Collegetown Bagels (Ithaca, NY)

On a recent trip to Ithaca for business, I had the great pleasure to visit Collegetown Bagels right outside of the Cornell campus.

I had been here before on business and had patronized this very same shop. However, I must have passed up the breakfast sandwich on my first visit because the I was simply blown away by how good their Tex-Mex Sandwich was.

It's super simple: Egg, mild cheddar and salsa on a bagel. The secret to it, however, lies in the salsa. It was salsa fresca (ie. not like watery, chunky ketchup) and it had some great flavor to it. It was like the perfect blend of onions, peppers, tomato and a touch of cilantro.

I don't know how the rest of their menu fares but I'm planning on trying to duplicate what they whipped up for me in my own kitchen.

And if you're in Ithaca, hunt this place down quickly.

Google Hotpot for Restaurant Reviews

A friend of mine recently informed me of Google Hotpot:

http://google.com/hotpot

It's a stylish site Google has put together to review everything local (including, most importantly, restaurants). Google products are most useful/powerful when they are used by many, so sign in and get your rate on.

As incentive to keep you rating, the more you rate, the more recommendations Google will give you based on your ratings. I'm kind of confused as to how this works as I must have amassed many recommendations yet can't seem to find what they're recommending to me. Maybe I'm still confused about how it works (which is most likely the case).

Will it last? Possibly, I think, if it heads the way of foursquare but possibly not.. because the existence of foursquare. I have yet to dive into foursquare, so maybe I'll change my tune about Hotpot in the future. We will see... In the meantime, though, I'll be reviewing away at Hotpot. I just can't get enough opining in my life!

Full disclosure, I am NOT a Google stockholder. However, I'm a new Android smartphone owner and have found that Google creates tons of cool, useful stuff for it.

Charlie's Restaurant (Empire Boulevard)

I've been a patron of Charlie's since my childhood days in Naples, NY when my sister and I would drive out to Canandaigua and buy these things we had heard of called "garbage plates". Since those days, I've always had a soft spot for Charlie's. A boys first garbage plate is a life changing experience and you never really do forget your first.

Fast forward 15 years and you'll still see me choosing Charlie's over the other local burger joints. Look even closer and you'll see that, out of all the Charlie's in town, I typically eat at the Empire Boulevard location.

This is not by coincidence or due to convenience. I go to Charlie's on Empire because the atmosphere and, of course, the food.

My wife and I most recently made a visit last week. I typically get the garbage plate (with one burger.. for health) but this time I went with a simple cheeseburger. I did this for two reasons: 1) I wanted to save room for ice cream, and 2) I want to start to decode the lingo of Charlie's.

You see, one time I visited Charlie's and a man came in and ordered his meal in a language I didn't understand. Oh, it was English, mind you.. But he was using terms that I had never heard. And the young girl behind the counter didn't blink an eye. She knew exactly what he wanted. From that moment, I wanted to start a journey of discovery. It wasn't until this most recent night that my journey began.

I ordered my burger with "everything". The girl behind the counter smiled a little smile when I asked what ordering "everything" on my burger entailed. She must have recognized that my journey had begun. Or she was looking at garbage trapped in my new mustache. She said that it meant mustard, onions and hot sauce. I committed this new nugget to memory and continued to wait for my meal.

Sitting down to eat, I relayed my new quest to my wife who, in turn, looked at me like I was R-Wing bound. We thoroughly enjoyed our food, as always, and relished in the ever-warm, townie atmosphere that permeates this particular Charlie's. We mentioned, as we always do, how much we love this unassuming place and headed out the door to track down some Abbott's.

Charlie Lingo Summary:

"Everything" = mustard, onions and hot sauce.

To be continued...