The food, drink, service and comfort at Movie Tavern are just right

Dinner and a movie. The two go together, forever and ever. Past, present and future. In the Wayback Machine, I recall going to a joint down in Florida to see a Clint Eastwood flick and eat a pizza simultaneously with my Tampa-area friend Deana. But that was a flat-floored experience in the 1980s, in a…

A Taste of the 20th year

A couple of weeks back, Rick from Syracuse radio station TK99 sent me a Facebook request for a few minutes of my time. Could he talk to me for a show he was putting together for the 20th anniversary of the Taste of Syracuse, please? Sure, I replied. Then, I thought: Has it been that…

Not so mighty tacos

The new addition to the Central New York takeout food parade caught my attention as I drove down Route 11 coming home from the store one day. Mighty Taco. Didn’t you have those out in California?, I quizzed me dear wife Karen. She concurred. We went this past Saturday of our three-day holiday weekend, after…

The Dinosaur still comes through

My dear wife Karen had the perfect dinner suggestion while she was preparing to leave the Little Bitty for SMG. She’ll cook after she gets home from work? Not this sunny day. I’ll cook because I’ve got the day off? Not this second consecutive day off for me after my final seven-stretch at the store.…

Me and Chinese

I have a weak spot for Chinese food. There, I said it. So when I get two weekdays off in a row from the store, and my dear wife Karen is working at SMG, well … The allure of Chinese for lunch is pretty darn strong. Last week, I had a 10:30 a.m. vanity appointment…

A special meal coming for a Happy Easter

My dear wife Karen asked a couple of days ago what I’d like to have for dinner on Easter. A ham steak? My answer had that question mark on the end of it, but that’s the way we left it. Then in those nether moments before I drifted off to sleep that night, a better…

A new Local joint for Yolks and more, and we hop to Mac’s

For more than a year now, my dear wife Karen and I have lamented the move of IHOP from its cozy corner location at the intersections of Erie Boulevard East and Route 5 to Syracuse’s mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Destiny USA. The big mall is wonderful for many things, we both agree, but…

Shrimp ‘n Grits, ooh-la-la

Those trips to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Myrtle Beach, S.C. that my dear wife Karen has taken with her great friends for those Girls Getaways in summers past paid off for my tummy this winter. She got a hankering for a dish she likes to order down there in the southern region…

Let the gift-dining commence

One traditional gift on my giving list is a great Christmas combo cooked up by the folks at the Delta Sonic gas station. In a pretty little blue box they fold in three coupons for a car wash and one worth $20 toward dinner for two at Applebee’s. Every year I give one to my…

Salad or something bigger?

The Pie Guys for a quick dinner sounded good to my dear wife Karen and I as my Thursday Night Bowling League picked up again after our two-week break for the holidays. Karen, wise woman that she is, ordered the small antipasto, with Italian dressing. We know from experience that these folks make a mean…