The Cheesecake Factory gets a second chance

After the bad shrimp scampi with clumped pasta and awful sauce, bitter and hard lettuce core, burned fry, dirty utensils, harsh ambulance lighting from the window, et al, what, you ask, would bring my dear wife Karen and I back to the Cheesecake Factory in the mega shopping, dining and entertainment complex Detiny USA in…

So you wanted to know more about the Diner and that mural

I know a good question when I see it. So when commenter Nancy C. let loose with, “Mark, who’s the artist” during the strong string of thoughts at the tail end of my Tuesday post about the colorful mural that adorns one whole wall of a diner we’re blessed with here in Syracuse, N.Y., I…

Come back to the Market Diner, Jimmy Dean

So who’d you like to have breakfast with given a free hand? Pancakes with Pavlov and ask him to bring his dogs? Oatmeal with Oliver Stone so you can explain why everybody’s against you? Eggs over easy with Ella Fitzgerald so you tell her how much you admired how she always made hitting the hard…

Cashing in on the gift cards puts us in the Red

My smart and beautiful daughter Elisabeth and her terrific boyfriend George know I like lobster. My stepson Daryl knows I like lobster. My sister Dory knows I like lobster. I squirreled away their presents from my December birthday and Christmas for one big night with my dear wife Karen. I figured the $100 total plus…

Rico’s Ristorante does it right on a New Year’s Eve

My dear wife Karen and I have had good times and not so good times while eating out on New Year’s Eve. It can be a tough night. Big crowds. Tense wait staffs. Smaller menus. Frustrated Mark. I come here today to praise Rico’s Ristorante of East Syracuse, N.Y. I’d chosen Rico’s as our New…

Clark’s beef on ‘wick was worth the wait

I pressed my face to the window waiting for Clark’s Ale House to open with this August post telling of its history in another location in downtown Syracuse and licking my lips to reacquaint myself with owner Ray Clark’s famous roast beef sandwiches. My dear wife Karen and I went back a month ago for…

Gingerbread houses sweeten Turning Stone

My dear wife Karen and I arrived a bit early for my Beddian Birthday dinner celebration with the kids Sunday at the big buffet restaurant at Turning Stone Resort and Casino some 25 miles up the New York State Thruway from Syracuse. It seems I told Karen that set 4:30 as our meeting time but…

Cathy’s Corner Cafe moves out to Syracuse’s west side

My dear wife Karen had me with the text words open house and free food. I love the holiday season. Our great and longtime friend Michelle — you might recall her from Martinfest, which my goodness is rolling around again in a few months we decided as we sat Wednesday night at a table with…

Why she’s always my dear wife Karen

After hauling the 50-pound bag of gourmet food preferred by Ellie B aka Dogamous Pyle to the car Sunday, I was informed by my dear wife Karen that I was getting dropped off at home before so she could tackle the supermarket stop all by her lonesome. Something about special ingredients for a surprise anniversary…

At the Tin Rooster, we kick up our birth week heels

The Tin Rooster was a really big deal. The name may conjur up a dusky little backwoods joint where somebody’s playing banjo on the sagging porch, but certainly not at this place my dear wife Karen chose to celebrate the cornerstone dinner of her Birth Week celebration 2014. When we walked into the lobby of…