I’m not generally a fan of bars, but I am a fan of The Old Toad. Why is that? There is beer on the menu, but you won’t find Budweiser. You can get a meal, and it actually tastes good. There are singles looking to hook up, but there are also couples in their 60s, […]
Laura Rebecca Kenyon
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DINING REVIEW: Rio Tomatlan
Tucked on a side street in Downtown Canandaigua is Rio Tomatlan, a restaurant specializing in cuisine from Mexico’s Pacific Coast.
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DINING REVIEW: Fraiche Bistro and Dessert Bar
Dessert is often a casualty in culinary cost-cutting. An eatery might work to keep a good steak on the menu, top-shelf liquor behind the bar, and fresh greens in the salad, only to phone it in for the final course. Sometimes literally, by placing an order with Sysco. On the flip side, when a café […]
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DINING REVIEW: Esan Thai
There are streets in Manhattan that have yet to be completely overtaken by chain restaurants, though they are further and fewer between than they were 10 years ago. These patches of resistance are little, rabbit-warren-like spaces, crammed with wood-grain Formica two-tops and tiny black chairs. They’re dimly lit and decorated with tchotchkes reflecting the cuisine […]
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DINING REVIEW: Rumi’s Grill and Cafe
Route 31 is a busy thoroughfare, particularly the section south of the 590 ramp and north of the Pittsford village. It’s a suburban, commercial juggernaut. Get a bestseller fix at Barnes & Noble, a bag of frozen Parisian carrots at Trader Joe’s, a whimsical serving platter at People’s Pottery, a Pomeranian-sized Christmas sweater at Petco […]
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DINING REVIEW: TRATA
An early 20th century brick fortress, the Culver Road Armory is now a mixed-use space, boasting modern flourishes of blonde wood, burnished chrome, and glowing light accents. On a Friday or Saturday night, the parking lot is packed. The main draw is TRATA, a.k.a. The Restaurant At The Armory. The space alone is worthy of […]
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DINING REVIEW: Bistro Han
The first items arriving to our table from Bistro Han’s kitchen were the braised pork belly steamed buns ($5). Two to an order, perched on a small plate, these were fit-in-the-palm-of-your-hand-sized sandwiches: thick slabs of browned pork encased in snowy, white dough. The pork belly and the belly of the bun were painted lightly with […]
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DINING REVIEW: Tap & Table
Tap & Table, the 14-month-old restaurant in Corn Hill Landing, hums with activity on a Saturday night. It’s one of the most talked about, written about, and Yelp-ped about players on the local food scene in the past year. In 2012 it won City Newspaper’s readers’ poll for best new restaurant. It’s got a great […]
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DINING REVIEW: Unkl Moe’s BBQ & Catering
Early on a Saturday evening, I drove with my husband along 490, toward West Avenue. The sun was shining, traffic was flowing, and my stomach was growling in anticipation of dinner. Just prior to crossing the Douglass-Anthony Bridge, the scent of barbecue — a perfume of smoke, meat, and char — wafted through the air. […]
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DINING REVIEW: Amore Italian Restaurant and Wine Bar
Dining in a restaurant housed within a grocery store — a store featuring an animatronic crowing rooster — is an odd sensation. In the span of a few minutes, you can move from dodging grocery carts in the parking lot, to walking by cupcakes decorated to resemble Cookie Monster and Elmo, to being asked if […]
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Espada Brazilian Steak
If you do a Google image search for “rodízio,” a Brazilian-style restaurant in which servers continually bring diners food until the patron signals they’ve had enough to eat, one of the first images you’ll see is a man sitting in a restaurant. Before him is a table cluttered with dishes, food scraps and used utensils. His […]
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DINING REVIEW: Brown Hound Bistro
Summer is in full swing, which is a good excuse to get out of the city. Head south on Route 64, down toward Canandaigua Lake, through Bloomfield, past Bristol Mountain Ski Resort (marvel at the green summer slopes), and stop before you reach Monica’s Pies and downtown Naples. Near the “Y” where Route 64 meets […]
