Welcome Inn

Any serious maven of off-the-beaten-track food owes a big debt--probably too seldom acknowledged--to the folks over at Chowhound. They find and discuss the great ethnic holes-in-the-wall before almost anyone else... in fact, that was the first place I ever posted any restaurant info on the internet. Of course, I soon left when Jim Leff's rather draconian unwritten "house rules" became apparent (I had several of my posts deleted for no other apparent reason than that I had the temerity to--extremely politely--disagree with him) and found greener pastures at eGullet. But in recent years the focus there has been trending more and more to high-end restaurants, so... here I am.

But I digress... Chowhound remains an incredible source of useful information--for the itinerant eater especially. So when my gig in Syracuse came up, that was the first place I checked. A couple of posters there mentioned a small, family-run place that served great homemade Ukrainian food called Welcome Inn. I immediately thought it sounded like my kind of place, and it was.

My only regret is that I was only able to get there for one meal. Although I wanted to try, oh, EVERYTHING on the menu, that was impossible and I was forced to choose. Somehow, I finally settled on pyrohy (pierogies) and, since the owner calls himself "Pitmaster Big Papa John", a smoked pork butt sandwich. The pyrohy were perfect--the best I have had in years. And after some decidedly mediocre barbecue at the original Dinosaur the evening before, I was hoping for something better... I was not disappointed. I'm in love with the bar, too--comfortable, homey, and a wide selection of Polish and Ukrainian beers.

The kitchen hours are somewhat limited: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 5 p.m.-8 p.m. Wednesday through Friday (I had the impression these hours are somewhat changeable--probably best to call ahead).

From the high quality of the pyrohy, I believe I can infer great things about the kiełbasa (made and smoked in-house, of course) and the holubchi (stuffed cabbage). Oh, well--something to look forward to my next trip!

Welcome Inn
501 Tully St., Syracuse, NY 13204
315-422-3815
website

Clark's Ale House (CLOSED)

One of the things that makes the tapas scene in Spain so great is that each tapas bar has one or two specialties and, even though they may do other stuff, the house specialty is why you go to a particular bar. Since, in the larger cities, tapas bars tend to be in one part of town—sometimes even on one street—a good tapas crawl means wandering from bar to bar and eating something different and extraordinary in each place. Oddly enough, a little piece of that tradition is to be found in Syracuse, at Clark’s Ale House. They do pretty much one thing, food-wise, and they do it extraordinarily well.

Admittedly, one of the chief attractions of Clark’s initially was that it is across the street from my hotel, and in this snowy weather I was not in the mood to wander very far. I had also read they make a good roast beef sandwich. Fine, I thought—I could go for that. Good thing, as there’s very little else on the menu: barley soup, some cheeses to nibble on, and… that’s about it. Oh, and pickled eggs. I ordered a sandwich, the guy behind the bar turned around and made it, and... it was perfect. Tender, uniformly pink medium-rare roast beef sliced right there and then, doused in a bit of jus, and served on an onion roll. I can’t remember EVER having a better roast beef sandwich. And at six bucks a pop, the decision to order a second one was an easy one.

Clark’s also happens to be an extraordinarily good place to drink beer: 20 well-chosen varieties on tap, complete with information on serving temperature! Now in New York City, this usually means there’s still nothing I want to drink (okay, I’m picky). I happen to think that Munich lagers are the pinnacle of the brewer’s art, but trying to find one on tap in NYC is an exercise in futility. Oh, there’s usually something from Munich behind the bar, but it’s almost always a hefeweizen (which I prefer from a bottle, but that’s another topic) or a starkbier. (Any German beer name that ends in –tor is a starkbier. Is there something inherently yuppie about starkbiers?? I don’t get it.) But never a Munich lager. Clark’s had Spaten lager on tap. I was in heaven.

Clark's Ale House
122 W. Jefferson St., Syracuse, NY 13202
315-479-9859
http://www.clarksalehouse.com/

Lao Village

Strolling around Syracuse, NY, this afternoon I was surprised--to put it mildly--to stumble upon a restaurant purporting to serve Lao and Thai cuisine. Having never tried Lao food before, I knew that this evening's dinner was coming from Lao Village.

The menu, however, seemed to be just a bunch of quite recognizable Thai dishes. I asked the guy behind the counter (from Laos, as it turns out, and I'm pretty sure it was his father in the back doing the cooking) what is really, typically Lao on the menu. The response: "Lao and Thai... pretty much the same." A little internet research suggests this is almost certainly not the case. Still, after ordering the only thing on the menu that even mentions the word "Laotian" in the description, I can tell you their food is quite tasty, if of dubious "authenticity". A soup they call "keang jeut" was broth with ground chicken and a LOT of vegetables (good nonetheless). Approaching stellar status is the noodle dish called "khanoom jean"--rice vermicelli with chunks of chicken, shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, mint, kaffir lime leaves, scallion, cilantro, and "Laotian coconut curry paste". I'll take their word on that one... I do know I've never had any curry in a Thai restaurant that tasted anything like it. It was a bit like pad thai, except really delicious.

Definitely worth stopping by if you're in the neighborhood.

Lao Village
208 W. Genesee St., Syracuse, NY 13202
315-435-8151