The 2011 Chili Festival POSTPONED TO SUNDAY 2/20!

The 13th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-off & WinterFest is so close we can almost taste it! Come take part in this annual cure for the winter blahs down on the Ithaca Commons this Saturday, February 19th.

UPDATE: THE EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED!

Due to dangerous high wind warnings for gusts up to 60 mph for Saturday, organizers have re-scheduled the event for Sunday, February 20th, 11:30 am to 4:00 pm.

We applaud the decision to keep people safe and keep chili festival fun. See you on Sunday!


It's the first big local food event of every year and 2011 is shaping up to be awesome.

We've already heard from organizers that they'll have 50 different chili recipes competing to be the best, including dozens of meat and vegetarian varieties, from over 30 restaurants.

If you want to sample these delicious chili varieties for yourself, you'll need to get yourself some Tasting Tickets:

Tickets to Taste are $5 for 5, $10 for 11, or VIP tickets are 10 for $20 (and you get a special VIP line at each booth). Each ticket gets you a 2-3oz sample of chili or a comparable sample of other items from wine to chocolate. Tickets are now available for advance purchase at Autumn Leaves Used Books, 115 The Commons; Collegetown Bagels, Downtown at 203 N. Aurora St; Collegetown Bagels, East Hill Plaza; Collegetown Bagels, Collegetown and at the Downtown Ithaca Alliance office in Center Ithaca. Buy yours now and skip the lines on Saturday!

And while Chili may be the main event, there will be plenty of other events going on all day to keep you warm and entertained until the judging is done - the Chili Idol Karaoke Contest, Guitar Hero competitions, plus lots of live music and live performers throughout the day. If you've never made it to the Chili Cook-Off before, listen to our past coverage of this event in Episode #3 of our podcast to get a good idea of what to expect. This year also brings the return of the new annual Chili Cook-Off Mustache Competition! Grow it, craft it or stick it on (ladies too!) and be spotted by the official Chili photographer for your chance at complimentary VIP chili tasting tickets and other prizes.

Click Here for a complete Schedule of Events and plan your day now. Events are scheduled from 11:30 am - 4:00 pm and the weather forecast looks sunny, so dress in layers, bring your friends and family and your favorite spoon, and get ready to enjoy some great eating from Ithaca's best chefs. You won't have another chance to sample this much food in one place... until next year!

Come to the Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-Off!

The 12th Annual Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-Off will be taking over the Ithaca Commons this Saturday, February 20th. It's become a highlight of winter for local food lovers and this year looks to be another great one.

We've already heard from organizers that they'll have about 40 different chili recipes competing to be the best, including 26 meat and at least 14 vegetarian varieties, from over 30 restaurants.

If you want to sample these delicious chili varieties for yourself, you'll need to get yourself some Tasting Tickets:

Tickets to Taste are $5 for 5, $10 for 11, or our VIP tickets are 10 for $20 (and you get a special VIP line at each booth). Each ticket gets you a 2-3oz sample of chili or a comparable sample of other items from wine to wings. Tickets are on sale now at Autumn Leaves, CTB (downtown) and the Downtown Ithaca Alliance office. Buy yours now and skip the lines on Saturday!

And while Chili may be the main event, there will be plenty of other events going on all day to keep you warm and entertained until the judging is done - the Chili Idol Karaoke Contest, Guitar Hero competitions, plus lots of live music and live performers throughout the day. If you've never made it to the Chili Cook-Off before, listen to our past coverage of this event in Episode #3 of our podcast to get a good idea of what to expect. We're planning our own full coverage of this year's event as well, including a special report from behind the scenes at the judges' table.

Click Here for a complete Schedule of Events and plan your day now. Events are scheduled from 11:30 am - 4:00 pm regardless of the weather, so dress in layers, bring your favorite spoon, and get ready to enjoy some great eating from Ithaca's best chefs. You won't have another chance to sample this much food in one place... until next year!

Local food abounds in this week's Ithaca Times

We just picked up the newest edition of The Ithaca Times (Jan. 20-26 issue) and it's filled with some great local food updates.

Start on page 13, where Rob Montana writes an overview of new business developments in the City of Ithaca, including:

• A restaurant space on the ground floor of the proposed Hotel Ithaca, located where the Rothschild Building stands now at the edge of the Commons at Aurora Street. We presume this might interfere with the space currently occupied by Madeline's, which could bring interesting changes.
• A new restaurant from Lex Chutinaround, owner of ZaZa's Cucina, opening in the former Plantations on Ithaca Commons.
• A large restaurant opening in the beautiful glassed in space on the first floor of the Cayuga Place apartments off of Green Street, behind the soon-to-open Palmer Pharmacy and the new Gimme! Coffee. The local restauranteur is unnamed, but we hope they do that space justice. Given the right talent and the right menu, it could be the new destination restaurant of the year.
• The Finger Lakes Wine Center could open as soon as this spring.
• Panera Bread and the Olive Garden are still on track for opening in Southwest Ithaca, as we reported earlier, though we'd be surprised to see anything open before this summer.

The article also hints at the possibility of another food franchise opening in the Southwest neighborhood once the old Salvation Army store is demolished. Montana did a nice reporting job and covers a lot in this well-written piece.

There is also a Winter Times supplement in this latest edition, which includes an extensive preview of the upcoming 12th Annual Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-Off & Winterfest, written by Taryn Thompson. That event has always offered plenty of fantastic cold-weather eating and we're looking forward to this year's event.

Finally, for all you home cooks, don't miss Henry Stark's interviews with chefs from four local restaurants offering their favorite soup and stew recipes. It includes Moosewood's Spicy Carrot Peanut Soup from Melissa Bergman, a Hearty Sausage and Tortellini Soup from Tim Gaffney at Ithaca Ale House, the hearty Arizona Pumpkin and Vegetable Stew from Liz Van Every at Greenstar Coop, and - our personal favorite - an amazing Hungarian Beef Goulash recipe from Dano Hutnik himself, of Dano's Heuriger in Lodi.

The best part about all this is The Ithaca Times is FREE! Most of these articles aren't yet available on the Ithaca Times website, so pick up a copy today, because next week they'll all be gone.

Ithaca Restaurants Update

Here is a brief update on some of the new openings and changes ahead for the local Ithaca dining scene, much of it happening within two blocks at the intersection of Cayuga Street and West State Street:

• Wildfire Bistro (106 S. Cauyga St. | 607-277-9143) is now officially open for lunch and dinner and they've posted menus for both on their new website: www.Wildfire-Restaurant.com. Looks like an interesting mix of mid-priced options, with nothing over $20 on either menu. We're intrigued by the $9 "Grown-up Mac & Cheese" on the Comfort Zone portion of the menu, which offers an option to add lobster for an additional $6. There is also a nice mix of meats, seafood, and vegetarian options on both menus. Have you tried any of these yet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.


• We also checked in with Bandwagon Brew Pub (114 North Cayuga Street) this weekend. They're currently brewing their first batches of house beer and training staff. They say they're on track to have their official opening by December 15th. Keep an eye on their website (www.bandwagonbeer.com) or follow them on Twitter (twitter.com/BandwagonBeer) to stay up to date.


• Looks like the former Ithaca Diner is soon to reopen as the Prize Diner. The new owner told us she's planning to keep it a breakfast and lunch diner operation like its predecessor, but with shiny new equipment behind the counter and a revamped interior. She aims to open for business within a week or two as well.


• Also new to Downtown Ithaca is the Green Street Station branch of Gimme! Coffee, their 3rd Ithaca location. It's a cozy space across from the new Cinemapolis, and currently one of the test spots for their new modern pour-over coffee options. Give 'em a try!


• Changes are afoot up at the Food Court at the Shops at Ithaca Mall on Triphammer Road. When Sicilian Delight pizzeria took over the space vacated by Wendy's, they left a blank store that left many shoppers wondering what would happen to their corner. Now an answer has appeared: Mo's Pit BBQ is moving in. We know little about how good or bad this will be, but their website (www.mospitbbq.com) shows they are a regional chain. When you add them to the other recent additions of Hogs Back BBQ and Razorback BBQ, it seems 2009 is the year that barbeque cuisine tries to take Ithaca by storm yet again. We'll have to wait and see if they can make it into the next decade longer than the last wave did (i.e. Ralph's, Billy Bob Jack's, Bistro Q) in this decade. Also at the Mall for a limited time is Doug's Fish Fry To Go. Check out their website for the complete schedule, as they'll only be at this location on weekends through January 1st. Save yourself the trip to Cortland and get some of the best onion rings around while you can!

We're also continuing to watch for the arrival of a Panera Bread, expected to open in 2010 in the new building under construction at K-Mart Plaza, and rumors of other national chain restaurants persist for the Meadow Street shopping district as well. If you've got more info on any of these new restaurant openings, or have heard of another opening we should share, leave us a comment below or drop us a line: feedback [at] eatingithaca [dot] com.

Happy Eating!

New Restaurants Opening in Ithaca - REVISED!

In our most recent episode of the podcast, we mentioned a surprisingly long list of new restaurant openings that we were expecting to see open in the coming weeks. Since then, I’ve had a chance to talk with some of the people involved and I’m happy to provide this update of some exciting new dining options about to hit Ithaca in the coming weeks (REVISED 9/21/09):

• On the East Hill, the Queen Of Tarts on Maple Ave. has officially become the Coal House Cafe under its new owners. They’re working on expanding the menu of fresh daily sandwiches and soups, but be aware that street work is expected to cause closures at different ends of Maple Ave. in the coming weeks so you'll need to plan accordingly. You can get further updates on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/coalhousecafe

• Just down the street on Dryden Road in Collegetown, Xeo’s Cafe (pronounced SAY-ohs) is now open in the space vacated by Cà Phê House last winter. The owner, Sebastian, is preparing authentic Vietnamese bánh mì sandwiches and noodle bowls fresh every day, and is committed to using local or handmade ingredients as much as possible, which he updates on a list next to his menu board. We can’t wait to give it a try! UPDATE: I tried his special bánh mì for lunch today. Really tasty and spicy, packed with layers of contrasting textures and flavors. He's still setting up the place and doesn't yet have beverages for sale, but even just picking up a sandwich or noodle bowl to go is worth the trip for now. -Dave

• Five Guys Burgers and Fries has told us they’re still on track to open on Sunday, September 20th in the Ithaca Shopping Plaza on Elmira Rd (MAP). Regular hours will be 11:00am - 10:00pm every day. Some may wonder why so many of us are making a big deal about this opening. The best answer I can give is that they have a product that is uniquely delicious, an old-fashioned, no-nonsense approach to making and serving the best of only three things: burgers, hot dogs, and fries. And they make all of those things really, really well, fresh to order, with the best ingredients. We’ll have a full review of Five Guys in our next podcast, but if you can’t wait until then, head on down and get in line. You’ll be glad you did. UPDATE: Five Guys told us they served approx. 2,000 people on their opening day in Ithaca! Check out our photos of the first 1/2 hour on our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eatingithaca/tags/fiveguysburgersfries/

• Sammy’s Pizzeria says they hope to open the new Sammy’s Italian Buffet & Grill on or near September 20th October 1st. They’ve been renovating the space formerly occupied by King Buffet in Tops Plaza (722 S. Meadow St. next to Gnomon Copy), installing a new pizza oven and grill, and the updated dining room includes a simulated "starlight" ceiling that will also provide a regular "fireworks" show each night. You can check out a video preview for the new restaurant on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn0HfBPRTVw

• Wildfire - An American Bistro is currently on track to open the first weekend in October, taking over the former Ithaca outpost of the Lost Dog Cafe on South Cayuga Street. When I stopped by to peek at the renovation work, owner Teresa Miller told me they’re looking forward to starting some training runs for their staff in a couple weeks, but they’re still testing the menu for now. If the work in progress I saw continues, the space will have a new lighter color and warm feeling that could make it more appealing for brunch hours than the moody darkness of the old Lost Dog. You can find the original announcement about the opening here: http://www.lansingstar.com/content/view/5145/77/

• Just down the street, Bandwagon Brewery is also nearing completion of their new underground brewpub. Not underground like a secret, but literally underground, as they’ll be in the space below street level on N. Cayuga Street next to the Clinton House that used to be home to the Jamaican restaurant Yah! Mon (formerly Jamaica Pat’s) but has been vacant for over a year. I met one of the owners putting some finishing touches on repainting the space and he said they’re hoping to open in mid-October, perhaps as soon as the 15th. They’ll have a full menu of simple comfort foods, and they’ll also be brewing their own beer onsite. If it lives up to its promise, it will likely become a popular spot to cozy up to the bar and escape from the approaching winter chills.

Other openings are still to come, including the highly anticipated relaunch of the vegetarian/vegan restaurant on Stewart Ave. formerly known as ABC Cafe. The new owners, all former ABC Cafe staff, are still working on renovations behind papered windows and no opening date has been set. In fact, they’re still working on what to call the new place due to the financial troubles associated with the ABC Cafe name. For now, you can follow their progress via their new website and their Facebook group page, or follow them on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/BeyondABC

We’ll keep you posted on these and all other new restaurant openings or closings to come. In the meantime, we hope you’ll get out there and enjoy some of your favorite dining spots as we head into Fall. If you discover something you love, let us know about it. Together, we can all be Eating Ithaca!

--Dave

Ep. 27 - Chef Sam Izzo, Fanta Spritzers, and Weird Old Guy

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Our special guest for this show is the talented chef and restauranteur Samantha Izzo, whose Simply Red Bistro has been at Sheldrake Point Vineyard in Ovid since the Spring of 2007 and has now just opened in a second location at La Tourelle Resort in Ithaca. We talk about what she finds appealing about being a chef in the Finger Lakes.

Also, our goal at eating at every restaurant in Ithaca from A-Z checks one more letter off the list as we wrap up the letter G with reviews of the Glenwood Pines and Godfather's Pizza (with a little help from Fanta and a cameo from Weird Old Guy). Plus we have updates on the latest food events happening in the coming weeks around town.

You'll hear some great music from the Evil City String Band in this episode. You can hear their music or buy their CD online here.

If you want to get in touch or be part of a future episode, you may leave a comment on the blog, call our voicemail line anytime at 607-215-4392, or send an email to: feedback at eatingithaca dot com. Remember to check out our Flickr page for photos of all the food we've been eating at restaurants we review, and be sure to join us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for continuing updates throughout the week. If you like what we're doing, be sure to share the love and tell a friend about us!

Click Play to Listen to Episode 27


Stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Simply Red Bistro
• Sheldrake Point Vineyard
• La Tourelle Resort & Spa
• Evil City String Band
• Glenwood Pines restaurant
• Glenwood Pines on RoadFood.com
• Godfathers Pizza
• Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-off and WinterFest, Feb. 21
• From the Archive: Eating Ithaca at the 2008 Chili Cook-Off
  

Ep. 24 - Art Bar Chocolates, Fall Creek House, and Friendly's

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It's our last regular episode of 2008 and we're celebrating with chocolate! Download the podcast or click below to hear our interview with Erika Fowler-Decatur, founder of Ithaca Fine Chocolates and creator of the Art Bar collection, which packages unique art reproductions with artisanal, organic, Fair Trade chocolate bars. Her gallery of brand new art works from their 2009 collection are now on display on the Commons in Downtown Ithaca.

We're also wrapping up another letter of the alphabet as we eat our way through every restaurant in Ithaca from A-Z, after finally scoring an impressive meal at Fall Creek House, plus meals at all three Friendly's in town. A tough gig, but somebody had to do it...

Don't forget to come downtown on Tues. 16th to be part of our live audience as we tape a special 25th Episode at Felicia's Atomic Lounge! We're going to have interviews with two very special guest, live music, and plenty of giveaways and surprises, plus amazing cocktails from Felicia's. We hope to see you there!

If you want to get in touch or be part of a future episode, you may leave a comment on the blog, call our voicemail line anytime at 607-215-4392, or send an email to: feedback at eatingithaca dot com. Remember to check out our Flickr page for photos of all the food we've been eating at restaurants we review (http://www.flickr.com/photos/eatingithaca), and be sure to follow us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/EatingIthaca) for continuing updates throughout the week. If you like what we're doing, be sure to share the love and tell a friend about us!

Click Play to Listen to Episode 24


Stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Art Bars at Ithaca Fine Chocolates
• Fall Creek House on Google
• Friendly's Restaurants
• Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock on BeerAdvocate.com
• Brewery Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence
• Ithaca Bakery Celebrates Chocolate in December (PDF)
• Join us at Felicia's Atomic Lounge on December 16th!

Ep. 18 - Garden Gate Delivery, Dijon, Domino's, and Donuts

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We're very excited to bring you our conversation Marlo Capoccia, the founder and driving force behind Garden Gate Delivery, and one of Ithaca's brightest new champions of local, sustainable foods. She's taken a simple idea and turned it into a new way of connecting regional foods with homes and restaurants throughout Tompkins County, becoming a role model for other like-minded entrepreneurs in the process.

We also have come to the end of the "D" section of our visits to every restaurant in Ithaca from A-Z, and we have reviews for you of Dijon Bistro, Domino's Pizza, and Dunkin' Donuts. You can see photos all the food we discussed and more at our Flickr page

You can follow us on Twitter for continuing updates throughout the week, and be sure to share the show with your friends. If you want to get in touch, you may leave a comment on the blog, call our voicemail line anytime at 607-215-4392, or send an email to: feedback at eatingithaca dot com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Listen to Episode 18


Stuff we talked about in this episode:

• Garden Gate Delivery
• High Point Farms
• Little Banneton breads
• Dijon Bistro
• Domino's Pizza
• Dunkin' Donuts
• Buy Denis Leary's album Lock n' Load at Amazon.com
• They Might Be Giants
• Method Blog
• The 26th Annual Apple Harvest Festival
• Edible Finger Lakes Harvest Dinners
• Eat Local Culinary Passport

Have an espresso powered weekend

This is your last reminder, folks: the 2008 Northeast Regional Barista Competition is this weekend, Friday and Saturday, April 11th & 12th, at the Historic State Theater in downtown Ithaca, and it is FREE to the public. That means FREE espresso for tasting, FREE equipment demonstrations, and FREE seats to watch the top coffee baristas from our region as they bring out the best of the beans, competing for a chance to go to the Nationals.

For all the details, check out the website of Gimme! Coffee or the State Theater. We'll be recording our next episode of the podcast live from this event, so come on by and show your support for locally roasted coffee and the talented folks who bring it to you every day.

UPDATE: For those of you missed the event and are looking for results, check out Twitchy.org, who was liveblogging the whole thing. Great photos there as well. Our congrats to all three of the Ithaca baristas who made it to the final round!

Episode 3 - Live at the 2008 Chili Cook-Off!

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*NOTE: We've reposted the MP3 file for this show with improved audio that reduces some of the background noise found in the first mix. It's also now available through iTunes. Enjoy!

For the first time, Eating Ithaca is on location, recording live on a cold but beautiful, sunny winter afternoon as we enjoyed the Great Downtown Ithaca Chili Cook-Off and Winter Festival!

In this episode, we'll sample some of the great chili being served up and talk to the chefs who made it. Plus our special guest Mark Anbinder from 14850 Dining joins us with his expert commentary on the event (and check out Mark's photos from the event on his Flickr page). We'll also interview some of the people behind the scenes, judging the event, making it run, and talk to a few of the thousands of people who came out to enjoy the food and fun.



Unfortunately, Eating Ithaca had to leave the scene before the winners were announced, but everyone who came outside on a cold February weekend to cook in below-freezing temperatures is already a winner in our book! You can find out the official results and all the details of the event, plus learn more about what events are coming up next, at the Downtown Ithaca website.

UPDATE: We've got the official results right here!

Coming up next... Chili!

Attention all Ithaca foodies - this is your last reminder that Ithaca’s Great Downtown Chili Cook-off and Winterfest is happening this Saturday, February 16th! We'll be joining in the action by recording the Eating Ithaca Podcast live from the event, in what we hope will be the first of many special remote, on-location episodes to come.

We’ll be talking to the chefs, their fans, and some special guests, and of course we'll be sampling a ton of Ithaca’s best homemade chili along the way. If you want to join us, be sure to get there early to buy your tasting tickets, good for beer, wine and chili tasting: five bucks gets you five tickets and a bottle of water, or get 11 tickets and water for ten bucks, and they go on sale starting at 11:30am.

Check out all the details at DowntownIthaca.com, and come share in the fun with us. This is probably the one day a year when you can spend a cold Saturday afternoon enjoying some of the best spicy, nourishing grub our community has to offer and ride a mechanical bull, though you may want to carefully consider which of those things you do first.

See you on Saturday!