for a number of hotels, stores, offices, and other eateries around the region, but I was there to visit the eatery part of the business. Any time of day, you can satisfy your appetite at the Ithaca Bakery for just a few bucks for a bagel sandwich or deli sandwich, or spend $8-12 for a full meal.

They're not rocket science, they're sandwiches. But Jimmy John's focuses on doing decent sandwiches and doing them quickly, and they've gotten very, very good at it. You can have french bread or seven-grain wheat slices, or go the "unwich" route for a low-carb sandwich wrapped in lettuce. We love the Vito or Italian Night Club, though we can't imagine why they put oil & vinegar and mayo on a sandwich. We usually remember to ask them to skip the mayo.

Following the "keep it simple" principle, Kalzonies, new to the Ithaca waterfront building that recently held Joe's Carryout, offers calzones and wings and an assortment of (mostly fried) munchies, and that's about it. Listed only.

This quick, new eatery in Collegetown, formerly Xeo's Cafe, now serves Tejano-style (Tex-Mex) taquitos and the like using fresh, local ingredients. The taquitos are tortillas wrapped around a variety of fillings, mostly local pork or beef. The vegan taquito, with marinated tofu and potatoes, is excellent, too. True to the Texas roots, it's not a vegetable-heavy cuisine, but there are a couple of vegetarian options. It's minimalist Mexican. We like it.

They style themselves an upscale bakery, but Panera Bread is really just a soup, salad, and sandwich eatery with counter service. The food's not bad, but the slim portions, high prices, and general air of confusion behind the counter make it tough to justify a return visit. The many-columned menu board, with its "signature" and "premium signature" price bumps, is also optimized for making you spend more than you thought you were going to. If the place is full, it's probably because someone who bought a $2 item has parked at a table for two hours to enjoy the Wi-Fi.

In the former home of Buzz Coffee near the corner of Route 13 and Third Street, the Piggery Deli now offers not just coffee and breakfast sandwiches, but a butcher case full of local meats starting with the Piggery's famous pork. Breakfast sandwiches and burritos are now made with local sausage and bacon, and at lunchtime, grab a pulled pork sandwich on an Ithaca Bakery roll or a ham sandwich with local greens on freshly baked ciabatta. The food's not inexpensive, but it's made of real food grown by our friends and neighbors. Drive-through or carry-out; there's no seating.

Prize Diner was seriously damaged by a fire on January 24th. We hope they can reopen soon, but suggest calling before trying to eat there!

Whether you call them subs or grinders or hoagies or whatever, Shortstop Deli specializes in those long sandwiches on fresh-baked French bread, or smaller sandwiches on kaiser rolls. They've got the usual ham, roast beef, and turkey, but they've also got seafood salad, eggplant, seitan, or prime rib. For the last few years, the Shortstop hot sub menu has had a selection of the famous Hot Truck French bread pizza subs. Supplement your sub with a fresh hot bowl of soup or chili. In the morning, enjoy their own custom coffee roast and a breakfast sandwich.

This new counter-service eatery in the Center Ithaca food court on the Ithaca Commons offers tacos, enchiladas, and the like, both meaty and vegetarian. Listed only.

This tiny Lansing eatery across the street from Rogues' Harbor, the Lansing Skatepark, and the Lansing village ball fields offers handmade, hot and cold sandwiches, pasta dinners, freshly baked pastries, and more. They've got a cooler full of Stewart's sodas (as well as what may be the only cold 2-liter bottles in the area), individual Keurig K-Cups of coffee, and loads of used books at reasonable prices.

Just southwest of Downtown Ithaca, Uncle Joe's is a straightforward and honest sports bar with good food, good drinks, and plenty of TVs for watching that game you've gotta catch. There are a dozen beers on tap, and the menu includes good wings and burgers, plus sandwiches and salads. Veggieburgers are available, and there are nightly specials. The half-pound burger with fries is a good deal at the regular $6.50-7.50 price, but the Tuesday $5 burger special is a bargain.

Is it the simplest restaurant concept ever? In the space best known as Juna's, Waffle Frolic features handmade waffles, from basic to buckwheat to gluten-free, with a wide variety of toppings including fruit, Nutella, bacon and eggs, and even all-natural, free-range fried chicken. There are also variations on the grilled cheese sandwich theme. A meal gets expensive fast, but it's a fun treat. The coffee, roasted by Coffee Labs in Tarrytown, is top notch. Our biggest concern is that the often-confused service better matches the food's simplicity than its price.

This 24-hour convenience store hapens to have one of the best deli counters in town. There are always some sandwiches ready to grab and go, and they make an excellent Italian sub.