Category Archives: local business

A Pause for Coffee

Posted on March 21, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I interrupt my Wrist to Forehead Sunday for a brief shout-out to a VERY local business: The Locavore in Frankfort, NY.

There I was, on my way home from church in Chadwicks, during which my delightful year-old great-nephew declined to sit on my lap, pondering my actions for the rest of the day.  I felt sluggish and down (you know, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and all).  I thought a cup of coffee might perk me up. Then I remembered:  Higby Road takes me right into Frankfort. I could go to The Locavore for an awesome cup of coffee!

The Locavore has all kinds of locally made products. I considered purchasing soap, honey, cheese, meat and other stuff, but ultimately decided just to get coffee.

The proprietor of the establishment remembered me from previous visits but remarked he had not seen me in a while.  I said I never went anywhere, and he said that was a lousy excuse.  He was quite right, of course.  I told him about all my theatre commitments, which he was interested to hear.

After some debate I decided on… oh crap, I can’t remember the name of the coffee.  But it was YUMMY!  There are several different kinds of coffee, both iced and hot. I had the LocaMocha another time and loved it.

The Locavore only recently started opening on Sundays.  I asked what time they are open till, because Steven works till one.  I was thinking maybe we would make it a thing to go out for fancy coffee after work on a Sunday.  Then I could try all the coffees.

The Locavore is located at 159 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone number 315-895-0325. You can Like them on Facebook.  I did.

 

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Yum, Not Lame

Posted on March 12, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

In lieu of my usual Friday Lame Post, I shall give a brief shout-out to a local business: Salvatore’s Pizzeria and Restaurant in Herkimer, NY.

Our original plan had been to go out for a fish fry, but I am, what a surprise, not feeling well.  Yes, I’m as sick of feeling this way as you are of hearing about it. Let’s not dwell on it, shall we?

It is Friday during Lent and I am kind of, sort of Catholic, so I didn’t want meat.  I suggested a large garlic pizza with peppers and mushrooms, and an order of calimari.  We don’t technically need a large pizza for just the two of us, but I like how thin the crust gets.  Then I get leftover pizza for breakfast.  Yum.

Delivery was astonishingly prompt.  It usually is from Salvatore’s.  That is one reason we often let them come to our rescue when we don’t feel like cooking or going out.  The other reason is, of course, yum.

Wow, I guess there’s not a whole lot else to say.  How embarrassing.  Then again, perhaps my readers would prefer to stop reading a silly blog and get back to enjoying their Friday.  I know I do (yes, yes, I’m writing not reading right now; don’t be didactic).  Happy Friday, everyone.

Salvatore’s is located at 650 1/2 German St., Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-2600.  Their website is http://www.salvatores-herkimer.com/index.html.

 

 

 

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Friday with Fish

Posted on March 5, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

As Steven’s birthday weekend continues, I am no more inclined to cook or wash dishes than I have been during the week.  Luckily Steven was pleased to have dinner out again.  He wanted fish fry.  I remembered that Salvatore’s in Herkimer usually offers a fish fry special on Fridays.  We often call Salvatore’s for delivery, but it is also a good place to eat in.

The parking lot seemed full when we got there, but we easily got a table and were soon perusing menus.  Steven got the fish sandwich, which came with fries.  He said yes to tomato, lettuce, mayonnaise and tartar sauce.  I chose the baked haddock with ranch dressing on the salad.  It came with pasta.  I asked for butter and garlic instead of tomato sauce.  We each got  glass of Pinot Grigio as well as water with lemon.

The chef put a little parsley on my spaghetti along with the butter and garlic.  I asked for grated cheese, and a spoon.  I am quite adept at twirling my spaghetti, as a result of growing up in an Italian family.  Spaghetti and meatballs was a high treat for Sunday dinner.  I have since read that it is most proper to twirl your spaghetti on the plate; using a spoon is second best, and cutting the noodles up is downright vulgar.  Of course I’m going to eat my pasta the way I like to and not worry about somebody else’s arbitrary rules, but I can’t help making note of these things.

Speaking of downright vulgar, I know one is supposed to cut the lettuce in the salad.  I’ve seen people do it quite classily; it spreads the dressing around nicely.  I got lettuce on the table.  You can neither dress me up nor take me out, it seems.

The people at Salvatore’s wished Steven a happy birthday a day late.  Their Facebook page had wished him well on the day.  We like Salvatore’s.

Salvatore’s is located at 650 1/2 German St., Herkimer, NY, phone number  (315) 866-2600.  You can also find them on Facebook.

 

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Steve’s Birthday Dinner

Posted on March 4, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Today is my wonderful husband’s birthday.  He wanted to go out to dinner, and I suggested PK’s Pub. For one reason, I neither baked nor bought him a cake, and PK’s has the BEST desserts.

We went early and were happy to get the tall table.  I love sitting at a tall table. When the waitress asked for our drink orders, I opted for a cup of coffee and a glass of water.  I felt I had had enough wine yesterday at Applebee’s.  It turned out the coffee was freshly brewed.  It was very good coffee.

I ordered hats with marinara sauce and two meatballs while Steven got the grilled chicken platter.  We both had ranch dressing on our salads.  PK’s does a great salad as well.  I especially like the garbanzo beans. The ranch dressing was creamy and delicious.  I also enjoy the herbed butter that comes with the bread.

I declined dessert (still hoping to lose that last 10 pounds) (oh, OK, it’s 15 pounds now, don’t judge), but Steven got Chocolate Lava Cake.  I could not resist trying one little bite.  Yum!  A lady who worked there walked by and said she got a great whiff of chocolate aroma.

We were delighted with our dinner, and I had enough hats left over to make part of another meal.  We had not been to PK’s in a while, a scandalous omission.  We won’t wait that long next time.

PK’s Pub is located at 221 King St. in Herkimer, NY, phone number 315-866-3494.  You can also Like them on Facebook.

 

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My Spontaneous Friday Night

Posted on February 28, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I don’t have a Scattered Saturday post for this week, but I thought I could give a brief overview of why I was in Ilion, NY at dinnertime yesterday, instead of sensibly and frugally at my home fixing fish sticks or tuna noodle casserole or something.

Directly after work, I went to the Medicine Shoppe to pick up a prescription.  It was not ready (weird renewal situation, not really relevant), but they said they could process it and have it for me in about 45 minutes (in retrospect, they might have said “Four to five minutes,” but, again, not really relevant).

Since I was in the neighborhood, I walked across the parking lot to Ilion Wine and Spirits, to get some of the Pinot Grigio Steven likes (full disclosure: I like it too).  What did I see on their door but a sign advertising a wine tasting that night at five!  Woohoo!  I love wine tasting!  It was only four, but that was a problem patience could easily solve.

“I have a prescription to pick up later,” I said.  “I was wondering if it was worth it to come back out, but now I’m motivated!”

I went home and made vague attempts at doing something useful.  Then the phone rang, and it was my friend Diane.  Diane recently opened Eye Q in New Hartford, NY, an excellent optical establishment.  She gave me a good deal on a truly awesome pair of glasses.  When she heard about the wine tasting, she was happy to meet me at Ilion Wine and Spirits at five.

The wine tasting was from Lakeland Winery from Syracuse.  I’ve tasted their wines before.  The lady that does the tastings is a delight.  She remembered me from the last time we had met at Ilion Wine and Spirits, and even remembered how my husband Steven had joined the tasting already in progress.

“I should go get Steven at work so he can join us this time,” I said.

I ended up doing just that.  Everybody was pleased to see Steven, Steven was pleased to taste some wine, and a delightful time was had by all.  Incidentally, I forgot to mention that the store served crackers and Herkimer Cheese as an accompaniment to the tasting.  Yum!

So that was my Friday, and I’m glad I wrote a blog post about it.  For one reason, I woke up this morning with the dull, draggy feeling that I had wasted my Friday on frivolities.  I see now that I did not.  I had a spontaneous and enjoyable time.  I’m soon off to have a marvelous time at Ilion Little Theatre.  I hope to write about that tomorrow.  Happy Saturday, everyone.

 

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My Local Valentine

Posted on February 15, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody.  Somebody on Facebook (really an invaluable source of information) said it was Galentine’s Day, when women can appreciate all their female buddies.  Imagine my disappointment to find out it had nothing to do with my favorite TV show, Galavant.  But I digress.

Digress from what, my inner critic huffs (that is, says in a huffy tone of voice; it’s not like snorting fumes or something),  you haven’t written anything yet.  Too true, too true.  Then again, this is Wrist to Forehead Sunday, is it not?  Yes, my friends, it is.

It is dreadfully cold in the Mohawk Valley today.  We were remarking on it to the fellow at T & J’s Fruits and Vegetables earlier.  It has really been not a bad winter so far.  What I really like about the frigid temperatures is how balmy 20 degrees feels afterward, because perspective is a wonderful thing.

We were at T & J’s at my suggestion to purchase eggplant for a yummy Valentine’s Day dinner, which is currently baking in the oven.  We also got a red and a yellow pepper, some sharp cheddar cheese, a bag of MacIntosh apples and a loaf of bread from  Star Bakery in Utica, NY (see, all kinds of local in today’s post).

In addition to the eggplant and peppers, the dinner features some sausage I purchased two weeks ago at Melrose Market in Frankfort, NY. They have quite a good butcher department.  And, yes, the sausage has been in my freezer since I bought it; I’m not cooking rancid sausage (Sheesh!).  Oh, I also used some garlic purchased at the Mohawk Valley Garlic and Herb Festival in Little Falls NY, last September.

With or after dinner, we will enjoy EITHER a nice champagne we got at a wine tasting at Vintage Spirits in Herkimer OR some Cayuga White from Villa Verona Vineyards, in, of course, nearby Verona, NY.  I got that at Valley Wine and Liquor in Herkimer (I like to spread my alcohol dollar around).

As a matter of fact, I just heard a cork pop.  I think it’s time to start sipping the champagne now. Once again, I wish you a Happy Valentine’s Day.

 

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And That’s Just Three Places!

Posted on February 11, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had heard that Clinton, NY boasted many fun, quirky places to shop.  It is quite true.  Cheryl, Penny and I hit a few of them on our day of adventures last Saturday.

We started at Adirondack Cheese Store.  They had a lot more good things to eat than cheese — fancy mustards, chutney and all kinds of candy.  Additionally, they carry many fun, gifty items.  Penny was especially interested in the jigsaw puzzles, but she also pointed out a pot holder that read, “You are what you drink.”

“Just call me Char,” I said.

“You can call me Pinot,” she answered.

Cheryl said we could call her water (party pooper!).  I said we could make it H (you know, H2O?).

From the cheese store, we went to Dawn Marie’s Treasures, a boutiquey consignment store with all kinds of fun things.  As we walked by a row of neck ties near the entrance I regretted that Steven doesn’t have a job that requires he wear one.  I do so love a man in a tie.  We admired all kinds of jewelry and clothing, but I did not see anything I just had to have.

Our final stop in Clinton was Artisans’ Corner.  I was immediately taken by some bird houses with license plates for roofs on display outside.  I love art that recycles!  Inside there was art, clothing, jewelry and more.  We admired photography and paintings by several artists.  I was tempted by a display of hats.  Another section featured soup and bread mixes, some in distinctive containers.

We spent a long time wandering around Artisans’ Corner.  I picked up a lot of business cards, thinking I could highlight the individual artists.  I may do that in future posts.  Today I hope a brief overview will suffice.

I may have mentioned in a previous post that this was my first visit to Clinton.  It certainly will not be my last.  In fact, I have to wonder what took me so long.

 

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A New Farmers Market for Me

Posted on February 10, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Did I say yesterday that I was going in backwards order of the Saturday adventures Cheryl, Penny and I had?  And did I also say I would probably change my mind and skip around instead?  I guess it doesn’t matter, because today I’m going to talk about our first stop, Westmoreland Winter Farmers Market.

Of course I am a great fan of farmers markets, so I was happy to check out a new one.  It runs on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon at the Westmoreland Firehouse.  We were happy it was indoors since there was quite a crisp wind blowing Saturday morning.

I was delighted to find a bag of mixed lettuce at Takacs & Daughter Produce’s table.  I’ve been taking tossed salad for my lunch every day (you see I don’t ALWAYS cheat on my diet).  It was organic.  I don’t always pay much attention to the organic/non-organic thing, but I’m sure in many cases, organic is better.

We all had a nice chat with Susie Jones of Jones Family Farm.  We sampled some of her cheese. Yum!  Cheryl and Penny both bought some.  I fear I cheated on my diet with the sample, because it was on a cracker.  However, I noted that it was less of a cheat than the brownies from Utica Bread I had eaten at a wine tasting Friday night.  Susie said she had never thought of chocolate and wine together.  I told her dark chocolate and dry red wine are great (yes, I introduce wine into many conversations, I thought you knew that about me).

I feel bad that I am not mentioning other vendors.   I’ll have to return to the market and take better notes next time.  In the meantime, if you’re interested, you can visit their Facebook page.  Or better yet, visit the market.  Maybe I’ll see you there.

 

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Off the Diet? Who Cares!

Posted on February 9, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was going to write posts about Saturday’s adventures in chronological order, beginning where we began and going on from there.  How about if I go in backwards order instead, beginning with our final adventure?   I say that today; probably tomorrow I’ll decide to just skip around.  Be that as it may, I’m going to give another shout-out to Symeon’s Greek Restaurant in Yorkville.

When Cheryl, Penny and I began our adventures, we knew the adventures would include lunch, we just didn’t know where.  We talked about various places as our adventures took us far and wide.  When Symeon’s was suggested, I rejoiced.  It had been a while since I had eaten at Symeon’s.   Too long, I say, and I say that every time I drive by the place, which is not as often as it was when I used to work in New Hartford (ooh, long sentence, probably not grammatically correct, oh well).

We had a very short (“less than five minutes,” the hostess said) wait for a table, but soon we were perusing menus.  EVERYTHING looked good!  I finally decided to get a Xanthi, which I had never tried before.  I wrote the description in my little notebook:  “Thracian chicken with crispy fried eggplant, roasted red peppers, onions, feta cheese and a spice version of our yogurt sauce.”  Eggplant!  YUM! I love eggplant!  Cheryl got a fish sandwich, while Penny had an antipasto salad.  For an appetizer we shared Fried Calamari.

Yes, this was not on my diet, which is the first, strictest phase of the South Beach Diet.  I don’t care.  It was DELICIOUS!  In fact, if I was going off my diet, I think a flatbread sandwich with chicken and vegetables is not a bad choice.  The fried calamari I do not mention, except to say that I’ve had fried calamari all over the valley and this was EXCELLENT fried calamari.

We declined dessert, although I said it was good that nobody had said the words “chocolate mousse” to me, because I know Symeon’s makes a great mousse.  I will just have to go back sooner next time.  Perhaps when I am off this diet.

Symeon’s Greek Restaurant is located at 4941 Commercial Drive in Yorkville, NY.  Phone number is 315-736-4047.

 

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But I Think My Attitude is Improving

Posted on January 27, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am sipping my first taste of wine in 2016.  Isn’t that nice?  I had not meant to write a blog post about it.  I went running earlier with the specific thought that I could do a Running Commentary post.  Before making my blog post, however, I ate dinner, read some more of a book (I must NEVER pick up fiction unless I can just sit there and read the whole thing; I become obsessed) and of course dithered (I always say: go with your strengths).  This being Bad Attituesday, I don’t think my writing muscles are going to cooperate.

Regular readers may remember that I have been doing without wine for 30 days.  It started as an experiment to see if it had any effect on my headaches, then it morphed into “Well if I can’t go 30 days without wine, maybe I have a problem,” and then, well,  I just got stubborn.  But I made it 30 days, so I felt a little pleased with myself and thought I deserved a glass of dry red.

I went to Ilion Wine and Spirits after work to get my bottle. This is handily located next to The Medicine Shoppe, where I had to pick up a prescription.  So, you see, I give shout-outs to two local businesses as I sip.  When I walked into the liquor store, I immediately saw some bottles of Chianti on sale.  I had purchased one of these bottles prior to Christmas.  Steven drank the whole thing himself during my dry 30 days (not all at once, of course; he’s no lush either).

First I looked all around to see if there was something I’d like better. I hesitated over a bottle of Barefoot Pinot Noir.  When I was at church two Sundays ago, during the sermon the priest told a story involving Barefoot Pinot Noir.  “That’s a good wine,” I told my sister.  Imagine, me having something in common with a priest.  I decided to stick with the Chianti, but I may go back for some Pinot this weekend.

It is Chianti Superiore made by Banfi of Montalcino, Italy.  It was imported by Banfi Vintners of Old Brookville, NY.  So you see I am being international and buying New York State.  It’s pretty tasty wine, too.

Ilion Wine and Spirits is located at 10 E. Main St., Ilion, NY, phone number 315-894-8142.  The Medicine Shoppe is at 10 Central Ave., phone number 315-894-7283.  Don’t let the different streets fool you; they are just a parking lot away from each other. It is most convenient.

 

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