The following list compiles Dining Partner Content advertisements created by the featured restaurants and the Ithaca Voice advertising team. To become a Dining Partner and have your restaurant featured in our Dining section, email Jennifer Wholey at jwholey@ithacavoice.com.
ITHACA, N.Y. — In 2016, The Ithaca Voice launched an entirely new section of its website: Ithaca Voice Dining.
Rather than reviewing restaurants, Ithaca Voice Dining works together with local restaurants, and food and drink businesses in Tompkins County to provide monthly, in-depth content created by Ithaca Voice staff and and also by our Dining Partners themselves.
We’re proud to show off a capsule of some of our most popular (and tastiest) work from last year: making-of videos in the kitchen with local chefs, photo galleries of new menu items, and profiles of the some of the vital people who make our area restaurants and bars tick.
We compiled the chronological list list below using Facebook engagement data to see which stories readers liked, shared and clicked on the most, and ultimately our judgment.
(Check out our other lists for more stories about crime (coming soon), big issues, development, and some of our best feel-good moments of the year.)
1 – We peeked while Chef Sam made gnocchi lunghi in the kitchen at Gola Osteria
In the kitchen: pasta making with Gola (video) – This was Ithaca Voice Dining’s very first video! Gola Osteria’s Chef Sam Epps took us into the kitchen to make gnocchi lunghi all’amatriciana, a specialty from the Italian town of Amatrice. This dish typically includes guanciale, or pork jowl, tomato sauce and Pecorino Romano cheese over bucatini pasta. Gola’s featured toothsome gnocchi lunghi made in-house. Ithaca Voice
2 – Shortstop Deli inspired loyalty, community spirit (and a hankering for fresh subs)
More than an Ithaca staple, Shortstop is a place to call home – Few eateries in Ithaca draw as much community nostalgia as Shortstop Deli, and for good reason: few eateries have done as much as Shortstop Deli for the community. One of Shortstop’s staff members penned this piece anonymously as a tribute to the beloved home of 24/7 subs, and an ode the people who have had an impact there over the past 40 years. Ithaca Voice
3 – International bites shook things up at The Heights
Photo Gallery: From pizza to pan-seared salmon at The Heights – In our first photo gallery, Ithaca Voice Dining visited The Heights’ kitchen during lunch service and found that it’s for more than just special occasions: the signature steaks are still a highlight, but so are small plates, international bar bites and hand-crafted pizzas. Ithaca Voice
A photo posted by Ithaca Voice Dining (@ithacavoicedining) on
4 – Vegan quesadillas and street food for everyone from Luna
Ithaca herbivores rejoice: Luna launches new menu devoted to vegans and vegetarians – While most of Ithaca was trying in vain to get a restaurant reservation amidst college graduations in the last gasp of May, Luna quietly rolled out a trump card: an additional vegetarian and vegan-only menu. Never resting on their laurels, Luna Inspired Street Food repeatedly shook up their menu last year. Ithaca Voice
5 – Spoiler alert: we love talking to chefs, and ZaZa’s Cucina was no exception
ZaZa’s Cucina: An Ithaca hidden gem in plain sight – Since he took over restaurant’s ownership in September 2015, Curtis Radcliffe put a renewed focus on getting back to basics at ZaZa’s Cucina. With brand new pasta extruder from Italy, all of ZaZa’s pasta is now made in house. Double spoiler alert: we also love homemade pasta. Ithaca Voice
6 – The Rook opened, offering carefully-crafted cocktails and low brow/high brow eats
The Rook: Clever concoctions in Ithaca’s West End – Like Ithaca Voice Dining, The Rook has only had its doors open for a year. In that time, the State Street restaurant and cocktail bar feels like it has found its niche and expertly filled it. Bonus points for not only naming a drink after Ithaca’s mayor, but for finding a word that rhymes with Svante. (It’s “picante.”) Ithaca Voice
7 – The Bickering Twins brought us Taco Tuesday and Latin pop-ups
Bickering Twins: Infectiously energetic Latin American cuisine – Proof that we don’t just focus on brick-and-mortar restaurants, Bickering Twins stubbornly refuse to be defined: currently offering catering, pop-up dinners and weekly Taco Tuesdays. (Verdict: they do actually bicker, but only a little.) Ithaca Voice
8 – Atlas’ ooey gooey totchos win hearts in Trumansburg
Trumansburg’s Atlas Bowl prepares crispy, gooey totchos (video) – If you’ve heard of Trumansburg’s Atlas Bowl, chances are you’ve also heard of a mythical beast known as “totchos.” You’ve also probably heard that we might be obsessed with them. In case you didn’t, here’s video proof. Ithaca Voice
9 – Jack’s Grill served up sinful shareables and sandwiches in Collegetown
9 photos from the belly-busting fall menu at Jack’s Grill – From the barbecue pulled pork fries to the fried chicken mac and cheese, this fast-casual American joint gave its menu an overhaul at the end of August to focus on more innovative mashups, as well as sourcing more local ingredients, and hasn’t looked back. Ithaca Voice
A photo posted by Ithaca Voice Dining (@ithacavoicedining) on
10 – At the close of the year, Monks on the Commons brought class and Southern sass to Aurora Street
Sophisticated Southern flavors, local talent bring Monks on the Commons to life – “The whole idea of Monks is to be a gathering place,” said Executive Chef Bryan Keller, of his restaurant on the ground floor of the newly constructed Ithaca Marriott Downtown on the Commons. We predict it might become a social focal point of the rejuvenated Commons. Ithaca Voice
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