Archive: Around Town

Sunset GrillBreakfast:  My husband and I found ourselves on South Hill one hungry morning. We remembered that upon a time we had had a respectable breakfast at the Sunset Grill (Rte. 96 below Coddington Rd.) We stopped in. It was just starting to rain, so we were unable to sit on the extensive patio deck due to splash potential. The inside seating options include: seats at the counter with a good view of a clean well-ventilated grille, cozy booth seating in the kitchen area, or the comfortable spacious dining room ,bright, interestingly appointed, and close enough to the coffee pot. When it is not raining, the ‘have to' choice is outside with an incredible view of Cayuga Lake from the South.

The wait staff was efficient and friendly. We chose the pecan pancake (single) and one of the Special's of the day, ‘home-made' corned beef hash with eggs and toast for $5.99. The coffee was quite decent and hot and the breakfast showed up in no time at all. We knew the cook Matt Torchia from another of his restaurants, The Mahogany Grill, so he sent along a piece of the other special, ‘California French Toast' for us to try.

We tried the California French Toast first. It was a thick piece of home-made cinnamon swirl toast that had been soaked in egg/dairy mix (I suspect heavy cream) cooked, coated in a maple glaze and crisped up before serving. WOW! As my husband said, "this is like a ‘crispy crème' French toast". Don't count the calories, but a culinary must experience. I thought it would be too sweet, but the cinnamon, maple flavor with the creamy/ crispy textures kept you coming back until not a crumb was left.

We sampled the pecan pancake, a large, fluffy, buttermilk style pancake with plentiful pecan bits within. It is very good- I normally avoid ‘breakfast joint' pancakes because they are too heavy, but this was a worthy carbohydrate. Unfortunately, it was not lauded enough, due to the contrast with the French toast experience. The Home-made corned beef hash was exceptional taste and value. A huge plate was served with enough hash for two, two eggs and two pieces of toast. The hash was crispy, lean corned beef, mixed with finely chopped, sauteed green peppers and onions and hashed potatoes. I admit I ate past capacity, but to its credit, there was no trace of heartburn later. Total price for two, 12$ Price and Quality= A+

Other worthy breakfast stops include: Linda's Diner- Rte. 34N, The Lincoln Street Diner- Lincoln St, in Fall Creek neighborhood of Ithaca.

 

****Please email me your input on favorite breakfasts around town.

 

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