Mahogany Grill a snazzy place to dine in downtown Ithaca

This week, 14850 Dining is enjoying a meal on restaurant row at Mahogany Grill. This downtown eatery returns a beautiful restaurant space to the traditions started by Plums a few decades ago. When it opened on North Aurora Street, joining Simeon's, Hal's Deli, and Ragmann's, Plums really cemented the area's Restaurant Row reputation. A couple of incarnations later, Mahogany Grill brings a prime location back to a mellow dining feel, complete with attractive dark wood and brass highlights.

On a dinner visit not long ago, we began by splitting the escargots appetizer, served tender in a cast-iron dish with lots of spiced and garlicky melted butter. Of course, this French delicacy is really just an excuse to eat garlic and melted butter, and we loved dipping the crusty bread our waiter brought into what remained once the snails were gone.

We were also delighted with a surf and turf special featuring an Angus strip steak served with lobster lollipops, baby bok choi, and mashed potatoes. Both the steak and lobster portions felt generous, and everything was cooked perfectly, from the crisp bok choi to the succulent lobster. The "lollipops" were easy to eat without having to dig through a shell, and the steak reminded me how much I wish Ithaca still had a great steakhouse.

We've heard good things about, but haven't yet had a chance to try, the burger at the Majogany Grill, and there are several fish or seafood dishes and limited vegetarian options. A varied and moderately priced wine list includes some decent Finger Lakes offerings, and the bar makes a great mojito. There are even some surprising single malt Scotch whiskies worth exploring.

A more recent brunch visit revealed a good variety of omelets and eggs benedict variations, and either brandied french toast or a stuffed french toast. My crabcake eggs benedict was great, slightly spicy crabcakes and poached eggs perched on toasted english muffins with hollandaise sauce, next to deliciously crispy home fries. I don't know where the idea for the olive halves topping the poached eggs came from, but they were a nice touch.

The one serious disappointment at brunch was the low-quality fake syrup served alongside otherwise excellent french toast. We've come to expect fake syrup alongside $4 pancakes at a diner, but real maple syrup would be appropriate in this setting. The coffee was good, meanwhile, and a bloody mary enjoyed after noon that Sunday was excellent. (New York State updated its inane blue laws a few years ago to allow supermarkets to sell cases of beer starting at 8am on Sundays, but restaurants must still wait until noon on Sundays to serve a mimosa or bloody mary.)

We've been pleased with the quick and attentive but not pushy service at Mahogany Grill, and look forward to dining outside there in some upcoming good weather. Plan on spending $8-15 on brunch or $12-25 on dinner, more with lots of drinks and dessert. Find Mahogany Grill at 112 North Aurora Street across from Hal's Deli, call them at 607-272-1438 or visit mahoganygrill.com, and tell them you heard about them here.