Category Archives: local business

Crazy Dinner

Posted on October 19, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Wednesday evening Steven and I had some shopping to do, so I suggested we grab a bite at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner, 100 W. Albany St., Herkimer, NY.

I know I have written about eating breakfast there on several occasions, but we don’t often get there for dinner. I thought it was definitely worth a post.

I was a little afraid the whole thing would come to a grinding halt by our finding out that Crazy Otto’s was only open for dinner on the weekends, but we were in luck: Wednesday through Saturday they are open till nine.

Once seated in a booth, a nice young man offered to start us off with a beverage (decaf coffee for me, regular for Steven), and we perused the menu. I already knew what I wanted. I had, in fact, suggested Crazy Otto’s specifically to order the Patty Platter: a burger sans bun served with cottage cheese on a bed of lettuce and tomato on the side. Perfect for my weight loss goals and perfectly tasty as well. Steven ordered a Patty Melt, one of his favorites, with french fries. That comes with a small cup of bread pudding, so he enjoyed a dessert as well.

The diner was not crowded, as it usually is when we make it there for breakfast, especially on the weekend. I enjoy to sit in a booth and look out on the main drag of Herkimer. I could see the top of the old warehouse that holds Fat Cat’s Fish Fry (must make it there for a blog post one day), Dollar General, Mavis Tires and Cole Muffler.

Our waiter kept us well supplied with coffee as we enjoyed our repast. I especially liked the tomato, fancily sliced and quite fresh and flavorful. I wondered if it was local, but foolishly forgot to ask.

I highly recommend Crazy Otto’s for any meal of the day. For more information you can call them at 315-866-8801, or you can Like them on Facebook.

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Saturday Afternoon Interlude

Posted on October 15, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was delighted to see the Belly Up Pub going into the space that once held the late, lamented Albany Street Cafe. Saturday afternoon, Steven and I had a chance to check it out.

We arrived around four. I wanted to go at a time when it was not likely to be crowded. We easily got seats at the bar, our favorite place to sit, and ordered drinks.

The menu features a number of appetizer-type foods. Deep-fried is one of my favorite flavors. I suggested we order chicken tenders, which Steven loves, then, after considering deep-fried pickles or raviolis, decided on eggplant fries. We got to pick four dips — two per basket. We selected Ranch, Bleu Cheese, Wasabi Cucumber and Cheddar. Yum!

The Pub only occupies one room, where Albany Street Cafe spread over two with a patio, since it was a full service restaurant as well as a beloved watering hole. The remodeled space is more open. The raised booths were taken out, allowing the late afternoon light to come in the picture window. A couple of tables and two dart machines are in that area now. A few people were playing darts while we were there.

We watched the college football game on one of the wide-screened TVs and fell into a conversation with some other patrons of the sizes of our respective screens at home. I ordered a second glass of Pinot Noir and sat back, appreciating the scene.

Steven and I greatly enjoyed our interlude at the Belly Up. We have tentative plans to meet there again on Friday for Happy Hour. Might rate another blog post. For more information on the Belly Up Pub, visit their Facebook page.

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Interlude at Little Falls

Posted on October 11, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Our plans for Sunday included a trip to Little Falls, NY, where we hoped to take in a show at the Black Box Theatre at Canal Place.

Little Falls is a mere six miles from Herkimer. You can get there by State Route 5 or by Route 5S. We went 5S this time, another scenic country road. We noted what seemed like a lot of cars at Herkimer County Humane Society and hoped that meant lots of people adopting dogs and cats. We also noticed the scaffolding at the Historic Fort Herkimer Church where they are doing some renovating. I’m hoping they have some event celebrating when the repairs are finished. It would make an awesome blog post.

The play we had hoped to see at the Block Box was sold out. That was disappointing, but we made the best of it by checking out the shops. Two re-purposed factories, Canal Place and the Shops at 25 West, host a variety of antique and specialty shops. We browsed vintage clothing, books and toys I remember from my childhood (I believe I’ve mentioned I’m old).

We took our time wandering around. Steven found a ceramic witch he couldn’t resist. I admired a few Santa Clauses on our way out, but I figured one holiday was enough for now.

I picked up a brochure about Little Falls and discovered a number of other attractions I would like to check out for future blog posts. If you’d like more information about Little Falls, visit cityoflittlefalls.net

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Cider Mill Sunday

Posted on October 10, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Because Steven had a rare Sunday off, I suggested we make our annual trip to Fly Creek Cider Mill. I had made the suggestion before suffering the back pain that’s been plaguing me and cluttering up my blog posts, but I was determined to let nothing interfere with a fun day with my favorite husband.

I love the drive out towards Cooperstown. Twisty — not too twisty — country roads through the mountains with incredible views. There was still plenty of color in the trees, although some areas were what they call past peak.

We listened to our Halloween CD as we drove. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned our Halloween CD before. It started out as a cassette tape Steven made when he worked at a radio station up north in the ’90s. It was for use as pre-show music for a play our community theatre was presenting. When we lived in Georgia, a friend who had equipment transferred the songs onto CD, adding a few we had acquired since. It is a fun CD.

Fly Creek was a little crowded, but people were mostly polite and good-natured. Of course I went around and tried all the free samples. We purchased some wine, wasabi peas and treats for Tabby. Then we wandered outside to feed the ducks.

On the way back to Herkimer, we stopped, as usual, at Dyn’s Cider Mill. We discovered Dyn’s some years ago, on our first trip to Fly Creek. It is smaller and much lower key but quite charming. We each got a freshly made donut, and Steven had a cup of coffee while I enjoyed some hot cider. I purchased, also as usual, some Dyn’s popcorn. I will enjoy that on some not too distant Sunday with crime shows or cheesy movies.

We rounded out our Mohawk Valley morning back in Herkimer with a late breakfast at Crazy Otto’s Empire Diner. Then we went home so I could rest my back prior to implementing our afternoon plans.

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Cheese Before Wine

Posted on October 3, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven and I began our Friday Mohawk Valley adventures with a trip to Vintage Spirits in Herkimer, NY for a wine and cheese tasting. I was delighted to see that Three Village Cheeses was providing the cheese.

The wine tasting table seemed a little crowded, so I started with the cheese. Tom remembered me from last June. He had read my blog post from that tasting, so that established cordial relations right away.

I tried the feta first and immediately declared it my favorite. So smooth, so deep. I don’t know how people usually describe cheeses (notes of… what? I never taste the notes in wine either, so what does that tell you), but I thought the feta was substantial. The other heavy one was the tomme, which I think I declared my favorite last time. I like the ones that are more complex.

I happily nibbled the mild ones, too, and when I got to the Habanero Havarti (I think habanero should have a tilda over the n, don’t know how to do it on my computer) (point and laugh if you must), I knew I had found my cheese of the day.

I recently bought some store brand pepper jack at Hannaford and found I liked the bite. Well, this was a glorification of that taste. The cheese was cheesier! The pepper was peppier! It was better than yummy!

Having made up my mind on the cheese, I turned my attention to the wine. Of course, as I sipped I returned to nibble. Must experiment with wine/cheese pairings after all.

I believe I can purchase Three Village Cheeses at Ilion Farmer’s Market. If not, I will surely make my way to the cheese factory and retail store at 2608 Newport Rd., Poland, NY. I can get directions via their Facebook page. I think it is time to upgrade from store brand cheese. Sorry, Hannaford!

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The Red Apple Delivers

Posted on September 6, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

A local restaurant recently made a comeback, so I thought I’d give them a shout out.

The Red Apple on Main Street in Mohawk suffered a fire. They were boarded up and blocked with stern yellow tape for what seemed like the longest time. The OPEN sign perched mockingly in one window. Well, why wouldn’t it be there? When there is a fire, the operative thing to do is GET OUT, not worry about turning the sign over to “Sorry, We’re Closed.”

I drive by the place almost every day after work and was pleased to see first when clean-up had started and second when they had re-opened. After they helpfully left a menu on our front porch, I suggested we order delivery.

From the appetizers we selected Crab Rangoon with Cheese Wontons and Fried Scallop. The rangoon we usually get but had never tried the scallops. For our entree we went with General Tso’s Chicken. That is one of my favorites, although I’m never sure exactly how much you’re supposed to pronounce the T. A friend of mine just asks for “The General’s Chicken,” really a very sensible way to order it; I’ve never seen another general on a Chinese menu.

Our dinner arrived in due course. Steven tried unsuccessfully to keep Tabby from greeting the delivery guy (I was no help; I was busy doing an anacrostic puzzle). The food did not disappoint. The scallops were yummy, and the crab rangoons were some of the best I’ve had.

Another menu was included with our order. I looked at it and saw another dozen or so things I’d like to try, particularly from the Thai Style Cooking section. Oh dear, just when I was thinking I ought to cook for myself a little more often.

Red Apple is located at 10 E. Main St., Mohawk, NY, telephone 315-866-1788, fax 315-866-1833. They are open seven days a week: Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.

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A Great Spot for Breakfast

Posted on September 5, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

To celebrate our day off together on Monday, Steven and I went to breakfast at The Knight Spot on Frankfort, NY.

I know I have written about The Knight Spot before. It is a favorite of ours for breakfast, lunch, dinner or the occasional afternoon ice cream sundae. As we waited for our breakfast menus I read the desserts on the board on the wall near us and considered ordering pie for breakfast. Or possibly deep fried cheesecake. And of course they have all those wonderful flavors of Gifford hard ice cream. No, no, we were there for breakfast.

I ordered my favorite breakfast sandwich of sausage, egg and cheese on a hard roll. Steven ordered fried eggs with bacon and Italian toast.

“I only ever get bacon when we go out for breakfast,” he observed.

It’s true. We used to almost always have bacon in our refrigerator. We stopped buying it so often when Steven was diagnosed with high cholesterol. Now it’s a special treat. I don’t mean to say we eat healthily all the time or even most of the time. But we eat less egregiously unhealthily than we used to. That said, Steven enjoyed his bacon.

The whole breakfast was enjoyable. The Knight Spot has that hometown atmosphere that many area restaurants share. You get the feeling that many of your fellow diners are Regulars, that some of them probably went to high school with the waitress and everybody is ready to be friends. Of course none of that may be true, but it doesn’t matter. The place feels friendly, and the food tastes good.

The Knight Spot is located at 264 E. Main St., Frankfort, NY, phone 315-894-5054. They are open seven days from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. You can “Like” them on Facebook. I did.

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Super Shout-Out

Posted on August 30, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

This post is a follow-up to my posts on the Superhero Sprint, which took place last Saturday sponsored by Herkimer Now. Once again, Herkimer Now is a group aiming to revitalize downtown Herkimer, NY.

First a correction: If you read the original post, you may recall that a lady with a microphone was kidnapped by two villianesses at the beginning of the sprint. The lady was actually grabbed by Cat Woman not Leaf Woman, as I had reported. In my defense, my back was to the microphone at the time. You see, she had mentioned the hot dogs at the end of the race, and I had turned around to tell people I would knock them down to get to the hot dogs. Hey, I’m a villainess too, remember? (Oh, stop shaking your fingers at me! I didn’t knock anybody down. I didn’t take a hot dog, either, in case there wouldn’t be enough. I even kept Tabby from bothering those that had them.)

Leaf Woman, I’ve been informed by a reader, was probably Poison Ivy. That name does sound familiar, now that you mention it. The reader went on to be self-deprecating about being dorky, but I assured her it was no such thing. Being well-read in a genre is often mistaken for dorkiness by the uninformed. I get that all the time regarding Shakespeare (just kidding; I am neither smart enough nor well-read enough to be mistaken for a Shakespeare dork).

Now onto the important part of the post: giving a shout-out to the local businesses that supported the event. The hot dogs I mentioned were donated by Crazy Otto’s, which was handily located at the finish line. If I had come to the run with non-canine companions, I probably would have stopped in for a snack after the festivities. It is a really good place to eat.

The popcorn and cotton candy, also available at the finish line, were provided by Collis Hardware. I talked a little about Collis in a previous post. Regular readers (if any) may call that Tabby pulled me in to enjoy a moment of air conditioning and being petted (that is, Tabby enjoyed being petted, and we both enjoyed the a/c).

Woody’s Ice Cream donated gift certificates for prizes. I have not been to Woody’s for ice cream recently so am glad to be reminded. They are located in that little plaza between State and Mohawk streets, between Autozone and Vintage Spirits.

Wal-Mart donated a $25 gift card. I don’t usually plug big box stores, because they lack the local cachet I seek and because I don’t think they need my help (oh, like I’m so helpful. Still, I have some readers). However, I must give credit where credit is due: Wal-Mart does support the local community.

I’m glad to have the opportunity to talk more about the Superhero Sprint and about its organizer, Herkimer Now. The event was a great deal of fun, enjoyed by both participants and spectators. I think it’s wonderful that we have a group working to improve our village. For more information on Herkimer Now, you can visit their Facebook page. Tell them Mohawk Valley Girl sent you.

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Marina Meanderings

Posted on August 22, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

Saturday was a beautiful day: sunny, not too warm, low humidity, and Steven got off work early. A perfect day. What to do with it?

Steven was in the mood for a burger, so we decided to check out the Dockside Cafe at Ilion Marina. Naturally we took Tabby.

Ilion, NY, for you out of area readers (Hi, Rachel!), is almost immediately adjacent to Herkimer via State Route 5. The entrance to the marina is right next to the exit. It’s not a large marina, but it is a pleasant place to walk around.

We admired some of the RVs parked in the lot. What a great vacation: park your RV at the marina and sail off in your boat. I’m afraid my getaways are more pedestrian. Drive my truck to the marina and walk around with my husband and my dog. Still, that’s a pretty good thing to do, too. I was happy to be there.

At the window of the Dockside Cafe we ordered cheeseburgers. Steven also got macaroni salad and we both got bottles of water. We brought our water out the the deck and sat down to wait for our food.

It was perfect weather for eating outdoors. We looked out over the water then admired the nautical decor on the deck. I especially liked the carved wooden sailors on the railing. The tablecloths had a lighthouse design. I wondered if they got those locally. I have a couple of sisters and a cousin who would like such a thing for their outdoor living spaces.

After eating (excellent burgers, and the salad was yummy) (yes, I stole some), we walked down the path we hadn’t been on yet. We gave the people fishing a wide berth, in case Tabby picked that moment to start barking and scared the fish. As it happened, she kept quiet. After a while I suggested we drive to Frankfort, another short jaunt down Route 5, and check out their marina.

The stretch of river (or is it a canal? I ought to research these posts a little better) that Frankfort Marina is on is much quieter than in Ilion. A wooden dock lets the fishers get closer to the water. The dock went all the way around to the other side of the water, but we didn’t walk on it. There were a number of people fishing. Tabby had kept quiet in Ilion, but that was no guarantee. Also, you can’t count on strangers being happy to see a cute little dog when they are pursuing a hobby that calls for quiet.

The restaurant here looked a little fancier. At least, it was indoors and there was a stern sign reading, “No Dogs Allowed.” Well, if you don’t want me to bring my dog on the porch, I won’t bring my dog on the porch.

We wandered around between the fishers and the No Dogs Allowed area till my sinus headache started to kick in (see Sunday’s post). We drove home feeling we had taken at least a little advantage of the beautiful day.

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Steven’s Yummy Reward

Posted on July 27, 2012 by mohawkvalleygirl

It’s been a while since I plugged a local business. At least, I haven’t gone back and looked. I may do that before I type this in, but as I write this (in my notebook while at work)(on a break, of course)(oh, and a spiral-bound paper notebook, not a confusingly named computer) Where was I? Mid-sentence, but now I’ve lost track of the thought, so let’s get on with my post about Salvatore’s.

Wednesday Steven did some major yard work and deserved a reward, and I wanted a blog post, so I suggested we go out for dinner. I asked Steven where he would like to go for his reward. He wanted me to decide. Some reward: not to have to decide. Finally we settled on Salvatore’s in Herkimer.

Salvatore’s is one of our favorite places to order delivery from. They are prompt and friendly, and the food is delicious. But sometimes I like to go someplace, sit down and have somebody bring me food. And know that they will do the dishes afterward. Of course this was Steven’s reward, not mine, but Steven likes those things, too.

When we arrived at Salvatore’s, some people were sitting at one of the outdoor tables. We opted to go into the dining room. The decor is lovely. I especially admired a wall hanging that was kind of a sculpture of a vase of flowers, with metal and glass. One wall was a mural of Italian countryside. At least, it looked Italian to me.

We both ordered chicken wrap sandwiches with pasta salad, bacon ranch for Steven, Caesar for me. They were quite yummy and plenty big enough to take leftovers home. The price was reasonable, too. We tipped our server more than 20%, because we thought she was worth more than 20% would have been.

It seems Salvatore’s does a larger take out than dine in business. Not many people were enjoying the dining room, but we saw folks coming in to pick up orders and heard the phone ring frequently. Perhaps it depends on the night.

I highly recommend Salvatore’s, for delivery, take out or dine in (at least, we’ve never done take out, but it would be odd for that not to be as good). It’s a good reward, if you’ve been working in the yard. They are located at 650 1/2 W. German in Herkimer, NY, phone 315-866-2600. If you “Like” them on Facebook, you will be enticed nightly with a listing of their specials.

As a final note: I did look back, and I have been plugging a local business about once per week. So I have at least maintained my average. Phew!

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