Solar Eclipse 2024: Food + Wine names best places to eat in Upstate NY
Fill your tummy before and after viewing this once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse event. Food + Wine magazine has named the best places to eat in Upstate New York for the Solar Eclipse 2024, with over a million people expected to attend in preparation for the event on April 8. The magazine highlighted notable local food outlets, including Butter Block, Nine-Eleven Tavern, and Bar-Bill Tavern. They also highlighted local food icons like Mexican grocery store and taqueria La Divina. Food + Wine recommends the best wing stop in Buffalo for the day of the eclipse. Other notable recommendations include a three-course meal by chef Lou Ruscitto-Donato at Inns of Aurora restaurant in Cayuga Lake.
Published : 2 months ago by Sunny Hernandez, ahernand, Sunny Hernandez | [email protected] in Lifestyle
With more than a million people expected to descend on Upstate New York cities in anticipation of the once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse event on April 8, there will be some hungry mouths to feed and one publication has created a list of top spots to dine.
Food + Wine magazine put together their best recommendations of where to eat before and after the eclipse in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. They also included some can’t-miss local food icons to have a truly Upstate New York experience.
Whether you’re in Western New York or Central NY, here are their top recommendations, from hot dog stands to fine dining:
Butter Block is a Buffalo pastry shop that envelopes you with the scent of sugar, butter and flour as soon as you open the doors. Great for coffee and a picture perfect croissant. Food + Wine however notes that the bakery is closed on Mondays, so you’ll have to get your fill the day before or after.
Grab some classic Mexican street food from this Mexican grocery store and taqueria on Delaware Ave. La Divina specializes in tacos, quesadillas and tamales.
This may rile some feathers, but Food + Wine suggests the best wing stop in Buffalo is Nine-Eleven Tavern. To avoid disappointment as the South Buffalo staple is closed Sundays and Mondays, plan ahead for your crispy wings. The good news is that Anchor Bar, which lays claim to inventing the world’s first Buffalo wing in 1964, is planning to make twice the number of chicken wings at its flagship location just for the day of the eclipse, according to the New York Times.
Get a whole list of classic Buffalo flavors at one of Bar-Bill Tavern’s three locations. Their menu includes beef on weck in both sandwich and pizza form, Buffalo’s iconic cup-and-char pepperoni pizza, and cajun honey butter barbecue wings, which F+W notes are Buffalo Bills star Josh Allen’s favorite.
Located in nearby Fairport, the coffee house named Clementine has a Mexican-inspired menu. They also have some comforting flavors like a Samoa cookie latte or blueberry lemon.
The newest Bar-Bill Tavern has recently opened in Rochester and contains all of Buffalo’s favorite flavors.
A great place to warm up as the sun goes down, Leonore’s on Rochester’s Park Avenue has a Thai-leaning menu filled with items like pork belly with hot miso mustard, cozy curries, and oxtail ragu. Leonore’s intends for their dishes to be shared, which is perfect for gathering after sky gazing.
You can’t visit Rochester without getting one of their iconic garbage plates. Dogtown, which has been called one of the best hot dog spots in the nation, offers this classic Rochester dish with white or red hots atop a bed of macaroni salad and crispy home fries or french fries, smothered in meat sauce. They even have a vegetarian version for the non-meat eaters in your party.
Though if you want to stop at the “Home of the Garbage Plate,” make sure to stop by Nick Tahou Hots on West Main Street.
Located between Rochester and Syracuse, Cayuga Lake’s Aurora Cooks! will offer you a glass of Finger Lakes wine as you embraces seasonal ingredients in a four-course, demonstrative experience. As you sip on a glass of Finger Lakes wine, you’ll get to watch a beautiful three-course meal made by Head Chef Lou Ruscitto-Donato. Seating is limited at this Inns of Aurora restaurant, so reservations are a must.
Serving up homemade pastas and its beloved stretch bread and spicy hot tomato oil, it’s no wonder Pastabilities made F+W’s list. Their take on Utica-born chicken riggies was recently named one of the best pastas in America. Lunch is walk-ins only, but this restaurant gets hopping at night, so a reservation is recommended for big parties.
A Syracuse staple, Heid’s hot dog stand in nearby Liverpool serves up locally made Hofmann hot dogs and white hot snappy grillers, also known as coneys. Order yourself a Texas hot or if you can’t decide, a mixed double is perfect.
Topics: Food & Drink