Page 18 - AAA Hudson Valley – AAA Every Day – March/April 2019

18 I MARCH/APRIL 2019
Destination:
Central New York
industrial buildings are gone but the historic feeling
of the downtown still reflects that era. Guests of this tour experience a taste from a restaurant that was instrumental in turning downtown into a destination, not just a place to drive through. Among the stops
is LaParrilla, featuring chef Ray Jock, who served as personal chef to comedian Jerry Seinfeld. These tours are offered all year long, Thursday through Saturday, with seven tastings in historic downtown Oswego. Tastings reflect a progressive dinner from soup and salad to main course and desserts. A shortcut tour with less than half a mile of walking and six to seven tastes is available.
Traveling west from the Capital District, along Interstate 90 that parallels the Erie Canal, between Utica and Rochester, is an area notable for its contribution to the major reform movements of the 19th century. Syracuse is the region’s largest city.
Sampling Syracuse Food Tours – Delve into Syracuse’s history and culture while eating in the heart of downtown. On Saturday afternoons between May and October, enjoy six tastes from award-winning restaurants in three hours. Experience the first Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, an upstate top foodie destination which was named the No. 1 BBQ in America by “Good Morning America.” Learn how the Syracuse salt industry changed the course of the Civil War and why Syracuse is known as the Great Central Depot of the Underground Railroad.
Oswego Food & History Tours – In the mid-1800s Oswego was the fourth- largest city on the Eastern Seaboard and many thought it would become as big
as New York. Most of the
Syracuse’s Dinosaur BBQ pulled pork sliders and mac and cheese
NYC style bagel from The Oswego Bagelry & Sandwich Shop
Moosewood Restaurant, Ithaca Photo: Allison Usavage
Destination:
The Finger Lakes
Ithaca is Foodies Culinary Tours: The Science of Taste Tour – This special Ithaca is Foodies’ winter tour, running February through April, is an exploration of the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. The tour offers five tastings designed to help guests rediscover these building blocks of culinary delight, while learning about the science behind them and how they work together to allow us to experience an infinite number of flavors.
Ithaca (165 miles southwest of Albany and 58 miles south of Syracuse) was established in 1821 and is known as the home of Cornell University and Ithaca College. It has three state parks, an award-winning farmers market and is home to the world-renowned Moosewood Restaurant.
Ithaca is Foodies Culinary Tours: Downtown Ithaca Food Tour – Their flagship tour delves into the heart of Downtown Ithaca with stops at beloved restaurants and notable landmarks in The Commons area. This weekly Saturday tour goes from 11:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m., May through October, and offers six tastes and a peek behind the scenes of some of their partner restaurants. Guests walk away satiated, with a better knowledge of Ithaca’s history and current culinary perspectives.