Ithaca NY Eats

1000yregg told me that Ithaca, NY was a runner-up for Bon Appetit's Top Foodie Town last year. Well, whenever Redneckhunter and I go up there to visit his alma mater we always eat well. Of course there's the famous Moosewood Restaurant -- amazing for being a vegetarian restaurant that Redneckhunter enjoys!!

We also always make a nostalgic stop at Collegetown Bagels. I like the bagels (though I'm still a New York City bagel girl), but I always grab a loaf of Ithaca Bakery bread to bring home. My favorite is the Southwest sourdough - this trip (a couple weekends ago) I ate half the loaf on the car ride home!

This trip we also made it to the Ithaca Farmers Market. Great market -- lots of organic local products and produce -- but it was freezing and rainy, so after a quick swing-through we decided to actually sit down and warm up, and eat at the old-school State Diner.

Since we were staying up near the Taughannock Falls, for dinner we went to the Rongovian Embassy in Trumansburg. Redneckhunter would come out here (about 20 minute drive from Ithaca) to hear bands.

In the mythical land of Rongovia they serve up their own version of Mexican. Like the Moosewood (and unlike most Mexican restaurants in the US), it tastes healthy.

I ordered a butternut squash mac and cheese. Sounds heavy, right? It wasn't - instead it was nice and creamy, but surprisingly not rich. I couldn't discern chunks of squash, until I surmised that I think the squash was actually pureed into the cheese! It was served with housemade chorizo (again, healthy-tasting and mildly spicy) and a sweet mole sauce.